What do You think about The Cosmic Serpent: DNA And The Origins Of Knowledge (1999)?
Narby's experience as an anthropologist in the Amazon leads him to believe that ancient indigenous tribes in South America, Africa, and Australia have common themes in their shammanistic traditions, imagery, and mythology that mirror the work being done by microbiologists today. He looks for more similarities in science and ancient shammanism to create his own understanding of where we come from and why we are here.I found this book very inspiring from a creative perspective, and tore through it in about 3 days. Narby describes his descent into a rabbit-hole like a mystery novel or an adventure flick, so it's a very edible read. After finishing this book I wanted to create an entire series of childrens books rooted in a cosmology that borrows heavily from his theories.I found the premises of his research very refreshing: the notion of actually taking indigenous peoples at their word and interacting with them within their reality is very novel. Narby's work could be commended simply for his approach.As far as the content of his arguements...each reader mush judge for themselves. Narby's attitudes towards shammanism are heavily influenced/grounded by his need to remain viable in academia. My own experiences with shammanism were couched in a much more flexible environment, and I found the differences in our experiences and conclusions very compelling.
—Jamie
This book did not convince me of its idea, namely that shamans after ingesting psychoactive substances gain access to "information" stored in cells and DNA. Author basically at the beginning states that irrationality (of shamans under psychoactive substances and in general) is not irrational but it is another way to gain knowledge (by seeing "through" things or "defocalizing", as he describes it). Then he goes on with quite emotional description of his research in the matter, which sometimes sounds less like research but more like "revelations" of a mystic. Finally he arrives at conclusion that somebody has created DNA, which he describes as highly sophisticated biotechnology and that Darwinism is wrong or at least way off. Did not work for me. On the other hand, I have never tried ayahuasca...
—Janeks
This page-turner of a book is about the common origin and interconnectedness of all life on earth, and it's a unique, potentially influential read. Jeremy Narby deftly treads a tricky line between science and speculation, and he does a fabulous job of breaking down complexities about DNA, evolution, shamanistic South American ayahuasquero consciousness, human-plant communication, limitations of specialized scientific inquiry, and the potentially extraterrestrial origins of life on earth. His footnotes and documentation are exhaustive (few books have led me to add so many new and unexpected titles to my "to-reads" list) and many of his arguments are original and convincing. As several other reviewers have noted, there are times when a bit of repetition creeps in, but it's hard to see how it wouldn't, given that part of his investigation involves documenting cross-cultural similarities between symbols and rituals of indigenous peoples who use hallucinogens -- particularly ayahuasca -- to achieve, Narby argues, a "de-focalized," "molecular" level of awareness and communication with basically every other living thing on the planet. As outlandish as that all sounds, Narby, a Stanford PhD, is no fringe wing-nut or rank speculator, and this book was written to be read by a general audience, not an academic one. I'm giving the book four stars, not five, because I haven't /yet/ read a bunch of Narby's source material, or tried ayahuasca and experienced first-hand the altered states of consciousness Darby documents; some of the books are obscure enough to involve a real hunt, and the U.S. drug policy, at present, punishes people for consuming ayahuasca.
—Brian
