How to prepare myself for a Cacao ceremony?

Raw CACAO CEREMONIES

There is a lot to be said about the medicine of Raw cacao. This page delves a little deeper into the background of sacred cacao as well as provides some practical tips on how to best prepare for a cacao ceremony at The White Arrow.

This page starts with the preparation for the cocoa ceremonies, the how and what with cocoa, tobacco and breathwork.

Further on this page you will find a lot of information about the history of cocoa, its role in the world and the effects of cocoa on our body and mind.

Maestro Tobacco

During our initiations and formation we learned to work with the spirit of the Sacred Tobacco. It is probably one of the most famous and widely used plant teachers in the Amazon. That is why we integrate the sacred tobacco in all our cocoa ceremonies. The Tobacco Rustica we use has nothing to do with the tobacco for smoking you find in the store. For ceremonial use we work with the pure tobacco from the rainforest. The dried leaves are fermented in the soil. The end of the process gives a very strong and powerful tobacco. The shamanistic use of this tobacco for smoking is known as: Mapacho. In the cocoa ceremonies we do not smoke the tobacco, but sometimes it is useful to blow smoke to clear the air of heavy energy or to calm someone's mind. The tobacco smoke is mostly used during the rituals of healing and purification. In our work and preparation with the sacred tobacco, we put the fermented leaves in pure water to rest for a day, so that the water can slowly absorb all its medicinal properties. When sniffing tobacco water through the nose, the total experience can last as little as a few minutes, while the experience of drinking the tobacco in other settings can last for several hours.

WWe recommend taking Tobacco slowly when taken by nose, as this phase can be a little scary the first time, but is quickly followed by a second phase where the plant's energy builds up within the system. It might feel like you are being lifted by a surge of energy. Already in that phase the energy of the Tobacco starts to focus on energy blockages, while the consciousness is greatly increased, making these blockages easier to feel. That's when the experience is at its peak, it can feel like you're hanging in the zero gravity of a roller coaster. Consciousness is then at its highest level and in this phase the removal of energetic blockages is also at its highest. With this phase, the feeling of connection also emerges. It is as if the Tobacco lowers the barriers of separation. Then the energy of the Tobacco slowly begins to dissolve in the fourth phase until a peace and tranquility arises. This final stage is a state that essentially results from the removal of lower energies from the energy system. It is this phase in which one sinks deeper into the body and a strong grounding occurs.

Maestro Tobacco, a spirit that protects, purifies and heals and communicates with spirits.

Breathwork

A permanent part of all our 'intimate cocoa ceremonies' is the Breathwork. For more than 10 years we have been adept at guiding people through a powerful breathing therapy also known as Rebirthing, Transformational breathing or Holotrophic breathing. At The White Arrow, these breathing sessions are given the unique name: SHAMANIC BREATHING. After all, we always work with live mixed music or songs played ourselves in order to closely follow the breathwork and the unfolding process and to be able to adjust or deepen it. Rebirthing or transformational breathing is mainly a breathing technique that aims to make contact with one's own life energy in a simple way. In a practical sense it is the connection of the inhalation with the exhalation in a continuous relaxed rhythm. In a series of guided sessions, the aim is to free the breathing from blockages, so that natural, complete breathing occurs.

What do I pay attention to

• At the beginning of the breathing session, follow the facilitator's instructions and try to follow them as best you can, so that your breathwork will have a profound effect.Breathe in and out through the mouth.

• All breathing movements are continuous, which means that you do not take a break anywhere. After inhaling, let go immediately at your highest point. After exhaling, immediately inhale strongly at your deepest point.

• Count about 3 seconds before inhaling, so time enough to fill your entire body and also time enough for the alveoli to filter all the sent substances from the oxygen.

• You exhale in one breath, with a deep, fairly powerful sigh.

• You breathe in your belly and then go over the diaphragm to the chest, filling it all the way up to your tailbones. The chest will provide the most resistance in the long run and requires your focus to pump it up well.

• Breathing in this way will create a powerful breathing rhythm, which will help you stay more present when breathingBij het begin van de ademsessie volg je de instructies van de begeleider op en tracht je deze zo goed mogleijk te volgen, waardoor jouw ademwerk een diepgaand effect zal hebben.

