Shamans’ gardens: sites of creative equivocation between Indigenous and internationalized ayahuasca shamanism

Summary

Ayahuasca centers feature medicinal plant gardens that are less studied than the shamanism itself. This paper maps and describes the variety of plants in one garden, highlighting a stable set typical of Amazonian vegetalismo. It notes how these gardens serve as spaces where visitors form relationships with plants and shamans incorporate biomedical language, creating a blend of cultural perspectives.

Study at a glance

Abstract

If ayahuasca shamanism is now well studied, the medicinal plant gardens that form a standard element of ayahuasca centers have received less attention. Based on detailed mapping, recorded commentaries, and an accompanying website (https://yakumamaylivepharmacy.org), this paper provides concise data about the range of plants found in one such garden. Exploring the medicinal gardens’ relations to home gardens and swiddens, we identify a relatively stable plant set, typical of Amazonian vegetalismo, that defines shamans’ gardens as a genre in centers of ayahuasca shamanism. With visitors developing personal relationships with plants and with shamans adopting the vocabulary of biomedicine and psychotherapy, “ethnobotanical gardens” provide sites of constructive equivocation where contrasting cultural assumptions find partial accommodation.

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