A. muscaria was widely used as an
entheogen by many of the indigenous
peoples of Siberia. Its use was known among almost all of the
Uralic-speaking peoples of western Siberia and the
Paleosiberian-speaking peoples of the
Russian Far East. However, there are only isolated reports of
A. muscaria use among the
Tungusic and
Turkic peoples of central Siberia and it is believed that entheogenic use of
A. muscaria was largely not a practice of these peoples.[SUP]
[85][/SUP] In western Siberia, the use of
A. muscaria was restricted to
shamans, who used it as an alternate method of achieving a trance state. (Normally, Siberian shamans achieve a trance state by prolonged drumming and dancing.) In eastern Siberia,
A. muscaria was used by both shamans and laypeople alike, and was used recreationally as well as religiously.[SUP]
[85][/SUP] In eastern Siberia, the
shaman would consume the mushrooms, and others would drink his urine.[SUP]
[86][/SUP] This urine, still containing psychoactive elements, may actually be more potent than the
A. muscaria mushrooms with fewer negative effects, such as sweating and twitching, suggesting that the initial user may act as a screening filter for other components in the mushroom