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PARADIGMS OF MEDICINE, MAGIC & SPIRITUALITY AMONG BRITISH AYAHUASCA

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to understand how British, non-traditional users of ayahuasca conceptualise their use of ayahuasca, and how that use relates to beliefs about medicine and spirituality. In its native context, ayahuasca is steeped in narratives about communication with non-human spiritual entities, ecology and healing (Beyer 2009). But what does it mean to those who do not come from cultures that share the Amazonian cosmology? What elements of traditional ayahuasca narrative have survived the cultural transition? Why are Westerners interested in ayahuasca, and what is it to them? This project has sought to explore the commonalities and dissimilarities between these traditional narratives and those of its users in the Western world.