Music and ayahuasca
Oxford University Press eBooks July 28, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199553792.003.0077 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Vision Consciousness Musical Phenomenology philosophy Altered state Aesthetics Visual arts Epistemology Anthropology |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that music is integral to the ayahuasca experience, influencing its phenomenology and the content of visions. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter examines the musical facets of the special state of mind induced by ayahuasca, a powerful Amazonian psychoactive brew especially famous for the vivid hallucinations that it induces. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first presents background information concerning ayahuasca and its scientific study, and discusses the use of music in ayahuasca rituals. The second part reviews and analyses the phenomenology of auditory and musical effects encountered in the special state of mind induced by ayahuasca inebriation, the effect of music on the ayahuasca experience and its visions, and musical performance. The third part deals with general issues such as the psychological import of music and its relationship to consciousness and its alteration.