Disappointed in their own spiritual traditions and materialistic cultures, some Westerners are compelled to explore ancient indigenous wisdom. Americans, Europeans, and others are discovering native religious practices, some of which incorporate drug use in rituals and ceremonies. Some people travel to South America to participate in religious ceremonies that use ayahuasca, also known as yage, a hallucinogenic plant brew.
Shamanism and Ayahuasca Tourism in South America
South American medicine men, also known as ayahuasqueros and curanderos, are part of the ancient belief system of shamanism. Shamans are purportedly able to communicate with spirits in otherworldly planes. Ayahuasqueros use a brew made from Amazon rainforest plants to gain access to these spiritual realms. Ayahuasca contains the psychoactive drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is illegal in the United States and other countries.
Ayahuasca has become a thriving industry in South America. Tourists flock to the continent with the hope of experiencing transcendence and transformation by using the indigenous drug. Some yage tourists come seeking spirituality, others for relief from psychological difficulties, such as depression or addiction.
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