A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States [Hardcover]

Marlene Dobkin de Rios (Author), Roger Rumrrill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313345422 | ISBN-13: 978-0313345425 | Publication Date: July 30, 2008

One country's sacrament is another's illicit drug, as officials in South America and the United States are well aware. For centuries, a hallucinogenic tea made from a giant vine native to the Amazonian rainforest has been taken as a religious sacrament across several cultures in South America. Many spiritual leaders, shamans, and their followers consider the tea and its main component - ayahuasca - to be both enlightening and healing. In fact, ayahuasca (pronounced a-ja-was-ka) loosely translated means spirit vine. In this book, de Rios and Rumrrill take us inside the history and realm of, as well as the raging arguments about, the substance that seems a sacrament to some and a scourge to others. Their book includes text from the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances and interviews with shamans in the Amazon.

One country's sacrament is another's illicit drug, as officials in South America and the United States are well aware. For centuries, a hallucinogenic tea made from a giant vine native to the Amazonian rainforest has been taken as a religious sacrament across several cultures in South America. Many spiritual leaders, shamans, and their followers consider the tea and its main component - ayahuasca - to be both enlightening and healing. In fact, ayahuasca (pronounced a-ja-was-ka) loosely translated means spirit vine. Ayahuasca has moved into the United States, causing legal battles in the Supreme Court and rulings from the United Nations. Some U.S. church groups are using the hallucinogen in their ceremonies and have fought for government approval to do so. The sacrament has also drawn American drug tourists to South America to partake, say authors de Rios and Rumrrill. But they warn that these tourists are being put at risk by charlatans who are not true shamans or religious figures, just profiteers.

In this book, de Rios and Rumrrill take us inside the history and realm of, as well as the raging arguments about, the substance that seems a sacrament to some and a scourge to others. Opponents fight its use even as U.S. scientists and psychologists continue investigations of whether ayahuasca has healing properties that might be put to conventional use for physical and mental health. This book includes text from the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances and interviews with shamans in the Amazon.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Overall, I recommend this book to anyone interested in Cultural Anthropology, Shamanism, Amazonin Influences, Religions."

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www.encouraginghealth.com

"This book does far more than live up to its strange title. Anthropologist Rios (Univ. of California, Irvine) joins Peruvian

journalist Rumrrill in revealing a peculiar, engrossing saga of recent changes and controversies centered around tea

derived from the hallucinogenic vine ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi). […] Summing Up: Highly recommended."

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Choice

"This book represents an important addition to the current discussion about ways to use ayahuasca (and other drugs) to maximize the potential for benefit and minimize the possibility of harm. It is not a book for people who know little about ayahuasca, but one that should be read by those who wish to gain a fuller understanding of the perils and promise of contemporary ayahuasca use. While aficionados may take issue with some of the points raised by the authors, this does not diminish their importance. Anthropological research has shown that almost any psychoactive substance can be used for culturally constructive and integrative purposes if such use occurs in a socially sanctioned and culturally accepted context. In the past, such contexts have typically been provided by religions. While postmodern individuals might be justifiable skeptical of these religions, they would do well to understand the deeper nature of rituals and the ways they help to constructively contextualize both their participants' experiences and the things they learn from these experiences. Herein lies what is perhaps the most important message of this timely book."

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Anthropology of Consciousness

Book Description

Explains how ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea, is considered a sacrament in South America but an illicit drug in the United States, and how the opposing views have heated legal battles here, including at the Supreme Court and the United Nations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (July 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313345422
• ISBN-13: 978-0313345425
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Book Laced with Controversy., August 11, 2010

By 

William G. Humbert "Willhum." (Barcelona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States (Hardcover)

Marlene Dobkin de Rios is a medical anthropologist who has been writing periodically on ayahuasca shamanism since the 1970. Notwithstanding, her work has always stood somewhat apart from much other Western non-antropological writing on ayahuasca and curranderismo, this being both a strength and weakness to her work.

Whilst the extended interviews with respected curranderos such as Guillermo Arevalo and Jose Curitima Sangama will be of interest to many, towards the end her book unfortunately seems to decline into a general diatribe against the phenomena de Rios and Rumrrill label as 'drug tourism'. As the title suggests, this is really the purpose of the book.

Having been to the Amazon myself and acted as translator to Guillermo Arevalo as well as (coincidentally) studying my Masters Degree under Paul Heelas (whom she draws on in her critique), I would have to say that the authors polemic is somewhat crude and over-hyped. Whilst there are indeed criticisms to be levelled at ayahuasca tourism, de Rios & co's critique is far from engaging in the often subtle and nuanced politics of ayahuasca and tourism in L.America. In my view this was an opportunity lost - and for someone of de Rios' caliber I would have expected more.

In short, if you are looking for a good book on ayahuasca I would suggest looking elsewhere to start with. Ayahuasca in My Blood, Yage; A New Purgatory, Wizard of the Upper Amazon, The Jaguar that Roams the Mind are all great reads and available on Amazon.com If you are looking for more academic works on ayahuasca then try 'Singing to the Plants' or 'Antipodies of the Mind', which engage more even-handily without the tabloid type expose tone taken by de Rios & Rumrrill. This book has some interesting non-polemic chapters but nothing you can't read elsewhere.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed if you like Shamanism, January 27, 2009

By 

Brick ONeil "Writer" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States (Hardcover)

A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States, 168 pages from Praeger Publishers (July 30, 2008). Authors MARLENE DOBKIN DE RIOS and ROGER RUMRRILL discuss Amazon Shamans (Ayahuascaros, among other terms that have slightly different meanings) use of a tea made from the Ayahuasca plant, native to the Amazon.

There are few true Shamans left, according to the Shamans de Rios interviews for the book. Training takes two years and requires many hardships, such as forays into the forrest, severe diets, celibacy: so much so, that the Amazon youth prefer city life to taking up tribal customs, such as Shamanism.

That's not to say they don't produce their own brand of Shamanism to tourists, offering Ayahuasca Tea (without the proper prayers, chanting, etc) to tourists. This is called "Drug Tourism" and the authors detail what Drug Tourism is and how it is harming Tribal life and how it affects how the plant is disappearing from the Amazon.

This is a great book that discusses the manners in which Shamans train, believe, go about their vocation, administer to local tribes (mostly women and children). With drinking the tea, a Shaman 'communicates' with spirits (not as we in the West describe them) then help whomever comes to him. In it's proper respect, Ayahuasca Tea helps the proper Shaman delve into the problem, thus helping his 'customer'.

Improper use of the tea has skyrocketed, and many false Shamans have sprung up around the Countries. Countries don't seem to mind, as the 'drug tourism' brings in much needed capital. Although Shamanism is dying out, the religion it professes has spread to many Western and Industrialized Nations, including the United States.

And there was the problem, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency here in the U.S. When the religion started, the U.S. placed the tea on their list of forbidden substances. After many years and lawsuits later, the religion won their right to use the tea for their services.

The book is enjoyable, as the authors discuss conversations with Shamans, details religious rites, reasons for using the Hallucinogenic Tea, their use of psychology, biology, counseling, consultation of spirits, etc., the authors do repeat themselves quite often.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone interested in Cultural Anthropology, Shamanism, Amazonin Influences, Religions.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ayahuasca, August 20, 2010

By 

AmDew - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States (Hardcover)

For anybody who doesn't know about Ayahuasca, this is the book to read. This is not a brew to take on recreational basis.