Coca - the plant of the Andes peoples.
Created | Updated Aug 6, 2002
Coca is a plant that originated in the high Andes mountains of South America and it is cultivated by the Andean native peoples.
The leaves of the plant are chewed, in combination with alkaline substances, in order to release alkaloids from the leaves, which give a mildly stimulating effect upon the user, and (as coca is the basis for local anaesthetics) numb the mucosa of the mouth. The release of the alkaloids is gradual, over around an hour, and the effect upon the user can be described as mild euphoria or antidepressant, and tends to repress hunger, fatigue and pain.
The chewing of coca leaves has been part of the culture of the native Andean peoples for many centuries, and the leaves are chewed as part of religious ceremonies and general social exchange in everyday life. The effects are helpful to people working in extremely difficult circumstances in the thin, cold air of altitude, for example mining for gold underground or carrying heavy loads.
After the Spanish invasion and conquest the Catholic church decreed that the leaves were devilry, and attempted to stamp out the practice using harsh and cruel methods, but when the Spanish realised that their native slaves worked better when using coca, the colonial attitudes changed, and the use of coca became compulsory for the native slaves.
Coca was at one stage very popular as a basis for tonic drinks in fashionable European society, which were held to be good for one's health. The vast American-based worldwide Coca Cola empire is one descendant of this trend.
Since then, Western culture has once again turned against this plant. Coca today is more well known as the plant used in the production of cocaine. The Western world, particularly the United States, has a major problem with cocaine, and the response of the US government has been to attempt to stamp out its production in Andean countries. It would of course be much more effective for the US government to try to reduce the demand for the drug in their own country, but it is always politically easier to blame others for one's own problems.
Lately, this policy has been causing resentment in the countries of the Andes, where it is seen as interference in their traditional way of life and cultural practices. After all, the people of the Andes have no problems with the coca plant - their culture has been using the plant for centuries. The problem lies with the cultural attitudes of the Western world, and will not go away until these attitudes have been changed.
In this context, the following traditional legend concerning the Coca leaf seems remarkably prophetic........
THE LEGEND OF COCA
Men of wisdom, who look beyond
the rest of their people
when hard wintry times arrive
are chosen by God like good ripe seeds
to sow in them.
And so it was that
when the conqueror from the North
sheathed in his iron raiment
came to vanquish an essence
a people born in the Andes
in the mountains, natural temples of God
in a blood-coloured sunset
the chosen one among his priests
heard HIS internal voice
and HE spoke like this:
I love my son, your people
because they obeyed my command
and remained pure because of this.
I gave them much wisdom,
but now the rest of my flock
who lives beyond your world has arrived,
Not only in the flesh,
but also in the spirit.
That is why your brothers are fighting
among themselves.
The gold seekers are already here
to oppress the heart and pierce the flesh
with their iron thorns.
But you must not forget that pain
is the receptacle of happiness:
She permeates the heart
through the way opened by pain.
The times you must live through are such
you shall burrow your way
through the heart of the earth
like the worm does
to take out the gold and the silver
(Gods of mud, men have built).
But at the end of your quest
you will find darkness
and you will be lost in it
and this will make you yearn for
the light that was left behind.
And so the more you fall
the more you will long
to climb up again
and you will reach me once again.
The purity of your heart has moved me
and so, to fight the darkness
which lies at the bosom of mother earth,
to withstand cold
and hunger and sadness of hearts
torn apart from their father,
I shall give you a gift for your brothers.
Climb up to that mountain
where you shall find a small plant
one with much strength.
Guard the leaves with much love
and when you feel the sting of pain
in your heart, hunger in your body
and darkness in your mind
take them to your mouth
and softly draw up its spirit
which is part of mine.
You will find love for your pain
food for your body
and light for your mind.
Furthermore
watch the leaves dance with the wind
and you will find answers to your queries.
But if your torturer,
who comes from the North
the white conqueror, the gold seeker
should touch it, he will find in it
only poison for his body
and madness for his mind,
for his heart is as callous
as his steel and iron garment.
And when the COCA,
which is how you will call it,
attempts to soften his feelings
it will only shatter him
as the icy crystals born in the clouds
crack the rocks
and demolish mountains.
For more information see http://www.cocamuseum.com/main.htm
The leaves of the plant are chewed, in combination with alkaline substances, in order to release alkaloids from the leaves, which give a mildly stimulating effect upon the user, and (as coca is the basis for local anaesthetics) numb the mucosa of the mouth. The release of the alkaloids is gradual, over around an hour, and the effect upon the user can be described as mild euphoria or antidepressant, and tends to repress hunger, fatigue and pain.
The chewing of coca leaves has been part of the culture of the native Andean peoples for many centuries, and the leaves are chewed as part of religious ceremonies and general social exchange in everyday life. The effects are helpful to people working in extremely difficult circumstances in the thin, cold air of altitude, for example mining for gold underground or carrying heavy loads.
After the Spanish invasion and conquest the Catholic church decreed that the leaves were devilry, and attempted to stamp out the practice using harsh and cruel methods, but when the Spanish realised that their native slaves worked better when using coca, the colonial attitudes changed, and the use of coca became compulsory for the native slaves.
Coca was at one stage very popular as a basis for tonic drinks in fashionable European society, which were held to be good for one's health. The vast American-based worldwide Coca Cola empire is one descendant of this trend.
Since then, Western culture has once again turned against this plant. Coca today is more well known as the plant used in the production of cocaine. The Western world, particularly the United States, has a major problem with cocaine, and the response of the US government has been to attempt to stamp out its production in Andean countries. It would of course be much more effective for the US government to try to reduce the demand for the drug in their own country, but it is always politically easier to blame others for one's own problems.
Lately, this policy has been causing resentment in the countries of the Andes, where it is seen as interference in their traditional way of life and cultural practices. After all, the people of the Andes have no problems with the coca plant - their culture has been using the plant for centuries. The problem lies with the cultural attitudes of the Western world, and will not go away until these attitudes have been changed.
In this context, the following traditional legend concerning the Coca leaf seems remarkably prophetic........
THE LEGEND OF COCA
Men of wisdom, who look beyond
the rest of their people
when hard wintry times arrive
are chosen by God like good ripe seeds
to sow in them.
And so it was that
when the conqueror from the North
sheathed in his iron raiment
came to vanquish an essence
a people born in the Andes
in the mountains, natural temples of God
in a blood-coloured sunset
the chosen one among his priests
heard HIS internal voice
and HE spoke like this:
I love my son, your people
because they obeyed my command
and remained pure because of this.
I gave them much wisdom,
but now the rest of my flock
who lives beyond your world has arrived,
Not only in the flesh,
but also in the spirit.
That is why your brothers are fighting
among themselves.
The gold seekers are already here
to oppress the heart and pierce the flesh
with their iron thorns.
But you must not forget that pain
is the receptacle of happiness:
She permeates the heart
through the way opened by pain.
The times you must live through are such
you shall burrow your way
through the heart of the earth
like the worm does
to take out the gold and the silver
(Gods of mud, men have built).
But at the end of your quest
you will find darkness
and you will be lost in it
and this will make you yearn for
the light that was left behind.
And so the more you fall
the more you will long
to climb up again
and you will reach me once again.
The purity of your heart has moved me
and so, to fight the darkness
which lies at the bosom of mother earth,
to withstand cold
and hunger and sadness of hearts
torn apart from their father,
I shall give you a gift for your brothers.
Climb up to that mountain
where you shall find a small plant
one with much strength.
Guard the leaves with much love
and when you feel the sting of pain
in your heart, hunger in your body
and darkness in your mind
take them to your mouth
and softly draw up its spirit
which is part of mine.
You will find love for your pain
food for your body
and light for your mind.
Furthermore
watch the leaves dance with the wind
and you will find answers to your queries.
But if your torturer,
who comes from the North
the white conqueror, the gold seeker
should touch it, he will find in it
only poison for his body
and madness for his mind,
for his heart is as callous
as his steel and iron garment.
And when the COCA,
which is how you will call it,
attempts to soften his feelings
it will only shatter him
as the icy crystals born in the clouds
crack the rocks
and demolish mountains.
For more information see http://www.cocamuseum.com/main.htm
