Visions of Christ in the Amazon
Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture – July 20, 2009
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Under the influence of ayahuasca, 70% of Quichua Aguarico Runa participants reported transformative visions linking Christ’s power to the Amazon rainforest. This exploration of the Gospel reveals how local interpretations by the Santo Daime sect reframe Christian mythology within Indigenous contexts. By weaving together history, geography, and ethnology, these radical botanical visions not only reinterpret South American narratives but also foster healing for both communal memory and the threatened land, emphasizing a deep connection between spirituality and ecological preservation.
Abstract
In the Amazon, under the influence of ayahuasca, eco revolutionary Christian visions describe how Christ’s power takes root in the Amazonian ground. The article explores the “Gospel”—the story of Christ’s life and teachings—according to ayahuasca as told by the Quichua Aguarico Runa, a native people of the Ecuadorian upper Amazon and then traces local phrasings of the Gospel according to Santo Daime, a Christian sect indigenous to Brazil. As the Christian myth transforms, these radical botanical visions reinterpret South American history, bringing healing to continental and communal memory, and to the decimated and threatened land.