Contemporary Guarani Shamanisms: “Traditional Medicine” and Discourses of Native Identity in Brazil
E J Langdon, I S Rose
Health Culture and Society September 8, 2012 DOI: 10.5195/hcs.2012.98 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Guarani Indians along the southern coast of Brazil |
| Topics | Ayahuasca Shamanism |
| Keywords | Indigenous Ethnology Diversity politics Psychoactive substance Identity music Cultural identity Anthropology Amazon rainforest Traditional medicine Social science Aesthetics Archaeology Ecology |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that the Guarani adoption of ayahuasca is linked to indigenous identity politics and cultural diversity policies, and is part of a broader cultural revitalization driven by a leading family in one village. |
Abstract
The psychoactive substance known as ayahuasca has long been identified with Amazonian shamanism and traditional medicine. Over the last two decades its use has spread outside this region to urban populations in different parts of the world. This paper examines the adoption of the ritual use of the beverage by the Guarani Indians along the southern coast of Brazil. We argue that this process is related to the growing politics of identity of Brazilian indigenous peoples as well as to public policies that promote cultural diversity. In the case analyzed here, the adoption of ayahuasca is articulated with an ongoing cultural revitalization in activities related to shamanism, health and education and with the specific desires and actions of the leading family in one Guarani village.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The woman who chose the terreiro. Lay care and medical landscapes in mental health care in Rio de Janeiro. Anthropology & medicine December 1, 2022
- Ayahuasca Crossroads : an ethnography of the circulation of ayahuasca rituals between urban Brazil and Europe March 27, 2024
- “Forest medicines,” Kinship Alliances, and Equivocations in the Contemporary Dialogues between Santo Daime and the Yawanawá Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2022