Dissertation Research Proposal – SOAN 60922

Student Number – 8557204O

MAVA Second Semester – 2012/2013

Word Count – 3965

The Other Becomes Another

Considerations over the commercialization of

spirituality, healing rituals and neo-

shamanism in the Amazon basin of Peru

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1.AbstractThis dissertation is concerned with the socio-economic

dynamics present in the Peruvian jungle regarding the

modern usage of the psychoactive brew ayahuasca. To what

extent has one of the most ancient indigenous panaceas

become an institutionalized commercial product for

foreigners to come and experience a sort of fast-food

version of shamanism. And how do the natives and Indian

mestizos see the proliferation of this profit orientated

and very unique, even extreme, kind of tourism?

Supported by Michael Taussig’s concepts of cultural

mimesis and Luis Eduardo Luna’s extensive work and

practice with ayahuasca I seek to comprehend where are

the power relations located in this dialectic between

Western travellers and contemporary shamans. What sort

of moral issues (similarities/ conflicts) will surface

from both sides during the research – considering that

ayahuasca tourism is presently one of the country’s

international trademarks.

Key words: Ayahuasca, Amazonia, Shamanism, Globalization,

Mimesis.

2. Research aimsI consider Geertz infamous definition of culture as

“stories we tell ourselves about ourselves” (1980: 121)

of great importance to start off this study, since it

will revolve around the motives of two distinct groups

of people from, a priori, completely different cultural

backgrounds. My main aim is to tap into the

considerations they both have of each other in the

context of this medicinal hallucinogenic purge. Although

the practice of shamanic rituals are amongst some of the

oldest tribal practices in the world it was not until

the mid 20th century, through the explorations of ethno-

botanist Richard Evans Schultes, that the existence of

ayahuasca was revealed to the modern world. But it only

became part of the popular underground imaginarium due to

the influence of the hippie movement during the decade

of the sixties in North America (through William

Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Yage Letters’ and Carlos

Castaneda’s impressive tales – whose scientifically

validity have frequently been put into question), which

induced an interesting psychedelic exodus towards the

Amazon basin in search for some sort of a lost link with

the natural world and the spiritual realm the shamans

claim to be experts in "establishing means of contact

with the supernatural world by the ecstatic experience

of a professional and inspired intermediary, the

shaman.” (Hultkrantz 1978: 11). Furthermore Hultkrantz

also points out that “the formulation of the belief

system of any culture varies from individual to

individual, and it is often vaguely formulated and has

contradictions. This is particularly so when dealing

with shamanism, in which there is no dogma, nor

doctrine, but a matter of practice, interpretation and

inspiration” (1978: 18). This adds up to what Richard

Werbner coined as the need for the anthropologist to

“suspend disbelief” (in his case regarding Botswana’s

wisdom divination and witchcraft) which fits with the

subject in hand because, I will be seen as just another

naïve tourist seeking contact with an ancient

enlightenment ceremony and, certainly, some of the

described experiences will have an almost paranormal

background I should be ready to accept as factual just

for the sake of access and proximity with my informants.

In that sense, one of my aims is to overcome the mutual

cultural stereotypes that will inevitably be present

from day one of my arrival to the field. “The stranger

cannot take these things for granted but, at the same

time, they must suspend their scepticism to be able to

access the native’s imagined realities” (Werbner 2001:

197).

In anthropological research I believe it is fundamental

to put yourself in your subjects shoes, aim to perceive

what they felt and why they are expressing themselves

the way they do whilst attempting to remove your

personal framework of dogmas from such analysis.

Unconsciously people do perceive when someone else is

doubting them or has second doubts about their

testimony, it is of the essence that “understanding

should be achieved through a gradual process of

discovery, that is through engagement within the

everyday lives of the subjects rather than placing them

within predetermined matrices” (Henley 2000:218). This

project aims to, through video and supporting text,

analyze the cultural complexities present in Peru that

have an important role in the preparation and

commoditization of ayahuasca. To give a little scent of

that lets take the work of Peruvian psychiatrist Carlos

Alberto Seguín that distinguishes social roles such as:

medicine-man, curandero, charlatán and curioso. “Charlatán is

defined as the practitioner who does not believe in what

he is doing and is only interested in material gains

exploiting the credulity and the needs of the people.

