To browse Academia. This article presents a reflection on the entrance of indigenous peoples into the urban ayahuasca circuit. We observe the claim of some of these groups that they had been responsible for presenting ayahuasca to Mestre Irineu, the founder of Santo Daime. We consider the penetration of the discourse of some of these actors in the public debate, with the intention of understanding their demand for the participation of indigenous peoples in the process of recognizing ayahuasca as immaterial cultural heritage by the Institute of National Historic and Artistic Heritage IPHAN.
We analyze the way in which the entrance of these indigenous peoples into this circuit, or the participation of non-indigenous peoples in ceremonies in Acrean indigenous villages, are reconfiguring the field of Brazilian ayahuasca religiosity. This article focuses on new alliances and rifts that have emerged between and among different ayahuasca groups as they have sought and in some cases achieved formal recognition and legitimacy at the state and national levels in Brazil and abroad.
It presents a historical overview of the origin of the main ayahuasca religions, and their connections to the Amazon region and the state of Acre in particular, where the political environment has facilitated petitions seeking the elevation of ayahuasca as cultural and historical heritage in Acre and Brazil.
This process has resulted in the active selection of certain symbolic, cultural, and historical elements and subtle changes in the ways various ayahuasca groups represent themselves in the public sphere. It also resulted in the reconfiguration of political alliances and a recasting of the historical facts regarding origins.
During its expansion from the Amazon jungle to Western societies, ayahuasca use has encountered different legal and cultural responses. Following on from the earlier edited collection, The Expanding World Ayahuasca Diaspora continues to explore how certain alternative global religious groups, shamanic tourism industries, and recreational drug milieus grounded in the consumption of the traditionally Amazonian psychoactive drink ayahuasca embody various challenges associated with modern societies.
