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 The
Incas held the coca plant in such high regard that
they called it "K'oca," which means sacred,
exalted (highly praised), and unique. Its leaves were
used by the elders and medicine men to predict good
fortune or disaster.
Legend
tells of a very wise and holy man, named Khana Chuyma,
who lived on an island in Lake Titicaca. As High
Priest, he was guardian of the Sun God's treasures and
threw the treasures into the depths of the lake to
prevent the sacred gold from falling into the hands of
the Spanish conquerors.
Captured
by the Spanish, Khana Chuyma withstood the cruelest of
tortures without a word about the gold's whereabouts
escaping his lips and eventually the soldiers relented
and left him for 
dead in a nearby field.
That
night, amidst his agony, the Sun God appeared to him
and said: "My son, you deserve to be generously
rewarded for your heroic sacrifice. Ask of me whatever
you wish, and I will grant it".
"Oh
my beloved God, what favor can I ask of you in this
time of pain and defeat, but for the redemption of my
people and the expulsion of the invaders?"
"That
which you ask of me," said the Sun, "is now
impossible. I am powerless against these intruders.
Their god has defeated me, and I too must flee, to
hide myself amidst the mysteries of time. But before I
leave, I would like to bestow upon you something that
is within my powers."
Khana
Chuyma responded by asking for something that would
help his people to endure the slavery and hardships
that awaited them us - something which was not gold.
The
Sun god showed him the coca plant and said " Tell
your people that they should cultivate these plants
with care and pick its leaves. After the leaves have
been dried, they should be chewed, for their juice
will be a balsam to relieve the sufferings of your
people. When they lie exhausted from the endless toil
for which they
are destined, these leaves will give your people new
vitality. On their long journeys through the
highlands, coca will alleviate hunger and cold and
make their way more tolerable. In the mines, where
their new masters will force them to work, the
darkness and terror of the deep caves will be
unbearable without the help of this plant”.
"When
they wish to gaze into the future," the deity
continued, "a handful of these leaves tossed to
the winds will reveal the mysteries of fate. But while
these leaves will signify health, strength, and life
for you and your people, they are accursed for your
oppressors. When they attempt to exploit its virtues,
the coca will destroy them. What for your people will
be divine nourishment, will for the invader inevitably
create conflict among his kind”.
And
indeed the conquistadors took over the Inca's coca
leaves along with his empire.
The Spaniards, at first, tried to prevent the Indians
from using coca, because they believed it was a
barrier to conversion to Christianity. Although
superstitiously afraid to use the leaves themselves,
they soon
found coca useful to control the Indians and hold them
more tightly as virtual slaves. Under the effects of
the coca leaf the Indians worked harder, longer, and
with ' less food (coca, like amphetamine, is a potent
appetite suppressant). It also helped them, perhaps,
to endure, and forget, and even escape their misery.
Coca
leaves, along with coffee, tea, and tobacco, were
brought to Europe from South America by the explorers
in the 16th century, but unlike the others, coca
leaves were unpopular. Things changed in the mid-19th
century, when three European chemists - Germans Albert
Neimann and Friedrich Gaedecke, and Italian Paolo
Manteguzza - independently found ways to extract the
active ingredient, cocaine hydrochloride, from coca
leaves.
 Cocaine
was held in high esteem in the 1880's and 1890's. Many
prominent people, such as Pope Leo XII, Sigmund Freud,
Jules Verne and Thomas Edison, openly gave their
approval of the wonder drug. In the 1890s, Coca-Cola,
which originally contained cocaine, rose to fame
declaring itself “a therapeutic tonic for weak
nerves and sluggish brains” and advertising itself
as "the drink that relieves exhaustion."
Soon
evidence of cocaine’s destructiveness began to mount
and people turned against it with as much enthusiasm
as they had embraced it with. In 1903 Coca Cola
removed cocaine from its beverage and replaced it with
caffeine. Since 1914 the use of the drug has been
prohibited, both in patent medicines and for
recreational use, and its use went underground.
