TY - JOUR
T1 - The spiritual dimension of yage shamanism in Colombia
AU - Rincón, Carlos Miguel Gómez
N1 - Funding Information:
This research has been conducted for more than two decades. Some of the activities during 2018 were founded by a ?Seed grant? of Universidad del Rosario, Bogot?. Acknowledgments: I would like to express my gratitude to Taita Luis Antonio Portilla, who has allowed me to share the spiritual dimension of the practice of yage from within.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - This article offers an intercultural interpretation of the sense of the sacred in the practice of yage shamanism in Colombia. This practice is based on the ritual use of a plant medicine which for centuries has been the basis of the medical, spiritual and cultural systems of indigenous peoples of the Amazon piedmont in Colombia, Ecuador and Perú. Since the 1990s, this practice has expanded to urban areas of Colombia and other countries. After a short introduction, I develop my interpretation of yage shamanism in three stages: first, I explore some narratives of the origin of yage, showing how it is lived and understood as a source of knowledge and the foundational element of indigenous cultures. Second, I attempt a phenomenological analysis of yage shamanic experience, presenting it as a form of spiritual experience. Finally, I briefly address the issue of whether or not this form of experience is valid.
AB - This article offers an intercultural interpretation of the sense of the sacred in the practice of yage shamanism in Colombia. This practice is based on the ritual use of a plant medicine which for centuries has been the basis of the medical, spiritual and cultural systems of indigenous peoples of the Amazon piedmont in Colombia, Ecuador and Perú. Since the 1990s, this practice has expanded to urban areas of Colombia and other countries. After a short introduction, I develop my interpretation of yage shamanism in three stages: first, I explore some narratives of the origin of yage, showing how it is lived and understood as a source of knowledge and the foundational element of indigenous cultures. Second, I attempt a phenomenological analysis of yage shamanic experience, presenting it as a form of spiritual experience. Finally, I briefly address the issue of whether or not this form of experience is valid.
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U2 - 10.3390/rel11070375
DO - 10.3390/rel11070375
M3 - Research Article
AN - SCOPUS:85088261582
SN - 2077-1444
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Religions
JF - Religions
IS - 7
M1 - 375
ER -