This paper examines the contents of the visual hallucinations induced by the Amazonian psychotropic brew ayahuasca. It is part of a comprehensive phenomenological investigation attempting to study ayahuasca from a cognitive-psychological perspective. (So far, practically all studies of ayahuasca pertained either to the natural sciences or to anthropology.) Comparative quantitative analyses reveal that some specific content items are especially prevalent in ayahuasca visions, and that these are encountered in the reports of informants from different personal and socio-cultural backgrounds. Theoretically, the findings are discussed in light of both psychological and anthropological considerations.
Ayahuasca; Cognition; Amazonia; Dreams; Hallucinations
