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To whom does the ayahuasca belong? Notes on the patrimonialization of a “sacred beverage” from Amazon

Abstract

This article seeks to discuss the patrimonialization of ayahuasca, a psychoactive beverage from Amazonian region ritually consumed by institutionalized religions, such as Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and Barquinha; indigenous peoples, such as the Yawanawa and the Ashaninka; and a whole range of people, from the Peruvian vegetalistas to the neoshamans that inhabit the large urban centres. From the debate on the process of patrimonialization involving this beverage, we see that ayahuasca is polyphonic, polysemic and polycentric; that there is a true ayahuasca field, permeated by alliances and internal conflicts; and that the patrimonialization of ayahuasca reveals a complex cartography, where there is the coexistence of different epistemologies and intense power struggles.

Keywords
Ayahuasca; intangible heritage; Santo Daime; União do Vegetal; tradition

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