The supernatural salesman: unpacking shaman ‘witch doctor’ identity work
Journal of Marketing Management November 22, 2018 DOI: 10.1080/0267257x.2018.1549091 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnographic study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | Indigenous South American shamans engaged in selling and delivering ayahuasca ceremonies |
| Intervention | ayahuasca ceremonies |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Unpacking Witch Identity music Work physics Advertising Aesthetics |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | The shaman identity is founded on the otherworldly, which mitigates stigma and positions shamans as unchallengeable arbiters of all knowledge. |
Abstract
This ethnographic study examines the magico-spiritual identity work and sensegiving, carried out by five indigenous South American shamans engaged in selling and delivering ayahuasca ceremonies. Although ayahuasca tourism is the most popular and pervasive form of psychoactive tourism, shamans are routinely stigmatised from selling indigenous knowledge, either as demonic witch doctors from their local communities, or as drug dealers from the West. Unpacking the shaman identity, this study contributes to our understanding of how this hegemonic supernatural identity is well suited to mitigating stigma, and geared towards dominating the spiritual marketplace. Key findings indicate how the otherworldly is the foundation of the shaman identity, sensegiving, and shamans being viewed as the arbiters of all knowledge, unchallengeable by any other system of knowledge.
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
Cites 13
- Clinical investigations of the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca: rationale and regulatory challenges. Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 1, 2004
- The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization. Frontiers in Pharmacology March 2, 2016
- The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? International Journal of Drug Policy December 5, 2006
- 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
and 8 more in the library