Český lidSeptember 15, 2020Dima Salibová6 citations
An indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador have been hosting tourists seeking retreats that feature traditional medicinal plants such as ayahuasca and tobacco. The community has provided individual ceremonies with the plants, or more complex rites such as Natemamu. Natemamu is a rite that is comprised of repetitive ceremonies lasting ten to twelve days, which involves drinking large quantities of...
Traditional ayahuasca can be defined as a brew made from Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi and Amazonian admixture plants. Ayahuasca is used by indigenous groups in Amazonia, as a sacrament in syncretic Brazilian religions, and in healing and spiritual ceremonies internationally. The study aimed to determine concentrations of the main bio- and psychoactive components of ayahuasca used in...
Abstract In this article, I discuss how ritual is framed in the context of ayahuasca tourism, using ethnographic data collected in and around Iquitos, Peru. Alluding to a lack of socially sanctioned spaces for altered states of consciousness (ASCs) in western cultures, contemporary seekers flock to the Amazon to participate in ayahuasca ceremonies for an array of reasons, including healing and...
Recent research highlighted the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant brew used ritually in traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM). The present study evaluates the impact of integrating ayahuasca and TAM with psychotherapy on depression and anxiety in an inpatient addiction treatment program. Male patients (N = 31) were evaluated pre and post treatment using the Beck Anxiety...
Abstract Abstract Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant brew containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). It originates from the Amazon basin, where it is used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Ayahuasca tourists are now entering certain communities seeking alternative physical or psychological healing, as well as spiritual growth. Rationale Recent evidence has...
ReligionsJuly 21, 2020Carlos Miguel Gómez Rincón3 citations
This article offers an intercultural interpretation of the sense of the sacred in the practice of yage shamanism in Colombia. This practice is based on the ritual use of a plant medicine which for centuries has been the basis of the medical, spiritual and cultural systems of indigenous peoples of the Amazon piedmont in Colombia, Ecuador and Perú. Since the 1990s, this practice has expanded to...
RationaleAccumulating evidence suggests that ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic beverage used in traditional Amazonian communities for ritualistic and curative purposes, has been associated with reduced rates of substance use disorders. However, the brain mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca have not yet been fully elucidated.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to...
Background: Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazon brew and its potential antidepressant properties have recently been explored in scientific settings. We conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of ayahuasca with treatment-resistant depression patients ( n = 28) and healthy controls ( n = 45). Aims: We are evaluating the blood inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein and interleukin 6,...
O uso da Ayahuasca nas últimas décadas atingiu uma esfera internacional, sendo frequentemente utilizada por grupos religiosos com propósitos ritualísticos, terapêuticos e de crescimento pessoal. Estudos sobre os efeitos do chá de Ayahuasca vêm sendo realizados ao longo dos anos, porém as informações em relação à percepção dos usuários ainda são escassas. Com o objetivo de compreender quais...
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive infusion with a large pharmacological application normally prepared with Banisteriopsis caapi, which contains the monoamine oxidase inhibitors β-carbolines, and Psichotria virids, which contains the serotonin receptor agonist N,N dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The objectives of this study were to investigate the chemical profile of B. caapi and of ayahuasca collected in...