Mutualism
Autumn Moon Ceremony, Sept 2017
Rachel Cato, Ethnography of Religion
Western Kentucky University, May 10, 2017
An Ethnography of the Sisters of the Valley: Looking at an Ecofeminist Approach to Religion
From pages 24 to 27 (condensed)
Mutualism is a relationship that benefits both parties, and that is what one would have to say about the human-cannabis relationship. By meeting the human need for fiber, food, medicine and world-softening ease, cannabis has become a clearly indispensable ally. Humans have, reciprocally, served not only our own needs but also the needs of C. Sativa and C. Indica by propagating the plant nearly everywhere (for) the nourishment in its seeds, the pain-relieving qualities of its leaves and buds, and the social, artistic, communication, and spirit-enhancing qualities of its resinous flowers.
Humans early on recognized these spiritual qualities too. Cannabis has been buried in graves for millennia, presumably to ease the deceased’s transition to the afterlife, or as gifts to send with the spirit of the one leaving this plane. I tossed the cremated ashes of my beloved uncle onto the waves of the Pacific Ocean, along with some of the best bud I could find. Who knows how these gifts carry into the spirit world?
