Psilocybin use among Basotho healers and non-healers in southern Africa
Eli Stark-Elster, Mamosebetsi Sethathi, Breyten Van der Merwe, Sandeep M. Nayak, David Bryce Yaden, Manvir Singh
April 23, 2026 DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/429dw_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 33 |
| Population | Basotho traditional healers and non-healers in Lesotho and South Africa |
| Topics | Psilocybin Shamanism |
| Keywords | Documentation Hallucinogen Narrative Rock art Funeral rites Traditional medicine Ethnology Ethnography Anthropology |
| Key findings | Basotho traditional healers and non-healers in southern Africa independently identify and use Psilocybe maluti in small doses alongside other psychoactive plants for initiation, healing, recreation, and protection, expanding the known geographic scope of traditional psilocybin use. |
Abstract
Reliable documentation of the traditional use of serotonergic psychedelics has long been confined to the Americas. Prevailing narratives often overstate the global prevalence and uniformity of traditional psychedelic use, extrapolating from a limited set of well-documented cases. Here, we report evidence of psilocybin mushroom use among Basotho traditional healers and non-healers in Lesotho and South Africa. Through semi-structured interviews with 26 healers (one subsequently excluded) and 8 non-healers, we found that 15 healers and 6 non-healers independently identified Psilocybe maluti, a recently described psilocybin-producing species endemic to southern Africa, and reported uses spanning four categories: incorporation into a psychoactive initiation brew, treatment of physical, mental, and spiritual ailments, recreation, and magical protection. Unlike the large ritualized doses characteristic of Mesoamerican psilocybin use, Basotho healers primarily apply small doses of P. maluti alongside other psychoactive plants, most notably the hallucinogenic bulb Boophone disticha. Multiple lines of evidence suggest these practices predate the mid-twentieth-century popularization of psilocybin. These findings expand the known geographic scope of traditional psilocybin use and reveal a mode of psychedelic application distinct from existing ethnographic models. More broadly, they underscore the importance of grounding contemporary interpretations of non-clinical psychedelic practices in careful empirical documentation rather than widely circulated but weakly supported generalizations.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Adults aged 22 to 69 with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study | 2018 | Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis | n = 12 |
| Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD | 2006 | Qualitative study | n = 53 |
| Cancer at the Dinner Table: Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Distress Adult participants with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis | n = 13 |