1. H:) - 2~5
Pr intt"<I in Ow N1•tlll'rlands
,}r1um11! 11¡' 1',' 0111n¡Jl1 111 11 wc o iu>:y , ;¡ \ ! ~it' 1)
o Elsc vier s~'qU o Í;1 S.A .. LaU !' i.l llll t.'
AMAZONIAN COCA*
TIMOTHY PLOWMAN**
Bolany Uepartment , Field Museum of Nat ural 1-listory, ('hú'uflo. lllin ois
lif)(ifJ ;)
! l :. s . \. )
Summ ary
A general overv ie w o f various aspects o f Amazonian "º"ª (1-,'rythru·
xy lum coca var. ipadu) is presented. Th is plant is C'Onside rPd a distinct
variety of coca which has hee n d e vel o pcd as a cul t iv atc·d plant in th e up¡wr
Amazon basin. l t diffe rs from typical Andean coca in m orpho lo gical , phys·
iological and c h e mical features as well as in the m c thod of preparation and
use by Amaz o nian trilles. Th e m ain t o pics h ere discu ssPd ar(• the history ,
distributi o n, botan y, dwmistry, o rigin, ml'th o d s o f preparalíon and use, and
t.hP effects of Amazonian c o ca .
1. lntroducti on
The use of coca lcaf as a mrdicine ami rnild stimulanl is w<'ll known in
So uth America in tht' And es a nd adjac Pnt fo o th ill s. Tht' whol e drit·d leaves
are chewed daily in a very unifo rm m an ncr b y millio ns of highland l ndian s,
rangi ng today from the Sierra Nevad a de San ta Ma rta on tlw Carih\Jean •"ll"st
'" uth to northwe stcrnmost Argentin a . Today coc a c he win g is practis<'d
··h iefl y in thP highlands o f Pcru and Bolivia by C~uechua and Ayrnara peo:•l•.•s. lts usP in Colo mbia a nd Ecuador is rc•stricl.Pd to a fc•w isolated indig·nous gr oups in re mo te rnountain o u s areas . In parts o í PNu and Bo livia , the
·Ltltivation 0f coca has greatl y inc reased in tlw past ft•w years owing to t.lw
: rowing mark ct fo r illic it cocain e in thf' Unitcd Slates a nd E:uropP.
In spite o f the great attentio n paid to tlw US<' o f coca lpaves and
·omin e , we know relatively li t tle about the corn plant itsP lf. As a taxo:omist, 1 a m part ic ularl y in terested in th e o ri¡¡in a nd t'Volution of coca a nd
:.s rPlatio nshi ps to ot.h er species of th e gen us r:ryll1roxylw11 lo which it la•·
*llased on a papcr pr~sented a l lh e Symposi um o n f ;ry tlt ro xy /o n ·- Nt•w Hi ~to ri c;d
nd Scie ntific Aspects, sponsored IJy th e Bota ni ca l Muse um of Ha rvard l 1 11i v(·n;it~' crnd
·a ~ a de la Cultura del Ecuador, Q uito. Ecuador, IJeC'('m!.wr :1 · ~. 19 7 9.
"*An early ve rs íon u f the paper was first presenlc d a l the 1:,rd lnh·rnati tmal Co 11 gr'"',..: ~
f Anwr icanists , Vanco u ver , Cana da , Aug ust l ~i, .1 ~J 79 .
196
longs. Jn the colirsc of my stu dies on coca, 1 am preparing a tmrnnomic
revision o f ali tlw NeotropicaJ species of F rythroxylwn which are thougln lo
numbcr about 200.
The cultivat.ed coca pla nt.s are currc ntly considere<! to helong to two
distinct species of Erythroxylwn (Plowman, 1979a, 1980). T h e most important is Eryl11roxylum coca Lam. from which almost ali co mmercial coca
leavcs and cocaine are derived. Th is species is native to the montarla zone
o f the eastcrn Andes, cxtcnding from Ecuad o r south to Bo livia . !t is littlc
known outside this rcgion which is characteriz cd by a very favorable tropi cal
e nvironment of high rainfall , tcmperatures which are not exccssivcly hot o r
cole! , and well drained, mineral-rich soils. Erythroxylum coca is grown usuall \
between 500 and 1500 mete rs elevation but may be grow n as high as 2000
mctcrs.
Th c sccond species of cultivatcd coca is Hrythrox y /urn nouogranalense
(Morris) llicron. This is kn own commo nly as ·'Colombian coca" ami was
cultivatcd throughout the m o untains of present day Colombia and
Venezuela in pre-Columbian t im es. lt t hriv cs at lowt:'f elevations and in
h otter, drier climates than E. coca, and is gc ncral ly mon· tol erant of a
diversity of climatic and edaphic condi t io ns. This is th e spec ies of coca
wh ich is widPly p[anted in the Old World tropics , Pspceiall y in lhe former
British colonics, asan orn amental plant and min o r sourcl' of cocaim-.
Colomb ian coca difft•rs from typical E rythroxylu111 coca in a numht•r o
morphological , c•colo gical ancl chC' mical charactt•rist.ics and is rcproduct.ivP ly
iso laU>d from E. coca in its breeding rl'iati o nsbips .. \ s a crop p lan l, this
s¡wcies o f "º"ªis confined today to isolatPd mounlain arl'as of Colombia
wh<.•re il is eullivated on a small sea!!' by s<'vera l lndian t.rihes. There is littlt·
coC"aine production hased u pon this spec it'S.
Colombian coc a h as one importanl variet.y: f.'rylhroxy/11111 11ouo·
grana tense var . truxi/lense (Rushy) Plowman (Plowman, 1H79h). This is tlw
well known "Trujillo coca" of commercc which is sti ll produccd ncar t hc
l'ity of Trujillo in norlhl·rn l'cru 011 tlw d ry , wesl-facing si o pes of lh e !\ndt»
up to ahout 1800 nwters, as wt:ll as in t.hc arid, upper l\laraii(m valll'y.
Trujillo coca was fo nm·rl y c ullivakd th rou gh out llll' desPrt coast of h ·ru in
tlw rivPr val!Pys and is the vari<'ty o f """ª excaval<'cl t.hNt' in numprou s
archeol o [!ical siles , dating back as raras 1750 B.C. fi'altPrso n , l!Jíl; Coh1•11 .
1H7 8).
Trujillo coca is well adaplPd t.o llw dest•rl conditio ns fou nd in coasl;!l
l'Pru, although lik<' ali ollwr crops in this arl'a, coca requi res irrigalion
throughout th e year. In its to leran cP to drou ght, this plant contrasts markt"
!y with E. cuca wh ich grows in a completrly differenl habitat y...t in geographi<:al proximity. Trujill o coca is inte rmt•diak in seVP raJ charactl'fs IH'tween f,'. coca and E. 11ouogranalc11se, but sce ms bcst placed as a variety of
th e [alter, hased on morphologit:al, chemical and physiological fP atures. Lil
Colombian coca , il is particul arly rich in methyl salicy late (wintPrgr<·en o il i
This and other flavoring compounds give Trujillo coca a grPalcr value for ti ·
production of coca-flavorPd heverages, inclLidin ~ t hP universal Coca-Cola "·
197
which sti ll incurporatps ckcocain izPd PX! r acLs of TruJi ll o coca in its prcparation.
¡\ fou rth kind of c u ltivatPd coca is also fu und in Suuth /\mNit·a liut has
bee n largely unre cogn izcd hy both bo ta nists and an th ro pologis ts. Thi s is thc
coca of t h c Am azon val ley, wh ich contimws (p '"' eu ltivall·d o n a small seall'
by a numbcr of l ndian tri hes in thp wt•sl<'rn Amazon in Brazil, C:olomh ia and
Peru. Th is coca is employcd for its s timulaling and nulrítious prnpt•rties hul
diffe rs mark edl y from othcr va rietiPs of c oca in it s mrnlc o f cu lli vation and
pn'paration.
We now know that Amazonian coca helon gs to Llll' s ppc i<'s J:;ry/hruxylum coca , bu t differs from the typical A nd c'an s¡wcics in a munlll'r of
morphological ami chemic al features. 1 rec<' nlly descrihc•d Arnazonian enea
as a n ew variety, Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu Pl owman, and discussl'd
liricfly thc essc n t ial differenccs hetwecn the A111azonia11 and Anckan varidies of co ca (Plowm a n , 1979b). The nc w varice!~' ís nam cd iµadú afü·r t.hc
common Brazilian namp of Amazonian coca which is dPr iv!'d from Uw Tup í
languagc.
In the p re sen t pa¡wr 1 will attem p t to su m mariz l' o ur knowl<>dw· of
Amazonian coca, including th e hist.ory, hot.an y, o rigi n, di str ihution, c u ltivation and uses of thP p lant. Some of the informal.ion pn·simto>d is has<'d un
inC'ompletc or skctchy data si ner past workcrs have dpvc>il'd lílll1· sPrio ll s
't udy to this imporlant Amazonian c rop. lt is rny hop<' lhal this p a¡wr wil l
-. ; prve as an impctus for rC' nt~wed and inü·n si vt- r< '<;l«.u·c-1 1 011 all aspt·cb nf
.-\mazonian t'oca.
' Jlist.ory
Tlw fi rsl rcp ort whic h refl' rs to Uw u s<' o f cu<"a in
1111·
Amaz on n·¡¡i1J11
p¡w ars to !)(' Prrorwous . Dur in~ his second voytt}.;l' ln lht· N<' w \\'o rld in
l~l9, Amé rigo Vespucc i visited the n orlhern c.:oast o r South J\ m t•rica a nd
·p orted his find in gs in a ll'tter to R enato IJ. Uw llukt• of Ln rt' na (!\avarrl'L('.
Vespucc i disc rnh<UkPd so m PwhN<' u nan u nitk nlifi cd is la nd fif lt'<·n
:c~'1 1es off '.hP coast, acc:o rdin g to his cakulations. l lt • wrok lhal th" in ha h :111\s of the island were " the most bestial and ignoran t i>u l al. tlw "lllH' lilll<'
'" most k ind and ¡wace- lo vin g of ali ". lil' also wroll· that t.lwsc Jn dians
1híl ually dww<:>d a cntain green hcrb a lo ng wíl\1 a whílt• " rlour ". Tlwsl'
t ides were c arricd at t h c be lt Íll two small gnu rd s, OIH' for Llw lwrh a nd
w for the "flour". WhilC' ch c wing the hPrb, tllC'y c on linuall y applied till'
lnur" to the mouth with a s mall stic k . l t is ohv io us l.hal VPspucci was
>cribing thc chewing of coca leaves wilh powckn•d linw. "hich lw took
~8 0).
he " llour " .
Navarretc , who was s kcp t ical o f much o f Vr·spu cc i's r"lio rtín g. 11 0 1H'
·less calculated thc loc:ation o f t h e unnam Pd ís land from th(' C'Ot1rsP dt•··ihed in Vespucci's jnurnal, and decidcd that. it h ad to h<' !\l a raj o> Jsland
t he Amazon est.uary. Navarrete lo catcd tw o previous landin gs on tlw sanll'
198
Fig . 1. Eryt hroxy lum coca var. ipadu . l, h abit uf plan t. 2, flow cr with une pela ) remo vNI
3, peta] sh owi n g ligule , adax ial vi t; w_ 4, androec iu m , staminal Lube opencd up .showing
denliculate margin. 5 , gynoe c ium , sh o wing ov o id -oblon g sti gm a. Drawi ng by L . T. Bates.
voyage at the lslan d o f Sao Luis o n thc coas t of n o rth eastern Brazil and th•·
mouth o f the Rio Pará, th e sout.h ern branch of th e Amazon estu ary.
A number o f later authors have repeated Navarrete's interp retation as
being factual, rath er than th e result o f speculalion bascd o n highly question ·
able report ing {Bües, 1935; Naranjo, 1974 .
The coca description given by Vespucci conform s very well with the
custom of ch ewin g whol e coca leaves with powdered lim e , which was widespread along the Caribbean coast o f South America at the arrival o f the
European s and still persists th cre today {Plowman, 1979a). Ifowever , this
1 9~ 1
ml'thod of using coca is vPry unl ikP that Pn1ployPd in th t• Amazon; in fact.
the chewing of wholl' col'a leaves with powdcrt>d liml' h as never lieen reporlPd fo r this region.
lt secms most prohahlP that Vespucci's descript io n of coca cht•wing
applies to inhabitants of the n orthern coast of Sout h America_ This is
supported by ano ther intcresting point in his descriplion o f tlw coca chl'W·
ing inha hitants. He mcntioned that the re was n o frl'sh watl'f avail al>l <> on th e
ísland ami that. the nativPS chc wed the herh to assuag<' their lhirst . Thi,.;
wou ld hardly seem to apply to the wet trop ical climalP of tlw H.io l'ar:i.
