Nixi pae and its transcendental connection: An ethnographic essay on ayahuasca rituals in a Huni Kuin community in Brazil
Ana Verônica de Sá Resende, Txanawa Inu Bake, Fabrício Borges Carrijo
Etnografia. Praktyki, Teorie, Doświadczenia December 16, 2024 DOI: 10.26881/etno.2024.10.15 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Huni Kuin community in Acre, Brazil |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Ethnography Transcendental number Situated Amazon rainforest Reflexivity Anthropology State computer science Timor leste Ethnology Grounded theory |
| Key findings | Ayahuasca rituals in a Huni Kuin community serve healing purposes and foster intimate connections with spirituality within Huni Kuin cosmology. |
Abstract
The Huni Kuin people, inhabiting the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Peru, have mastered the use of ayahuasca, which serves as a conduit bridging different realms of existence. Grounded in an immersive personal experience of participating in an ayahuasca ceremony, this paper explores ayahuasca rituals in a Huni Kuin community in the Brazilian state of Acre, focusing on their healing purposes and role in fostering intimate connections with spirituality, as situated within Huni Kuin cosmology. Writing from distinct yet interconnected positionalities, we adopt a collaborative decolonial approach that centres Huni Kuin ways of knowing, being, and healing.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The antipodes Of the mind Indigenous people, shamans, members of different religious sects using Ayahuasca, and... | 2002 | Qualitative study | |
| Drug Tourism or Spiritual Healing? Ayahuasca Seekers in Amazonia Westerners participating in an ayahuasca retreat in Amazonia | 2005 | Qualitative study | |
| Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Substance Dependence—Qualitative Results Therapists, expert researchers, and individuals who underwent ayahuasca-assisted... | 2014 | Qualitative study | n = 29 |
| Nourishing the Spirit: Exploratory Research on Ayahuasca Experiences along the Continuum of Recovery from Eating Disorders Individuals previously diagnosed with an eating disorder | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 16 |
| Exploring ayahuasca‐assisted therapy for addiction: A qualitative analysis of preliminary findings among an Indigenous community in Canada Indigenous adults in Canada who participated in ayahuasca-assisted ceremonial retreats | 2019 | Qualitative study | n = 11 |