The feitio is far more than a practical process. It is a profound act of alchemy, devotion, and communion with the divine forces of the forest.
I travelled to Florianópolis, Brazil, to participate in the Santo Daime ritual of the Feitio between 2006 and 2014. The feitio is the ritual for preparing the Santo Daime Sacrament, conducted according to ritual rules, with respect, silent devotion, and physical attention.
Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra — founder of the Santo Daime tradition
The Santo Daime tradition traces its roots to the early 20th century in the Brazilian Amazon, founded by Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra. Before receiving his foundational spiritual visions from the Queen of the Forest, Mestre Irineu apprenticed with indigenous peoples including the Huni Kuin, learning the ancient art of preparing the sacred brew from two plants: the woody vine Banisteriopsis caapi (known as jagube or cipó) and the leaves of Psychotria viridis (chacruna or rainha, “queen”).
These teachings blended with Mestre Irineu’s own revelations, Catholic influences, and other spiritual elements to give birth to the unique Santo Daime doctrine, in which the sacrament, called Daime rather than ayahuasca, is prepared and used in highly structured, hymn-guided rituals.
The process begins in the forest with harvesting the plants, a labour divided by traditional gender roles that reflect the masculine and feminine energies embodied in the sacrament: the strong, grounding vine (masculine) and the visionary leaves (feminine). Collecting the leaves from the rainha shrubs is generally women’s work, as is the meticulous cleaning and sorting.
Women sorting and cleaning the rainha leaves — a feminine devotion
Once gathered and transported to the church grounds, the leaves are carefully sorted, cleaned of imperfections, piled, bagged, and carried to the feitio house. Throughout this phase, the women often drink small doses of Daime to maintain spiritual attunement and devotion.
The men, meanwhile, take on the gathering of the jagube vine. They venture into the forest to harvest sturdy, mature vines, then transport them back for washing and scraping to remove the outer bark, ensuring purity.
The jagube vine — washed and laid out before hammering
The next intense phase is the bateção — the hammering or pounding of the vine. In the feitio house, a dedicated area features 12 wooden posts arranged in two rows, each with a seat. Men sit, wielding large wooden mallets to beat the cleaned jagube into fibrous strands. This rhythmic, repetitive work is done either in silence or accompanied by hymns, channelling collective energy into the material.
The bateção — men hammering the jagube at the wooden posts
With the plants prepared, the cooking begins over a large wood fire. Large stainless steel pots, often 100 litres or more, are layered alternately with the macerated vine and cleaned leaves, then covered with pure river water. Men oversee this stage, using long wooden paddles to stir and tend the brew as it simmers for hours.
The process repeats: the liquid is strained off, fresh water and new layers of plants are added, and the brew is cooked again, creating different concentrations or “degrees” of the sacrament, from milder to stronger, each suited to specific ceremonial needs.
Stirring and tending the sacred brew over the wood fire
“When the final batch is deemed ready by the master overseeing the feitio, through taste, vision, or spiritual intuition, the sacrament is carefully poured into containers, cooled, and bottled with reverence.”
The feitio culminates in a beautiful closing. When the last pots are cooking, the congregation gathers at the feitio house. The sacrament from that final cooking is served, and a short ceremony unfolds with both men and women present, singing hymns, praying, and offering gratitude.
Participating in or witnessing a feitio leaves an indelible impression: the effort, the quiet focus, the harmony of masculine and feminine energies uniting to birth something divine. It is a reminder that the Santo Daime is not just ingested — it is lovingly, ritually created through human devotion and the gifts of the forest.