Patiíio (1967) apparen tly realized this error síncl' h e attributes Vespucc i's
descriptío n to the Indians o f Paría, an aríd peninsula on lhe easternmost
coast of Venezuela*.
Th e first well documented reference to J\mazonian """ªuse datt•s from
1740 and was recently brought to light in Pa tii\o 's (l9G7) encydo¡wdi"
writings on the history of c ult ívated pla nts in So uth ,\ mPrica. He qu oks a
liltle kno wn work in which a kind of baptismal cere m ony is descrilwd a mong
tlw PPhas tríhe o n thl' Rio A mpiyaeu in Amazonia n l'Pru , during tlw Pra of
th<' J esu il mission s (l\!agnin , 1940):
" Thc ~odmot her takt•s él litll c µow der('d coca with h l'r fin i:ns and p!ael's it in t h 1·
mouth of th l' ¡!oddaughtt'r. Slu• Own chws tfw sanw wi!h Tlw mo!lw r o f tlw ehild, and rnit·
liy one, to all tlw rest of dw itwitnl gu t•s ts. The Cf'rt'mon~' is ,·o nclu clt•d \Vith thP u su:1l
d1inkin._: and dancing."
Alt hough th e !'ellas t rihl' is praetícally <'Xtinct. co1 ·a is still wid<•ly e ultivated and Pmp loyed hy Sl'vPral oth e r tríhPs wh ich 1ww inhahít tlw Rio
,\ mp iyacu , n otahly tht• Hora and \Vitoto . lt is sign ifican( , as nwntinnl'd hy
l'ati11o, thal tlw coca dpscrilwd hPre is takl'n in pmnlt•n•d fonn , t lw c harac 1i•ristic n1ethod of preparation in A1nazonia .
Tht· first d escriptio n of thP p rt>paration a n d u se o f .·\maz unian coca
wa~
•uhlished in 182:-, hy Francisco Javier RíbPiro t!r· Sampaio, fornwrly 1.lw
·•ortugut•se administrato r of t h <• Provínce of Uw Jlio :-.;,.gro. During
;,•ptemhPr l\l · 21, 1774, Rihe iro de Sampaio paid an offic iaJ visit l" tlw
1Hlian sc.ttlerrent at Ega (now called Tf'f{· ) al th <• eonílul•nc-r• of tht• Rio
·urús with thP Río Solimo Ps, and made t h<' fo ll o wi n~ oliservations o n l'Oca :
" Amon g tht• v:-i.r ious cusl o ms wh ich 1 observed a m o ng 1-hl' lndi a n s of thi s vilL..1g1 · was
iat of ipadú ahou t wh ic h 1 will relate as much as I was a l1ll' to ascPrt.ain . l padú is ;1
'anl of medium h e igh t tht' \paves of which are the s izt• of thost• o f lht• la und of Europe
'llllrUS no b ilis L] and which snvf' to prPpare th e s u hstan cc o f t lH' sam1• na mt~. Aftn
·!n i{ toas ted, th e leaves art> redut.·1'.d Lo a powder in a morta r a ncl p c s tle ; l th1.• powtlPr 1 is
·pn mix e<i wi t.h t h1• asht•s of the
lt~avrs
of a m haub<'ira 1s¡wcies o f Ce rro¡Jia or
• Note added in proof
In a recen t article , Vila c;trcfull y traces the nav igaliunal enursí' oí V espuc('i a u d
·mo ns lrates th a t he <lid in fac t e nter t he Amazon estuary and proC('(' d farther sou t h
·mg lht' coast u f Braz il. Furthnmo re, h e locales Ves p u('ci'.s d t'sn iption of coca e h t>w
R o n the Gu ajira Penins ula in we~lem most Venezue la and id('ntifirs thf' coca chl'wers
(;uaj iro Indians (M .-A. Vi la, La Carta df'I 18 d e Julio de 1 :JOO d e Am (•riro V('sp w · io,
¡/ct in ll istórico, Fundac ión Jolw Hou lton , Ca racas, :.!H ( J9 7:! J ;-, · :,o).
200
Pouroumo J. Wit. h t.hi s mosl suJ,llt• pow<lt•r o f a ¡.:rct• ni sh <:olor, illl'y fil! lln• it· moulh :-. a...:
with tobacco, so t.hat tlwir ch t>Pks appear sw oll l' l1 . Lit t. IP hy !i t.U l• t lw y swallow th is
powdcr, lmt tlwy n •n (' w it. as il c!iminishl'S in th1> mouth, so th .al thc dH•t.'ks art> ahvay s
krpt full.
"The virtu es of ipadú are, it is s aid, to ov ercome sll• epint' Ss w ith out ca using h:.i rm
for l ack of slccp, ancl for this rcason thc ln dia ns u s1~ lhis sin j!u lar remedy al ni ~hl, an d
th1•y mak(' much ;tdo ahoul il an<l en jo y il. Thus th ey kecp üwmst•lves in a SWl'1'L tor pidity , which the Am e ricuns \o.:ho liv e in Uw tro pi cs hold in th(' highest l'slt't'm ."
The nex t imp orta nt con trihu tio n to tlw stud y of Amazonian coca was
made hy von Mart ius during his expedi t io n to th e Amazon in t hc y~a rs
1818 - 1820. In the monumental work Rei.•e in Rrasilien (Spix and l\·l artiu s,
1831) , Martius dcscribed in c arcful detail th e cultivatio n and prcparatio n of
coca al E¡¡a during hi s visit there in 1819 . Par! of his informative accou n l is
translatcd as follows:
"On a hill s lrippf'fl uf fon·.sl sout.h of thP villai.w, I found ttw first plant of thc
ypadú plant a:ryfhroxylw11 co ca Lam.) , whi ch O nt' c ould <:ali th t• '\('ª bush ' of Pt> ru and
tiu• upper Marailún s in ce ils icaves sho w a similar sl imulant effec L. Tlw l hn•< •· fooi ·h il!h
stems wert- at thc end of a rossa j cullivalNl c ll'arin J! J, \\•hich al so conta ine d many vint!.s <
m aracujá ( Passiflo ra maliformis L.) which w t> n' fu l! of l'xn•l!Pnt fruit. The y Wt>rt' planh·d
in rows three fpet ap a rt c:m d , as it aµµcan•d, t ht·~· rt' C(' ntl y and o f Lc n Wt>re roUh<•d of lhl' it
le;tves. Thf" lc:-ivP-s wer(' thc .si z t• of chcrry lrt't.' !cave s, palt• g'rt' t'n in color Pncl of a d1•lica\1 ·
t ext urc . They ha d an her bal l:..i st f', whieh aflt• r a whil t~ in th~, mouth lwcamc bi ltt•r- swel' 1
a n<l somewhat a.strin¡!f!nt , ;rnd a plrasa n t aro ma . Th t• le an.•s wer (~ k1' p l by th e lnd ians in
lht• shadt:' o r on the roa5tin~ pan . 'I'hf'y roas{t>d t.lw [(>;\Vl'~, dri t•d tlwm , tht•Jl firwly pulwr
iz e d them in a wotnl f' n m ort.a r, eit h t ~ r a!on1' or witb thP ashl•s of th c l<'aVl'S o f Ci'cropia
pe/tala . T lwy µ rf>sNvf>d the powde r in a hol low hamhoo sh.:i fl (tahoca ). "
Durin g his sojourn in the Am azo n , :\1 artius also collPcted Uw first
herhariu rn spPcinwns of Amazonian coca whil'h ar<' pres<'rvt'cl today al tlw
Botanisc:hes Staatssammlun g, Munich. T hesi• coll<>ctions Wl' rc madt> on tlw
Rio J apurá and on th e Río Solimócs near Ega and Sao Paulo d e Oliwn r;a.
Martius' last irnportant wo rk on coca was his taxonomic treatmenl oí
l he Brazilian species of the genus Eryl h roxy lum published in 1843. ll ere ¡,,
d esc ribed th e coca plant in grPat dPtail and includt'd hoth th e Peruvian and
Amazon ian varietics und er tlir name F,ry/hrox y lum coca Lam . He prnvid,., ;
a line drawin¡( which was mad e from h is own collPctio ns . Althou~h tlw
illustration is inaccura tc in certain detail s, su ch as th<:' acuminalP lea f ap<'X.
rep rcsrnts the first illustration of Amazonian coca.
Only o n c other noteworthy study o f Amazonian coca was m ade in lh
19th ccntury . Th is was the work of thc indl'fatigahle bot.anist Ri chard
Spruce who encountcred coc a d urin g his t ravels on the Rio Negro. In ,Janu
185 1, Spru c!' observed and dcsc ribed thc prcparation and use o f ipad ú on
t he Rio Janauarí, a tributary of thc lowc r Río NPgro. Although th c gPner:i
method was similar to that dcscribed by Mar ti u s at Ega, Spruce added
certain n ew details such as a description of lhe spec ial mortar and pestl•
used to pulverize dried coca leaves . lle also portrayed th e often amusin,
scene of t.aking coca powder in to the m o uth (Spruce , 1853a, 1908) .
·-) f .' r y t11ro xyl1011 coca \'<H . ipacl1L Original Sp t'l' inw11 L:.,l l1·l· t1·d h ) l!iclr ;1r tl ~ ¡in wt ·
7 8 ) on t h c Hio J;nw u :1rí, affiU(' IÜ of Hio '.'J t•1-: r 11. H r~1 ·1 il. H o~·.d HoT ;o 1i1 · l ;:1r d ~ · n -.
FiC'ld !v1useum Ne ga t iv<' No . 5 5a:t!J.
A.long with h is obsPrvat.ions, Spru cf' also cn llt ·t"t1 ·d a sam p l\ · nf ( '() ( · ; 1
,·der on the H.io J anauarí, which h t' sentina gL1ss jar Lo t h\ ' K t> \\' '.\ 1u s<\ t11~1
dwmical analy sis {SprucP, 1 8 5 31J, 185·1). This s;1111p iP was ;wc01n p a1> inl
202
by an h erbarium specinwn wh ich lw eollc>dN.l as a vouclwr s¡wcimcn und"r
the samc number (Spruce 78). This spccim e n <'Vf'ntually found its way in lo
the gnneral herbarium al Kc w and r<'main s thP only extant Spruce collection
o f Amazonian coca .
In 1855, Spru ce wrote from Brazil that he was sending a st'cond samp!.,
of coca powdcr (Spruce 165) coll ected at Urubucoáru above t.he second
cataracl on th e Rio Vaupés (Spruce, 1855). We know that this material
reach ed the Kew Museum and was stored there fo r at least 30 years.
Thud ich um , in a review article on coca in 1885, mentioned that he persona].
ly exam ined two ful! bottles of coca powder catalogued under this number,
and even tastcd the powdcr alo ng w ith B. D. Jackson, then Curator.
A search fo r lhe original Spruce collections o f coca powder was ini tiated at the Kew Economic Museum in l'arly 1980 al my request . Unfortu nately both collections were found to be missing (S. Mayo, personal communication, 1980).
Since the seminal studies of Martius ami Spruce, numerous bolanists,
anthropologist s and travelers have visitcd the no rt hwest Amazon and rccordcd similar descriptions of the cultivatio n a nd use o f J\mazonian coca.
Thesc workers havc added many ncw et.hnographic dPtails lo o ur knowlPdg•
o [ thc custom of taking powd ered coca and have uncovPrcd intcresling differences among diffcnmt indigenous groups. Outstanding among thcse arv
th e following works upon which 1 havP drawn informa t ion given in suhsequ ent parts o f this paper: Hardenburg, 1910; Koch-GrünhNg, 1923;
Tessmann, 1930; Du cke, 1946; Goldman, 1943 ; UscáLPgui, 19G 'I; Sdrn l!Ps.
1957, 1977 ; Sal sPr, 1970; Prancc, 197 2; Gan:'1a -Barriga, 1975: Weil, 1!l7 r>.
1976; Ho lmstcdt et al., 1979.
Th e first syst.emat.ic, phylochcmical and pharmacologkal st.udi Ps on
Amazonian <.:oca were undert.aken during the 1977 Alpha l! elix ,\ rnazon
Bxpcdition Phasc V il , under the dirl'clion of R. E. Schull<•s and B.
