The role of hallucinogens in the social function of Amazonian ethnic groups is well known. This article traces the production of handicrafts, exclusively women's work, and the designs used for textiles and pottery. These designs are transmitted by the shaman who, during ayahuasca sessions and through synesthetic hallucination (acoustic-visual), perceives drawings given by ancient shamans (merayas), powerful mythical beings, or the aura of the person present in the sessions.
The meaning of music used by a semi-urbanized shaman in eastern Peru during an ayahuasca healing ceremony is clarified through a joint analysis of ritual and musical structures. The analysis suggests that music in such hallucinogenic rituals is an important and integral symbolic and structural feature of the ritual, in addition to providing psychological support and guidance to participants.
This article describes two shamanic complexes among the Ese Eja people. The first centers on the eyámilukwa, the traditional healer. The second, introduced around the turn of the century, relies on the plant hallucinogen ayahuasca and is closely tied to contact with mestizos and other Amazonian groups (deja). Unlike eyámikekwa rituals, ayahuasca ceremonies and discourse repeatedly reference deja, manufactured objects, trees, and certain aquatic animals. The article examines the meaning of these shamanic models and their interactions in the context of social and ecological change as relations between the Ese Eja and national society intensify.