The Duboisia genus, Australian aborigines and suggestibility.
Journal of psychoactive drugs January 1, 1999 M D De Rios, R Stachalek 14 citations
Plant hallucinogens like those from the Duboisia genus (pituri) were used by Australian Aboriginal tribal elders to induce suggestible states in youth, particularly during pubertal initiatory rituals marking the transition to manhood. This practice served to rapidly educate young people and inculcate cultural values, beliefs, and religious tenets, contributing to cultural cohesiveness and survival. The article examines suggestibility as a psychological characteristic of altered states and as a normal human phenomenon, drawing on a 100-item bibliography from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. It also reviews botanical and chemical data on Duboisia use up to the end of the nineteenth century, describing how the hallucinogen functioned as a psychotechnology.