Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil

`In its own way, each of the chapters collected here contributes to the ongoing journey of ayahuasca religiosity toward full and equal recognition as a legitimate mode of religious expression. Although writing and researching a variety of issues at play in contemporary Brazilian society, Bia Labate and Edward McRae have each earned an academic reputation as an insightful commentator upon one or more aspects relating to the emergence, spread and consolidation of ayahuasca religion in Brazil.' From the foreword by Andrew Dawson, Lancaster University, UK

Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil examines the emergence of religious groups in the Brazilian Amazon who constitute their systems of ritual, myth and principles around the use of a psychoactive brew known by diverse names, one of which is the Quechua term `ayahuasca'. Although the study of these religious movements has seen much development in recent decades there are still few publications in English, especially in the area of anthropology. This collection, containing many articles previously published only in Portuquese, explains the research conducted in Brazil. It shows a representative sample of the main types of approaches that have been used and also offers an overview of the historical development of this field of research in Brazil, especially from the perspective of the human sciences.

This volume makes explicit what the study of the ayahuasca religions can contribute to classical and contemporary issues in anthropology. It presents a varied set of ethnographic approaches employed in the initial mapping of this phenomenon, establishing its historical and cultural origins. It also provides a basis to develop future work on these religions, both in their original contexts and in their expansion throughout Brazil and the world.

Beatriz Caiuby Labate is Member of Research Staff at the institute of Medical Psychology. Heidelberg University, and a member of the Collaborative Research Center Ritual Dynamics - Socio-Cultural Processes from a Historical and Culturally Comparative Perspective. She is author, co-author and co-editor of six books and one journal special edition, among them A Reinvencao do Uso da Ayahuasca nos Centros Urbanos (2004). Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprenhensive Bibliography and Critical Essays (with Isabel de Rose and Rafael dos Santos, 2009) and Opening the Portals of Heaven: Brazilian Ayahuasca Music (with Gustavo Pacheco, 2010).
Edward MacRae lectures in anthropology at the Federal University of Bahia. He is also an associate researcher at the Center for Drug Abuse Studies and Therapy (CETAD) and leader of the Group for the Study of Psychoactive Substances (GIESP). He has written books about sexuality, social movements, the ritual use of ayahuasca in the Santo Dalme religion, socially integrated use of psychoactive substances, and the reduction of harm associated with drug use.