Peyote Way

    Article

    A sacred ceremony in the tradition of the Native American Church, in which healing, spiritual cleansing, and vision quests are conducted through praying, chanting, and drumming, involving as well the ingestion of peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus that induces an altered state of consciousness believed to enhance connection with the spiritual realms. The ceremony usually lasts at least one night, and can be performed regularly (once a moth, for example), or according to need, in cases when an individual suffers from acute illness or when the community faces an urgent challenge.

    Photo Credit

     
    "Peyote set, from the Collection of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. This type of set is used by the peyote chief during the peyote ritual. August 20, 2011" by Dschwen is licensed under CC BY-SA.

    Published Works
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    References

     
    Aberle, David Friend
         1983   Peyote Religion Among The Navajo. In Handbook Of North American Indians:
             Southwest. Alfonso Ortiz, ed. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.