Drugged Subjectivity, Intoxicating Alterity
Donald Pollock
Anthropology of Consciousness March 2, 2016 DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12050 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Kulina Indians in western Brazil |
| Keywords | Appropriation Consciousness Subjectivity Alterity Identity music Indigenous Semiotics Environmental ethics Aesthetics Ethnology Anthropology Ecology Epistemology |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | Kulina intoxication is a form of semiotic appropriation of the identity of cosmological others, enhanced by embodying practices such as song and physical movement. |
Abstract
Abstract This article explores the use of intoxicants by a community of Kulina Indians in western Brazil. I suggest that Kulina intoxication through alcohol, tobacco, and ayahuasca is best understood as a form of semiotic appropriation of the identity of cosmological “others,” including animal spirits, creator beings, other Indian groups, and Brazilians. I consider how embodying practices, such as song and physical movement, enhance the experience of being an “alter,” facilitated by the alterations in consciousness produced by intoxicants.
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The role of Indigenous knowledges in psychedelic science Journal of Psychedelic Studies December 13, 2019
- Shamans in the Colonial Frontier Zone: Spirit Mastery in Eighteenth-Century Coastal Ecuador Ethnohistory 2023
- Strange Seeds: Ethnohistorical Testimonies of the Clandestine Culture of Sacred Plants in Colonial Ecuador Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2022
Cites 9
- The antipodes Of the mind November 7, 2002
- Drug Tourism or Spiritual Healing? Ayahuasca Seekers in Amazonia Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2005
- Experiences of Encounters with Ayahuasca—“the Vine of the Soul” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs December 1, 2009
- Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2012
- Ayahuasca and Spiritual Crisis: Liminality as Space for Personal Growth Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2008
and 4 more in the library