My Journey to Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca
By: Ayanna Mojica, Ph.D.*
Over the past year, I received several invitations, from the Mazatecos elders and caretakers to visit Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, to receive the Sacred Mushrooms in a ceremony. I finally accepted the offer. What an honor. And what an intense travel experience with a rewarding and satisfying result.
Where is Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca?
Huautla de Jimenez is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, in the north of the Cañada Region.
We traveled six hours from El Centro de Oaxaca, Mexico to the mountains of Huautla de Jimenez, along an increasingly beautiful winding path. We then took a taxi further up the mountain… in the rain. After an hour’s drive, the taxi left us at the foot of another higher path. From there we began hiking upward.
Who are the Mazatecos?
The Mazatecos are indigenous people who inhabit Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, and the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Hundreds of seekers frequently visit Huautla de Jiménez, known as “a town among the clouds,” for the medicinal use of the “holy children” which are the psilocybin mushrooms.
Los Niños Sagrado, and the Sacred Mushrooms
Traditionally, the Mazatecos of Oaxaca, use plants as medicine. The most prominent of these healing plants is the sacred mushroom.
“Because we don’t have money for doctors, we heal ourselves with the mushrooms.” Abuela Julieta Casimiro, Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, México, Mazateca Elder and Curandera, 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.
“Las plantas sagradas”, the holy plants, are reverently called, Los Niños, The Holy Children, Los Niños Sagrado, and the Sacred Mushrooms. They are also referred to as, Magic Mushrooms, by the hundreds of thousands who seek this plant for an altered-state healing experience. These mushrooms grow profusely in the mountains of Huautla de Jimenez and have been used for ceremonial healing for centuries before the pre-Hispanic era.
Los Niños are offered to the seeker in a sacred temple during many hours of songs, prayers, and rituals in Spanish and the Mazateco language. Traditionally, the seeker is guided through a healing ceremony by an Abuela (grandmother), Abuelo (grandfather), or an Elder lineage holder. The ceremony is absolutely beautiful.
Imagine having your name spoken out in prayer over several hours. Imagine songs elevating your spirit throughout the evening in a sacred space filled with flowers, candles, herbs, and copal while you rest comfortably under soft warm blankets.
For two days, I was with Doña Jasmin, Abuela Julieta’s daughter, who now carries on, along with her sisters, the tradition of healing with Los Niños, Los Niños Santo, The Holy Children, The Sacred Mushrooms.
What an honor to be in her home. She shared intuitive insights, and gave me a powerful smoke to be used only in the ceremony, a bottle of potent floral water, a formula created by the late healer, Juan El Coyote “quien camina por la noche.” This floral water is to be used sparingly as I invoke coyote medicine. Doña Jasmin also gifted me with a blend of yerbas amargo, bitter herbs, that were prepared for hours in a ceremony by the women of Huautla de Jimenez. This blend is to be applied to specific parts of my body for power, and protection and to clear away negative energies that have been directed toward me
Listen to some of the prayers and songs.
7 Mazatec Prayer-Songs (Acapela): Grandmother Julieta Casimiro – Healing
Doña Jasmin told me that I am preparing the way for others to come receive healing in these sacred circles with Los Niños. After the gifting, I in turn blessed her. We completed our time together by sharing our personal experiences, wisdom, and plans for her future visit to my home in Oaxaca City to look at land for my temple.
I am looking forward to my next journey and I will take others to experience medicine.
My friends, thank you for reading. Thank you for watching the videos. Thank you for supporting, honoring, and protecting the indigenous traditional medicines and culture. Please feel free to ask questions and post comments.
Con mucha alegría…
*About the Author: Ayanna Mojica is a Doctorate in Spirituality and Expressive Arts and Wisdom Medicine Woman who lives in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca. She is an Ambassador and Clan Mother of the Choctaw Muskogee Yamassee Nation. For further inquiries send a private message on Facebook to @AyannaMojica.
