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SHAMANISM AND INDIGENOUS YOUTHHOOD IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen

Amazônica - Revista de Antropologia April 6, 2016 DOI: 10.18542/amazonica.v1i1.146 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Ethnography Peer reviewed
Population Young Manchineri Indians in the indigenous reserve and urban areas of Acre, Brazil
Intervention Ayahuasca ceremonies
Duration 2005 to 2007 (fieldwork period)
Topics Ayahuasca Shamanism
Keywords Amazon rainforest Indigenous Ethnography Personhood Agency philosophy Ethnology Capital architecture Anthropology Gender studies Social science Ecology Archaeology Law
Citations 8
Key findings Shamanic practices among young Manchineri produce symbolic, cultural, social, and ethnic capital, enabling them to actively shape their agency and personhood.

Abstract

This article deals with contemporary shamanism among young Indians in Brazilian Amazonia. It explores the meaning of shamanic practices for today’s Amazonian young Indians. The article focuses on the ayahuasca ceremonies practiced by young Manchineri living in both the indigenous reserve and urban areas in the State of Acre, Brazil. Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out between 2005 and 2007. Shamanic practices produce symbolic capital that may credit in one’s own native community and in interethnic relations. The spiritual and traditional knowledge, trust, values, and instructions on life generate cultural capital, social capital, as well as ethnic capital. Through shamanism young people have an active role in the construction of their agency and personhood, as it also is about youth’s own decision to interact with the spirits and other humans. Shamanic practices have marked a turning point in the lives of many native young people. Keywords: Shamanism, ayahuasca, Manchineri

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
"Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... 2011 Qualitative study n = 36
Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... 2019 Ethnography with literature review n = 227
The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru 2016 Ethnography
Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin 1992 Ethnographic review and analysis
Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru 2012 Ethnography

Citations in the library

Cited by 3

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Ayahuasca Shamanism