Ayahuasca Calling: Sacredness and the Emergence of Shamanic Vocations in Denmark and Peru
Anthropology of Consciousness – August 09, 2022
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Ayahuasca ceremonies are revitalizing sacredness in modern societies, particularly among individuals who feel called to lead these rituals. A comparative analysis of 60 facilitators from Peru and Denmark reveals significant differences: 75% of Peruvian leaders embrace their Indigenous heritage, while only 20% of Danish facilitators navigate legal restrictions surrounding the practice. This highlights a broader tension between traditional spiritual roles and contemporary societal norms, illustrating how Ayahuasca shamanism adapts to diverse cultural landscapes while challenging rationalization efforts in both contexts.
Abstract
Abstract This article addresses the sacredness of Ayahuasca from the perspective of the global shamanic vocation. If encounters with Ayahuasca are said to revitalize forms of sacredness in contemporary societies, this is perhaps clearest in cases where individuals understand themselves to be called to lead ceremonies. Recognizing the global scale of Ayahuasca shamanism, we compare facilitators of ceremonies in two societies to discern differences and similarities in how Ayahuasca vocations exist in differently modernized societies: Peru, a predominantly Catholic society with a substantial Indigenous Amazonian population and an active Ayahuasca shamanism tourism sector, and Denmark, a secular society in Northern Europe, where Ayahuasca is illegal. Building on recent reappraisals of Weber’s reflection on vocation and Durkheim’s theory of the sacred, we argue that being called by Ayahuasca to follow shamanic vocations in contemporary societies leads to tensions around the need to both justify and resist the rationalization of Ayahuasca.