Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman (Hardcover)

~ Pablo Amaringo (Author), Luis Luna (Author) "Research among tribal groups using ayahuasca and other psychoactives has shown that cultural traditions play an important role not only in interpreting and imprinting meaning..." (more)
Key Phrases: magical phlegm, mestizo practitioners, red lupuna, Peruvian Amazon, Dobkin de Rios, Manuel Huaya (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Publication of these outstanding paintings of ayahuasca visions experienced by a native medicine man, Pablo Amaringo, and interpreted by the distinguished anthropologist, Luis Eduardo Luna, permits us to understand the unworldly psychic effects of the ‘vine of the soul.’"
-Professor Richard Schultes, Director, Botanical Museum of Harvard University

"Pablo Amaringo and Luis Eduardo Luna are to be congratulated for their collaboration. It has yielded a book that is both beautiful and sure to be an enduring contribution to the ethnography and art history of shamanism. The visions and vanishing lifestyles of the ayahuasqueros of Amazons are presented with wonderful integrity and sensitivity."
-Terence McKenna, author of The Invisible Landscape (with Dennis McKenna) and True Hallucinations

Product Description

The art of a Peruvian shaman representing visions induced by a psychotropic are reproduced in high-quality, detailed color in this highly informative book about life on the Amazon. Identifies all images, biological and mythical, with tribal and cross-cultural references verified by major Amazonian experts. 79 photographs, 49 in color; charts and maps.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (February 3, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556430647
• ISBN-13: 978-1556430640
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,509,071 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, October 16, 1997

By A Customer

Along with Schultes' and Raffauf's Vine of the Soul, this is one of the best books on ayahuasca ever written. Luis Eduardo Luna is one of the world's leading authorities on this intriguing subject and Pablo Amaringo is equally knowledgeable. A treasure trove of info and art for anyone interested in art, the Amazon, and shamanism-

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Imagery from the Spirit World, March 5, 2000

By	KEVIN M. OCONNOR "Podcaster, Would-be Farmer,... (Centerton, AR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have tried time and again to pick up this book and read the text in sequence, but the full-page color plates of Pablo Amaringo's paintings always pull me away from the text and into the world of shamans, angels, devils, serpents, jungle cats, mermaids, and aliens. I've read a lot of the text, but usually I have done so in search of an explanation for the images in specific paintings.

My first ayahuasca experiences were under the guidance of Luis Eduardo Luna. His knowledge of plant lore, chemistry, shamanism, and human nature is awe-inspiring, and I do want to read his words, but the pull of Pablo Amaringo's images has been too strong for me to resist thus far. I'm glad to have this book on my shelf because whenever someone asks me about ayahuasca, I know that I can place this book in their hands and the images will capture their imagination and make them hungry to learn more.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ayahuasca Visions (Paperback)

If you wish a clear, objective overview of shamanic worldview, this book is outstanding. The introduction alone (which is all I have read so far) is worth a great deal. Without being dressed up in obscurities, there is much to learn here.