Although
coca leaves contain just 0.5 percent of the alkaloid
cocaine, and there is no evidence that they are
addictive, the United Nations declared coca chewing to
be drug addiction in 1952. The US later declared coca
a Schedule I substance in 1962. This 1962 legislation
prohibited international commerce in coca leaves.
 Chewing
on leaves never struck me as a fun idea but everyone
in Bolivia seemed to be doing it. The first taste of
coca leaf is not the most pleasant in fact it’s
quite bitter. The locals have invented ways to
overcome the not so pleasant taste by adding lime,
sodium bicarbonate or some dark mixture of
‘things’ which also help to draw out the juice.
Coca leaves are used much in the way that we use
coffee, tea, tobacco and chewing gum. ie. as a mild
stimulant and as ‘one of those’ habbits we as
humans have.
About
a week into our Bolivian adventure we met an
enthusiastic traveller, cheeks bulging and hand in a
bag of leaves. He was completely sold on the coca
leaves, talking about the great positive thoughts they
invoked. But not only were his cheeks bulging, his
eyes were popping out of his head.
“How
many leaves have you been chewing”?
we asked.
“About
3-4 bags today”, he replied.
This
is at least 3-4 times of what your average regular
leaf-chewer chews. Our mate certainly looked very
happy, to say the least. He must have been
continuously chewing all day, well I suppose cows do
it!
 Archaeological
evidence for the use of coca has been found as early
as 2100 BC in Ecuador in the form of a statue with the
bulging cheek indicative of coca use. Today the sacred
coca leaf is still widely chewed in Bolivia, and to a
lesser extent in Peru. You can still see plenty of
bulging cheeks on the streets and in highlands of
Bolivia. Most Indians view coca as a natural dietary
supplement that supplies needed calories, proteins,
carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals. They
claim that chewing coca is natural whereas stuffing
your nose with the white powder is an unnatural,
disgusting, even dangerous, practice.
At
the market of Cliza, near Cochabamba, we meet a man
who tells us about the ‘old days’, the mid 80’s.
“You
know the big sacks of coca leaves you see women
selling from”, he says
“well,
about 15 years ago you used to be able to buy cocaine
like that. Dip your finger in and choose which you
prefer. The gringos loved it but it wasn’t good for
the people, the people didn’t like it anyway”.
Because
of the United States major internal cocaine problem, a
war against the growing of cocaine has been declared.
By 1989, cocaine was killing 7,260 people a year, up
from 195 in 1981, according to the national Drug Abuse
Warning Network. The death toll declined to 3,498 in
1992 but edged up again to 3,981 in 1994, the latest
year for which data is available from the network. The
next most lethal agent, heroin, killed 3,522 people in
1994.
Instead
of concentrating on cleaning up the drug problem, the
US seems intent on creating a bigger mess in the major
coca growing countries. Not only are the destroying
the livelihood of many Andean campesinos, they are
also helping to contribute to the destruction of the
Andean rainforest. Eradication programs have, in the
past, involved the use of a powerful herbicide which
not only kills the coca plant but also nearby forests.
This is not the only problem, making it difficult for
the campesino to plant in one area usually means that
he will simply shift to another, clearing what land
they need.
 The
Quechua and Aymara Indians still use the leaf in
ritual practices. Miners and campesinos find the same
relief they have for centuries, chewing the leaf to
alleviate hunger and pain. In Potosi we met some of
Bolivia’s hardest chewers, though they still do not
surpass our travelling friend. They are
miners and spend most of their lives inside a
mountain searching for that elusive vein of pure
silver that will one day make them rich.
Their
day begins early morning when they meet outside the
mines for the first coca session of the day. Each leaf
is destemed before chewing, it’s a slow ritualistic
process, not just a quick stuffing of leaves into the
mouth. Once their cheeks are full they enter one of
the many tunnels into the depths of the mountain
itself. The further in they go, the hotter and
stuffier it gets. It’s far from pleasant. Noxious
fumes are another discomfort to live with, most miners
die young due to lung disease.
