The Importance of Ritual Discourse in Framing Ayahuasca Experiences in the Context of Shamanic Tourism

In ayahuasca tourism around Iquitos, Peru, rituals are deliberately framed to create liminal, transformative experiences aimed at healing through emotional modulation. Shamans use long speeches before or during ceremonies to separate the ritual space as liminal and to shape how participants conceptualize the experience, increasing its meaningfulness. Western seekers, lacking socially sanctioned spaces for altered states of consciousness, travel to the Amazon for healing and personal transformation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract In this article, I discuss how ritual is framed in the context of ayahuasca tourism, using ethnographic data collected in and around Iquitos, Peru. Alluding to a lack of socially sanctioned spaces for altered states of consciousness (ASCs) in western cultures, contemporary seekers flock to the Amazon to participate in ayahuasca ceremonies for an array of reasons, including healing and personal transformation. Taking Gregory Bateson's concept of “framing” as a point of departure, and applying Erving Goffman's frame analysis, I will show that contemporary ayahuasca ceremonies attended by westerners are designed to be liminal, transformative, and meaningful experiences that aim to heal the body through emotional modulation. I will demonstrate how this is achieved through specific discourse that takes place before or during rituals in the form of long speeches delivered by the shamans. This framing not only separates the ritual space as liminal but also frames the way that the experience is conceptualized by the participants, ultimately increasing its meaningfulness.