SHAMANISM AND INDIGENOUS YOUTHHOOD IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON
Amazônica - Revista de Antropologia April 6, 2016 Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen 8 citations
Shamanic practices, particularly ayahuasca ceremonies, help young Manchineri Indians in the Brazilian Amazon build symbolic, cultural, social, and ethnic capital within their native communities and in interethnic relations. Based on ethnographic fieldwork from 2005 to 2007, the article shows that through shamanism, young people actively construct their agency and personhood, making their own decisions to interact with spirits and other humans. These practices have marked a turning point in the lives of many native young people.