Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture
July 20, 2009
Lisa Maria Madera
3 citations
Among the Quichua Aguarico Runa of the Ecuadorian upper Amazon and the Brazilian Christian sect Santo Daime, ayahuasca-induced visions produce a radical reinterpretation of the Christian Gospel. Christ's power is described as taking root in Amazonian soil, and these botanical visions recast South American history, offering healing to communal and continental memory as well as to the decimated and threatened land itself.
Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture
March 13, 2024
Servando Z. Hinojosa
Peyote shrines in South Texas, created and maintained by licensed dealers who sell peyote to Native American Church members, serve as surrogate ritual sites. These shrines mark an entry portal to the region and offer many Native Americans their only chance to see peyote growing in the ground. They prompt prayers and conversations about 'relations' back home, kindling acts of remembrance between generations and between Native Americans and dealers. Visitors perform actions at the shrines that tie into rituals of thanks, gathering, and healing associated with other places, underscoring the shrines' surrogate ritual importance for those who cannot access other ritual sites. The shrines anchor memories and challenge conventional thinking about agency, extending ritualists' reach into adjacent spaces.
Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture
August 1, 2016
James Treat
American Indian traditions form a crucial intersection of religion and ecology, often rooted in the natural world even when incorporating Christian elements. In the late 1800s, ethnologist James Mooney encountered the sacramental use of peyote, a cactus from the southern Rio Grande Valley and northern Mexico, among Southern Plains tribes. Oral accounts trace the origin of modern peyote religion to a woman. Mooney witnessed Peyote Woman's ceremony in February 1891 near Anadarko, Oklahoma. While peyote is essential to the religion, understanding the tradition hinges on the figure of Peyote Woman.
Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture
January 25, 2008
Graham Harvey
A cultural history of the magic mushroom traces its use and significance across different societies and time periods, from prehistoric rock art to modern psychedelic movements. The book examines how the mushroom has been intertwined with religious, spiritual, and recreational practices, and how its perception has shifted in response to scientific, legal, and social changes.