The routes of a plant: ayahuasca and the global networks of Santo Daime
Jonathan Thomas Lowell, Paul C. Adams
Social & Cultural Geography March 31, 2016 DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2016.1161818 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Outreach Agency philosophy Amazon rainforest Nexus standard Power physics Religious experience Anthropology of religion Archaeology Social science Ecology Law Epistemology History of religions |
| Citations | 16 |
| Key points | Proposes that religious networking in the Santo Daime tradition can be understood through three forms of crossing (terrestrial, corporeal, and cosmic) held together by the power of place. |
Abstract
This paper examines the Santo Daime religion, the Amazonian town of Céu do Mapiá which is one of its primary spiritual centres, and Ayahuasca, a key sacrament of the Santo Daime religion. The small village in the Amazon demonstrates the active outreach by a place which functions as a nexus of international and intercontinental flows of substances, bodies and meanings. The power of place is entwined with the story of religious belief and practice, which in turn depends on a tropical vine, Banisteriopsis caapi. In this networking process, we find a confluence of human agency with more-than-human agency, as well as the modalities of religious experience, crossing and dwelling. It is demonstrated that religious networking can be understood in terms of three forms of crossing (terrestrial, corporeal and cosmic) held together by the power of place (Mapiá and other subsidiary spiritual centres). In addition, three aspects of the 'ayahuasca network' are treated in depth: religious diffusion and adaptation, interaction with environmental movements and ideologies and contestation with legal structures and processes surrounding international drug traffic and the use of psychoactive substances.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey. PLOS global public health 2022
- 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
- Psychotherapeutic and neurobiological processes associated with ayahuasca: A proposed model and implications for therapeutic use Frontiers in Neuroscience January 31, 2023
- Shared functional connectome fingerprints following ritualistic ayahuasca intake. Neuroimage 2024
- Ayahuasca Pretreatment Prevents Sepsis-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior, Neuroinflammation, and Oxidative Stress, and Increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. Molecular Neurobiology May 1, 2025
and 7 more in the library
Cites 12
- Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Current Drug Abuse Reviews June 1, 2013
- Drug Tourism or Spiritual Healing? Ayahuasca Seekers in Amazonia Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2005
- Ayahuasca and the process of regulation in Brazil and internationally: Implications and challenges International Journal of Drug Policy August 19, 2011
- Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice Global Networks December 9, 2008
- Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil April 8, 2016
and 7 more in the library