Philosophy of Enthusiasm: A Dialogue between hataj and kykeon
Psychology and Mental Health Care October 4, 2023 DOI: 10.31579/2637-8892/230 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Wichí philosophy rests on the hayawu shaman figure, whose force qopfwayaj allows him to see, transform, and dissolve the limits of the normal, and that entheogens serve as catalytic technologies for this singular episteme. The authors further propose a conceptual articulation between this worldview and the ancient Greek Mysteries of Eleusis, where initiates ingested narkissos to receive a divine vision. |
Abstract
In an academic context it is always difficult to speak of an aboriginal philosophy. However, this study addresses some aspects of the wichí worldview, where their philosophy rests on the portentous figure of the hayawu ‘shaman’ (or shamaness). In this sense, this being has an enigmatic force known as qopfwayaj, whose power gives him the ability to see, transform and dissolve the limits of “normal”. Likewise, this prodigious individual possesses entheogens as catalytic technologies for the execution of his singular episteme. In addition, a conceptual articulation is made with a rite of mystic-religious character of ancient Greece known as the Mysteries of Eleusis, where the initiates, through the ingestion of narkissos, were revealed the divine vision.