Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the worldview and religious beliefs of indigenous peoples. Only recently, however, with the surge of interest in hallucinogenic agents in our own culture, have researchers begun to acknowledge the essential role of such substances in the cosmology of some shamanic societies. In this unusual collection, ten original studies explore the use of hallucinogens in shamanism: the ancient and widespread practice of invoking a trance state to perceive and utilize supernatural forces.

Contents:

Part I: In The Primitive World: The Upper Amazon
Banisteriopsis Usage Among the Peruvian Cashinahua by Kenneth M. Kensinger
The Sound of Rushing Water by Michael Harner
Visions and Cures Among the Sharanahua by Janet Siskind
Shamanism and Priesthood in Light of the Campa Ayahuasca Ceremony by Gerald Weiss

Part II: In Cultures Undergoing Westernization
Shamanism and Peyote Use Among the Apaches of the Mescalero Indian Reservation by L. Bryce Boyer, Ruth M. Boyer, and Harry W. Basehart
Curing with Ayahuasca in an Urban Slum by Marlene Dobkin de Rios
The Mushrooms of Language by Henry Munn

Part III: In The Traditional Western World
The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft by Michael Harner

Part IV: Hallucinogens And Shamanism: The Question Of A Transcultural Experience
Common Themes in South American Indian Yagé Experiences by Michael Harner
Psychological Aspects of the Yagé Experience in an Experimental Setting by Claudio Naranjo

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