Conditions for the spread of the Peyote cult in North America
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis January 16, 2019 Åke Hultkrantz 2 citations
Since the late 1800s, a nativistic Indian movement called the peyote cult (or peyote religion) has spread across native North America, centered on the Prairies and Plains. Its central ritual involves consuming the peyote cactus, which contains hallucinogenic mescaline. Pre-Columbian Mexicans used peyote in public ceremonies, but the modern form is a distinct religious complex promoting health, happiness, and welfare. The text examines conditions for the cult's diffusion, asking why it spread to some areas and was obstructed in others, noting that changes in the North American Indian situation at the end of the nineteenth century enabled religious innovations and the introduction of this foreign movement.