Curioso is reserved for the person who has some limited

knowledge of traditional therapeutic recipes (…) The

medicine-man (also known as ayahuasquero or vegetalista)

operates within his own culture, while the curandero

operates in Westernized societies, far from the

original, popular culture; the medicine-man has an

official status, while the curandero lacks, and, besides,

he is despised by the established society; legally the

former contributes to the creation and obedience of the

laws, while the latter is persecuted; the medicine-man

is integrated, the curandero is marginalized; the motives

of the medicine-man are religious, social and

vocational, while the curandero's motives are vocational

and humanitarian.” (1979: 33). Although there is

definitely a lot of factual truths in this study we have

to consider that it is more than forty years old and

these relationships have, very likely, mutated a lot. My

aim is to immerse myself in order to perceive how these

social stratifications have changed with the passing of

time, intense touristic activity, proliferation of mass

media technologies and capitalist influence. The

definition of mestizo shamanism is also of value in order

to accept that “each practitioner is in a way unique, in

that he has directly integrated the elements of several

Indian tribes with European religious traditions” and,

as well, between those living in rural areas or “younger

practitioners developing their skills with a greater

impact of urban life” (Luna 1979: 14). Ultimately this

research will depend on the informants I am able to

connect with and these should not be made into

archetypes applicable to everyone. Marlene Dobkin de

Rios (that conducted fieldwork with ayahuasca

traditional healers in the late sixties) makes a strong

criticism about the present big scale commercialization

of inexperienced and irresponsible manipulative

shamanism: “Anthropological scholars inadvertently have

played a major role in diffusing esoteric knowledge to

the general public. From an ethical-relativistic stance,

this drug tourism causes harm to participants and also

changes and effectively destroys traditional urban and

rural hallucinogenic healing that has roots in the

prehistoric past. These new shamans are basically

businessmen who extract cash from visitors, usurping the

traditional role of folk healers or curandero, there by

contributing to the ongoing demise of a cultural healing

system.” (2006: 20).

3.Research questions“I wanted to solve a mystery. I wanted to know why

certain substances are revered in tribal societies

throughout the world but repressed, as well as

ridiculed, in contemporary Western cultures” (Pinchbeck

2002: 1).

– What are tourists’ main motivations to seek the

ayahuasca experience?

– How is this short-term Western Diaspora seen by the

natives of the Amazon?

– Which are the differences between healing centres run

by foreigners or locals?

– Why do some shamans exclusively enact these healing

ceremonies for tourists while others refuse to do so?

– Is there any tension/antagonism between these two

groups or can they just be considered a mirror/or copy

images of each other and what do these represent?

– In a globalized context what could be the future

repercussions for this growing controversial phenomenon?

4.Research MethodsMy direct contact in Peru is Bulgarian anthropologist

Mila Yavorova Bankova. She has been living in Puerto

Maldonado (a Southeast city in the Amazonian jungle, on

the border with Bolivia, in the region of Madre de Díos)

for seven years now, working as a cultural intermediary

with children in need for an Italian NGO. Mila knows

personally several shamans (some that do, while others

don’t, actively engage with Westerners) and has

participated herself in various healing ceremonies.

Through her friendship and close collaboration I intend

to meet more informants that will guide me through the

most significant points of my research objectives.

After establishing some basic understandings of the

terrain and how people relate to one another, and to my

presence, two initial approaches will become available:

from the tourists’ point of view, or from the shamans’

perspective. One possibility is to immerse myself in a

short-term group of travellers (the hospitality website

Couchsurfing.org will be a helpful tool for such intent)

that are going to visit a healer and document their

views on the whole experience. In sequence, if possible,

find a way to stay with the ayahuasquero or curandero in

his healing space (this can be done through volunteering

to work there, maybe making some institutional videos

or, ultimately, through payment). If such situation

would become available I would gain access to analyze

the whole process through the eyes of those who wait for

tourists to show up, and not the contrary. The Other

becomes Another.

Although the core of my fieldwork and audiovisual

research will be established in Puerto Maldonado I will

list possible further investigation locations in the

country:

- Near Iquitos exists a healing retreat by the name of

Estación Kapitari, it was recommended as an honest

place by a friend of mine that has visited it

previously. It is run by Peruvians where, in theory,

all the profits are redirected towards the self-

sustainability of the Amazonian biosphere, against

deforestation and for the support of the local

communities. It is the only centre I’ve so far

discovered that has a website that publicises Peruvian

prices.

