Shamans’ gardens: sites of creative equivocation between Indigenous and internationalized ayahuasca shamanism
Françoise Barbira Freedman, Stephen Hugh‐jones
Journal de la Société des Américanistes 2025 DOI: 10.4000/14ya0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | One medicinal plant garden at an ayahuasca center |
| Topics | Ayahuasca Shamanism |
| Keywords | Indigenous Equivocation Vocabulary Constructive Traditional knowledge Amazon rainforest Anthropology Ethnography Element criminal law Ethnology Ceremony Acquiescence Ethnobotany |
| Key findings | Medicinal plant gardens at ayahuasca centers contain a relatively stable set of plants typical of Amazonian vegetalismo, and serve as sites of constructive equivocation where indigenous and biomedical perspectives partially accommodate one another. |
Abstract
If ayahuasca shamanism is now well studied, the medicinal plant gardens that form a standard element of ayahuasca centers have received less attention. Based on detailed mapping, recorded commentaries, and an accompanying website (https://yakumamaylivepharmacy.org), this paper provides concise data about the range of plants found in one such garden. Exploring the medicinal gardens’ relations to home gardens and swiddens, we identify a relatively stable plant set, typical of Amazonian vegetalismo, that defines shamans’ gardens as a genre in centers of ayahuasca shamanism. With visitors developing personal relationships with plants and with shamans adopting the vocabulary of biomedicine and psychotherapy, “ethnobotanical gardens” provide sites of constructive equivocation where contrasting cultural assumptions find partial accommodation.
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
Cites 5
- Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond Oxford University Press eBooks June 18, 2014
- "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Journal of Ethnopharmacology April 12, 2011
- Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Social Science & Medicine August 31, 2019
- The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2016
- Teacher plants - Indigenous Peruvian-Amazonian dietary practices as a method for using psychoactives. Journal of Ethnopharmacology March 25, 2022