Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond

Abstract

This book discusses how Amerindian epistemology and ontology, related to certain indigenous shamanic rituals of the Amazon, spread to Western societies, and how indigenous, mestizo, and cosmopolitan cultures have dialogued with and transformed these forest traditions. Special attention is given to the hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca. Chapters reflect on how displaced indigenous people and rubber tappers are engaged in creative reinvention of rituals, and how these rituals help build ethnic alliances and cultural and political strategies for their marginalized position. The expansion of ayahuasca ... More

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Shamanism ?Unclear

  Argues that Amazonian shamanic rituals, especially ayahuasca ceremonies, have been creatively reinvented by displaced indigenous people and rubber tappers to build ethnic alliances and political strategies.

  Synthesized October 25, 2026

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.