Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon

A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon by Stephan V, Beyer, University of New Mexico Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stephan V, Beyer ISBN: 9780826347312
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Publication: January 15, 2010
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press Language: English
Author: Stephan V, Beyer
ISBN: 9780826347312
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Publication: January 15, 2010
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press
Language: English

In the Upper Amazon, mestizos are the Spanish-speaking descendants of Hispanic colonizers and the indigenous peoples of the jungle. Some mestizos have migrated to Amazon towns and cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa; most remain in small villages. They have retained features of a folk Catholicism and traditional Hispanic medicine, and have incorporated much of the religious tradition of the Amazon, especially its healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of potent plant hallucinogens, including ayahuasca. The result is a uniquely eclectic shamanist culture that continues to fascinate outsiders with its brilliant visionary art. Ayahuasca shamanism is now part of global culture. Once the terrain of anthropologists, it is now the subject of novels and spiritual memoirs, while ayahuasca shamans perform their healing rituals in Ontario and Wisconsin.

Singing to the Plants sets forth just what this shamanism is about--what happens at an ayahuasca healing ceremony, how the apprentice shaman forms a spiritual relationship with the healing plant spirits, how sorcerers inflict the harm that the shaman heals, and the ways that plants are used in healing, love magic, and sorcery.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the Upper Amazon, mestizos are the Spanish-speaking descendants of Hispanic colonizers and the indigenous peoples of the jungle. Some mestizos have migrated to Amazon towns and cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa; most remain in small villages. They have retained features of a folk Catholicism and traditional Hispanic medicine, and have incorporated much of the religious tradition of the Amazon, especially its healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of potent plant hallucinogens, including ayahuasca. The result is a uniquely eclectic shamanist culture that continues to fascinate outsiders with its brilliant visionary art. Ayahuasca shamanism is now part of global culture. Once the terrain of anthropologists, it is now the subject of novels and spiritual memoirs, while ayahuasca shamans perform their healing rituals in Ontario and Wisconsin.

Singing to the Plants sets forth just what this shamanism is about--what happens at an ayahuasca healing ceremony, how the apprentice shaman forms a spiritual relationship with the healing plant spirits, how sorcerers inflict the harm that the shaman heals, and the ways that plants are used in healing, love magic, and sorcery.

More books from University of New Mexico Press

Cover of the book Oy, Caramba! by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book The Weighty Word Book by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book From the Barrio to Washington by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Wisdom Sits in Places by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book For God and Revolution by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book A Growing Season by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Sagrado by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Modernizing Minds in El Salvador: Education Reform and the Cold War, 1960-1980 by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Rain Scald by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book The American Military Frontiers: The United States Army in the West, 1783-1900 by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Report to the Department of the Interior by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book 49 Trout Streams of Southern Colorado by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book The Architecture of Change by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book For Every Indio Who Falls by Stephan V, Beyer
Cover of the book Amada's Blessings from the Peyote Gardens of South Texas by Stephan V, Beyer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy