Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies October 31, 2009 S. Beyer
Mestizos in the Upper Amazon, descendants of Hispanic colonizers and indigenous peoples, have created a distinctive shamanic culture blending folk Catholicism, traditional Hispanic medicine, and Amazonian religious traditions—especially healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of hallucinogenic plants like ayahuasca. This culture produces brilliant visionary art and has spread globally, with ayahuasca shamans now performing ceremonies as far as Ontario and Wisconsin. The book describes what occurs at ayahuasca healing ceremonies, how apprentices form spiritual relationships with plant spirits, how sorcerers cause harm that shamans heal, and the uses of plants in healing, love magic, and sorcery.