A critical review of the literature on the diaspora of Brazilian ayahuasca religions 1

The Brazilian ayahuasca religions—Barquinha, Santo Daime, and União do Vegetal—originated in the twentieth century and were confined to northern Brazil until the early 1970s. Since then, Santo Daime and União do Vegetal have expanded across Brazil and internationally, crossing borders and the Atlantic Ocean. Their internationalization involves complex networks and transnational alliances, raising questions about cultural translation and religious diaspora. This chapter critically reviews the scattered academic literature—articles, theses, dissertations, and legal texts—on this process, using a comparative approach to identify characteristics, tendencies, and gaps in the field. It aims to serve as a guide for researchers and highlights the ayahuasca religions as a valuable locus for studying psychedelics, culture, language, and cognition.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Born during the twentieth century, Barquinha, Santo Daime, and the União do Vegetal, known as the Brazilian ayahuasca religions, were circumscribed to the northern region of Brazil at least until the beginning of the 70's. Since then, Santo Daime and the União do Vegetal have expanded significantly, each one in its own way, reaching all the regions of the country, crossing the Brazilian borders and the Atlantic Ocean. The process of internationalization of these groups involves complex nets and transnational alliances, generating intriguing issues on cultural translation and religious diaspora. Nevertheless, the theme is rarely explored and the information is widely scattered. This chapter proposes a critical review of the academic literature on the internationalization of these groups, including articles, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations in various languages, published or not, as well as texts on the legal aspects. Through a comparative approach, the authors seek to identify the main characteristics, tendencies, and perspectives of the ayahuasca field of studies. In this way, the hope is to call attention to the possibilities and gaps of this discussion and, at the same time, to stimulate the development of more research. This chapter aims to become a sort of guide to the researchers in this area as well as to be of use to others interested in the subject. The internationalization of the ayahuasca religions has already reached dozens of countries in the world and offers an interesting locus of study of the interaction among psychedelics, culture, language, and cognition.