- Near Pucallpa and along the Ucayali River live the

indigenous people of the Shipibo-Conibo. They still

practice, to an extent, original traditional ayahuasca

ceremonies within their community and for healing

protection purposes. “Like any other indigenous

populations in the Amazon basin the Shipibo-Conibo are

threatened by severe pressure from outside influences

such as oil speculation, logging, narco-trafficking,

conservation and missionaries” (source: Wikipedia)

- Another interesting place is the Mayantuyacu Centre of

Studies of Medicinal Plants, located in the south of

Pucallpa, inside a volcano valley with natural hot

springs. They follow the traditions of the Ashaninka

Amazonian people.

- On the other hand there is quite an extensive list of

other ayahuasca related places with very flashy

internet sites that promote insanely expensive

spiritual trips (between 1000 to 2500 US dollars for a

week’s adventure – only found one example of a

donation based enterprise). I am currently contacting

some of these companies in order to arrange for some

sort of mutual cooperation.

- Also worth mentioning, between the 21st and 27th of

July in Iquitos will take place the 9th International

Amazonian Shamanism Conference, which will end in a

ceremonial sacred caravan and practical ayahuasca

related workshops with a wide variety of famous

shamans and healers.

My methodological approach will always aim to be one of

collaborative fashion with all subjects that show an

honest interest in having a voice and/or participating

in the making of this documentary. It is likely that

these broader research possibilities will not be

applicable and I will find all it is necessary to

achieve my investigation goals about the shaman/tourist

dichotomy at Puerto Maldonado.

“Ethnographic knowledge is better understood as

originating from fieldwork experience. Knowledge is

produced in conversation and negotiation between

informants and researcher, rather than existing as an

objective reality that may be recorder and taken home.”

(Pink 2007: 98).

5.Theoretical backgroundThe amount and typology of literature found about

ayahuasca and this kind of “spiritual tourism” (see:

Winkelman 2005) can be easily divided into four major

disciplines: artistic (see: Amaringo 1993; Luna 1986)

medical (see: Grof 2000; Strassman 2008), ethnographic

(see: Narby 1998; Taussig 1991) and esoteric (see:

Mckenna 1999; Pinchbeck 2002). Just to give out a wider

sense of the context and complexity already documented

about “the increasing interest (that) has been drawn to

the remote Amazon rainforest, sole repository of one-

third of the world’s plant and animal species” (Grob

2011: xiii) I find it useful to include a bit of

epistemological variety regarding the different

intellectual layers that could be found during these two

months of fieldwork (from mid June to mid August; total

budget approximately 2000£). It is fundamental to

comprehend the bigger picture of anthropological

phenomena in order to, further ahead, choose and apply a

more concise method of focused research. This is

relevant since all these categories have similar threads

of thought that can be combined to create an interesting

ontological network for the study of this, sometimes

contradictory and/or polemic, theme.

It inevitably all started with the arrival of the

Spanish missionaries to this ‘New World’ and the

beginning of their evangelization of indigenous people’s

ritualistic traditions, considered as heresy: “These men

coming from devil-ridden Europe immediately recognized

the old patterns of summoning of spirits by sorcerers,

of diabolic possession and strange voices, and uncouth

visions of ghostly beings” (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1975:5).

In a way such was the genesis of what Michael Taussig

coined as “the colonial mirror of production (…) the

mimicry by the colonizer of the savagery imputed to the

savage which is identical to the mimetic structure of

attribution and counter-attribution” (1995: 66). Since

the earliest stages of humankind we have been copying,

engulfing and/or destroying each other’s differences,

“civilization sniffs out the enemy, uses smell against

itself in an orgy of imitation. Racism is the parade

ground where the civilized rehearse this love-hate

relation with their repressed sensuosity” (1995. 67).

