Erowid.org: Erowid Reference 7198 : Transcultural use of narcotic water lilies in ancient Egyptian and Maya drug ritual : Emboden WA

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Emboden WA. “Transcultural use of narcotic water lilies in ancient Egyptian and Maya drug ritual”. J Ethnopharmacol. 1981 Jan 24;3(1):39-83. <a name="ref">Emboden WA.</a> <a href="/references/7198">"Transcultural use of narcotic water lilies in ancient Egyptian and Maya drug ritual"</a> <i>J Ethnopharmacol</i>. 1981 Jan 24;3(1):39-83.
Show Articles by Emboden WA Article IDs Erowid RefID: 7198 PubMedID: 7007741 Collections Hofmann Collection MDMA Collection All References	Abstract Comparisons are made between ancient ritual uses of the flowers of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae) in Maya and Egyptian civilizations. Recurrent motifs encountered in the art of both of these ancient civilizations suggests that the role fo the water lily was that of a narcotic (psychodysleptic) used to mediate ecstasis among a priestly caste. Relevant literature is reviewed as are chemical data. Elements in the complex belief systems of these two civilizations need to be reinterpreted in view of the use of two water lilies as ritual narcotics. The species implicated are Nymphaea caerulea Sav., in Egypt, and N. ampla DC., among the Maya.
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