Tracking the Popularization of Ayahuasca: How Has the Appropriation of the Practice Affected its Shamanistic Origins?
By EStephanson
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1450
The Spread of Ayahuasca by the Incas
The origins of ayahuasca are a mystery, but the brew most likely originated in the Napo Runa tribe of Ecuador which was conquered whose culture was spread by the Incas around South America. It is unclear if the Incas used ayahuasca since their culture was very opposed to cultural practices that involved a lack of control or chaos. What is clear, though, is that the term ayahuasca originates in the Quecha language - also known as the "language of the Incas" - around the mid-1400s. -
Jesuit Accounts of Ayahuasca
Jesuit missionaries trying to convert Amazonian tribes to Christianity start to write accounts of ayahuasca usage throughout the 1700s that attract the attention of the rest of the world. -
First In-Depth Description of Ayahuasca Use
One of the first Westerners to drink ayahuasca and write about it was the Ecuadorian geographer Manuel Villavicencio. In the book Geografía de la República del Ecuador (1858) he describes his experience as "a sensation of being lifted into the air and beginning an aerial journey; the possessed begins in the first moments to see the most delicious apparitions, in conformity with his ideas and knowledge." -
The Yage Letters
In 1963, William S. Burroughs released "The Yage Letters", a novel documenting his journey through the Amazon to find ayahuasca. The books is made up of a series of letters that document Burroughs' quest to find the plant and his cosmic experiences experimenting with it. This spread knowledge of the plant around North America and began to popularize its use among curious readers. -
P. veridas Added to Ayahuasca Brew
Up to the latter half of the twentieth century, the ayahuasca brew used in spiritual ceremonies was made purely from the "Vine of Death", also known as the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. During a period from the nineties to the mid-200s, though, the vine started to be brewed with the shrub Psychotria viridis, a psychoactive plant containing DMT, which really altered the experience of taking ayahuasca. The more "trippy" or psychedelic experience P. veridas created led to ayahuasca's popularization. -
Birth of Ayahuasca Tourism
The use of ayahuasca started to become a trend among Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs who travel to South America to take part in ayahuasca ceremonies around the start of the new millennium. The mid-2000s is when ayahuasca really hit the public consciousness around the world. Unfortunately, many of the people who travel to the Amazon to take ayahuasca do not do research into which outfits to trust and as a result, often end up having a bed experience and don't support traditional shamans. -
Ayahuasca Spirituality in America
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing members of a New Mexico church called the Brazilian Ayahuasca Church, or the Uniao do Vegetal ("union of the plants"), to practice ayahuasca ceremonies as a sacramental right. This legitimized the use of the brew for religious purposes in the United States and extended the religious right to use ayahuasca in Christian syncretist groups as well. -
Parliament of World Religions Recognition
Up until 2018, the ancient tradition of ayahuasca spirituality was unrecognized by the Parliament of World Religions—a gathering of 10,000 people of 200 faiths that had never hosted indigenous Amazonian attendants. Recently, though, this has changed as the Parliament welcomes ayahuasca ceremonies as a part of its definition of spirituality.
