Cohoba
Encyclopedia
Cohoba is an old Taino Indian transliteration for a ceremony in which psychedelic ground seed of the cojóbana tree was snufed in twin nasal Y-shaped pipe also called Cohoba. The cojóbana tree is believed by some to be Yopo
, Anadenathera peregrina, although perhaps it may have been a generalized term for psychotropics including various quite toxic Datura
and related genera (Solanaceae
). The corresponding ceremony using cohoba-laced tobacco
is transliterated as cojibá. This corresponds culturally to the practice of drug induced "astral traveling" so common to the Americas and elsewhere.
The practice of snuffing Cohoba was popular with the Taino
and Arawakan peoples, with whom Christopher Columbus
made contact.
Fernando Ortiz
, the founder of Cuban Cultural Studies, offers a detailed analysis of the use of cohoba in his important anthropological work, .
Yopo
"Ebene" redirects here. For the city in Mauritius, see Ebene City.Anadenanthera peregrina, also known as Yopo, Jopo, Cohoba, Mopo, Nopo, Parica or Calcium Tree, is a perennial tree of the Anadenanthera genus native to the Caribbean and South America. It grows up to 20 m tall, having a thorny bark...
, Anadenathera peregrina, although perhaps it may have been a generalized term for psychotropics including various quite toxic Datura
Datura
Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its precise and natural distribution is uncertain, owing to its extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe...
and related genera (Solanaceae
Solanaceae
Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...
). The corresponding ceremony using cohoba-laced tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
is transliterated as cojibá. This corresponds culturally to the practice of drug induced "astral traveling" so common to the Americas and elsewhere.
The practice of snuffing Cohoba was popular with the Taino
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
and Arawakan peoples, with whom Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
made contact.
Fernando Ortiz
Fernando Ortiz
Fernando Ortiz Fernández was a Cuban essayist, ethnomusicologist and scholar of Afro-Cuban culture. Ortiz was a prolific polymath dedicated to exploring, recording, and understanding all aspects of indigenous Cuban culture...
, the founder of Cuban Cultural Studies, offers a detailed analysis of the use of cohoba in his important anthropological work, .