Holmskdl. These studies werP carricd out in Amazonian PPru o n lhl' !Uo
Ampiyacu, liH' same arca whcrc J\mazonian coca was fir st. ohserved in t.111'
early 1700s. Thio work, employing modern Pquipm cnt and innovativP
tcc hniques, provided the first alkaloid analysis of Amazonian coca }(•avt>o a•
the powdcr d er ivcd from them (Ho lmst.edt et al., 1979). This study also
reported the first measurement of cocainc in blood aft<>r chewing hoth t·oc
leaves and coca powd er. After 1 20 yrars, Spru<.:C''s inl<' rest in thl' chcmical
com posi tion of 1jwdú has finally bee n fulfill ed.
3. Geographic distr ibution
The prcsent distrihut.ion of Amazonian coca is not known in much
detail. In sorne cases, it is not clear from ethnngraphi c reporls wheth er or
n ot coca is takcn in who le Jeaf or in powdercd form. Furthermore, it is
pro bable that coca was used more extensively when th e first Euro pcan s
ente red the Amazon valle y. The post-Conquest, massive annihilatio n of n:
2 0;l
tiVl' groups along lhe m~jor rivers immeuiat.Pl y aÍl<•r ('!J11[a("[ ha s dt'pr ÍWU U S
or an y dt'tails of the li ves or thi·se tri hes, lbeir custon1' :111d 11 H' ir uses o r plan ls .
Severa! maps have been publishcd which indicalt• Uw distriln1tion or
coca use in th e Amazon rcgion, but t hese arP for tlw most parl ou t uf d al.t>
(Walger, 1917;Tschirch, 1923 ; Tessmann, 1930 ; Cooper , Hl4:1; Uscálc·gui,
1954 , 1961) . As coca chewing groups have becn decimal c>d by t.he "'"'roachment of white civilization or have moved away from till'ir a11cPs lral land s. so
have the distribution patterns of coca use changed. 1\ modem survcy of native coca chcwing groups in the Amazon is very muc h ne<·ded 1,,.fore '"" can
determine the present extent and distribution oí t.lw cust.om.
Bascd on herbarium collcctions made over thp past 150 ycars . it is pos sible to delimit those areas wh ere Amazonian co ca h as been ¡:lro wn in tlw
past, although the plant may nol occur there at prcsent. There ar<' also many
areas where coca is cu ltivated in lhe Amazon whcr<:> no holanisls h ave made
adequate coJ.lections of the plants. Such collcclio1is ar1' much d csir('d for a
more dctailcd study of the morphological variaiion in i\mazonian "º"ª·
['hose areas which have becn documenled wi th lwrlmrium s¡w ci nwns are
listed in Plowman (1979b) (see Fig. 3) .
In the eastcrn Amazon , Amazonian coca is infrpquent and grown o nly
nn a limited scale . Th e leaves are prescntly u sP<l in t.hi s area o nl y as a folk
n·medy tak en in t eas. The plant has becn coll PclPd primarily in Uw vi cinity
.,f Belém where it is still sold in local markets (~1. E. van d Pr lk rg, p<'rson al
··ommunication, 1980). One collection o[ thP plan t. is known from Sant.an"ni.
\l presenl, wc have no eviden ce that coca is ch l'wed a s a slimulant in t.h,•
·astern Am azon .
By contrast, Amazonian coca is widely dist.riliut<·d in Uw wc•sl<·rn
\ mazan where il is cultivated a nd uscd by a numher o f nat ive ¡.,rroups in
\ •ru, Brazil, Colombia, and possibly easle rn Ecuador. TIH• plan l first. ap¡wars
'nng th e Rio So lim o cs ncar Manaus and occ:urs sporadically weslw:ml (.o
\Ui t.os in Peru. Along thc soulhern tribu laries o f t lw n1a in ,\m azu n, coll <•c' "lS are known [rom th e Rio Purús an d t.he Río ,Juru:í. North uf tlw Amazon .
>ca is found along most. of lhe majar lributariPs induding llu• j{io h,·ú (ltio
1quPlá in Colombia), Rio Japurú (Rio Putumayo and Rí o Apaporis in
>lombia ), Rio Ampiyacu, Rio Napa and Rio Nanay, as wdl as along mos L
!' th eir amuents. i\mazo nian coca is also extensively gro wn in t.he upper H.io
,•gro, parlicularly along th e Rios Vaupés and Tiqui& and lhcir tri hui.aries.
No attempt will be made here to lisl in detail all lh1> trilH's which arp
1own to empl oy Amazoni an c oca powder. l wi ll nwnti o n only thP foll o win g
nich have bcen mentioned in severa! general works: Brazil: Makú, Tukano.
1yuka, Tsóloa, Marauú; Peru: Wito to , l\·l uina1w. Okaina. llo ra , Om agu " :
dombia: Cubco, Tukano, Ban\ Barasana. Mukuna, f{o síggaro , Yukuna,
1
raii a, Yahuna, and Vv'itoto.
llotany
Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu Pl o wman, Bo tan ical Muse1w1 / ,ca/'lels
flarvard University , 27 (1979) 45 - 51.
204
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'e
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Fil,! . .i . Jungle c l<'a ri ng plan ted with J\.m a,wnia n ('O('a . Near J\1i t li ,
Phol-o graph !,y E. W Davi ~.
Vaupé~ ,
Coh >mhi a.
Ty¡w: Pe ru: l kpt. Lorl'to: Prov. \1Hynas . l{io ,. \m¡iiyani, PLH.· a Lrqui!lo
and vieinil y. ;, Apri l 1977. T P/011 •11w11. li . F . .'i1"h11 /!1 •.- K !) _ To Par
6663 (h n loty p1', ECO 1 ; iso1y ¡H's , F . <:11. 1.; .. 10. S, ll. l ' S.
US:vl)*.
Cotnmon namt•s : ipad ú, pádu ( Ama1.011ia11 Bra1.ilJ : ( '_O('ª ( ¡\rn azo nia n
Pt·ru);j(/ie, jib(na (Witoto, PPTu) : ip i ( llor:i . 1'1· rn):f)(Íl11 l ('i 1li<•o,
Co lomb ia), bol(i (~laku. Brazil ).
¡\ d<'laih:d hot.a nü..: aJ dt'sc ript.iun has aln·ad y IH'l ' ll gi vt ·n for . \ rn:t1. <1! 1i; 111
nw a (f'lnwman, 1~J79h) and JH)Pd not IH ' repp;tl vd h1'n'. TI H~ n· an· st·vt·Lil
mo rphoi ogica! characte rs whic h :-;('fVt ' t.o di sl í11 ~ ui s h .\:11;i zo11ian coc a f /~' .
<'oca var. ipadu) [rum typical /\n(kan coca(/·,', coca var. roen ). 111 .'\1na l( 1n!an
('Oca, the hranchl's are usually slt>ndPr and quit.(' (Tc ·<·t , with s ¡iarsc dc'VPlo¡:nw nt or lhP scale-likP ratn Pnta a t t lw
Tlw ii-<I V"S ctr<" ll'ltally liroadlv
"ll iptic and rou n ded at lh<> ap•' X. Thc " p;irallt>I li11 1-s"' .-!1arat"t<·ris lic of /·,'. coca
var. coca are o ft pn faint or even lacking in UH' :\1 na zo nian var il'ty. T ii1· pt'd J('i' l
is nft('ll sho r tr· r a ncl thl' slatninal eup surrounc!in g ti a' 1n' a ry h a ..; tf •n tri;m:!Ular LPcth at. t.ht• margin. Fina!Jy, ihe s t.ig-rna of ,\111 ;1"1.<JJ\Ían (·nea is u ftl' n
'.arg<'r and hroadf'r lhan in llw lypical varil'ly
"ª"'-
* llt>rhari a ahhrf'v ial. inn s :1n• t:i t t·d :u:cor d in ¡.! to ll ultn !..;r.- 11 ;n:d
;1'e rbarinno11. 1~7 · 1 .
K1 •1 1~..1 · n,
/111/<' x
206
Plan ts of Amazonian coca were ¡,'fown from cuttings colle<:tcd in
Amazonian Peru and in the Colomhian Vaupés under uniform grecnhouse
conditions, along with plants of Andean E. coca grown from seeds. The
plants of var. ipadu retained their distinctive morphological features as
ohscrved in the original habitat. This suggests that the Amazonian variety
is not mercly a form of typical E. coca growing under extreme environ·
mental conditions in Amazonia, but rather a genetically stahle variety.
Amazonian coca, like its Andean counterpart E. coca var. coca, is
distylous and sel f-incompatible. Numerous attempts to self-pollinate severa]
differcnt clones failcd to produce fruit. lt is clear that l>oth long· and short·
styled morphs are required for successful pollination and fertilization.
Although lon g-styled plants of Amazonian coca were unavailable, experimental crosses under controllcd conditions were carried out between
short.-styled Amazonian coca as thc female parent and long-styled plants
of Andean coca as th e mal e paren t . Th esc crosses yielded fert.ile seed which
produced normal seedlings. From pmliminary observations, there appcar to
be no strong genetic barricrs bctween the two varieties of E. cuca.
Andean Ery throxy lum cuca is o ften found growing in t hc und ersto ry
of secondary and primary forests in the man ta1ia of eastern Peru and
Bolivia, where it appears either asan escape from cultivation or as fcral or
semi-wild populations (Plowman, 1979a, 1980). On the othcr hand ,
i\mazonian coca d oes not su rvive in thc dPnSl' sccondary growth which
rapidly grows hack wlwn a cultivated ficld is abandon ed . In two mon ths of
fiPld work in lhe Rio Ampiyacu, wh cre J\mazonian coca is widely cultivated.
l found no individuals growing away fr om actively cu ltivatcd fields, in spitc
of intf'nsivc scarching in adjacent woods. In addition, I have found no clear
cxamplcs of wild-growing Amazonian coca amon~ the many herbarium
specimens which 1 havc examined. The inability of this varicty to persist
in sccondary growth may rc sult frorn a nurnbcr of factors, including a lack
of shad<' to lerancc anti thP inability to cornpdte with the vigorous SPcondary
vcgctation.
Even in cultivation, Arnazonian coca tends to be a relativ<.>ly wcak plant
when comparcd with Ancl ean E. coca. Older plan ts lose thcir vigor after a fo11
yPars ancl frcquently become weak and dis<'ased. The plants are furthcr
dehilitated by constant picking of the leaves, rapid depletion of soil nutrient'
and infestation with plant and inscct pcsts (Plowrnan anti Weil, 1979). Planta
lions rnust be continually rcncwed, not only to improve the vitality of the
plants but also to accornmodate the shífting syslPrn of agriculture ("slash
anc.l l>urn") which prevails in tlw Amazon.
Amazonian coca must be propagated Pnti rely frorn vegetative stem
cuttings. Viable seeds are rarPly produced in most areas of cultivation i11 tlw
western Amazon. Even when scemingly rnalure fn1its are found, t.Iwy invari<•
lack embryos . This lack of fcrtility is du<• to Uw a hsPnce, in any om· an•a, of
hoth stylar forms o f the varicty.
In the western Amazon, almost al! specirnens of Amazonian coca provl'
to be short-stylccl plants. Since propagation is by cuttings, ali the plants in
Fig. f>. {•,'rytf1roxylum coca var. ipadu . St ragg'l y h;l liit uf an old plan t of 1\nw 1,on i;1n i·uca
¡.:ruw n 1 ,~, thC' ('ubco 1nd ians. llíu hu bi yú , Vaupt'•s, Colombia . Phn t o !.(raph h~· J.: . \ \' J) ,,~·i"
any o n e planlat io n are• like ly Lo he dl'rivcd frorn t llf• sanw d o n<' ancl show
thc satnt' s t y lar fo rm . 'J'lw rl' is lhercfon• ll (l pnssibilily of f<>rtilizaticJ11 ,.i1 w <'
lo n g-sty led planLs appear lo"" m issin >r frorn UH' an·" · L<>n g-st y led ll l(ll"ph s
of An1azonian coca havc hef'n fou nd on ly in tlH· t•ast.('rn ..\m uzon in t.i1P
Bel<"rn aren. Presu n1ahl y, if tbt • east('rn and w t•stt•rn .:\ m a·1.1_1nian f<irrn ;:; \\'('rv
hrough t t.o gpth er and crossPd , sPxual n•prod uctio11 111 '!\\.<'!'ll thi• m \vould
prN"l'Pd normally.
