Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 1, 2002
Robin Rodd
30 citations
Accounts of how yopo—a hallucinogenic snuff from Anadenanthera peregrina seeds—is prepared and used have changed little since the 19th century. Recent fieldwork among the Piaroa of southern Venezuela reveals a practice not described in those early reports: shamans add Banisteriopsis caapi cuttings to the snuff and also drink B. caapi before inhaling, adjusting doses based on the strength of visions needed for specific tasks. This combined use of yopo and B. caapi is pharmacologically and ethnobotanically significant, supporting claims that admixtures were used in snuff. The article argues that further ethnographic study of the snuff hallucinogen complex is necessary.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 1, 2008
Robin Rodd
22 citations
The harmala alkaloids in Banisteriopsis caapi have drawn attention for their monoamine oxidase inhibiting properties, but this focus has overshadowed the plant's broader cultural significance among indigenous South American societies. Among the Piaroa of southern Venezuela, who use only the cambium and identify at least five varieties of B. caapi, the plant is valued for heightening empathy and has extra-shamanic uses as a stimulant and hunting aid. Given the psychopharmacological complexity of harmala alkaloids and the ethnographic evidence, future research should reconsider B. caapi's cultural heritage and potential as a stimulant and antidepressant-like substance.
Critique of Anthropology
May 14, 2018
Robin Rodd
13 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant decoction, has spread from indigenous South American communities to urban areas worldwide, where it is used in neoshamanic rituals. Ethnography of Australian ayahuasca ceremonies reveals that individualism shapes the structure of rituals, interpretation of visionary experiences, and notions of spiritual development. Metaphors used by Australian drinkers reflect immunitary individualism, premised on negation of difference and relationality. Secular disenchantment and a culture of narcissism may drive people to seek ayahuasca, but transcendence is interpreted as an expansive, non-relational self. Neoshamanic ayahuasca culture may thus be both an escape from and reproduction of the culture of narcissism associated with modernity's malaise.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 1, 2011
Robin Rodd, Arelis Sumabila
7 citations
Among the Cuiva and Piaroa peoples of the Orinoco region, yopo—a hallucinogenic snuff from the Anadenanthera peregrina tree—remains central to cosmology and identity despite social changes. Cuiva use of yopo serves as a means of resisting persecution and asserting a just reality, while Piaroa attitudes are paradoxical: yopo is both the cause of harm and a means of salvation, required by shamans to create the future yet seen by many laypeople as a relic of the past. Persecution, missionary activity, and shamanic ethics are key factors shaping how hallucinogen use evolves among these groups.
SSM: Qualitative Research in Health
June 4, 2022
David M. O’shaughnessy, Zoltán Sarnyai, Frances Quirk et al.
A qualitative study of patients in a residential addiction treatment center using Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, including ayahuasca, found that therapeutic effects are possible but that the complexity of these practices should not be reduced to ayahuasca alone. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were analyzed using thematic analysis, revealing the richness of the medical tradition beyond the psychoactive substance.
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2021
D. O’Shaughnessy, I. Berlowitz, Robin Rodd et al.
A residential addiction treatment center in Tarapoto, Peru that combines Western and traditional Amazonian methods showed significant and clinically positive changes across all repeated psychological measures in 36 male inpatients. Improvements appeared early and were maintained over time, with significant gains also in neuropsychological functioning. The sample was 58% South American, 28% European, and 14% North American. The authors conclude the results provide evidence for treatment safety and suggest positive therapeutic effects.