‘Whatever you want to believe’: kaleidoscopic individualism and ayahuasca healing in Australia
The Australian Journal of Anthropology July 14, 2015 DOI: 10.1111/taja.12143 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants in ayahuasca neoshamanic rituals in Australia |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Trance Vision Ideology Indigenous Individualism Aesthetics Reflexivity Everyday life Politics |
| Citations | 23 |
| Key findings | Ayahuasca neoshamanic practice in Australia is constituted by ritual conventions that define the individual as autonomous and responsible in relation to ecstatic trance and wellbeing. |
Abstract
Over the last fifteen years the use of the indigenous Amazonian psychoactive beverage ayahuasca has been reimagined in alternative healing circles of Western countries. This paper explores the practice of ayahuasca neoshamanism in Australia and examines ways in which acts of vomiting and ecstatic trance‐visions involve heightened affective states and moral projects of healing. Aspects of everyday life are purged, rearticulated, and reconstituted in rituals where codes of conduct and discursive exchange encourage practices of personal evaluation and reflexivity that appear to index ideologies of individualism. Through exploring social and discursive prohibitions and forms of sensory organisation, the practice of drinking ayahuasca in Australia is shown to be constituted by ritual conventions that define the individual as autonomous and responsible in relation to ecstatic trance and articulations of wellbeing.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The antipodes Of the mind Indigenous people, shamans, members of different religious sects using Ayahuasca, and... | 2002 | Qualitative study | |
| Drug Tourism or Spiritual Healing? Ayahuasca Seekers in Amazonia Westerners participating in an ayahuasca retreat in Amazonia | 2005 | Qualitative study | |
| Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Substance Dependence—Qualitative Results Therapists, expert researchers, and individuals who underwent ayahuasca-assisted... | 2014 | Qualitative study | n = 29 |
| Nourishing the Spirit: Exploratory Research on Ayahuasca Experiences along the Continuum of Recovery from Eating Disorders Individuals previously diagnosed with an eating disorder | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 16 |
| Exploring ayahuasca‐assisted therapy for addiction: A qualitative analysis of preliminary findings among an Indigenous community in Canada Indigenous adults in Canada who participated in ayahuasca-assisted ceremonial retreats | 2019 | Qualitative study | n = 11 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 23
- Psychedelic Communitas: Intersubjective Experience During Psychedelic Group Sessions Predicts Enduring Changes in Psychological Wellbeing and Social Connectedness. Frontiers in Pharmacology March 25, 2021
- Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Social Science & Medicine August 31, 2019
- Influence of Context and Setting on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes of Ayahuasca Drinkers: Results of a Large International Survey. Frontiers in Pharmacology April 21, 2021
- The potential synergistic effects between psychedelic administration and nature contact for the improvement of mental health. Health Psychology Open July 1, 2020
- Ayahuasca: Uses, Phytochemical and Biological Activities Natural Products and Bioprospecting May 27, 2019
and 18 more in the library