Subjective Configurations in Cacao Ceremonies: A Theoretical Analysis from a Latin American Cultural–Historical Psychology Perspective
Religions October 20, 2025 Rodolfo Bastián Valle-Kendall, Carlos Piñones Rivera
Cacao ceremonies, a neo-shamanic ritual growing in popularity, can foster well-being by enabling participants to reconfigure their subjectivity. Drawing on González-Rey's theory, the article argues that cacao acts as a symbolic mediator generating new subjective senses, while rituals stabilize dynamic subjective configurations. Shamans guide this process through discourse, materials, and emotions. These transformations are not mechanically determined by social context but arise as historically situated singular productions. However, the ritual is ambivalent: it can both foster genuine subjective change and reproduce neoliberal logics.