Once
the cheek is bulging they don’t chew any more,
instead the wad of leaves sit there acting as a slow
release vehicle, the effects lasting about 4 hours.
 In
special places there are devil icons carved into the
mountain. Each morning the miners greet their Tio
(Uncle) and each Friday they give offerings of
ciggarettes, coca leaves and alcohol in exchange for
protection and perhaps that lucky vein.
We
sit and have smoko with the boys, which is not your
usual cigarrate and coffee. Joining in on the coca
chewing session we sit around and listen to miner
tales. The effect is subtle, I don’t feel euphoric
but I feel less claustraphobic, I’m able to breathe
easier and the ammonia like smell isn’t as strong as
it was. After half an hour the boys are back to work,
their cheeks refueled.
There
are other times we use the leaves to relieve
discomfort. One such time is (well actually one of
three times) is riding on the back of a truck. There
are many roads in Bolivia that are unpaved and
dangerous and buses avoid them. The only local
transport is the back of a truck. Usually these trucks
leave just once or twice a week for the return
journey, therefore there is always a fight for space
amongst the myriad of passengers. It’s far from
luxurious, the roads are bumpy, dusty and there’s no
room for comfort. I’m not sure if it’s the fact
that desteming each leaf takes your mind off things
but the trips seem to pass faster with coca. It also
helps to open up conversation with fellow travelling
companions who are also relieving their travel stress
by chewing.
 Another
such time is in the Apolobamba mountain range. A 5 day
hike, most of the time walking above 4,000m, and some
really high passes. Passes so high and hard that we
collapse with near exhaustion at that top. We try the
coca leaves, and. Again it seems that time passes more
quickly, we’re not flying up the mountain and it’s
still difficult, but the top comes quicker.
When
chewed, the leaves act as a mild stimulant and ward
off hunger and thirst. Coca leaves are high in calcium
and vitamins and facilitate the oxygenation of the
blood, which is why coca tea can help offset altitude
sickness and is often served to tourists in the
Bolivian highlands.
Bolivia
is usually considered the poorest, most underdeveloped
country in South America. Today in Bolivia, it is
estimated that 48,000 hectares of coca are cultivated
annually. Of this, only ¼, or 12,000 hectares, is
recognized as legal by the government of Bolivia.
After 2 months of seeing coca leaves everywhere we
wanted to see where they came from. There are two main
growing areas in Bolivia, the Yungas and the Chapare
regions. The Chapare coca is bitter and mostly ends up
as cocaine for international distribution, the sweeter
Yungas coca (mostly leagally grown) is favoured
amongst locals for chewing, tea , toothpastes and
herbal remedies.
Near
the village of Coroico is the Afro–Bolivian
community of Tocaña, who are descendents of the few
African slaves that the Spanish brought over centuries
ago. Their plantations sit on steep slopes near close
to the famous Yungas cloud forest.
Three
or four times a year the coca plants are plucked bare
each picking yeilding about 600lbs of leaves,
depending on the size of your plantation. Most of the
plantations are small and owned by one family and they
recieve between US$1.50 -$US2.00
for each pound they pick. If they take good care of
their plants they will continue to produce leaves for
10–15 years.
Given
the world wide popularity of herbal remedies and teas,
the people of the Andes could be improving their
living conditions by exporting ready made products of
the sacred coca plant. If coca hadn’t been used to
make cocaine it may have been as acceptable as any
herb, and is probably better for the body than coffee.
It
seems to me that that the problem with cocaine lies
with the ‘West’, in fact the USA is the world’s
biggest consumer of cocaine. The lust for narcotic
pleasure around the world seems to have tainted the
image of what should be a respected and valued plant.
It’s clear that our civilization has failed to
understand the sacred leaf of South American Indians,
how to respect it and use it wisely.
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