Introduction Summary and Analysis

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge describes the effects of three hallucinogenic drugs taken by a graduate student under the supervision of a Yaqui Indian shaman, first as a narrative of the experiences and then as a systematic, scholarly analysis.

Author Carlos Castaneda first meets Don Juan Matus in the summer of 1960 at a border bus stop. Castaneda is gathering information on medicinal plants as part of his studies in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His guide/helper arranges a meeting with this "brujo" or medicine man, who avoids the question both then, and during several visits over the course of a year. Nevertheless, they become friends. Finally, Matus announces he has chosen Castaneda for a "long and arduous" apprenticeship like the one Matus endured decades before under a "benefactor" (teacher) whom he calls...