Edilene Coffaci de Lima

2 papers in the library · 20 citations · publishing 2007-2014

Papers

"Remédio da Ciência" e "Remédio da Alma": os usos da secreção do kambô (Phyllomedusa bicolor) nas cidades

CAMPOS - Revista de Antropologia Social October 15, 2007 Edilene Coffaci de Lima, Beatriz Caiuby Labate 14 citations

Since the mid-2010s, the use of the secretion from the frog Phyllomedusa bicolor, known as kambô, has spread in large Brazilian cities. Traditionally used as a stimulant and invigorator for hunting by indigenous groups of the southwestern Amazon (including Katukina, Yawanawá, and Kaxinawá), kambô has attracted dual interest in urban centers: as a 'science remedy'—emphasizing its biochemical properties—and as a 'soul remedy'—valuing its indigenous origins. Its urban diffusion occurs mainly in alternative therapy clinics and within Brazilian ayahuasca religious settings. Applicators are diverse: indigenous people, former rubber tappers, holistic therapists, and doctors. This article presents an ethnography of kambô's diffusion, analyzing the discourse these various applicators have developed about the secretion, understood by some as a kind of 'power plant,' analogous to peyote and ayahuasca.

DOI: 10.5380/cam.v8i1.9553 Art Humanities

Medical Drug or Shamanic Power Plant: The Uses of Kambô in Brazil

Ponto Urbe December 30, 2014 Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Edilene Coffaci de Lima 6 citations

Since the mid-2010s, the use of the secretion from the Phyllomedusa bicolor frog (kambô) has spread in large Brazilian cities, and later in European and North American cities. Traditionally used by indigenous groups of the southwestern Amazon (Katukina, Yawanawá, Kaxinawá) as a hunting stimulant, kambô now attracts dual interest: as a "science remedy" emphasizing its biochemical properties, and as a "soul remedy" valuing its indigenous origins. Urban diffusion occurs mainly in alternative therapy clinics and Brazilian ayahuasca religious settings. Applicators include indigenous people, former rubber tappers, holistic therapists, and doctors. This ethnography analyzes the discourse these diverse applicators construct around kambô, some understanding it as a 'plant of power' analogous to peyote and ayahuasca.

DOI: 10.4000/pontourbe.2384 Ayahuasca Indigenous Amazon rainforest Ethnography +11