ACADEMIA
When I began working as an ethnographer in the Amazon, I decided that my research should not be restricted to a small circle of specialists in the field. That is why, from the outset, I opted for formats and tones that would reach a general audience. This does not mean, however, that I disregard academic work and rhetoric. On the contrary, there are cases and moments when specialized language and citation apparatus are essential. Here are two examples.
The Age of the Onanya
This article, published in the anthropology journal Tipití, dives into an academic controversy: Was ayahuasca recently adopted by some peoples, such as the Shipibo, who are usually credited with millennia-old use? Anthropologist Peter Gow and ethnomusicologist Bernd Brabec de Mori put forward this idea in influential articles. I present a strong argument in the opposite direction.
The Patient is Always Right
This article elaborates on the ideas I presented at the 5th Congress of the Latin American Anthropological Association. It explains how ayahuasca shamanism has transformed to accommodate the thousands of foreigners who travel each year to Iquitos and other jungle cities to experience Amazonian medicine, as well as the problems arising from this transformation. Published by the Nucleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos.