"An Indigenous Understanding of DNA"
By: Itztli Ehecatl

I recently finished an incredible book titled "The CosmicSerpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge." by Jeremy Narby.This is an essay i wrote in response to it. It is the story of an anthropologist (Jeremy Narby) who went to do research in the Peruvian rainforests among the Ashaninca in the community of Quirishari. Like all arrogant white men who are anthropologists, he thought he would go, listen to their stories and then write them down in his notebook as the "mythology" of the Ashaninca. He however had the insight to see past what he was taught by his professsors to realize these people actually knew what they were talking about. The Ashaninca are a people who have an extensive knowledge about the thousands of plants in the rainforest and their medicinal potential. Narby himself had chronic back pain when he began his research. One of the elders of the community noticed this and "proposed to cure my back pain by administering a sanango tea at the new moon." Narby was "skeptical, thinking that if it were really possible to cure chronic back pain with half a cup of vegetal tea, Western medicine would surely know about it." (This is a very interesting comment because it rules out the idea that the "placebo effect" was the factor resulting in his cure.) According to Narby, "On the morning of the third day, my back pain had disappeared. To this day it has not returned." How are the Ashaninca able to prescribe such precise medicine if they do not have a valid knowledge of the plants they are using as Western scientists have claimed? Scientists attribute their knowledge of the these plants to "trial and error." Meaning these people went around the rainforests of South America(which make up half of the world's rainforests) trying out all of the plants until they found one that worked for a particular illness. The absurdity of this idea is typical of "Western science and shows how incompatible their science is with our own. The probability alone that they would stumble upon the correct plant for a precise symptom out of the millions of choices is astronomical.How then do the Ashaninca know about the medicinal value of each plant they use? According to them, "One learns these things by drinking ayahuasca" and the "Plants will communicate with you shortly therafter." The idea that we can communicate with other forms of life is absolutely absurd according to Western science but by using their own discoveries, we can decipher the true meaning of what the Ashaninca are saying.It has recently been discovered that DNA constantly releases particles of light called photons. The rate is too rapid for our eyes to perceive however. They also discovered that if you unwound the two opposing DNA strands, they would reach far into outer space.What does all this mean? Well when one takes ayahuasca or tobacco, the molecules of these substances match up with the Serotonin receptors (brain hormone) in our brain. The result is what Western scientists call "hallucinations" but what the Ashaninca call "reality." When the Ashaninca ingest these plants, a vivid array of colors and images appear in place of what we usually perceive as reality. One always sees two fluorescent snakes intertwined speaking to you. When Narby took the ayahuasca for the first time, they told him (speaking to him without words but inside his own brain) "You are just a human being." and it deeply affects him as he realizes "it is profoundly true that i am just a human being, and, most of the time, i have the impression of understanding everything, i feel like crying in view of the enormity of these revelations. Then it dawns on me that this self-pity is a part of my arrogance."The conclusion Narby draws is that when you ingest these plants,you are actually unlocking reality. The so-called "hallucinations" you see are not distortions of reality but are the messages DNA is constantly sending out through photons and sound waves. He says that when you see these images, you also hear music emanating from the images, which the Anashinca then mimick with their instruments in their ceremonies.The intertwined fluorescent serpents are the actual image of DNA itself. DNA is not an innate substance made up of amino acids and proteins but is actually alive and contains cosmic knowledge. When the Ashaninca ingest these plants, they say that all of the plants talk to them without words telling them their specific medicinal value. It is in this way that they have discovered their medicinal value. Kurly Tlapoyawa has demonstrated to us in his article "Anawak/Mexika Cosmology" how our ancestors revered serpents and to no suprise the Ashaninca rever them for the same exact reasons. Narby points out that many cultures in the world has an idea of double or twin serpents as central to their spiritual beliefs; even those who don't have snakes in the area they live in (such as Siberia). He points out the Egyptians, Greeks,Romans,Aborigines of Australia, Native Americans, Chinese (Taoism is rooted in the idea of twin serpents) and many other cultures around the world. Even the Europeans believed in this principle and held the serpent as sacred before Christianity corrupted their minds. One particular culture of interest he notes is the Mexica. He says the idea of Quetzalcoatl is evidence that we knew about DNA. He says Quetzalli and coatl both have double meanings:Quetzalli means precious and feather while coatl means serpent and twin. The word according to Narby thus means both precious serpent and twin seprent. Ometeotl which means dual cosmic energy fits perfectly with what the Ashaninca have taught Narby. Ometeotl is understood to be a cosmic energy (note the extent of DNA strands), the creative force of the universe, and is dual in nature. Our ancestors frequently portrayed the symbol of Ometeotl framed by two intertwined serpents (http://www.mexicauprising.net/images/omedisc.jpg). Therefore, all along we have been believing in DNA (the source of all creation) itself and not a mysterious God as Kurly Tlapoyawa has pointed out. Consequently, this means that our ancestors have known about DNA for millenia before white men discovered it in the 1950's.