The psychedelics in indigenous state formations and the hypothesis of the drug complex in shamanic America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2596-3147.v1i1p211-231Keywords:
Hallucinogens, Shamanism, Pre-Columbian CivilizationsAbstract
I summarize Weston La Barre’s suggestion about the extensive use of psychoactive drugs by the Amerindians due to their shamanic heritage. Such hypothesis is made during the debates on ecstatic experiences and the origins of religion, in times of psychedelia. I approach the sedentary regions of Mesoamerica and Central Andes where elites would have controlled the peoples by magical and devotional forms similar to beliefs and hunters’ rites. However, I try to assess the social spectrum and the variety of hallucinogenic uses, also taking into account the transgressions with the drugs before the Spanish invasion.
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