El arte de ver. Chamanismo y búsqueda visionaria en los awajún (Perú)
Bulletin de l’Institut français d’études andines August 1, 2019 DOI: 10.4000/bifea.10638 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Awajun society (Jivaro linguistic family, Peru) |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that in Awajun society, the construction of personhood and acquisition of a new soul through psychotropic plants involves opposite yet complementary logics for common people (vision quest) and shamans (shamanic practice). |
Abstract
In this paper, I address the processes of constructing person and the acquisition of a new soul in the Awajun society (Jivaro linguistic family, Peru). This is based on psychotropic plants —tobacco, angel trumpet, ayahuasca and chagropanga—, the words and discourses about them as well as the implicit logics. On the other hand, it involves shamanism and vision quest. We will realize that these respective logics have different meanings to different people (common people or shaman): they are both opposite and complementary. Opposite, since the vision quest assumes a purge and a spiritual experience to be “clean, beautiful, adorned” and to have a life of plenty while shamanic practice requires a contamination to be prickly and to be able to gain access to the invisible. These perspectives are complementary, since the shamanic practice protects the individual from magical aggression or witchcraft during the vision quest.