My research into the Dogon continues with a look at ibogaine use among the Dogon. Ibogaine, or iboga,  is a psychedelic from Africa that has received some attention due to its reputation as a treatment for addiction and alcoholism. It is legal in Canada and Mexico, where several detoxification clinics have sprung up. There is also an ibogaine treatment center on the island of St. Kitts, off the coast of Florida. Addiction treatment centers using ibogaine can also be found scattered throughout Europe and Central and South America. Israel has a clinic offering offering ibogaine. Even Pakistan has one.

Don’t Even Plan to Purchase Ibogaine in the United States - Unless You’re a Rodent or a Scientist

Ibogaine is, of course, illegal in the United States, where it’s classfied as a drug with potential for abuse and no medical value. In other words, you’ll bring the Drug Inquisition down on your head if you take it - or even plan to take it - on U.S. soil. In December of 2005, a Casper, Wyoming couple were arrested by the feds for the crime of planning to purchase ibogaine.

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The Dogon people of Africa will play a role in the unfolding story of The Myth of Merula. The Dogon are a people numbering at least 450,000 who live in Mali, farming onions and millet in the Niger river delta. They have not been converted to Islam to the extent of most of the population of Mali. Their own sacred traditions, beliefs and rituals remain strong. Islam is spreading more rapidly among the Dogon of today. Chrisitianity has made only small inroads. The people live in small mudbrick or stone mud-covered dwellings, many of them on cliff walls. Weaving is primarily a craft of men, while women engage in the crafts of pottery and cotton spinning. Frequent locust plagues and droughts often mean that farmers’ crop yields are meager. Boys are circumcised. This is thought necessary to remove the female element from their genitals so that they can become men. As the clitoris is considered a male element, it is also thought necessary to excise it so that girls can become women. (Since my character, Blackbird, was adopted by an American celebrity when she was a little girl, she will not have suffered this fate.)

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Read the rest of Aquarian Cities in the Sea (1,901 words)

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