This entirely resonates with my project due to the fact

that it is as if the ayahuasca seekers are attempting to

regain access to a lost spiritual tool whose ‘techniques

of ecstasy’ (see: Eliade 1951) were repressed by their

ancestors based on an almost fascist “organized control

of mimesis” (1995: 68). This sub-text is quite

interesting; to what amount are these travellers from

the so called ‘First World’ aware that unconsciously

they might be reproducing an ‘archaic revival’ (see:

Mckenna, 1999) so to cleanse the ancient crimes of

colonialism and have the chance to go through these

semi-religious experiences seldom described as so

profound and meaningful, “the purpose of taking yagé is

to return to the uterus where the individual sees the

tribal divinities, the creation of the universe and

humanity, the first couple, the creation of the

animals , and the establishment of the social order”

(Reichel-Dolmatoff 1975: 149).

Theology as been replaced by technology and money in the

present neo-liberal scheme of things, which explains

such contemporary cravings to rediscover the hidden

secrets of the world of master plants and its insights

through altered states of consciousness considering “we

do whatever we can to deny intuition of the invisible

realms. We clog up our sense with smog, jam our minds

with media overload. We drown ourselves in alcohol or

mediate ourselves into rigidly artificial states with

antidepressants. Then we take pride in our cynicism and

detachment. Perhaps we are terrified to discover that

our rationality is itself a kind of faith, an artifice,

that beneath it lays the vast territory of the unknown”

(Pinchbeck 2000: 100).

So it is valid to assume that we know now a bit more

about the possible general reasons that fuel these

underground psychedelic tours, but what about its

dangers and effects for ill-prepared travellers or for

the local populations? Sarah E. Lewis on her paper for

one Anthropology of Consciousness journal fears that

“Western ayahuasca users have little cultural support

and guidance within which to contextualize their

powerful experiences” (2008: 110) which can induce the

concept of ‘spiritual emergencies’ (see: Grof & Grof,

1989) that are crises triggered when “the process of

growth and change becomes too chaotic and overwhelming”

(127). Such ‘neo-shamanic renaissance’ (see: Pinchbeck,

2002) is therefore quite a troubled trend that affects

fields that scatter from the commercialization of

indigenous knowledge and shamanic healing to culture

clash, neo-colonialism and the mirrored mimesis between

foreigners and natives.

Nevertheless may it remain clear that my primary

direction will always be regarding ayahuasca’s tourists,

their intentions and their interactions with Peruvian

shamans. I expect to gain access to compelling enough

characters/stories in Puerto Maldonado – my primarily

destination. All other previously referred travel

possibilities were just mentioned in case it is, along

the way, found of use to document parallel healing

communities/companies in other areas of the country to

use as comparison.

6.Visual representationIt is impossible to escape the evidence that ayahuasca

produces intense hallucinations to those who engage in

its ceremonies. Should such a fact influence the

aesthetic choices applied to the film? Let’s take

Taussig’s darken poetic description of his own

experiences: “In the excretions are visions. The stream

of vomit, I had been often told I can become a torrent

of snakes moving out from and back into me. You feel

redness. You see music. In the streaming nasal mucus, in

the shitting, in the vomiting, in the laughter as in the

tears, there lies a sorcery-centred religious mythology

as lived experience, quite opposite to the awesome

authority of Christianity in its dominant mode as a

state religion of submission (1991: 412). Inspired by

that, I’ve imagined creating a slightly dreamlike scene,

using voice-over from interviews recorded on the field

(of tourists and natives) about the effects of the

shamanic brew, or with audio of the infamous icaros (songs

which the shamans claim have learned from direct

communication with the spirit of the plants). It could

be a plus in terms of innovation if this surreal

sequence had a theatrical touch to it and was enhanced

by a human re-enactment of the described visions of this

mysterious sacred vine of the dead. It is my belief that

ethnographic film should not be limited to its own past

victories and established successful methodologies

depending, of course, on “our ability as anthropological

hypermedia authors to construct referents, maybe to

montage, to forms of visual juxtaposition, ordering of

images, structures of written argument and debate and

other strategies that coincide with different styles of

film editing and anthropological writing” (Pink 2011:

105). I will always be the author of the final product

and in me lay the ethical decisions of how to represent

with dignity my informants but, simultaneously, without

forgetting the responsibility as a film-maker towards

the truth, myself and the audience. Although if great

relationships were to be born out of this short

experience in the field, it would be priceless to slowly

try and remove my own fingerprint and personal

idiosyncrasies from the movie, by keeping it exclusively

observational, or in order to let the characters

themselves have an active role on what and how to film.

