Use of Ayahuasca among Rubber Tappers of the Upper Juruá

Ayahuasca, known locally as cipó, was introduced among rubber tappers in the Alto Juruá region of the Brazilian Amazon through interactions with indigenous populations and their shamans. Some rubber tappers became apprentices and later renowned healers. Beginning in the 1980s, ayahuasca use became intertwined with the rubber tappers' political struggle against rubber bosses, merging ayahuasca mysticism with political conflict. New syntheses emerged with the incorporation of elements from the Santo Daime religious doctrine. The article is co-authored by an anthropologist and a rubber tapper whose initiation into ayahuasca combined non-indigenous and indigenous elements, resulting in an original synthesis narrated in first-person.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article is the fruit of co-authorship between an anthropologist with long research experience in the area of the Extractivist Reserve of the Alto Juruá, in the far west of the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon, and a rubber tapper who was first introduced to ayahuasca in the context of a rubber camp. His initiation has elements of non-indigenous and indigenous culture and results in a quite original synthesis, which is narrated in the first-person at the beginning of the article. The article traces the history of the introduction of ayahuasca, or cipó (vine), among the rubber tappers of the Alto Juruá in their relations with indigenous populations and their pajés (shamans), highlighting those rubber tappers who distinguished themselves as apprentices and became healers renowned among their contemporaries. Beginning in the 1980s the use of cipó occurs in the context of the struggle of rubber tappers against the rubber bosses, and ayahuasca mysticism merges with political conflict. New syntheses take place, now with the introduction of elements of the religious doctrine of Santo Daime.