Shamans’ gardens: sites of creative equivocation between Indigenous and internationalized ayahuasca shamanism

Ayahuasca shamanism is well studied, but the medicinal plant gardens commonly found at ayahuasca centers have received less attention. This paper provides detailed mapping and commentary on one such garden, identifying a relatively stable set of plants typical of Amazonian vegetalismo that defines shamans' gardens as a genre. Visitors develop personal relationships with plants, while shamans adopt biomedical and psychotherapeutic vocabulary. These ethnobotanical gardens become sites of constructive equivocation, where contrasting cultural assumptions find partial accommodation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

If ayahuasca shamanism is now well studied, the medicinal plant gardens that form a standard element of ayahuasca centers have received less attention. Based on detailed mapping, recorded commentaries, and an accompanying website (https://yakumamaylivepharmacy.org), this paper provides concise data about the range of plants found in one such garden. Exploring the medicinal gardens’ relations to home gardens and swiddens, we identify a relatively stable plant set, typical of Amazonian vegetalismo, that defines shamans’ gardens as a genre in centers of ayahuasca shamanism. With visitors developing personal relationships with plants and with shamans adopting the vocabulary of biomedicine and psychotherapy, “ethnobotanical gardens” provide sites of constructive equivocation where contrasting cultural assumptions find partial accommodation.