Reference

Glossary of Sacred Terms

Definitions of the words, traditions, and concepts used in Earth Connection Community ceremonies — 10 terms.

A

Ayahuasca

A sacred plant sacrament used in ceremony by indigenous and religious communities to facilitate spiritual communion and healing of the spirit.

B

Banisteriopsis caapi

The sacred vine forming the foundation of the ayahuasca sacrament, revered in Amazonian tradition as the vine of the soul and spiritual teacher.

C

Chacruna

The sacred admixture plant (Psychotria viridis) combined with the ayahuasca vine in the sacrament, honored as a spirit ally opening visionary perception.

I

Icaros

Sacred healing songs sung by facilitators during ayahuasca ceremony to guide participants' spiritual journey, received through vegetalismo apprenticeship.

M

Maloca

The communal sacred space where ayahuasca ceremonies are held — a ceremonial structure rooted in Amazonian tradition, designed to hold the spiritual work.

Mesa

The sacred altar arranged by the facilitator — spiritually significant objects that anchor the ceremonial space and embody the facilitator's lineage.

R

Rapé

Sacred tobacco preparation used in ceremony as a spiritual cleanser, administered through the nostrils in some indigenous ceremonial traditions.

S

Shipibo

An indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon whose ceremonial traditions and vegetalismo lineage form a primary spiritual foundation of ECC's practice.

V

Vegetalismo

The Amazonian tradition from which ECC's ceremonial lineage descends — centered on apprenticeship to plant teachers and deep relationships with the forest.

W

Whistle Songs (Silbando)

A style of icaro sung in a high, pure whistle tone during ayahuasca ceremony, among the most powerful ceremonial songs in the vegetalismo tradition.