In Brazil's Amazon, Worship with Psychedelic Tea

Canoes slide through a narrow river, dodging branches and trees for more than four hours to reach a tiny village deep in the Amazon jungle of western Brazil.

The community's culture revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism.

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In this June 22, 2016 photo, boatman Sebastiao Melo pilots his boat through the Igarape Mapia river towards the Ceu do Mapia community in Amazonas state, Brazil. This community revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. It wasn't until the early 1980s that rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deeper into the forest to create a new village that would live by the doctrine of the Ayahuasca tea. People here believe the drink heals the body and expands the mind.

"There was nothing here. We had this cleansing ceremony with a candle and we built a house for everyone, for all the people who arrived first. We were all family," said Rita Gregorio de Melo, wife of Sebastiao and the village's matriarch.

Melo died in 1990, but his wife, who is now 91, still heads the sect with her two sons.

Brewing the sacramental tea is a ritual in itself. Men chant to a steady rhythm, banging mallets on jungle vines called Jagube. In a giant pot, a man cooks the juice that comes out of the hammered vines and mixes it with a plant with hallucinogenic properties named Psychotria viridis.

The tea is used several times during religious ceremonies, but otherwise not usually more than weekly. While the hallucinogenic effects are usually moderate, drinkers say it helps facilitate spiritual connections.

On a recent evening, villagers gathered for a celebration. Women wore shiny white crowns on their heads, green sashes over their shoulders and green belts around their waists.

At the church, Alfredo Gregorio de Melo, son of the village founder and spiritual leader of Holy Daime, lit candles on a table shaped like the Star of David. Men and women lined up in two separate rows to drink the tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sang together prayers and psalms in a large circle.

"The Daime is everything to me. It saved me from death," said Luiz Lopes de Freitas, a village man. "I found a world that heals and teaches faith."

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In this June 23, 2016 photo, girls talk at sunrise after an all night religious service of the church of the doctrine of the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. For the service women wear shiny white crowns on their heads, green sashes over their shoulders and green belts around their waist. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, a boatman gets ready to cross the Purus river near the city of Boca do Acre, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Purus river provides the main access to the community of Ceu do Mapia in a trip of more than four hours deep in the Amazon jungle of western Brazil. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, a man crushes vines to make an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime, in front of a cross and a book of hymns of the doctrine of Santo Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Brewing the sacramental tea is a ritual in itself. Men chant as they follow a steady rhythm to bang wooden pestles on jungle vines (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, pieces of Jagube (Banisteriopsis caapi), one of components of the psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime sit after being pounded to extract its juices at the tea house in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. People here believe the psychedelic drink heals the body and expands the mind. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 poto, a man moves a cauldron used for brewing a psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, Raimundo Sidnei throws Chacrona leaves (Psychotria viridis) into tea brewing cauldrons, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Chacrona is one of the ingredients for making an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, a cauldron with the mixture of Jagube (Banisteriopsis caapi) and Chacrona leaves (Psychotria viridis) is brought to a boil during the preparation process of a psychedelic tea, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, a man dressed in white walks on the community's main bridge to participate in the Holy Daime ritual in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Men and women gather in the local church to celebrate the Brazilian harvest and the feast of Saint John. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, 83-year-old Godmother Julia Chagas, left, walks supported by her granddaughter to attend the ritual of the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Chagas is the widow of rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, the founder of the community. She still heads the sect with her two sons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016. photo, 12-year-old Maria Clara, preens in front of her house before going to the religious service of Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The whole village gathers to celebrate the Brazilian harvest and the feast of Saint John. Women wear shiny white crowns on their heads, green sashes over their shoulders and green belts around their waist. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, members of the community mill around the local temple before partaking in the ritual Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. During the service men and women lined up in two separate rows to drink the psychedelic tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo members of the church of the Holy Daime attend a service in honor of Saint John, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. A photo of the founder of Santo Daime, Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu is displayed prominently in the background.(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, 9-year-old Natalia Catarina takes part in the consecration of the Holy Daime during a religious service at the church of Ceu do Mapia, in Amazonas state, Brazil. All members of the community, including children, consume the psychedelic tea during the service. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, women hold candles during a religious service in the church of the doctrine of Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. At the church men and women line up in two separate rows to drink the tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, Godfather Alfredo Gregorio, center, leads a religious service in the church of doctrine of the Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Alfredo Gregorio de Melo is son of the village founder, rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, church members of the doctrine of the Holy Daime warm themselves next to a bonfire during a break in the service in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The community revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to the villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, a woman wearing a white crown warms up next to a bonfire during a break in the service of the church of the doctrine of the Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. During the all night service men and women line up in two separate rows to drink the psychedelic tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 23, 2016 photo, members of church of the doctrine of Holy Daime stand during a religious service, at dawn, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Most services last all night and into the morning. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, butterflies congregate on the shore of the Igarape Mapi River near the community of Ceu do Mapia, in Amazonas state, Brazil. The butterflies gather attracted by the minerals that accumulate on the sandy shore. Ceu do Mapia revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 23, 2016 photo, girls walk in front of a mural with images of the founder of the Ceu do Mapia community, Godfather Sebastiao, and his wife Godmother Rita, at Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. In the early 1980s rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deep into the forest to create a new village that would live by the Ayahuasca tea doctrine. Melo passed away in 1990, but his wife, who is now 91, still heads the sect with her two sons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, Godmother Alda Figueira stands in a plantation of Chacrona (Psychotria viridis) used to make an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. People here believe the drink heals the body and expands the mind. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

In this June 22, 2016 photo, girls run amidst a plantation of Chacrona (Psychotria viridis) one of the components of an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. In the early 1980s a rubber tapper named Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deep into the forest to create Ceu do Mapia, a new village that would live by the Ayahuasca tea doctrine. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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Text from the AP news story, AP Photos: In Brazil's Amazon, worship with psychedelic tea.

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