Cu t.t.ings of A n1 azun ia11
COl'H
r oo t very ('asil y.
T!11·y
al :-;o
ri· L~Ji n
tlw ir
via l.>ili ty for sevt•ral w,.•e ks if kcpl rn o isl. ln c u 11 tr;1s l., it is diffi c u lt (u rn<>l
a11d t ran sport eullings o f th e Andean variel.y o l" F . 1·uca. 1\l1h uugh onl \"
liniit<'d data are availablP. o n this c h ar ad.1·r istic, it Sll!'g<>sl.s thal clo1ll"s or
,\mazonian coca may have h<'Pn sd eclecl ovl'l' 1.h e y pars t <> fa<" ili tal<' v1·gc·1atiw rcproduction by stPm c u ttings, all o wing shíft in g agr ll"11l1uralis t.s to carry
coca propagules fro m site to sitC' without losing llwir st <>c· l<s.
Amaz:onian coca as it o ecurs i o <lay approad1<'s t.hP d t>fin it-l<Jll or ;1 lru P
cultigf'n in vic w of its aµpan·nt inabilit.y to survivt> i11 nat. un' an d to n·produn•
withou t man 's intervl?nlio n .
208
5. Chemistry
Amazonian coca has bel'n analyzPd for its alkal oid contpnt, primaril y
for the alkaloid cucaine. Th e lcaves o f this vari Ply contai n consislenll y luwer
am ounts of cocaine lhan those of Andcan E . coca, wilh approximat.ely o ne hal f to one-third the amoun ts found in And f'a n coca.
Durin g lhe 1977 Alpha Heli x Amazon Ex pedi tio n Ph ase Vil, my
cullcagues L. Rivier and J.-E. Lind gren examin ed the cocaine cot1LP nt of
sevt>ral coll ectio ns of Amazonian coca grown on th e Ri o Ampiyacu, Peru .
Th e frpsh ly a ir-dried !caves of th cse smnples showed a cocaine content ranging from only 0.11 % t o 0.3 9% cucaine. These valu es compare favoralily
wilh an earlier study in which coca leaves fr o m the Colo mbian Amazo n
showeu a similarly lo w cocai ne cu nten t o f 0 .3,1% (Ilolmsted: et al., 1977 ).
Amaz o nian coca plants from l\litú, in the Colombian Amazon, were
also grown in th e grecnhouse unuer uniform co nd itio ns. Thc dried leavcs
from lwo of these plan ts conlained 0 .36% and 0.41 % cocainc , r!'spectively.
At the sa me time, plants o f AndPan E. coca from castern Peru and Bolivia
wPre grown under the same condi t io ns. Thcse showed co ns istP ntl y hi ghN
percen tagcs of cocaine in lhc dried leaf, ranging from 0.51 to 0 .81.';' c. cocaine
( Rivier and Pl ow man , nn puhlished data, 1977) .
Th cse r<'sults, which will soo n be puhlish ed in dcfinitivc form, show
thal tlw luw cocain e co ntcnt of ;\mazo ni an coca is a genctically contro11"d
l rait and nol the so le result o f growing in an un fav orably hot, humid dimall'
as suggcstcd lo n g ago by Po e ppig ( 18 36) . As di scusscd he low, the low
amount uf cocaine found in Amazonian coca may have lecl to thP unusual
pradi ce of pulverizin g tlw dric>d ll•af lll'forc usP, in order to rPn<IPr the
availahll' alkaluid rnon• effcctivc>.
(i.
Origins of Anu1zonian coc a
From the fo rr•going d iscussion, il lwco1m•s incn·as in~ly t•viclt•nl lhat
Amazonian co c a is no ta nativc elen1e11t o f th0 Arnazon fo rP st. Th is asS(' ftiun is ilasPd on its rPlativl'ly poor adaplalion to llw tropical lowlands, on
its inahility to c o mpe te \•vith thr native v0gPtatiun, on th~· rplativ e scan.: ity
of long-st.y!Pcl individuals essentia l for sex ual reprodudion an d on thc
pl ant's dept ndenc c on n1an for its co n tinuPU su rvival.
Mart.ius stated in his o rigi nal rí'po rl o n coca that. lw n<·ver saw it growing w il d in llu• J\n1azun and he li ~ved Uiat it- was in tro duePU fro1n PPru
(Sp ix m1d Marliu s, 1831), a vie w whi<:h 1 full y support. llis ""ntrn1ptir<try
Pocppig (1836) conside red t ha t. t.he distrihut.ion of eoca was clos<'ly
cial.<'d wilh tlw spread of tlw In ca Em pire. lle wa s su rpriscu t.o find coca al
Ega a nd Sao Paul o d e Oliven<;a o n the llio Solim ocs ami suggest.ed t.hat tlw
introduclion of coca in to Brazi l mu st he o f comparativPly m odt•rn d ate .
Gutiórrez-Noricga an u von Hagl'n ( 1950, 1951) aclvanccd llw t.lwory
th at Erythroxylum coca arose in the Am azo n JUngles wh!'re the in digc nous
tribes discowred ils stimulat.ing effects . They furt.h er staled that t.lw plants
1
ª'°º-
and llw n1stom o f coca chcw ing wcrc lat.<'r ca.rrií'd to th0 Ancles but o l'ferPtl
no botanieal or anthropological ev i dPnct~ t-o su bst.anliate thPir 1.hPtJry.
Sprucc (1908) wrotc of finding "tru ly wild'' Frylhroxy/11111 coca on
the banks of the Río Guainía near T on10, now in Co lo1nhia . 1Iowt>V('r , rPcPnl
cxamination o f his spccimens (Spruce 356.5) at l<Pw, shows that this planl
hclongs to E. cataractarum Spruce PX Pt'yrit.sc h, a di stinctivc wild s1wcit'S
which Spruce himself re co gnized for the first Linw. Thi s spt'cÍt's has ht'<'ll
shown to contain no cocaine (Holmstl'dt et al., 1D77).
My earlie r studies h avc shuw n t hat Frylhro:ry/111>1 coca is nat.ivt• to llw
montaña of the castc rn Andes, possihly in l'Nu or Bolivia. 1 l•'r<' tlw plan!. wa .,
takPn into cu ltivation in thc distant past by Uw incligPnous t.rilws of tlw an·a
and dispersed throughout th e castern Andes from Ecuador so uth to ,\rg<•111. i11a
(Plowman, 1979a) . As thc cultivation and clwwing of coca spread Lhrou ~ liottl
Lhc monlaíia, thc plant was a lso carriPcl into llw Amazonian lowland ; . Grad .
ual adaptation to the new climati c and so il c'onditions lt•d to llw <'V<'ll lual
develoµment of a distinct variety, through re peat.Pd introductions of ,\nclea11
stoc ks and subsr.quent artificial sclection . Curiou sly thrre are no an·as
today wherc µopulations of Ande an E. coca growing in the foothill s nf t.lw
Andes ovcrlap wiLh populatio ns of the 1\mazunian va ri<'ly . Fully ferLile
hybrids would be cxpccted in s uch an·as.
Wt• have little hasis fo r proposing whPn or hy whal routP f•:. coca diffused in to the An1azon l owlands, nor do \\'(' kno\v C' Xa l't.l y ,..,..¡,(;n ' or wht'n
Arnazonian coca first arose as a dist.ind. varit·ty. St•wral r<'l'Pnt a11thors li;iv<'
postu la tcd hoth carly and late origins of :\mazonian C•JCa, based priniaril~·
on ethnographic nnd lin b'llistic evidenc<'.
In discussing the t.irne scal<' for thP arrival of coca in Uw .\ma zon ,
Uscálegui (1954) cmµhasized the st•cular natur<' uf J\mazonian ··oca use.
1le claimt>d that liltl e ceremony or ri tu al ac-co111pani 1•s coca usi• in tlw
Amazon, in <..:o ntrast lo And('an co ca dH' \VÍn g \Vhi ch is int>xtricahly involv¡•d
Wi toto <L' tlw only
A mazonian coca usin g trihe which hnve myt.h s rdating- to <'oca, and ('VPll
t.h('se, hl) c ontinu ed, may be o f rdativ<:_•\y rt•c P 111. origin. l 1scút1•gui cnnduded
lhat coca in thP Colombian i\n1azon n1ay gn hack as ft•\\' as Lhfl'<' gf'!1f"ra tinn ;-; .
Sine<' thP dl'lailcd study of Uscalegui, W<' hav<' Sl'<'ll tlw puhlication o f
two cx haustive work s on the cosn1ology, tnyths and drug ~ taking rituals uf
with cultural and religious traditio ns. lit> poínL<·d out
ti"'
•lie Tukano Indians of thc Colombian Yaup(·s h y lll'ie hel -Dolnrntorr ( 1~lí1 ,
l\J75). ll e h as demonstrated that th e Tukanos, who are avid coca chPWt'rS.
have ind1~ed incorporated coca in to ttwir mythology. induding tlw Crl'at.ion
\ lyLh . This fact wou ld co nLradict UscÚ l.t'gui 's v1rw !hat coca pb,·s only a
'í'c ular rol<' in the da ily lives of these ¡woplP.
Salser (1970) wrotP o n tlw use ofcoca an11rng tlw Culir•c1, :inollwr gruup
>f the Colombian Vaupés, an<l it was his hel id lhal 1·oea was a n·lativdy r<'c<'n•
trrival among t hi s trilw , possihly as r!'centlyas Ll1<.• lil'ginníng of t.his century.
However, he a lso slated t hat Lhe plan l. could have been cullíva t<'d rnu c h
·arliPr by neighboring trilH's, since Lhe Culwo ilwm st>lvPs affirrn lliat llwir
·oc:a originatPd with the Karaparaná tri lH' ur Llw H.i<> l'i r"par;ltlÚ .
210
Ducke (1946), on th e olhcr hand, be!ieved thal coca hada long history
in Amazonia and stated that it was introduced in a "very remo te epoch " .
He based his idea on the existence of the native Tupí name ror coca, ipadú .
Clearly this question cannot be easily resolved with thc limited information available . From historical records, we know that coca has been use<l in
pow<lered form for at least 250 years. 'Ihe developme nt of Amazonian coca
as a distinct cultigen surely must have preceded this report by severa! centuries. Although we have no archeological evidence for dating the agc of
Amazonian coca, a renewcd inquiry into thc ethnography and linguist ics
of coca use among diffcrent Amazonian groups may shed light on this difficult problem.
7. Cultivation
There are important p oints of differcnce betwet•n the metho<ls of
cultivating Amazonian and Andean varieties o f E. coca. In th e i\ndean
montaña, typical E . coca is almost always sown from sPNls. The ripe drupes
are culled from the debris left after harvesting and drying the leaves, and
immediately plantee! in specially tended nurseries. E. 11ouogranale11se and
its variety lruxillense are propaga ted similarly.
In the Amazon, on the other h and, the plants are always grown from
cuttings, as mentioned earli er. Lengths of stl'rnS ahout 3 0 cm long and
1 cm in diametcr are cut usually after the !caves are harvested o r wlwn a
new ficld needs to be planted. These cuttings are planted about 15 cm ckep
in rows 1 m apart (Sal ser , 1970). Coca is plantecl in j•.mgle clcarings following the cutting and burning of Uw forest and is oftcn interplantcd with otlwr
staples such as maizc, yuca, sugar cane, plantains, and fruit tr<·es. Coca is
planted asan clement of every mixcd-crop chácara (clcared fiPld), bul the
re la ti ve abundance of coca to other cro ps may vary considcrahl y .
The new ly plantcd c uttings Jea f out in ahout two wePks. \Vithin six
m o nths the plants are 1 - 1.5 m tall and rcad y for the first harvl'st. This
contrasts markedly with the maturation t ime o f Andcan f:. coca which n•4uircs a minimum of two to thrN• years from secd to first harvest. In
Amazonia, the forcst chácara may be abandon<•d after one or two years
since the soil fertility decli1ws sharply after th e forest is cleared. Thc coca
shrubs may then be dug up and moved to a new field or left behind, in
which case new cuttings are taken for rcplanting in a nc wly clt'ared chácara
(Salser, 1970).
8. Method of preparation
The method of preparing Amazonian coca is remarkably similar throug
out thc uppPr Amazon , evcn among tribes that are lin guisticall y unrelated
and se paraled by great dis tanees. Thc !caves are first toasted to dryness and
~11
Fig:. 6. Hora t ribcsman ha rves ting Amazonian coca lectV('S. Br illo Nuevo. H io Y;1 ¡.!u<1:->y:.n1.
l,ort' to, P(•ru. Pho to g:raph b y ICE . Schultes .