What can I experience?

• The experience is very profound and very personal. We are therefore only going to talk about the physical sensations here.You can get mild to strong tingling sensations throughout the body.

• Your hands can cramp and stiffen, this also happens to almost everyone, especially the first time. Our hands hold a lot of tension, as they are used almost continuously, not only physically but also energetically they are always grasping (my life, my partner, my child, my money, my job, my security, my...my ...mine).

• You may experience pain in places where there was already a blockage. Everything gets more energy, so the blockages are also highlighted. This gives you the chance to just be present in it as a loving friend. Bring your mind to it and breathe it in.

• You can hear all sorts of things in the room, people going through the process: crying, laughing, yelling... the trick is to stay true to yourself. Everyone works for and through each other. Sometimes things are picked up by someone and worked out for you, or someone's sound triggers your personal piece to get it moving... a powerful interplay: one breath, one person.

• The feeling of deep healing, coming home to your body, releasing thoughts and mental patterns and the deep spiritual experience of unity consciousness can be experienced by almost everyone during a session.

Het gevoel van diepe healing, thuiskomen in je lijf, loskomen van gedachten en mentale patronen en de diepe spirituele ervaring van eenheidsbewustzijn is vrijwel bij iedereen te ervaren tijdens een sessie.

Cacao as facilitator

Maestro Cacao plays the part of the facilitator by building a bridge from your heart to the world. It helps breaking down the walls that we've build so we can open up to our selves, eachother and the world!

Pijnappelklier

A tiny pea-shaped gland which, among other functios, is perceived to be the spiritual centre of the brain.

Serotonine

The natural stress reducing and emotional resilience neurotransmitter in humans is also present in cacao

Anandamide

Brain support molecule most known for it’s effect of the producing ‘runner’s high’, is known to increase feelings of pleasure , improve motivation, and moderate the perception of pain supporting emotional wellbeing and motivation, present in cacao

Phenylethylamine

A naturally occurring neuromodulator in humans that brings the mediator to a new depth of focus and facilitates the perception of time standing still.

History

the origin of 'the food of the gods'

The Latin name for cacao—Theobroma—literally means, “food of the gods.” This valuable crop played an important role in many ancient South American cultures.

Cultivation, use, and cultural elaboration of cacao were early and extensive in Mesoamerica, to which the cacao tree is native. When pollinated, the seed of the cacao tree eventually forms a kind of sheath, or ear, 20" long, hanging from the branches. Within the sheath are 30 to 40 brownish-red almond-shaped beans embedded in a sweet viscous pulp. While the beans themselves are bitter due to the alkaloids within them, the sweet pulp may have been the first element consumed by humans. Evidence suggests that it may have been fermented and served as an alcoholic beverage as early as 1400 BC.

Traces of cocoa consumption

While researchers do not agree which Mesoamerican culture first domesticated the cacao tree, the use of the fermented bean in a drink seems to have arisen in North America (México). Scientists have been able to confirm its presence in vessels around the world by evaluating the "chemical footprint" detectable in the microsamples of contents that remain. Ceramic vessel with residues from the preparation of chocolate beverages have been found at archaeological sites dating back to the Early Formative (1900-900 BC) period. For example, one such vessel found at an Olmec archaeological site on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico dates chocolate's preparation by pre-Olmec peoples as early as 1750 BC. On the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico, a Mokayanan archaeological site provides evidence of cacao beverages dating even earlier, to 1900 BC. Traces of some kind of drink have been found in a jug that was discovered in Colha in the north of Belize and dates from 600 BC. A sample of the remains was analysed using modern techniques such as chromatography and spectrometry. The results of the analyses showed the presence o theobromine. Now at the time, the only plant in Central American that contained thebromine was the cacao tree. The discovery of the meaning of one of the glyphs, which stands for the word cocoa, and that of the other glyphs on this jar, have contributed a lot to the understanding of the maya writing.

The Name Cacao or cocoa

The word cacoa comes from the olmec word ‘ka-kaw’. In mayan language it still is the same word today. Diefferent Mayan ceramic pots are decorated with glyphs which have been interpreted as: ka-ka-wa. Hence the word ‘cacao of ‘cocoa’ in English.

