Non-Native Ayahuasca Use
OpenAlex – May 25, 2011
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Nearly all participants in a study on ayahuasca reported positive experiences, highlighting its transformative potential. Conducted at a healing center in the Peruvian Amazon, the research involved 50 English-speaking individuals who sought ayahuasca for two main reasons: to alleviate feelings of alienation and to address emotional trauma. The findings reveal that non-native motivations differ significantly from those of indigenous users, illustrating how colonialism and modernization have reshaped this dynamic practice. Ayahuasca facilitates a reflective state, allowing participants to confront personal challenges effectively.
Abstract
This thesis explores the use of ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant concoction from the Amazon, by people from the English speaking world. This thesis argues that there is no “original” or “typical” use of ayahuasca; it is a dynamic practice that has undergone massive change. In order to show this change, this thesis describes the different roles that shamans have had as a result of colonialism and modernization. Fieldwork was carried out at a healing center in the Peruvian Amazon. The motivations of informants and the effects ayahuasca had on them are compared with previous research on non-native ayahuasca use. The motivations of non-natives for taking ayahuasca are different from native motivations. The two main reasons are a desire for an end to alienation and a resolution of emotional trauma. Nearly all participants reported positive experiences from taking ayahuasca. The ayahuasca intoxication produces a liminal period, in which participants are able to reflect upon the issues affecting them.