Technologies of the Self in Contemporary South American Shamanisms

This analysis compares two South American shamanic traditions using Foucault's concept of technologies of the self. The Qom/Toba indigenous shamanism in Argentina's Chaco region and the Brazilian ayahuasca religion Santo Daime each create ontological thresholds through specific self-practices that challenge Christian and scientific worldviews. Historical context of Argentine and Brazilian socio-religious fields frames these shamanisms. Ethnographic data highlights how both traditions develop technologies of the self to achieve direct connection with the numinous, contesting assumptions about dominant worldviews.

Study at a glance

Abstract

I adapt Michel Foucault’s notion of technologies of the self to carry out a comparative analysis of two ethnographic cases of contemporary South American shamanisms. In these cases, their cosmological and ritual frameworks display ontological thresholds acceded through specific technologies of the self that contest current assumptions about both the Christian and the scientific hegemonic worldviews. In the first case, I review an indigenous ethnic shamanism rooted in Qom/Toba tradition in Argentina’s Chaco region. In the second one, I analyze Santo Daime, a Brazilian ayahuasca religion that displays shamanic traits. To contextualize these cases, I introduce historical data of the constitution of Argentine and Brazilian socio-religious fields, within which these forms of shamanism would emerge. I provide ethnographic data about the history and main religious features of these shamanisms and my analysis stresses the technologies of the self unfolded to achieve a direct connection with the numinous.