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Hallucinogens: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
This book surveys the use of mind-altering plants in eleven societies in the Americas, Asia, Australia and New Guinea, ranging from the hunter-gatherers to complex ancient civilizations such as the Inca, the Moche, and the Maya. Those interested in rituals and religions of traditional societies and folk medicine will find a great deal of information in this concise, illustrated volume. Several themes emerge from de Rios's cross-cultural examination of sacred plants. She argues convincingly that plant hallucinogens, which have been used from time immemorial, influenced human evolution. She discusses religious beliefs, including those of shamanism, which may have been influenced by the mind-altering properties of particular plants. She also focuses on the ways in which hallucinogens have influenced ethical and moral systems.
- GenresDrugs
261 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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November 21, 2017
A study of the various epistemological perspectives, uses, and cultural contexts for "mind-altering plants." Dobkin de Rios asserts that in studying eleven distinct, non-western (i.e. excluding Old Wolrd Europe), preindustrial societies across 6 continents there is a clear indication of how each society's "cultural variables such as belief systems, values, attitudes, and expectations structure one of the most subjective experiences available to humankind." Shaking off the cultural centric conceptions previously shown by western academics, Dobkin de Rios approaches these societies and their hallucinogens with a mix of academic rigor and experiential awe.
Hallucinogens is broken up into three primary sections: an Introduction, the eleven Ethnographies, and finally Cultural Universals from the ethnographic studies in the preceding chapters. Dobkin de Rios relies on existing research as necessary (though her own ethnographic work fills a chapter) and puts paramount importance on the interaction between the physical landscape surrounding each society, the abiding social structure, the available cultural artifacts and symbolic art, and the eventual descent of cultural practices as encroaching colonization approaches. These three factors structure not only how a mind-altering plant plays a role in each society but also inform how we come to understand that role.
Many of the practices discussed cannot be fully elucidated as they had been hidden or changed by the tribal societies as outsiders began to encroach upon their land and culture. This is a central issue in studying such tribal, preindustrial societies, many, if not most, passed down their cultural activities through guided practice of the activities rather than any sort of written record. In large part this seems to be why Dobkin de Rios takes such an extensive survey of hallucinogens in these societies, so as to find the common cultural ground, as it manifests itself somewhat idiosyncratically within each people studied.
Those attracted to the book for accounts of hallucinogenic stupors and shamanistic ceremonies will be disappointed. While Dobkin de Rios does delve into the roles of both, the academic tone is always present and she strays from stretching the available accounts beyond what they provide. That said, there's still plenty of recycled, hallucinogen-active urine by Siberian herders and the every present hustle for the "accumulation of pig wealth" by New Guinea highlanders. The best chapters of the book are when enough supporting research exists to paint with a finer brush, allowing the mundane mycology and idiosyncratic details of each society to be recounted in greater entirety. Tackling eleven societies leaves some chapters lacking by comparison, but is an essential trek to stitching together the role of hallucinogens as a cross-cultural parallel.
The book never fully seeks to position hallucinogens as a Promethean spark in the wilderness, precipitating culture and social structure. Rather the mind-altering plants are seen as being both confined and exploratory influences within modern and past societies; this juxtaposition is indicative of the very particular influences of ritualistic healing and the role that communion with nature plays in many societies. Dobkin de Rios seems to position hallucinogens as facilitators of Jungian style universals that are pervasive in pre-industrial societies, specifically with regards to commonly developed belief systems across the world. This makes the most sense for the role of such plants, as they elicit very similar physical and psychological effects within the phenomena experienced by their users, especially when guided by shamans. All said, the book interesting and academic, but with a subtext of a ticking clock for when all such societies and shamanic journeys pass under the heel of the expanding "modern" world's incursion into cultural practices.
Hallucinogens is broken up into three primary sections: an Introduction, the eleven Ethnographies, and finally Cultural Universals from the ethnographic studies in the preceding chapters. Dobkin de Rios relies on existing research as necessary (though her own ethnographic work fills a chapter) and puts paramount importance on the interaction between the physical landscape surrounding each society, the abiding social structure, the available cultural artifacts and symbolic art, and the eventual descent of cultural practices as encroaching colonization approaches. These three factors structure not only how a mind-altering plant plays a role in each society but also inform how we come to understand that role.
Many of the practices discussed cannot be fully elucidated as they had been hidden or changed by the tribal societies as outsiders began to encroach upon their land and culture. This is a central issue in studying such tribal, preindustrial societies, many, if not most, passed down their cultural activities through guided practice of the activities rather than any sort of written record. In large part this seems to be why Dobkin de Rios takes such an extensive survey of hallucinogens in these societies, so as to find the common cultural ground, as it manifests itself somewhat idiosyncratically within each people studied.
Those attracted to the book for accounts of hallucinogenic stupors and shamanistic ceremonies will be disappointed. While Dobkin de Rios does delve into the roles of both, the academic tone is always present and she strays from stretching the available accounts beyond what they provide. That said, there's still plenty of recycled, hallucinogen-active urine by Siberian herders and the every present hustle for the "accumulation of pig wealth" by New Guinea highlanders. The best chapters of the book are when enough supporting research exists to paint with a finer brush, allowing the mundane mycology and idiosyncratic details of each society to be recounted in greater entirety. Tackling eleven societies leaves some chapters lacking by comparison, but is an essential trek to stitching together the role of hallucinogens as a cross-cultural parallel.
The book never fully seeks to position hallucinogens as a Promethean spark in the wilderness, precipitating culture and social structure. Rather the mind-altering plants are seen as being both confined and exploratory influences within modern and past societies; this juxtaposition is indicative of the very particular influences of ritualistic healing and the role that communion with nature plays in many societies. Dobkin de Rios seems to position hallucinogens as facilitators of Jungian style universals that are pervasive in pre-industrial societies, specifically with regards to commonly developed belief systems across the world. This makes the most sense for the role of such plants, as they elicit very similar physical and psychological effects within the phenomena experienced by their users, especially when guided by shamans. All said, the book interesting and academic, but with a subtext of a ticking clock for when all such societies and shamanic journeys pass under the heel of the expanding "modern" world's incursion into cultural practices.
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