Rave Culture and Religion

As the process of the engosie moves towards its conclusion it becomes apparent that
the membership has achieved an accentuation of aesthetic sensitivity, a renewed
appreciation of life and the satisfaction of communitas:

What seemed to me the most beautiful music is performed in the early

morning hours, after the spirits of men and ancestors have mingled in the cult

chapel and after the membership has achieved a state of ‘one-heartedness’—

nlem mvore.... Dawn is faintly evident over the equatorial forest wall to the east.

The first cock has crowed. All cult activities must be concluded before the sun

rises, for Bwiti is a night cult, a cult of the female principle of the universe,

Nyingwan Mebege, the Sister of God, who is the moon. There is deep

satisfaction in the membership born of the fact that they have danced all

night, achieved ‘one-heartedness’, and can look forward to the fellowship of

the communal meal, which comes immediately after the cultic activities. It is

an afterglow brought to them by eboka as well, for the drug is not usually

associated with undesirable aftereffects.

(Fernandez 1972:240–1)

Ceremonial constants

The entheogenic rituals discussed above share a number of structural elements.
These can be organized under the rubrics preparation, ritual space and time, music
and dance, pharmacological aspects and social relations. In this section I will discuss
the similarities in each of these areas, as well as discussing how these same elements
are also intrinsic to the dance-ecstasy of Western psychedelic parties. Such a ‘side-by-
side’ comparison will accentuate the continuities between these rituals.^11

Preparation

All three rituals involve preliminary ritual modifications of the self. Fasting, special
diets, sexual abstinence or libido-regulating practices, prayer, confession and the
fulfilment of ritual or social obligations may be required for the participants to
attain a ritually ‘pure’ condition. Such preparations are a common feature of ritual
contact with the sacred and are not peculiar to entheogenic ritualism, although they
may take on new physiological and psychological significance within the
entheogenic context. Fasting can impact on the extent and rate of absorption of
psychoactive substances, and minimize potentially unpleasant food/drug
interactions. The physical strain induced by hunger may also lower the psychological
threshold for visions, as might sexual abstinence. The practice of fasting prior to
‘tripping’ or ‘e-ing’ appears to be widespread among psychedelic drug users, and is
based on sound pharmacological principles: drugs are absorbed more efficiently by
the body when the stomach is empty and the possibility of nausea is reduced.
Besides pharmacological considerations, fasting is also in and of itself a powerful

132 DES TRAMACCHI