Datura and visionary practice in colonial Nahua sources

Record summary

Colonial Nahua sources discuss plants associated with divination, healing, intoxication, love magic, or dangerous altered perception, including terms commonly linked to Datura species such as toloache and tlapatl. This is a useful lead for comparing pharmacologically induced experiences with culturally interpreted visions, possession claims, and later psychiatric or folkloric accounts. Plant identification is not always secure, and historical descriptions may combine Indigenous knowledge with European moralizing. Researchers should distinguish botanical evidence, ritual use, toxicology, and later popular claims.