Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca

Fotiou, Evgenia; Gearin, Alex K.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112532

Cited by 67 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The brew is known for its strong emetic capacities, and vomiting is a frequent feature of ritual sessions. In neoshamanic contexts, the release of bodily fluids is bound up with subjective transformation trajectories (see Metzner 1999a; Luna and White 2016; Fotiou and Gearin 2019). Most participants consider vomiting to be a key part in bodily and mental processes of cleansing.…”

Section: Doing Ayahuasca: Songs Holes Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Accidental Environmentalism: Nature and Cultivated Affect in European Neoshamanic Ayahuasca Consumption

Harms

2021

Anthropol of Consciousness

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Existing research demonstrates a positive connection between psychedelics and increased nature relatedness. Enhanced affective ties toward nature are widely framed as being built into the pharmakon itself, and the relevance of experiences remains little understood. This paper turns to neoshamanic ayahuasca ceremonies in Europe, exploring the way specialists and attendants refer to nature in speech and performance. I argue that ritual framings performed during these ceremonies provide fertile ground for affective ties to emerge through substance-induced experiences. I trace such framings by exploring how medicine and healers are being coded; how specific materialities are rendered meaningful; and how individual experiences are discussed at such retreats. I argue that even while participants prioritize individual healing, personal development, or the satisfaction of psychonautical curiosity, environmentalism appears to be anchored by the proceedings themselves. Thus, this paper opens up for analysis ceremonial substance use as a contact zone where coherence is produced intersubjectively. k e y w o r d s : nature relatedness, ayahuasca, neoshamanism, ritual, Europe It is noon on Saturday, and time to rest between two nocturnal sessions. A few of us have taken to the woods to stretch our legs and take in fresh air on this bright autumn day. As we walk through the forest close to the retreat

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Section: Doing Ayahuasca: Songs Holes Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Accidental Environmentalism: Nature and Cultivated Affect in European Neoshamanic Ayahuasca Consumption

Harms

2021

Anthropol of Consciousness

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“…Additional 5-HT receptors are present in the brain and intestine, although they have different functions in their respective locations. Peripheral 5-HT is located in platelets, mast cells and enterochromaffin cells, where it modulates motility and digestive functions in the gastrointestinal system 59,60 . The 5-HT 2A brain receptor, for example, the main target of psychodysleptics, is peripherally involved in the contraction of the smooth muscles of the intestine and is centrally involved in cognitive processes and in higher-order moods 58 .…”

Section: Jonas Frederico Passed Away Onmentioning

confidence: 99%

When formulation procedures strongly matter: a case study of ayahuasca use in Centro Luz Divina, Piedade, São Paulo, Brazil

Fonseca

Rodrigues

2021

Rev. Ciênc. Farm. Básica Apl.

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Objectives:The objectives of this study were (a) to describe the history of the formation of the Centro Luz Divina (CLD), Piedade, São Paulo, (b) to describe the plants and recipes involved in making ayahuasca, and (c) to provide information for future chemical and pharmacological studies of ayahuasca. Methods: During the 578 hours of fieldwork between 2017 and 2019, 10 interviewees were interviewed (two priests and eight CLD leaders). The methods and techniques from cultural anthropology were used to conduct a snowball sampling to select respondents and record data through unstructured interviews, participant observation and field diaries. Data on the history of the CLD's formation, plants and beverage recipes were recorded. The plants were dry collected and deposited at the UNIFESP Herbarium. Results: The history of the formation of the CLD, which was founded in 2002, was detailed. This center produces several recipes of the ayahuasca beverage during rituals named feitios in Portuguese by using the plants Psychotria viridis and Banisteriopsis caapi. The process of making two of these recipes was detailed in the present study, and they are the "First Degree beverage" and "Second Degree beverage", which vary in preparation time, concentration, diversity and amount of the plant used and may lead to different "potencies of the beverage", according to the interviewees' reports. From a pharmacological point of view, higher degree beverages are probably richer beverages from the chemical and pharmacological perspectives. Conclusion: Ayahuasca recipes produced at the CLD may have different "potencies". However, future chemical and pharmacological investigations should consider these and other types of ayahuasca found in other Daimist centers in their protocols since many studies suggest the use of the substances in this beverage for treating Parkinson's, anxiety, depression, and other ailments, as described in the scientific literature.

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“…Shamanism is seen as the most radically other to Western biomedicine, when compared to other ethnomedical practices (Bastien 1992, 93); people frustrated by the biomedical paradigm turn to shamanism, seeking more holistic and "natural" healing. Purging is important to the healing process and is perceived as spiritual as well as physical cleansing (Fotiou and Gearin 2019). When purging during the ceremony, many have reported the feeling that they were purging negative things accumulated in their bodies over years.…”

Section: Alterity and Intercultural Translation In Shamanic Tourismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shamanic Tourism in the Peruvian Lowlands: Critical and Ethical Considerations

Fotiou

2020

J Latin Amer Carib Anth

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This article examines the phenomenon of shamanic tourism, which began in Amazonia in the 1980s. The author has researched the phenomenon since the early 2000swhile it was still at its infancy-in Iquitos, Peru, which is today considered the mecca of shamanic tourism. Contemporary Amazonian shamanism emerged as a response to the violent and disruptive process of the rubber boom; however, in the context of tourism, it is viewed as the healing force for bodily and mental ailments that stem from what is perceived as the West's spiritual impoverishment. The article reviews the phenomenon of shamanic tourism and the challenges it presents in the 21st century, situating it within larger scholarly conversations on ethnic tourism and cultural appropriation. Finally, potential avenues for future research are presented. [Amazonia, ayahuasca, shamanic tourism, shamanism] R e s u m e n Este artículo examina el fenómeno del turismo chamánico, que comenzó en la Amazonía en la década de 1980. He investigado el fenómeno desde principios de la década de 2000-cuando todavía estaba en su infancia-en Iquitos, Perú, hoy considerado la meca del turismo chamánico. Aunque el chamanismo amazónico contemporáneo surgió como una respuesta al proceso violento y disruptivo del auge del caucho, en el contexto del turismo, es visto como la fuerza curativa para las dolencias corporales y mentales que se derivan de lo que se percibe como el empobrecimiento espiritual del Occidente. El artículo revisa el fenómeno del turismo chamánico y los desafíos que presenta en el siglo XXI situándolo dentro de conversaciones académicas sobre turismo

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Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca

Cited by 67 publications

References 32 publications

Accidental Environmentalism: Nature and Cultivated Affect in European Neoshamanic Ayahuasca Consumption

Accidental Environmentalism: Nature and Cultivated Affect in European Neoshamanic Ayahuasca Consumption

When formulation procedures strongly matter: a case study of ayahuasca use in Centro Luz Divina, Piedade, São Paulo, Brazil

Shamanic Tourism in the Peruvian Lowlands: Critical and Ethical Considerations

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