1lw n pulvl'rizP<l. Thc rernain ing powdcr is s iftPd and mix l'd wilh ashes fro rn
l"aves o f cer t.ain p!ants to supply t h" ll<'c<'ssary a lkali11f• arlmixtun • whkh is
,_ 111 iversaJ in c oca ci1 f'win g.
Amazonian COl'a is usua11y harvested and pn·parcd in t n f'n•sli pc)\vdPr
·v0ry day. Only on e day's supply of lrav l'S is ~al111 ·n•d al a linw h<·c ausi· lile
•111al produ cl is n •lativ .. !y un si.ahle undPr w0!., tropical 1·o nd it i<> n s and n·ad ilv
ll~co n1 Ps
moldy anU dpcornpo:-ws.
o t only do1 ·s t.IH' alkaloid l·u11l(' llt r apidly
ll·d inP under ho t, humid condition s, bul Lht> JC'!icious rlavnr o f t.:oca
><iwckr is also d pstroyPd. Th e prohlem of pPri sha liili\.y of co ca 11.> av<·s in tlw
·1 ont aii.a has been rccognizPd and lamPnlf'd for a lon g tinw (Squihh, 1 883:
: ushy, 1888 ).
Amazonian coca is u sually h 'uvested in lhl' la!.<' afll'fllllllll around ;~ or
' p.m. A s pec ifi c pt ~ rso n or pcrson s 1nay bt · d(•sig na !t·d íor l h is lask, o fl(· ll
11 old er in ale or y ounger boy s. A group of nwn may t.ravd to t.h e cocn fidds
, lh ey are localed at so 1n<-' dis lancP from lhc-' vi lla~!' . The harvP:.;t ing rnay
tke less than an hour, o r if trav(• I ti1ne is n •quin·d. a s long ~1s t. wo hour~ .
~12
Fig . í Bora tribt~sman toasting i\mazonian coca l ea ve ~ in special Ct.'rarnic IJ1.nvl \vhile
chewi ng coca powder . Brillo Nuevo , H.ío Yag:uasyac u , Lorelo , Peru . Phoioj.( raph h y l.
Hi vicr.
Harvcsling may be a communal activily among nwmhNs of ali cxll'ndl'd
family , or may lw reslriclrd lo a nud par family ~ruup in which each family
has llwir o wn coC'a patch.
Al t hough c oca cu ltivalion anti usP in llw Amazon is lradilionally a
male-do1ninated activi l-y, among ePrtain ~ro up s sul' h ns the Cubeo, womPn
now pa.rlieipate in ce rlain stagf"s of tlw prPparat.ion of c oc a and liH·y may
also che w (A. T. \\'eil, pl'rsonal co mmuni cat.ion, l~l/!J) . Ca rciú-Barr iga
( 1D75) reportN1 that arnong somc1 of thP coca using LrilH• s of lh P Hio
J\paporis in Co l o 1nbia ~ t.he womt-·n do UH' harves ti ng of coca.
Since dail y harvesting is lll'CPssary, a suhslantia l numh1•r of planls
is
rPquired for a continuous supply. The !PaV<'S are rt•n1ov1.::•d by hand. taking
s pe eial can' nut to in jure t.hc tNminal hud wh ich will produce Uw '"' " l flt1 ,;h
of l<>avPs. From :JO to 507, of tlw il'aV<'S ma y '"' n'mowd from p¡¡d1 shrul1
<luring any
01w
harvest, and plan ts may lw culkd up to onct• t' Vt'ry t wo
w ee k s in good weather . [n contrast., in thc· nzontmla \'Oca is pickt.1 d kss
fn •4uc ntly, at rnost once <'Vt.•ry two month s, hul ht•n• ali t hf • leaves an· n·-
movl'd during each harvPst.
Afle r harvesti ng , tlw IPaVt'S ar<' carri ed in a wovt'n haskP t back lo the
communaJ 111a/oca or village ancl imnwtlialPl y Pmptied in to a spE'<:ial
toasting howl or numioc griddle overa low fire ror drying. Th(• leavps an~
constantly tunwd and manipulat.Prl by hand o r with a wown fan t.o ke!'p
"º""
21:i
Fi~ . 8. Bora trihes1; all pounding
~ 1.nn·o ,
toastcd coca leHvt•s in mo,· tar ami p esU 1_• (pifrín J. B r illo
Hío Yaguasya cu, Lor<'l o, Peru . Photog-raph hy H . F_ ~c hu !tPs.
!w1n fro 1n burning and to in surc· uniform dryi11g. Th ls pron•<h1n· nwy takf.'
rorn 30 m inutes, i f a sn1all quant.iiy o f IP;:ivt>s an· dri('d , tn as long as two
ours if a large qua n t ity is nt' P<kd fo r a fi<·sta.
'j'J¡ ,.
d rying pron.·ss is vPry
ritical in th e prepa.ratio n, fo r tlH' lrav Ps mu st he' dri('d slo wl y hut
t.h or ou ~li ­
·-' . T he k avt>s acquire, al t h is tinw, a p lPnsanl snwk<'Y l'lavor d 1ar:H" l•·rist.i<·
r Arnazon ian t:Ol' é.l .
When th e leavps are com pletcly d ried {.o crisprwss. Llwy an· pl:wr·d in a
1ll m ortar a.nd pestl e, madP fro m·a hanJ n •d \Vn od (Hrosin1t.a n ru/Jt'Sr'cns
aub . and spp .; known as palo sangre ) o r fro rn t.h,• trn nk ol" l h <' pcad1 rdrn
ilactris gasipaes H .B.K.) (Spruce , 18 f>a:1, l!JOK). T lw morl ar and JH'st.i<',
>llPctively k nown as th e pilón in Span ish, is d»,i¡11wd to i>P tall ami dL'<'P
• that the fi ne powder dot>s not escap<· during Lh<· pnunding. Th1 · i l'alil'S arr·
lded a few ata t im<' ami pou nded wit h u slPady t.h u mpin¡! rh yth m unt.il
1ey are comple tely pulverized . The pestl <' is sonwwhat p o inl<·d o n º "" <·nd
•r init ial pounding and blunt on thc opposil<' <'nd for fina l. mor<' Llwn >tigh
rlverizat ion.
214
Fig. 9 .
Dri~d
leaves of Cecrvpia sciaclopllylla re ady fu r hurninc lo as h which w ill in turn
ht' a<l rl cd to coca powdcr. Puca Urqui llo , Hío Amµuy¡u.· u . Lo rPl.o . Pf'ru. Pho tot.( r<1.ph by
H . E . Seh ult<'s.
Th e pound ing of th e pilón produces a sooth in i; ami rh ythmic sound
which reverherates through the forPst, from village to villagt• or frorn house
to hous<' evNy evening in coca using communities . Prance (1~!72) repo rtee!
that among the Makú the pou ndin g also has ritual significance antl is often
acco rnpanicd hy chanling.
Wh ilc th e coca is hein g pulvt>riz('d , d ead f:tll Pn leaves of a species of
Cecru piu or Po urowna (Moraceac). whi ch haV<' heen prPviously gatlwrc·d an •
dricd, are burnt>d to ash es insid e tlw hous<'. One of at lc•ast fivc spcciPs of
Cec:ropia may he Pmployed in any one area , including C. sciado ph y l/a J\1 art .
C. /atiloba Miq., C. richardii Cuatr., C. p alma ta Willd. ami C . disco lor Cuatr
Of t hese , C. sciadophy/la is u sually pref<>rrP<l and t hP most widely ut.ilizf'd .
The leaves o f th e widely cultivated frnit tree J'ourouma cecropiae(olia Man
are al so cmplo yed fo r preparin g the ash.
O ther pl an ts may al so he hurnPd to y iPld ashl' s for l'OCa ¡m•parat io n, i·
cluding gre<'n banana ll'aves (Prancc, 1972) or l'V<'n o ld palrn lhatch. Dul'h
(1916) stated that th e Indian s aliovc T ef(· on tlw So limoes takc· coca pow
dcr with o ut lim e but he undo ubtedly o vcrl ooked the initial admixturc> o f
ashes to th e powder.
Th e Cecropia IPaves are hurn cd co mpletely, leaving a fin e whitish ash .
which is sifted o nce throu gh a wovcn manio c strainter o r , if V!'ry fine after
hurning, simply add!'d to the powdl!rect coca. Th!' mixture o f powdcred en
and ashes is then placed in a doth bag ( aboriginally m ade of liark cloth) a1
t he bag placed in tum in a lar¡?!' bowl o r metal lin with part of thc> top re ·
~
1
i-'i¡.;. 10. ílora tribesman toa~ting Amaz o ni an coca on CPram ic pla l <' whil1.' !c;1v~·s of C1'(· r 11 ¡1:·
·iucloph y llu a1 ...• hurned to ash . Puca Urquillo. Hío :\n1pi>'acu, I.reHC' lo. l't>rn . l'h 111ogr:1p h
•\ H . E . Sc hultt~s.
' "ved. The bag is then agitatcd within th<' tinto sift lh e combin ed co ca
•)Wder and ash!'s. A stic k is plac<'d insidP thr hag to serve• as a bandir·. Tlw
>p of the tin or bowl is covered with a cloth or WOV('ll mat lo pn-' VPrtl tlw
JH.' powder fron1 esc aping during thP vi go rou s shaking. Tht' n·s iclu p \·\'hi"h
.!I s to sift through thc bag is thPn rPtunwd L< • tlw p i/1)11 for add itinna l
11unding. ~-1orP ash is add ed and thP mixturl' is 011ce again s lflt~ d lhrough t.ht
:o th bag in the tin. Th c rP may be four o r fivP sifLin gs durin g wh1d1 tl w
'> rous parts of Lhe leaves are complPtPly TPmov<' d, IPaving an ex t re mcl y
:ic•, greyish greC'n to bright green p o wdPr, which has Lh<· cons istr•n<·y nf
., cum powder.
The proportions of coca powdcr t o IPa f aslw s variPs appn·ciably nnd
'pends largrl y on lhe individual tasl.p of tlw clwwl'r or on LlH' cu sl.om o f
" local group. Generally il rangps from equal parls co ca and aslws lo lwicP
rnuch coca to ashes by vo lume . Tht• corwct propnrtion is judgerl hy tlw
216
color of the final mixture an<l by its r<'lat.íve slrl'ngth wlH'n tastc·d. Tl1<' mon'
ash es a<lded to the powder, the strongPr Uw final produ ct will be.
After the final sifting, th e powder is rcady for use. The c ntirc opNation
is co mpl eted about nightfall or just after dark. Following the cvening mPal,
a portion of the powder is sampled by severa] me n , a nd thc rt>mainder placed
in a tightly sealed tin can o r bamboo tu he for use the following day during
work.
9. Method of use
Coca powder mu st. be taken in a particular manncr hecause of its
extre me fin eness. It is not uncommon to choke or inhale the powder, which
resc mbl es green smoke , when first learning to chew. A heaped t.ablespoonful
is placed in one cheek cavity, while th e head is bent to one si<lc in o rd er thal
the pow<ler does noten ter t.he throat. Thc chcwer then clases his mouth for
ahout five minutes while he works the powder with bis tongue. The powder
is soon moistencd with saliva until a thick paste is forme<l. This is then
packed hetwecn the cheek and the gums with thc t onguc.
The Hora of the Rio Yaguasyacu in Amazonian Peru are accustomed to
take a swept black tobacc:o paste cal lPd a111piri with th eir coca powder.
BPsides adding flavor to the pasty quid, the tobacco, which is add ed with a
small st.ic k, appcars to stimulate salivation and great.ly facilit.ates t.hP workin~
of the <lry coca powd er int.o the proper past.y consistency.
Th e p asty wacl o f coca powdcr is hPld in the m o uth for about an hour.
lt. is ncvcr spat out as is customary in Uw Andes with a qu id o f spent coca
Jeaves but rather allowed grn<lually to dissolve. Th P juice is eventual ly
swallowed an d the eniire pasty quid imperceptib ly melts away int.o ih<'
sto mach (Schultes, 1957, 1977). A quid may, however, be replen ishPd with
more powcler befan• it loses much vol u me.
