Practices in search of legitimacy. The contemporary use of ayahuasca, between religious and therapeutic vindications

Introduction

Dupuis situates the paper in the broader phenomenon of Western interest in ayahuasca and ‘‘shamanic’’ rituals since the late 20th century, which has produced a proliferation of shamanic centres in Peruvian Amazonia catering to foreign visitors. Earlier research and public debate frame these places as hybrid sites that mix mestizo and indigenous Amazonian healing techniques, biomedical practices and elements drawn from Western contemporary spirituality (New Age). The author highlights Takiwasi, founded in 1992, as a prominent example that combines local pharmacopeia and ritual with clinical and psychotherapeutic frameworks. This study investigates how Takiwasi’s practices and public representations have changed over time and asks whether these changes can be read as strategies of legitimisation in the context of globalization, legal uncertainty and political stigma attached to ayahuasca use. Dupuis aims to show the roles played by religious traditions and the medical field in constructing and maintaining hybrid therapeutic–ritual practices around ayahuasca, and to explain the institution’s evolving identity between therapeutic, New Age and Catholic registers.