Efectos psicológicos en los rituales ancestrales en Sagrario-Ecuador

Healing rituals with the entheogenic plant aguacoya (San Pedro), practiced by Saraguro healers (yachag) in Ecuador, can promote mental health by helping individuals overcome unresolved psychological conflicts. Over two years, researchers observed 27 randomly selected participants in these all-night rituals. The plant induces physiological effects, visions, and sensory-affective disinhibition. Using Erikson's eight-stage model of psychosocial development, the analysis suggests that a specific psychological typology and certain personality traits predispose people to seek and benefit from the ritual, which integrates somatic, psychic, and social-ethical levels to address conflicts from earlier life stages.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Our communication seeks to understand the influence of ancient healing rituals on mental health. We understand mental health as the welfare state that results from the balance between the person and their environment: social, emotional and cultural. This research focuses on the healing rituals with entheogenic substances practiced by the yachag or healers of the Saraguro nationality. The Saraguro nationality belongs to the 14 ethnic groups and indigenous nationalities identified in Ecuador. It is characterized by the secrecy between ancient wisdom and the Western Catholic religion. They understand the physical and spiritual individual as a unit, physical healing begins with the spirit, with the energy of life. For the yachag the mother plant is the aguacoya or san pedro. Healing with aguacoya is performed with a ritual that lasts one night. The effects produced by the consumption of the plant are: physiological, visions and sensorial and affective disinhibition. From the studies of personality and mental health, we have set out to analyze the relationship of the individual with the healing and healing processes. We take Erikson’s hierarchical stages as a theoretical reference, from which the development of life is proposed in eight stages that face social realities in function of the Ego. We participated for two years in ritual sanctions with aguacoya, observing the process of personal change of 27 randomly selected participants. We analyze the influence of ritual, integrating the levels: somatic, psychic and social-ethical; understanding these levels in relation to Erikson from the unresolved conflicts in each of the stages of life. There is a psychological typology that predisposes individuals to participate in rituals and a series of personality traits that influence the individual to find healing by overcoming unresolved conflicts through ritual.