Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice
Global Networks December 9, 2008 Kenneth W. Tupper 107 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive Amazonian indigenous brew traditionally used as an entheogen for spiritual and healing purposes, has globalized since the late twentieth century through new Brazilian religious movements and commodified cross-cultural vegetalismo rituals for non-indigenous participants. This article explores the rise of such rituals beyond the Amazon, examining philosophical and political concerns including the status of traditional indigenous knowledge, cultural appropriation, and intellectual property. It discusses a United States patent dispute and allegations of biopiracy related to ayahuasca, concluding with reflections on the future of ayahuasca drinking as a transnational sociological phenomenon.