1961 Jose Gabriel founded Uniao do Vegetal and shortly thereafter began distributing Vegetal (ayahuasca) to his followers.
1990s American ecologist Jeffrey Bronfman traveled to the Amazon rainforest and encountered UDV and ayahuasca.
1994 Bronfman founded the American branch of UDV.
1999 U.S. Customs and DEA Agents confiscated thirty gallons of ayahuasca tea from the UDV’s offices; in response, Bronfman sued the U.S. Department of Justice.
February 2006 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of UDV in the case Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal et al. 2006 .
FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY
UDV history begins with Jose Gabriel da Costa, known to his adherents as Mestre Gabriel. He was born in 1922 in Coracao de
Maria, in Brazil’s state of Bahia. With little formal education, at the age of twenty he traveled from Salvador, Brazil to the Amazon where he worked. He became acquainted with indigenous Bolivians, in particular Chico Lourenco, who was “a master of curiosity” and who introduced Gabriel to ayahuasaca tea (UDV n.d.).
Ayahuasca, also called “hoasca” or “vegetal,” is a hallucinogenic tea brewed from mariri and chacrona leaves, which are found in the Amazon river basin. The tea has been consumed in Amazonian and Andean rituals for centuries, but it only became known in the United States during the twentieth century. In the 1950s, Beat writers William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg popularized ayahusaca in literary correspondence that would eventually be published as The Yage Letters. These writings chronicle Burroughs’ journey through South America where he hoped to acquire ayahuasca as a means of overcoming opiate addiction. Several decades later, in the early 1970s, Irish-American philosopher and psychonaut Terence McKenna and his brother Dennis conducted psychedelic experiments involving ayahuasca in the Amazon. The pair published their findings in the book The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching and a subsequent book, True Hallucinations.
After Mestre Gabriel consumed ayahuasca, “the visions, spiritual revelations and sense of personal mission he discovered came together in a coherent belief system and he began to gather a group of followers” (Dashwood and Saunders 1996). On July 22, 1961, Gabriel founded Uniao do Vegetal (literally the “union of the plants”) and began disseminating his teachings, which are a blend of Christian and indigenous beliefs. On December 13, 1964, Gabriel moved to Porto Velho, Rondonia with his wife, Pequenina, and their children. He established himself at 1215 Abuna Street, which became the de facto headquarters of Uniao do Vegetal (UDV), where Gabriel worked as a brick-maker and distributed Vegetal to his followers. Originally UDV was not registered officially in Brazil as a religious organization.
In 1968, the first UDV temple was built in Porto Velho. This building, now the historic UDV headquarters, is known as the Nucleo Mestre Gabriel. On September 24, 1971, Mestre Gabriel passed away, having transmitted his teachings to his disciples. These followers, including his wife and his children, then became mestres themselves, sharing Jose Gabriel’s message and administering the growing religion. The Security Division of the Guapore Territory briefly curtailed UDV’s activities during the 1970s. After the church regained its legal standing, it changed its name to Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal. On October 30, 1982, UDV’s General Administration moved its headquarters to Brasilia. Brazil legalized the use of ayahusaca in 1987.
In 1993, UDV was incorporated in the U.S. by a group of individuals, including ecologist Jeffrey Bronfman, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Bronfman family immigrated to Canada from Russia during the 19 th century and subsequently owned and operated the Canadian distillation company, Seagram, and has a long history as a wealthy and powerful American family. According to Peter C. Newman’s book, Bronfman Dynasty (1978), Jeffrey Bronfman was accepted by Yale University but chose instead to join Guru Maharaj Ji’s Divine Light Mission (Vincent 2001). During the 1990s, Bronfman made several trips to the Brazilian rainforest. There, he came into contact with UDV, and sampled hoasca. His experiences with the tea inspired him to learn Portuguese, to become a mestre, and to import the religion to the United States. He has served as president of the American UDV branch since 1994. Bronfman and his wife, Lucy Luzader Bronfman, divorced in 2000.
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Uniao Do Vegetal UNIAO DO VEGETAL (UDV)
UNIAO DO VEGETAL (UDV) TIMELINE
1922 Jose Gabriel da Costa was born.
1961 Jose Gabriel founded Uniao do Vegetal and shortly thereafter began distributing Vegetal (ayahuasca) to his followers.
1990s American ecologist Jeffrey Bronfman traveled to the Amazon rainforest and encountered UDV and ayahuasca.
1994 Bronfman founded the American branch of UDV.
1999 U.S. Customs and DEA Agents confiscated thirty gallons of ayahuasca tea from the UDV’s offices; in response, Bronfman sued the U.S. Department of Justice.
February 2006 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of UDV in the case Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal et al. 2006 .
FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY
UDV history begins with Jose Gabriel da Costa, known to his adherents as Mestre Gabriel. He was born in 1922 in Coracao de Maria, in Brazil’s state of Bahia. With little formal education, at the age of twenty he traveled from Salvador, Brazil to the Amazon where he worked. He became acquainted with indigenous Bolivians, in particular Chico Lourenco, who was “a master of curiosity” and who introduced Gabriel to ayahuasaca tea (UDV n.d.).
Ayahuasca, also called “hoasca” or “vegetal,” is a hallucinogenic tea brewed from mariri and chacrona leaves, which are found in the Amazon river basin. The tea has been consumed in Amazonian and Andean rituals for centuries, but it only became known in the United States during the twentieth century. In the 1950s, Beat writers William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg popularized ayahusaca in literary correspondence that would eventually be published as The Yage Letters. These writings chronicle Burroughs’ journey through South America where he hoped to acquire ayahuasca as a means of overcoming opiate addiction. Several decades later, in the early 1970s, Irish-American philosopher and psychonaut Terence McKenna and his brother Dennis conducted psychedelic experiments involving ayahuasca in the Amazon. The pair published their findings in the book The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching and a subsequent book, True Hallucinations.
After Mestre Gabriel consumed ayahuasca, “the visions, spiritual revelations and sense of personal mission he discovered came together in a coherent belief system and he began to gather a group of followers” (Dashwood and Saunders 1996). On July 22, 1961, Gabriel founded Uniao do Vegetal (literally the “union of the plants”) and began disseminating his teachings, which are a blend of Christian and indigenous beliefs. On December 13, 1964, Gabriel moved to Porto Velho, Rondonia with his wife, Pequenina, and their children. He established himself at 1215 Abuna Street, which became the de facto headquarters of Uniao do Vegetal (UDV), where Gabriel worked as a brick-maker and distributed Vegetal to his followers. Originally UDV was not registered officially in Brazil as a religious organization.
In 1968, the first UDV temple was built in Porto Velho. This building, now the historic UDV headquarters, is known as the Nucleo Mestre Gabriel. On September 24, 1971, Mestre Gabriel passed away, having transmitted his teachings to his disciples. These followers, including his wife and his children, then became mestres themselves, sharing Jose Gabriel’s message and administering the growing religion. The Security Division of the Guapore Territory briefly curtailed UDV’s activities during the 1970s. After the church regained its legal standing, it changed its name to Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal. On October 30, 1982, UDV’s General Administration moved its headquarters to Brasilia. Brazil legalized the use of ayahusaca in 1987.
In 1993, UDV was incorporated in the U.S. by a group of individuals, including ecologist Jeffrey Bronfman, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Bronfman family immigrated to Canada from Russia during the 19 th century and subsequently owned and operated the Canadian distillation company, Seagram, and has a long history as a wealthy and powerful American family. According to Peter C. Newman’s book, Bronfman Dynasty (1978), Jeffrey Bronfman was accepted by Yale University but chose instead to join Guru Maharaj Ji’s Divine Light Mission (Vincent 2001). During the 1990s, Bronfman made several trips to the Brazilian rainforest. There, he came into contact with UDV, and sampled hoasca. His experiences with the tea inspired him to learn Portuguese, to become a mestre, and to import the religion to the United States. He has served as president of the American UDV branch since 1994. Bronfman and his wife, Lucy Luzader Bronfman, divorced in 2000.