International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2009
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ilana Seltzer Goldstein, Campinas State Univesity
15 citations
Brazilian ayahuasca religious groups sought recognition as part of the nation's immaterial cultural heritage in 2008. Anthropology professor Antonio A. Arantes discusses the challenges of Brazil's immaterial cultural policy, using examples like candomblé and samba to explore issues of authenticity and tradition. He then examines the ayahuasca case, linking the heritage request to legal questions, the difficulty of defining which aspects should be recognized, and the likelihood that these groups will become a national symbol.
Mana
September 1, 2017
Ilana Seltzer Goldstein, Beatriz Caiuby Labate
8 citations
Ernesto Neto's artworks, recently exhibited in major museums in Bilbao, São Paulo, and Vienna, draw power from their reference to Huni Kuin (Kaxinawa) ayahuasca healing rituals. This growing visibility of Indigenous presence in the art world parallels the entry of Indigenous peoples into urban ayahuasca circuits. The circulation of new forms of shamanism, ayahuasca consumption, art objects, and performances across national and international networks demonstrates the vitality and adaptability of Indigenous cultural practices while opening possibilities for transcultural dialogue. However, it also encounters thorny challenges: legal prohibitions on ayahuasca use, difficulties protecting traditional intellectual property, and the potential reification of identities. The text uses Neto's collaboration with the Huni Kuin to reflect on these issues.
February 15, 2018
Ilana Seltzer Goldstein, Beatriz Caiuby Labate
1 citation
The circulation of ayahuasca and Indigenous art in global urban networks shows the adaptability of Indigenous cultural practices, opening new possibilities for intercultural dialogue while raising issues of legality, intellectual property, and stereotyping. Installations by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, created with varying degrees of participation by the Huni Kuin people of Acre, Brazil, draw on ayahuasca healing traditions. Since around 2000, Indigenous groups in Brazil have organized ayahuasca experiences for urban middle-class participants, and Indigenous artists have entered contemporary art spaces only recently, unlike in Australia, Canada, and the United States where this began in the 1990s. The chapter examines Neto's collaborations with the Huni Kuin to reflect on authenticity, cultural appropriation, and commoditization.