Altered vision: Ayahuasca shamanism and sensory individualism
Current Anthropology April 1, 2021 Alex K. Gearin, Óscar Calavia Sáez 15 citations
Ayahuasca, an indigenous Amazonian shamanic brew, is being adopted by Australian neoshamanic practitioners who treat it as a medicine that provides personalized visions with clear moral meaning. This adoption reflects a new style of practice rooted in Western notions of individualism and visualism. In contrast, indigenous Amazonian approaches emphasize synesthetic and socially shared personhood, where visions are entangled in morally ambiguous everyday life. The article argues that neoshamanic ayahuasca use reproduces Enlightenment modes of property ownership by integrating visions as inalienable objects of healing, highlighting divergent forms of individualism between indigenous and Australian groups.