Contrastes e continuidades em uma tradição Amazonica

This dissertation compares three Brazilian religions—Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal—that share the ritualistic use of ayahuasca (called Daime or Vegetal). These ayahuasqueiro cults form a tradition with shared and unique components, including various divisions, centers, and churches. The comparative analysis captures contrasts and similarities among the groups, clarifying how the tradition is built and transformed through a constant play of oppositions, accusations, and alliances. The study focuses on internal conflicts and crises involving practitioners of these three religious divisions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on a comparative study among distinct Brazilian religions from the same tradition, identified here as ayahuasqueiros cults, being characterized by the ritualistic use of a psychoactive substance ayahuasca, called Daime or Vegetal in the cases researched.This tradition has its unique and shared components in which there are divisions, centers, núcleos and churches.There are three main divisions (Santo Daime, Barquinha and União do Vegetal), with their several internal fragments.The comparative perspective has the objective of capturing the contrasts and similarities among the different groups from the mentioned tradition, aiming to clarify , simultaneously, how this tradition is built and transformed through a constant play of oppositions, accusations and alliances among these groups.For that reason, we have elected in this dissertation, the analysis of internal conflicts and crisis which have involved the practitioners of these three religions divisions focused.