Contribution of Magical-Religious Practices to Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Peru
January 9, 2026 José Mostacero-León, Jesús Manuel Charcape Ravelo, Anthony Jordan de la Cruz Castillo et al.
Magical-religious practices are central to preserving, using, and transmitting ethnobotanical knowledge in Peru, rooted in Andean-Amazonian worldviews. In the Andes, rituals like the "Florecimiento," "Levante," and "Mesada" use sacred plants such as San Pedro cactus and Datura and Brugmansia species for healing and spiritual connection. In the Amazon, the "Toma de ayahuasca" ceremony combines Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis to induce altered states of consciousness, spiritual diagnoses, and psycho-emotional healing. These practices form complex traditional medicine systems and channels for transmitting ancestral botanical knowledge, marked by syncretism between indigenous and Christian elements, with plants as mediators between natural, spiritual, and human worlds.