In Nahuatl, a language which is till spoken today by more than 1.5 million Indians in Central America, cacahuatl is the word for chocolate: kakawa = cocoa + atl = water.

In the second part of the 16th centuray, the Spanish however used the word chocoloatl. Why this evolution from cacahuatl to chocolatl? According to Francisco Hernandez, who carried out his research in Mexico in 1570, there was a drink chocolatl, composed of equal parts of cacahuatl and pochotl (seeds from the ‘ceiba’ tree) beaten using a molinillo. According to Mayan terminology, there was also a hot drink chacau haa or chocol haa= hot water. This is very close to chocolatl. There is also the Mayan Quiché word chocola’l, meaning “ drink chocolate together”. It could be that someone (a Spaniard perhaps who had not quite mastered the Indian language) took the Maya word chocol to mean hot and the Aztec word atl to mean water and made up the word chocolatl which later became chocolate. So, several explenations exist, but not one is certain. Our recent contacts with different Maya tribes, made us think that the word chocolate might derivate from the maya ‘choco-ha’, which means: warm water. And indeed Mayans were drinking the chocolate warm.

Kukulkan, for the Mayas – Quetzalcoatl for the Aztecs

Is one of the most important gods. He is often represented in the form of a feathered serpent is the symbol of heaven and earth.

Earliest evidence of domestication of the cacao plant dates to the Olmec culture from the Preclassic period. The Olmecs used it for religious rituals or as a medicinal drink, with no recipes for personal use. Little evidence remains of how the beverage was processed.

By 1400, the Aztec empire took over a sizable part of Mesoamerica. They were not able to grow cacao themselves, but were forced to import it. All of the areas that were conquered by the Aztecs that grew cacao beans were ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs called it, a "tribute". The cacao bean became a form of currency. The Spanish conquistadors left records of the value of the cacao bean, noting for instance that 100 beans could purchase a canoe filled with fresh water or a turkey hen. The Aztecs associated cacao with the god Quetzacoatl, whom they believed had been condemned by the other gods for sharing chocolate with humans. Unlike the Maya of Yucatán, the Aztecs drank chocolate cold. It was consumed for a variety of purposes, as an aphrodisiac or as a treat for men after banquets, and it was also included in the rations of Aztec soldiers.

CODICES (Codex)

The Mayan people, by contrast, do leave some surviving writings about cacao which confirm the identification of the drink with the gods. The Dresden Codex specifies that it is the food of the rain deity Kon, the Madrid Codex that gods shed their blood on the cacao pods as part of its production.

Codices are books folded like an accordion. The where written by the Mayas, the Mixtecs and the Nahuas.

They contained both historical and religious accounts dating from before and after the Spanish conquest. Some of them had a religious use and told stories about the gods and astronomy; these were used by the priests who used to interpret the pictures and give instructions and advice on all aspects of life, religious, as well as political, social and even agricultural.

The codices were painted on deer skin and on ‘amate’ paper that was made either from the bark of the ficus tree sometimes form maguey fibre. Most Codices were destroyed by the Spanish church who after the war, considered them objects of superstition and magic. But Mayan and Azetc nobleman also took part in their destruction because some of them wanted to rewrite the history of their origins.

How did the Mayas prepared their chocolate-flavoured drink

The Mayas and the Aztecs prepared their chocolate-flavoured drink in different ways.

The most frequently used method was this one:

• First the cocoa beans were roasted and winnowed (to remove the husks).

• Then they were crushed on a grinding stone called a metate to make them into a paste.

• Corn was boiled up with a little quicklime in order to remove the skin around the kernels more easily (nixtamalisation).

• The kernels were crushed on a metate.

• Next the cocoa paste and the corn paste were mixed together.

• Condments such as Mexican pepper, flowers, hot spices, vanilla and in some cases achiote were added.

• The paste was then diluted with water.

Froth

What the Mayan Indians really liked was the froth.

Froth was obtained in various different ways:

• By using a tube to blow air into the drink

• By pouring the drink from a certain height from one container to another

• By using a stick called a molinillo that was rolled energetically between the palms of the hands.

The froth that was formed at the surface of the drink was removed with a spoon. Then the drink was poured into a cup and froth was spooned on to the top.