When a fruitful cooperation is established ethno-fiction

becomes a healthy possibility with which to blur the

line between staged recreation of past events and real

life, being ‘Bombay Beach’ (Alma Har’el, 2011) a

visually unique example of such – it is a movie that

breaks with so many boundaries of what a documentary

should be about and how it is supposed to look like (a

breeze of fresh air for the future of visual

anthropology in my opinion).

How this documentary will present itself and earn a life

of its own is a question of deciding between a more

conventional approach or towards an experimental one

(I’m at the moment more inclined for an organic mix of

both) and, frequently such decision is only made during

the edit process, which actually increases the degree of

importance of planning ahead questions of style,

continuity and technical camera-work. YouTube is well

populated with some classically driven (essentially

informative and interview based) documentaries regarding

what is ayahusca, shamanism and the possible meanings of

its psychological effects, such as ‘Shamans of the

Amazon’ (Dean Jeffreys, 2002) or ‘Other Worlds’ (Jan

Kounen, 2004). Two more peculiar examples are ‘Jungle

Trip’ (Gavin Searle, 2000) and ‘Stepping Into the Fire’

(Roberto Velez, 2011). The first being a sort of

personal quest for enlightenment gone not so good due to

trickeries from some neo-shamans and the emotional

fragility/preparation of the main character to deal with

the ordeals of the whole process. While the latter is a

self-produced journey of a half-Peruvian Wall Street

broker that incidentally ended up taking ayahuasca which

turned his life and lifestyle upside down: he felt

reborn and made a promise to give all his accumulated

wealth for the benefit of the local region, for example,

by building several infrastructures (being one of them

the Shimbre Healing Centre, that recently was the site

of an international tragedy when an 18 year old American

boy was found dead apparently do to shamanic

malpractice). These formats are very much orientated for

television viewers and a bit dated according to me. The

‘spiritual tourism’ phenomena in the Peruvian jungle as

become significant enough to deserve a documentary that

would risk a bit more in terms of ethnographic content

and that, simultaneously, could manage to be visually

groundbreaking by using some playful cross-gender

semiotics. The director of the amazing ‘Cannibal Tours’

(Dennis O’Rourke, 1988) speaks his mind in an interview

about such issues: “For it to work, the filming process

must be an ordeal of contact with reality. I must place

myself within the perceived reality of what I am

attempting to film in order to discover the authenticity

of people and places, and to fix my emotional

perspective within a social and political process –

which is not academic. The magic of documentary film is

that one can start to create with no idea of the

direction of the narrative and concentrate all thinking

on the present moment and inner intuition” (1992: 12).

7.ConclusionIt is essential to keep your mind as open as possible to

what will happen in my future every day life during this

filming fieldwork. It is an amazing challenge to be part

of. I will truly apply, to my best ability, the learned

methodologies of observational cinema and human contact

with the objective of creating a collaborative platform

in Puerto Maldonado with my contacts’ mestizo shaman

friends – document how they prepare and use this odd

natural and ancient hallucinogenic tea for themselves,

their views on cultural shifts over the years until

present day and how are the events they enact for

Europeans and Americans, tapping into these insights as

well and possible epiphanies during their stay. That

will take maybe more than a month. Two or three weeks

will be devoted to travel up river, to get some

different kind of footage from the endangered beauty of

the Amazon rainforest, meet new people, pretend to be a

ayahuasca tourist myself and see how am I treated (by

whom and how am I approached) and stop by a couple of

the previously mentioned treatment centres, collecting

stories and statements. The theoretical background of

the former chapters is what will sow all the recovered

material into one rhythmic mix of sound and image. It

shows the variety of degrees ayahuasca influences

Westerners and South Americans. In what way are they

becoming culturally closer, or to what extent are the

Indians, mestizos and Peruvians in general, dreaming about

the American way of life of big urban areas, fame and

fortune? On the other hand of the rope, are these

‘spiritual tourists’ truly ready to cut off from the

privileges of their world and turn back to a sort of

semi-mythical primitivism lifestyle, embracing lost

roots and a embedded scent of colonial guilt?

“The discourses of consumerism and individualism are

coupled with a quest for the authentic, ethnic Other,

situated in the current stage of a economic and cultural

globalization. The power of online representation

instead of improving the lives of the marginalized, it

might instead be replicating the imperialistic processes

of appropriation and commoditisation” (Holman 2011:106).

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