The frequency o f tak ing of coca powder vari<'S greatly from tribe to
iri bc, from individual to individual, and d epe nding on th P part icul ar activil 0
engage<l in. For normal work in thc forcst, a man may take a large mouthfu :
of coca powder threc or four tim es a day, heginning imm ediately after
breakfast. During festivals ami ot.her special occasions , far grcater amounls
will lw ingestcd.
10. Pattern s of use and effects of coca chewing
Although the use of coca powder is widespread in t.he up¡w r Amazon.
we have few firsthand accounts of its actual use and immediat.e subjec tive
effects. Martius (Spi.x and Martius, 1831 ) gave usa first <lescription of the
effccts of coca powder:
"The lndians use thi s fine, grey-green powclcr as <t stimu lanl , wilh which they fill
th ci r m ou ths from lime lo time, just lik c th c Turks do with o pium or tohacco chew ers 1
:;.: , 11. Hor<> :ribes 1nan s ift i nL! mix t ur(' 11f pow d1 •rNl l- <iL1 ,1nd 1 ·,·c- r .,pi ;1 .1 .... iw ,..: h•-.,1;i:I
.ih haa,: . Bolh hi s ch1· 1· ~s :in' ful! of en1 ·:1 po\\ .! r·r E 1 ill1 • ' 11 1·\-•'. 1\ : •. \". 1:..: 1: .: ·.-. . t• -.•• ¡ , ,. ·
r u . l'hoto¡.?"r:tph h:-· l. Hi ·..- iPr.
d i tulia1..To l t i :.;, t'~p·. ·c i :dl~- exn·!!Pn l in 11 rd1 ·r 111 :1p p» .1·,1 · di ·· Lwl. .,! ¡, .. ,d ,..- -..'. • .-p I•
··'"'":-. t!11 · :-.l'1·n·l io11 of "'ali\<t, lir in gs ;~ f,.1 ·l i11¡_: 11 1 \\ ;tt 111 rl 1 ;1 11d t ullr w''· '" •\;. · 11:,.•, !i• ;, ... •
:n;n:h ~ud dt•:iden:-. 1lw s1..•n.s;1t io11 of h u1 u!1 ' r l 11 1ltt· :-.l 1d1 l •' "' I :m1 • 11111 • . 1• • .i•~ 1 · ~ - l ll !' .... ; ,., ·
t.: . 111 ·1 ~- anti 1· 1 H · rg~, and 1h11 :- ;iris <1 s a d i"'p o·ll• ·f .. : \\ ' "'- l l• 1\\1 ·\·1· r . v.: h · ·ri ; .. k , ·r~ i11 !t 1•'
-.1 \ :1mo11n ts or hy· rw n ·ous in di..-idu:ils. it 1·:111 n -~111 1 in L 111c 1:· · . .r n l -.l •·• pl 1-.,-..1,• ·. . . -...--
Sp rucL' (185:1a, 1B08) gav v an íllTllr;1t1' d\· -.;c np! Ílll\ (if thi· Jndians' .-.; 1t l
.'. thei r l'hcl'ks with l'tn·a as Wt'IJ ·a~ t h1 ' ri '~ Lilts (d. hi s sv ]f' .1·\ 1)('rirn1·i1Ltti o¡\
·J¡ tlw powd<'r·
''A l ~ ho rt i11 t 1•n:: .l s , i¡Jmiu w;ts handt •d f f 1 ~1n d 111 ;1 l :trl'." r·,tla!i:i -.h wi!li :1 l;1hl•·..;¡1 q( • 1
··<1eh Oflf' l o ho· lp hi 111 ..,;plf, L111· l'll ~ ln n1a r:- du.-.1· lu ·1 n::. ;i n1l1p l 1' 11 1 ~. p 1 1<11 1t:i1 ,_ .\1 11 •1 1•:1 "
•· :!wy p;1,..-.st-ci MH lh.· m i nu tt>s wi l huu t OJlo' ll ill:.: : lw1c lll •1n 1l i:. . a d J uS~ 1 ·d tl w l / }{1 :/11 111 ¡ f,.
-.....~ .. s of t !Jt>ir d1t ·1·k s and i11 h;iJ111 ¡.:: it:-. d 1· li¡..:l11 l11 i n1 ;!:: 1·11 n ·_, 1 c· 1111 l tl :-.•·:in;•· ly r •.- .... i:-1 Lill!.
:1 t lht ·ir swolJ Pn ch1·1•k:-. a11d ~ra\'P ln11ks d11 r11 1 ~ th 1·;-.. 1• in!o'n .•1.~ ,,f --ll " JP 1·. ·,\'!; ;1· h. IH 1\•.
". liad twn or thn•t• tinw s t lw 1·x1..T ll 1·11 1 1•ff 1•t•t o! l'l11·t·ki 11j..'. .1 11 i11np i•·11: i¡11;1r.-1 -! Th. ·
·' Ú i.'i n o! sud\('d , but a !low1 'd lo find ih \\·ay· 111 ·."n.-.il1:~ 1111•· r! i; · ,;Hn: .,-11 :•!1,1H' -.\.t h
218
lhe saliva. I lri ed a s poonful twice, hut. it had little dfí'd on nw, and as ~.;un'dly did not
rendC'r me iuse nsibl(' to t.he calls of hun~ er, allhough it. die! in sorne measun· lo those of
sleep. lt had very lit tle of either smc ll or taste, and in bo l h remindect me of wt.•a k lincture
of hcnbanc. l could never mak e out that. the h ab i tual use of ipadú ha<l any ill resulls on
thr Rio Nt·gro. "
Coca powder serves several important funclions in daily life among the
tropical forest tribes whicb use it. Perbaps tbe m ost important reason for
taking coca is as a stimulant to ward off fatigue wbile working in tbe ext reme beat and bumidity o f tb e lowland Amazon. Co ca powd er is said to be
indispen sabl e to providc stamina for long journcy s, whicb ofte n last severa!
days and during wbicb it is not possible to carry suffic ien t footl supplies.
Many autbors with firsthand ex perien ce in the Amazon forest altest to
coca's ability to sustain Indian workers on t reks lasting up to three or four
days. During this time they eat only coca p o wder mixed witb a small amount
of manioc fl o ur (Spix antl Martius, 1831; Koch-Grünberg, 1923: León,
1952; Salser, 1970). Coca powtler is often uscd also to stay alert during nocturnal hunting expeditions (Spix antl Martiu s, 1831 ; Salser , 1970).
ll is customary for the men to gather in th e evcning and chew coca
be fo re going to sleep. During this ti me, they tell stories, makc plans for
fu tu re hunting trips and discu ss th e cvenls and problcms of thc day. Usuall y
on<' man , th e preparer of the powder, will pass around tablespoonful dosPs
of the fr('shly made powdN. Severnl h Plpin gs of coca may he offcred during
une or two hours, after which thc men dispersr. and retire to their hammoc:k :·
This m oderate u se of c oca in the evcning s1'cm s to h ave no untoward effcct.s
on sl<'Pp.
Besides being u sNl for work , journcys ancl evening discussions, coca
powder is frcq uently taken during fest.ivitirs and social functions. It is essential at chicha parties ::md al so p!ays an important rol e in in tertribal o r
intervillage "powwows", when one village head invites a nPighboring lcadPr
as a tok<' n of fri!'ndship. i\lthough coca is primarily t.akcn by older men, it
is madP available to boys soon after puherty or wlwn t.h<'y marry (Salser,
1 ~70).
LikP other forms of coca leaf, Amazonian coca powd(•r ap¡wars lo ht•
r<'latively innocuou s. protlucing no drug tolerance or depPndPnC<' e ffo cts
(Spruce , 1853a; We il, 1975). Salser (1970) observetl that among scvcral
major groups of Cubcos in th e Vaupf>s, only certain groups uscd co<:a,
particularly !.hose who livetl closest to white setllements. And among thPse.
he o hserved no signs o f habituation. \Vhen thcre is no coca available, as
during months-lo ng rubber-gathNing work, th r Cuhpos on ly casually lamen •
'"fhere just is not any coca ".
As discussed above, i\mazonian coca has a relativ<'ly smal l amount of
cocaine comparcd k> And ~ an E. C()Ca leaves. Ilolmstetlt e l al. (1979) analyz
frcshly preparetl coca powder at Pebas on thc Rio Ampiyacu matle in the
traditional manner with Cecropia ash. This powder co nt:ained only 0.24'/,
cocaine by wcight. Thcre is nol, thcrefore, a significant incrcase in the conccntration of cocain e in preparing the more refined coca powdrr, although
2 j '.l
tlw refim·tl form undouhlPdly fa cililal<·s P:d ra<'l.io n of tlw alkaloids in Uw
mouth and tlwir assimilation by tlw mucous mPmhranes . llow <'V<·r. Uwn• is
no basis fo r the irresponsible slatement made b~· Fu chs (197 8 ) that " Lhis
mPlhod of coca use is analogo us to that of coca in e US<'fs in Uw l.'nit.,•d
Statcs". In fact, measurements of coca in e levcls in blood aftl'r clww ing ('º"ª
powd er were appreciably lo wer than th ost• rpc ordNI a ftPr in!.c·masal use• of
cocainc h yd rochl o ri de (Van Dyke el al., HJ76; ll o lm stedt e l al., UJ7~l) .
Of perh aps equal imporlan cc to th e st imul alín(( pro perlit•s uf coca
powd er is its pole n tia! rok in human nutrition. Coca lPavf's W<'r<' recpntly
fo und to contain a pprec iable am o un ts o f vitamin s and mitwral s ( Du k<' et al..
1975). In the prep aralíon of coca p o wder , only tlw fihruu s matr>rial <.> f tlw
Jeaf is r<'moved. ThP remaining pu wder contain s ali tlw vitarnin and mi1wral
con slítue nts of lhP loasled lea f. Sin ce thl' powdt>r is 11 suallv swall o w¡•d
complctely after dissolving in saliva , ali of lhP nutrient s an· ing<'slPd hy tlw
chewer. As a rcsult, t h e Amazo nian coca cncwer achi<'v<•s an <'V<'ll gT< .,tl<•r
amoun t. of n u lrients from th e coca leaf than his AndPan <·ount<'r¡1art. wlw
ullimately sp its o ut the spent quid of chewc•d l<' aves.
Schultes (1 9 77) re m arkcd on tlw Yukunas o f th<' Río Mirit Ípa ran:í in
Colo mbia. They are, he stat.ed , th e most avid coca chcw,•rs in tlw Vaup•'s.
and yet are al so the health ie st and bt' sl nourislwd amon g t.heir nPi¡d1bors.
Prance (1972) d escri bc<l the c ustom of tlw l\'lakli in Amazonian llraz il o f
add ing prepare<l coca powdrr dircctly to Uwir dai ly rat ion of farinha or
manioc fl our. In this case, the cxlrac!.ion of thl' slimu lali ng <'f ft>cls of tlw
powder through dwwing is hypassed enlin!ly sin e<' !h is grou p cnn sunws
coca directly as a food.
! l. Th e invention of powd ered coca
Th e /-\Jn azon ian invcntion uf takln~ l'Ol'a if•af in pnwdpn•d form may
attribut!'d to severa! facto rs. l\los t importan! are th e physintl ch ;ira<'l.•· rslics of tht~ lc•a f ilself, as it is prodUL't!d in tite ,\m azt111 lo wlands . Co mparr·d
' ll'
q
coca of the Andean montaiia , Lhl' Amazo ni an li·a r is
g't' n <~rally J ar~j ' f
and
hicker. lt wou ld be rathPr d ifficul t to fo rm a cornpact. q 11 id with i\mazn11i:11 •
<•aves . In the Andes , sn1allt~r, more dt:lieatP l t>~Vt>s an' oftcn pn~ fprr1_· d as in
he case or Bo livi an coca fro m th c Yungas as wl'll as T rujill o coc a .
A second a nd mor<' importan!. ('haract e risli" which lcd lo Uw d evclopnent of powd ered coca is thc a ppreciably lnwpr cocai m• conl<'nt of t.h <'
\ maz onian varie ty . Compared to Andean coca, a trntch larger q uantit.y o f
vholc J\mazonian leaf would have t o bf' ch""""' t.o obtain l11P sanw amount
,f stimu lati on . By pulverizi ng thc dried lcaf and mixing it dirPclly wi t.h :rn
!kal ine sou rce (ashcs ), t hc J\ mazonian lndian d Pv<'lopc·d an optima! pn'para·
•on which givcs a fast-acti ng ami poV.' nt. su hjcclivP t•ffPct wh ich is colllarable t o the cffoct of ch ewin g thP best Bo liv ian coca with linw u r llipta
tlkaline plant ash used in the high lands).
