Position of the Ceremony with the Psychedelic Drink Ayahuasca in the Society of the Amero-Indians of the Amazon
Matea Stiperski Matoc, Zoran Stiperski, Tomica Hruška
IntechOpen eBooks December 11, 2023 DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.1003821 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Ceremony Amazon rainforest Consciousness Aesthetics Indigenous Painting |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that ayahuasca rituals facilitate expanded consciousness and psychological insight, which shamans express through paintings imbued with their cosmology. |
Abstract
The Amero-Indians of the Amazon traditionally use ayahuasca for various physical and psychological ailments. Shamans in the Peruvian Amazon use the psychedelic drug ayahuasca to have various experiences in guided rituals. The goal of this religious experience is to expand consciousness and gain deeper insights. Consumption of the drink can cause harmful psychotic and paranoid reactions, but the therapeutic value is paramount, namely, the expansion of consciousness, the sensitization to psychological problems, and the search for their solution. The experience gained in the ayahuasca ritual is colorful yet indescribable, so painting pictures serves to better understand the problem that the person is trying to solve. After the ayahuasca ritual, the Amazon shamans knew how to express their expanded consciousness and deep knowledge through painting. The paintings that emerge after the ayahuasca ceremony are imbued with their cosmology of understanding the world.
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
Cites 38
- Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry March 1, 2015
- Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology December 11, 2015
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of Ayahuasca Journal of Ethnopharmacology April 1, 1984
- Human Pharmacology of Ayahuasca: Subjective and Cardiovascular Effects, Monoamine Metabolite Excretion, and Pharmacokinetics Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics June 18, 2003
- Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease February 1, 1996
and 33 more in the library