Ethnographie de l'usage rituel d'ayahuasca au Québec
Ayahuasca is a decoction of mainly two plants from the Amazonian forest. The vine (Banistereopsis caapi) and the shrub (Psychotria viridis) are its components. Both contain psychoactive subsances. They are respectively Harmine and DMT. It has been used long before the Conquest. People in this region use it as a shamanic tool. However, during the early 20th century, rubber industry brought workers in this region. One Christian rubber tapper of African origin founded a syncretic religion based on the use of ayahuasca. The religion is named Santo Daime. Today, the ritual use of ayahuasca has spread over the world. In Québec, there are spiritual groups that ritually use ayahuasca. This is the ethnography of a group active in Québec. The main purpose of this research was to describe this group. The fieldwork took place during the summer of 2010. This research has shown that the ritual use of ayahuasca brings about insights that are integrated in the participant’s life through the group workshop. Moreover, the ritual structure prevents abusive comportments towards this substance.
Ayahuasca Québec Quebec Spirituality Religion New Age Shamanism