Culturally, the use o f powdered coca is stron~ly in~raitwd in J\mazonian
· 1ca ch ewers. During th e Alpha Heli x Expl'Clition in l977, Wl' o fft•rpd !:\o ra
220
coca chc>wc rs of t he Río J\mpiyacu who!P coca leaves p urchased in Cu zco.
Th ey found the thought of c hew ing wholf' leaves repugna n t. and " un<'ivilized" , although they were willing to e xpcrim e nt . Wc also asked th esc nwn
to pre pare fo r us, in th e traditional manne r , coca powder from the sanw
Cuzc o !caves. Th e resulting powdt:'r was similar in appearan c<• and ílavor hm
appeared to be stron ger, sharper and more bitter to the laste. lt also prod uced a ve ry rapid an esthesia in the m o u th. The Bora who tried this powdr· r
did n o t like it, neit.he r in l1av or, which thuy suid was too bitlcr, nor in it.s
effect. which t!H•y said was too stro ng.
12 . Ad mixtures ami variations in use
Therc are a numbe r of intcrcsting variations in thc preparat.ion of coca
p o wd er, primarily in th e fo rm of ad m ixt.ures. In l:lrazil, manioc ílo u r
(farinha) is frequen tly added t o coca powder. Martius, in a handwritt.(• n nol •
on an herbarium spcc ime n at Mun ich , m en tio ned th at t he co ca powd e r is
mad e in to little hall s with manioc ílour, which are then rolled uround in t.h.
m o uth in th e m anne r o[ Areca nut and betel pcpper. Spruc <' (1 8 5:l a, 1908)
sta led that tapioca (manioc ) is added to coca powd cr to givC' it consist.P ncy .
He al so mc n t ion ed t h<' add it io n o f th e j uicc of sugar can e in arder to mak <'
ipadú more palatable (Spru ce, 18 55 ).
Schultes (1957) re por t('d a uniquc varia nt. in Uw pr<' parat. io n o f coca
among th c Tanirnuka lndians living in t he area of th e Rio i\paporis in Vau ¡
Co lombi a. Prior to heing addPd to lhe pulverizcd coea, tlw slill w a rrn
Cecropia ashes are infuscd with lhe hurning rt>sin or brea. a slro nl-(l y a ron w
n •s in derived rrom tlw trP<' Pro tium heplaph y llum Marc h (Bursc rac<',H'). T lt
gives t he coca powd"r a di sti nctive in ccnsc-like aro ma. Nl'ighb o ring tri he s
lra<l c with t hc Tanimuka ror thei r high ly pri zed a nti uniqu l' coca pre para!¡ ,
In ad d itio n to imparting a clistinctiVP f\avor, the aromalic rcsin may al so
fun ctio n as a prese rva live against spoilagc in thc humid clirnatC'.
\Villwrt ( 1 ~J7 5 ) m e ntio ned that " tlwn· are cas<'s o n rPcord whc r<' tol>"
snuff is mixer\ with coca". but he did not s1wc ify wlwt her coca powd •'r <> r
w h olP ]pa f is mca nt. T ht> addi t ion o r hoil<·d-down (ohacco pask (ampiri) t
co<'a powder arnong the Bo ra has aln·ady º""11 mPnt.ionPrl. Th e us<' of t ol>:
wi t h c uc a po wd c r is also found in o tlw r lrilws suc h as the Witolo :.md Can
ll is noleworth y t hat cerla in tribes whicl1 ch e w who lP coca !Par, suc h as 11
lka of thc SiPrra Nevada d e Santa Marta , a lso empl oy loha<'co pask as an
admixture .
Somc t rihPs in lhe Vaupés rcgion kPcp thcir coca powder in a small 1
clo th hag into whid1 is ins.•rted a hol\ow luhe, usually a ho n<'. Tlw coea
powder is sto red in this hag :.md the hon e lu he se rves as an dficicnl w"y'
injecling the powder in to the mouth withoul spillage or waste (K och·
(;rünherg, Hl2il).
Tlw rP is onP rnport that coca powde r is tak t>n as a snu ff by tlw \Vil u
(\Vav rin , I 9:n ), ami this stalemcnt h as been re peal<'d unqueslioned by la
:wlhors (!'t>re z dP Harraua s. 1910 ; Fuci1'. 1~178). This wou ld st.' <'111 lo lw a
c·on s idPra hl y ran· practi c<-. c spe<:ially sine<' t.ht' \V iloins ar•· rP la tiVl'ly w Pll
l\llOWll, and llO o ther ObSC'l"V{~fS ha Vt' rt port( d th is nwthod of l!S(' . Jt Vf.' r.\ ·
¡iossih ly in ay represent an error or Jni sidPn ti fil·at ion or UH• p lant su1Js1 an·· ·
1
1
1
a. Amazonian coca substitul!'S
\.\'h c n A mazo ni a n coea ch ewP. rs ene away rrom ho nw hunli11 ~ l'l>ra\ ....
and long journeys , lh e ir supplies of coca so nwlirnt•s ru11 u ul . Tlw:-.• will t ¡,, ..
prc>pare a "coca " p o wdcr from tlw lPav cs <if o llwr pla nls. Th is powd<'r is
made in a manne r iUentical t o coca powdt )r prep;:u-ation includin g tl1e ad rnixture o f the ub iq uilo us Cecropia !Paf as h . \Vhilc co11dudi11g fil'!d w ori<
arno n g the Bora and Wito t o in J\maz o nian Pt-ru , l found a l l<'as t l"iv<' si''" '"
u f plants so e mployed. Upon analysis ípr c ocai1w in t.lw ;\ lp ha l lrlix !ali"
rato ri('s , w e found no trace of tlH' a lkal o id in tlw c o<'a sul1'li l utt'.' all IH>< 1;:i·
n llwr ac tive c o mpounds m ighl lw pn•s1·nt. l l st'í'lll< mosl likl'i y l hat t.ill' s"
¡ilants rumish a placei>o effel'l. by suppl y ing llw physical ramiliarily ol""
•¡u id of powdcred leaves , to which tlw l"1n·,;l lndian is so wPll acc uolo1111 "I
Tw o of the coca substitu tes are wild s¡J!'ci<•, of ¡,·rythroxy/11111 wh i"li"
wid esprPad in n o rtb<>n1 South Arn e r ica. f .'rylhmxy/11m {imb ria/11. 111 l'1•yr
<i'lowman, Schultes & T o uar 6878) is callt'<I mc 'ip ic in llora nr coca del
.•upay in Spani sh , nH-~ an i ng ''Dt·vil's coL·a". An l'Vl'n m on· \v id t>ly d ist rihul• •
!"'"ie s E . macrophyl/um Cav. (Plowma11, S e/tulles & To uar (,8 7.9) is al sn
·mp loyed. This la rge-lcaved tr<'P iel is call ed ya mc'ipie in Bora or coca""
uchingo or coca d el monte in Span ish. nH·,u1ing "wild c oca". i\lilwugli
,.• illier of these spec iPs contains cocaÍ!w ( ! lolm sic'dl e t al., 1 ~l77), tlw:-,·
:1 ou ld be rp-examine<l f o r possible C'Onh·nt of otht> r c:oC'a al kal(Jids.
T wo stude nts working in llw ColomiJian Vau p(· s haVt' n •porl.1•d llw
t)ssi biv use of y <'t anothPr wild spl ~ ci1·s -· Er·y throxylu.m cataract arum .
pruce firs t c ollectc d thi s spPCil's on tlll' Rio Vau p "·s w)11 ,n• lw nol<-d Uw
•mmon nan1e ipadú das cachoeiras ( " coc a of Uw cataracts"). Arnong til ~·
ilwo o f th e Rio Kuh iyú, thi s plant is known as ctJra de pescado or 111011
1lu, mea.ning " fish coca " , rererring lo LlH~ fn .•qut>Jll o c t· t11Tcnc e of thv pl:11 1
• riverbanks wh cr e tlw ripe fruils an· r<'adil y c·at... n IJy l"ish. Zarllt'l'lii
porled o n an lwrbariurn spec imPn (/:arw:chi J 422) tli:it thi s is ;¡ "v<·r~;
rong wild c o c a; o ne o r t he wild co<:as tts<'d ¡ll"lnr lo t-h" inl ro dt1t·tio11 or
·lti vate d vari e ties " . Similarly, flavis nol<'d on a spt' c inwn (IJauis 151)
l!t•ctcd on the R í o Piraparan:í, Lbat t.lw Barasana claim lhal this "º"ª
~ 1 be eate n and that " it was lhe coca of our fath r~ rs~ · . Clwrni <"nl an;dysrs
lhis species showed it to cont.ain no cocai 1w liut o t.ilt •r alkaloid:-; rnigh1
*;Vo te added in proa{
Schul i es reports t he use of a coca s1rnf' f among ~ P vc ral t ri lws or lh e (\ ilom hi ;1 n
·azu nas and Vaupés hut does nol provide an:v dt'\~iil s of ils \I Sf'. (!<.E St'hull.t·s and
q olmstedt , T he vegetal in~rcdiPnts o f the m y ri $t ir:1C('t>Lt S snuffs o f t.lw ;\1o r1liw Ps!
"l.O n, Rhodoia, 70 (1968) 11 9.)
222
be p resent. We have no evidr1wf' lhat P:. cataractaru m is p n'parPd in pow dered form as a coca substitute .
T hree other coca substitu!Rs bclong to tlH' family 1\pocynaceac. T wo
of these are d istinct species of the genus Lacmel/ea, which grow as small
understory lrees in Amazon ian Peru . One of these L . d. peruviana (von
Heu rck & Muell . Arg. ex von Heurck) Markgraf is known as toda in Wi toto
and is a smooth-barked treelet (Plowman, Schultes & Touar 6653)*. Th e
second species is L . cf. lactescens (Kuhlmann) Markgraf and is called n('páie
in Bora. This tree has a distinctíve columnar t runk covered wilh stout
spines (Plowman , Schultes & Touar 6889 ). The leaves o f both of t h ese
species are prepared as coca powder substitutC's.
Still another coca su l.Jstitutc is thc apocynaceous sp»cies Couma macrocarpa Barb. Rod., commonly known as leche caspi (" milk tree" ) in Peru.
This plant is usPd similarly to thc tw o Lacm e llcas mPntiorwd above ilut was
not furth('r analyzed .
14. Summary
Amazon ian •.'oca is a distinct cultivated variet.y, Ery throxylum coca
var. ipadu, which occu rs on ly in t he Amazon bas in. Although it was first
discoven·cl by Europeans over 200 y<'ars ago, its uniqu e foatures have only
rcce ntly be"n recognized. This plant d iffers !"rom typical And<!an E. coca
in a numhcr o f m o rphological and physiological traits; it s leavt>s show a
consistently much lo wer content of t he alkaloid cocaine. Amazonian coca
a lso differs from Andran R. coca in thc method of propagatio n wh ich is by
stem cuttings, not by seeds as practised in t he rastern Andes.
Most attention has focused o n thr pre paration and use of Amazonian
coca among s<'veral t rilws of the weste rn Amazon. T he !caves arP first
toastecl to d ry ness over a fire and then finel y pulverized hy pouncling in a
morta r and p"stle. The resu lting powd e r, mixed with ashes of Cecropia
!caves, is fornwd in to a pasty quid which is packed in tiH' checks. The
powder eventually disso lves in saliva and is swallowed. T his custom provid1
the A mazo nian l ndian with a mild stimulant used both for working and
during festi vals and other social occasions. Coca powd e r also furnislws
vitamins ancl minerals in t he lnd ian diet w hich is ge nerally high in carbohydratcs .
A mazon ian coca has bePn derived from Andean E . coca. a species w h'
appears to be nalive in the east And<'an monta1ia. The Amazon ia n variety '
dcvelopcd in the lowlands overa lo ng period o f time throu gh repeatcd in troductions and subscqucnt huma n selection for a number o f chara<:terisli·
Amazonian coca plays primarily a sc>cular role in ind igenous cul tun·s
<loes entcr into t he mytho logy and religio us ceremonies o f a numher uf tri
T he C't hnographic de tails of Amazonian coca u se are still p oo rly underst0<
Further studies are urgently needed to understand m o re fully this int., rcst
native crop before it disappears alo n g witb the t rihes w hich cultivate it.
*J . Za ru cch i o f Harvard Universily ki nd ly idenlifíed the lacmellea s pe cimens.
