Jurema In Contemporary Brazil: Ritual Re‐Actualizations, Mysticism, Consciousness, And Healing
Rodrigo de A. Grünewald, Robson Savoldi, Mark I. Collins
Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12150 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants in contemporary Brazilian esoteric jurema rituals, including users who treat jurema as a spiritual path |
| Interventions | Jurema Syrian rue (juremahuasca) |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key findings | The authors argue that jurema, especially when mixed with Syrian rue as 'juremahuasca,' is treated by contemporary Brazilian esoteric practitioners as an entheogen that produces altered states of perception and consciousness and mystical transformation, which users often frame as healing. They propose that understanding jurema requires attention to the cultural bricolage and mystical attributes practitioners elaborate, and to the intertwining of consciousness, mysticism, and healing. |
Abstract
AbstractThis article proposes an exposition and analysis of perceptions intrinsic to rituals carried out with the use of the jurema plant, especially when mixed with Syrian rue (juremahuasca) in contexts of contemporary esoteric re‐actualizations in Brazil. These rituals are conducted by people who look at jurema as a spiritual path, once acquainted with its psychedelic properties. We highlight the mystical attributes and the cultural bricolage elaborated by these individuals, who conduct ceremonies in ritual spaces in which participants experience altered states of perception and consciousness. Considered as an entheogen, jurema leads to states of mystical transformation in people. Such personal changes are often considered by users as the rhetoric of healing. Life stories and ethnographic contexts form the background of the article, which seeks to advance understandings about jurema based on speculations around the intertwining of the themes of consciousness, mysticism, and healing.