Conquest of Europe

The chocolate drink crosses the Pyrenees to France and then to the rest of Europe. Cocoa becomes the preferred drink of sovereigns, priests and wealthy people.In order to avoid upsetting the cups ‘mancerinas’ begin to appear in Spain and ‘trembleuses’ in France. There were now ‘chocolatières’ to serve it. Slowly, people begin to consume sweetened cocoa all over the European continent, encouraged by commercial and cultural relations, but also as a result of royal weddings and alliances.In France, chocolate appears at the beginning of the 1600s. Anne of Austria, daughter of Philippe III, King of Spain, marries Louis XIII in 1615 and moves tot France. She is accompanied by her ‘molina’, a maid who is expert in the preparation of the drink. Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of Philippe IV of Spain who was married to Louis XIV, also adored the drink. Little by little, drinking chocolate becomes a habit at the Royal Court. In 1659, Louis XIV grants the right to a certain David Chaillou for a period of 29 years, ‘ to produce and sell a mixture called chocolate either as a liqueur of pastilles or in any other way he pleases’.

Without replacing coffee, which remained the exotic drink par excellence and without enjoying the success of tea, chocolate becomes all the rage in the 18th-century. In 1715, on the death of Louis XIC, Philippe d’Orléans becomes regent until the young Louis XV attains his majority. Every morning, Philippe d’Orléans drinks large cups of chocolate. Being invited to witness this is a great honour. Voltaire liked chocolate too. He even created his own recipe in order to stimulate is brain. Numerous artistocrats drank chocolate when they woke up, brought to them in bed by their servants. The preferred sweetened Chocolate to the bitter coffee of the proletariat. Diderot and d’Alembert included a recipe for chocolate in their famous encyclopedia:

• 4 soup spoons of chocolate

• 2 soup spoons of sugar

• 3 pinches of cinnamon

• 1 egg

Water and milk is added and the mixture heated in a bain marie. Finally a drop of orange flower and two drops of essence of amber are added.

But chocolate remains expensive. At the end of the 18the century, 1 pound of chocolate costs the equivalent of 5 days work.

Pueblo people, who lived in an area that is now the U.S. Southwest, imported cacao from Mesoamerican cultures in southern Mexico or Central America between 900 and 1400. They used it in a common beverage consumed by everyone in their society. (source: wikipedia)

The Cacao tree

The cocoa tree grows in the tropical forests of Central America. Over the centuries it was transported to other regions and cultivated on a large scale. Large fruits, whose pods contain seeds or beans grow on the trunk and main branches. These cocoa beans constitute the basic raw material for producing chocolate. The trees can reach heights of 8 to 10m but they are generally pruned to a height of 3 to 4 m in order to make harvesting easier. The cocoa tree starts to bear fruit in its 6th year. It will live for between 25 and 50 years.

The blossom

Around about 1000 flowers grow on the trunk and main branches. They bloom twice a year and measure around 0.5 cm. Only 1% to 3% of these flowers will bear fruit after being pollinated by small flies.

The pod

The fruit, the cocoa pod, looks like a sort of large nut. While it matures, it changes in colour from green tot yellow or from orange to red. It takes between 5 and 7 months to mature. A tree can bear from 20 to 30 pods. Each pod contains between 20 and 40 cocoa beans.

The Leaves

They are large, measuring between 20 and 30 cm long, and from 7 to 12 cm wide. They are green. Once the leaves have fallen to the ground, they start to rot and to supply food for the tree. They also provide shelter for a the small flies

Animals

Monkeys and other small climbing animals are very fond of the pulp that the cocoa pod contains. They do not eat the actual cocoa beans because they are bitter, instead they throw them to the ground which helps to seed the tree throughout the forest.

Harvesting

Cocoa beans are harvested twice a year, from April to July and from August to December. The cocoa pods are cut from the tree using a knife attached to a long handle. As soon as they have been cut down from the tree, the pods are split in two and the beans and the pulp are removed and piled up. The beans are covered with large banana tree leaves and left to ferment. This is how they lose some of their bitterness which improves the taste. Next the beans are dried in the sun. The amount of moisture drops from 60% tot 6% which allows for better conservation. Once the beans have dried, they are packed in jute sacks.