. \ cknow l c-dg m Pnt~
J..'il'ld wurk on :\mazonian eo<.:a was c.:arr it·d out a s pan of l'haq· \· 11 cif
thc Alpha l klix Amazon Ex¡wdition in 1 !l7í ( 1{. 1-:. Sd1u ltt» and B.
llolrnst.edt, co-prindpal inv.,stigators) whi ch \\as fundt•d loy tl w '.\at it111a \
Scic ncc Foundation Grant ~o. 76-818í ·1. Part t1f th1· n ·sl':t r..!1 r<'porlt-d in
th is papcr was condu ctPd a l lhP Hot.anical \lu st·um of l larvard l ' n iver,ity
und e r a contrad with tlw l o.S. [)ppartrn C'nt nf ,\J!ric ul!mt • (!\o . 1~·1-1 -J !10 1230 ). Post-doctoral fell o wship support was also n •c1•1v<•d fro111 t.IH· Ka t harin1 ·
,\. 1\tkins Fund at ll arvard ll nivcrsity. 1 am partict1larly gratl'fu l to l'rof1 ·ssor
H. E. Schultes of Harva.rcl L:nivcrsity for his co11ti1n1i1 1g 1ntcn·st and supp ort
nf my r esearch on coca an<l fur sharin g with me llis hroad knowled~t' of
Amazo nian coca.
1 would like to l'Xpn·ss my gra titud1· lo ih1 · ft1\\owi11 J.( t·n lkagul's whu
assisted in various aspcds of this s tud y. B. 11 ,;\msll'dl .. 1.-J·:. l.indg n·11 . l. .
Hivier, P. Rury , T. Swain, O. Tovar a n d ,\ . T . \\ºpi\. 1 arn gratdu l to s<'w ral
coll~aguf's wh o graciously shan·d with lllt' tlu·ir hnl<111 i\ ·al s¡H"cirnt•ns :1.11d
fil'ld notrs on /\mazc>nian c oca: E.\\°. !)avis . J. ldrolio. ~l. E. van dn ll • · r~.
and J. Zarucchi. S. !\lay o and the staff at thl · !\.1•w Ef'nJl()Jllic .\h b1·u111
twl¡)(•cJ sear c:h fo r Spru('p's sp c•cin11•n s u f :\m azonian nll'a powtl1 ·r. .J.
~lagl i ano le nt vaJuahlt• a ss is tatH"P in da rifying s1·vPral diffinlll hi sto r i1·:d
q u <•slio n s. 1\1. S latf·f of lh1• FiP1d !\ lu st •urn Librar~• w:is i11 s trumt•11t: tl i11 l1H·;1 t
:ng sev f•ral ohscun• rpfp rpnct•s. L. T. Bat('S co ntriln1 tl•d l.I H· t' xn•l lP1 1t li1w
lrawing of ,\ma zo nian coca .(' _ \Jjp zg-oda anti\\' . <~r i 1111 ·· \,;indl~· ri·atl ;ind
111Tt'l' tl'cl tlw final n1 anus <'ript. I siJH" (' rd y appri·ci;\11· tli i• ~ 1 · 1wr(ll!S ;1 ss is·
:11H'1'
uf
tlH'St'
intv n•stt ·d indiv1dual s.
: 1 1 f~rClll'P:"i
C .. La (\H:a P ll PI P1•rú . H P!t- IÚI <k la /J1r1T <· i on 1h' \ f!rrciilt11r11 y (; 1lfl{t • l f ·1· w 1 / . 111 111 •.
¡J ( l ~l ( 1~1 :.Fq :t - ";:!. .
<I H.'t\, ~1. :--.; .. ,\rch :.11•1 d11 1.!i c al plan t r1·111a in:-. froin th; · ct'tl l r a l c 11:1:-.; 11 \ !'1·ru ..\'wF p.i /'od111.
/fi (1 !17 ~) :.u; . :r;.
•l) JH' r, ,J. M., Stim ulants ;in<l narculics . In ,J. H . St(•wanl (Pd . I. Tia• ( ' , 1111pa ru l it· c F01
no/o J!y of So uth American hldians. [Jla11dbo ol.· o{ S1J11//i .· \1111•r i('t111 liHlwn.o.:. \ ' , d . ;, J.
Burt_•au of ~\ n wrican Ethnology Rullf>tin l U, \\" a!'h i nl! lon . 1H ·• 1 ~J - 1 :~
.1· k1 ', A ., Pl a n t a!'> dt• Cult ur a Pr ecolo rnhi a n a n a :\n1:1 zolli;1 Hr . 1 ~iit•ir;1 . Holdú1 T~c l/l nJ do
fllstituto Acronr.trriico d e Sortc•. S { 1 ~l . t( i ) t ·I
k1'. .J. A., Aulik, D. :ind l'lrrnn11an, T .. /\"11 trit inna! \alu• 11f c qc;1 / ;n(a111c al .ll1'.•;1'1lP1
/,Cll{71..' ls, llari 'arcl ('nii·ersity , 2·1 (19 7 i"1l l J:) - 11'.l
,·hs. ,\ ., ('oca clw win..r and high altitudl' Sl J't'~" : po ...; . . ibll' 1·: 1·,,¡·1s ,,f 1'0( ·:1 :i'k;d,,id " ()11
('ryt hropoiPsi s. ('t.arent .·\nthropofu¡fy. /!J t l ~l '.".'-'l ~,~·-.
~~ll
1· ía · Barrig-a, 11 .. Fl ora 1\ frrlici11a { de ('oforn liiu , \' ol . '..?. 1n -. t ii u !n <k ( 'iP!H" Í;i:-; '.\ ;11 u r :dP s.
Bogotá, 1 !17 !"°l, pp . ~O - '1.í
d man , I., Trilw s uf tlw l fa upes-l'a qu eta Hf'J.!io n . In F (' !"t 4·w:ml (ed.J. Th 1· 'f'r11 ¡n1 ·ol
Fc>res l 1'rihes. ll fondlwoh o { Sou l h .·\lll('rican l ruli1111 .o.:. \·ol. :1 J. Hun ·;111 of .\ 11w r i1 :1n
Eth nology BullPlin ! .1:1 , Washington, I)(' , 1 ~1 · 1:1.
; t•rrez-N1>rie~a , (~ . and V(1n llag:e n , V. W .. 'J 'h1 • st rang¡ • ca si' 11f 1l1t' c1,1 ·; 1 lt>a f Tl1t '
Sc ientifir .\1 on thly . 70(:!){ 19:i 0)Hl - 8~ L
1•·:-..
224
(j ut.i é rre 1;-NoriPga C. ami vnn ll a g:en , V . W., Coca - - th(' nwin sta y of an M ri uous na tive li fP
in l h e Andes . f~'co n o m ie /l o tan y, 5 ( l 9 f) l ) 1,1 r1· 1 :)2.
Jf a rd c nhurg, W. E., lh c Jndi a ns of lh c Puluma y o , Uppcr 1\n rnzo n . Ma n ( /, undo n ). H 1
(1910) 1 3 1-1:! 8 .
Holm s ledt , B. , Jiiütm a a , E. , Leand er, K . and l'lo w m a n , 'l'., Dete rmina ! ion ol' l'Oc a in c in
so mt:- South Ameri c an s p ec ics o f 1-:r :y throxy lum u s ing mass fr a¡..:: m c nt o g ra ph y.
Phyt o ch emisfry. u ; (1 9 77) 17[):~ - 175 G.
Hol m stcd t, B .. Li nct gre n , J .-E. , R iviN, L. and Plo w m an, T ., Cocainr. in b!ood u f coca
chew ers. J o urnul o f Elhn o ph urm aco logy, / ( 197 9 )
(i~ -
78 .
Koc h-Grün berg, T .. Zlve i Jahre bei den Indian ern N o rd west -Brasiliens . S l reeker a nd
Sch rüde r , Stuttga r t., 1923 , p p. 174 - 170.
León, L. A., His loria y Exlin c ió n d<d Cocaísm o r· n e l Ecu a ch.1r. S us Hc-s ulla dos . 1\m fir it ·o
/ n c/ {l(e n a. 1 2 (1 ) (1 9 ó 2 )7 · 3 ~.
Mag nin , J ., B re ve D esc r ip c ión d e la Pr C>v in c ia de Q ui lo ( 17-lO). In C. Baylc, /)esc ufJridorcs JesuUas d e l Ama.zonas, Inst.it.ulo Gon zal o F'nn ci nd e z d e Ovirdo, Madrid ,
19 ·l0, p . -IG .
von !\larl ius, C. F. P ., He itr:igc z ur l\.enn t n is." der Uatl un g Erylhrnxylnn. J\hha 11 dl t1 nj.f1~11
de r maihematisch -¡;hy1iilrnlis che11 Classe der h o ni#lich bay erisch en 1\lwde111ie de r
Wisse nscha{fe rt . Munic h. 3 ( 1843) :Hi 7 · 3(i9 .
Nara nj o, P ., El C O (" ' ÍS tn o e n t re lo s a bo ri~cnes clf' S ud ,\ merica: su di fus ión y t•xti nl' ilrn
en el Ecuador. , \ m érica !nd /g en a, 3 -J ( 3 ) ( 1 ~)7 ·1) 6 0 5 · 6 :t H.
Navarn•t r F ernán d ez d(', :\-1., Colecció n cfo los Viajes y /Jcsc u brim entos q m.• h icú•rrm J'or
mar los t•spa1l11les d esde f i nes d cf si¡.: lo X \.'. Li h rf' ría d e Moya )' P laza , 1\l a d 1· id .
1880 , pp. 2 ;J,j . 2 58 .
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e n Am .fric a Equj,1 o ctial. Vol. :l j , Ca li, Ctllom b ia , 1967, p¡J . 2 01 - 22~-L
Patte rso n , T. C ., C en1ral Peru : its p o pulatiun ;rnd ec o nom y . .Ardrn l' ol n ~y , :.!-4 ( 1q 71 )
316 . :12 1.
Pén·z d<• B;irr:idas , ,J., An t ig iÜ' d :td <h ·! uso dP la Coc·a ('11 Colomhia . Ue 1·is tu d e la .'\nu /f'1 ,
t .:t1lombia11a. :l (1~ · 1 ( 1) :3 2b.
l'lowrn <lll , T., Bo t; rni ca l ¡>ers¡wctivi•_, on t:ot'a . .Jounwf o{ J>.. yc h edelic IJrnJ.:s . 1 f ! 19';" !):1 J
IO:l · 11 í
Plow m a n . T ., 'l'h1• id <> nlít ~· of 1\111i1 z.1111ian ;1nd Tnii illo <·oc:1. n o t anica l .\ Ju ..;('{1111 l . t.' a /kt ~
llarvarJ ( !n ii ·ersi l y. :!7 ( l ~Jl!l b ) 1:-1 - !1 1 .
Plowman, T. Botani r al µcr s¡wc t iV l!S on coca . In F J{. .J1.• rí (Pd .) , c(/ (' (li f!t> / ~ ) 80, Pn H"t' ~ "
i n ~ s oí llw l ntt> ramerie;m S(• tnin ar on ;i, fl'< ii c al a ncl S oc i o l o~ ie ~il :\ s¡w<'l s. of <'tw a ;
Cocain (" , P :1c i fi<: P rí'!->S, Lirn<.i . 1!J80, p p . 90 · l Of1.
Plo\vm rm, T. and Weil A. T. , Coca ¡wst.s and pPstieid Ps . •Jourrwl ol L' il111o p hurmacol o ¡.:.~
( J 979) 1 ~ 3 . ~78.
l'oeppig, E., ll <' ise in C h ile, ¡•,•ru 111 1</ auf d c m A m a.uown sf ro m e, H•ii'/uewf d e r J a h rc
18 :! 7 / H.'12 . Vo l. 2, Leip z ig , lK '. Hi , pp. ~ on 2 17 and 219 . 2;-)7_
P rn 11c 1', ( 1. T. , E th n nh o !a n ica l nott ·s frorn Amazo n ia n Brazi l_ f-." nJ11omir /J 1J f ally, ~!f)
( 19 7 2) ~ 2 8. 2;J2 .
Hei ('h t• l-Do lma t off, C., i \111az o11iu11 cos m o s. '/'11 c .)'ex uul aml /frli~1ou s .')'y mfw lism u( f
Tuha n n lncl ian ..:;, U n iv e rsity uf Chie ago Prcss. C h ic:agci , 197 l .
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