In the Light of Hoasca
Sérgio Brissac
Fieldwork in Religion November 27, 2008 DOI: 10.1558/firn.v2i3.319 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Urban participants of the União do Vegetal (UDV) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Key findings | Argues that UDV members' experiences under the effects of the tea are strongly liminal and frequently serve as mediators linking their personal lives with the UDV worldview as a single reality. The author labels this 'encompassment in the force of the burracheira,' a concept that, following Brissac, denotes both being 'swept up' by ayahuasca's effects and the UDV symbolic system's absorption of elements from other religious practices. |
Abstract
This article deals with the symbolic experiences of urban participants of the União do Vegetal (UDV), in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Through the analysis of participant speech, it seeks to identify the discursive axes of disciples of the UDV. Subjects’ experiences under the effects of the tea are strongly liminal, and frequently act as mediators through which the subject articulates elements of his life with those of the UDV worldview, experiencing them as a single reality. This experience is labeled by the author as encompassment in the force of the burracheira (the UDV designation for the ‘strange force’ that accompanies ingestion of the tea). As elaborated by Brissac, this idea denotes both the subjective experience of being ‘swept up’ by the effects of ayahuasca, and the way in which the UDV as a symbolic system draws to itself elements of other religious practices.
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 |