Among the Mazatec Indians, Paneolus campanulatus 
var. sphinctrinus is regularly used by some members of 
the tribe as a narcotic. The plant does not appear to be 
common in the Mazatec country. It grows in pastures 
and open fields during the rainy season from June to 
September. Those who use it search for it eagerly, gath¬ 
ering and drying it for future use. Because the mushroom 
is regarded as being semi-sacred, it is difficult to purchase 
specimens. They are usually presented as a gift. 
There are among the Mazatecs professional divinators 
who earn a livelihood by endeavoring through mushroom 
intoxication to locate stolen property, discover secrets, 
and give advice. The narcotic is taken to induce a semi¬ 
conscious state accompanied by a mild delirium. The 
incoherent utterances made during intoxication are in¬ 
terpreted as prophetic or admonitory. This, curiously 
enough, parallels the use of ololiuqui (the seeds of Rivea 
corymbosa (L.) Hall. f.),a eonvolvulaceous narcotic which 
is still used in parts of Oaxaca, and of various species of 
Datura which are very widely employed to induce a 
delirium that is thought to assist in divination and witch¬ 
craft. 
The professional Mazatec divinators evidently store 
large numbers of these mushrooms for use throughout 
the year, for the doses said to be required for intoxication 
are large. It was impossible to learn whether these divi¬ 
nators practice their art exclusively with Paneolus or 
whether they are general curanderos (herb-doctors) as 
well. They are said to age rapidly, probably because of 
frequent ingestion of the slightly poisonous Paneolus; 
at the age of thirty-five, senility is apparent. 
It was impossible to ascertain the extent of this pro¬ 
fession, but the use of the narcotic is by no means con¬ 
fined to the divinators. Any individual may eat the 
mushrooms. That the consumption of the fungus is large 
[43] 
