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ABSTRACT
Undertaking a research project into
shamanism in the Peruvian Amazon,
the author was introduced to the vegetalista,
a type of shaman with special
knowledge of a wide variety of medicinal
plants and a vocation to help their
fellows Ð without payment. The article
describes the way in which vegetalistas
are co-opted into the calling, their
initiation, long training, the status allocated
to them and the roles they play in
Peruvian Amazonian society. Vegetalistas
undertake an important function in a
society in which clinics and even district
nurses are rarely to be found. For the
poor and the widely dispersed inhabitants
they are particularly necessary.
RESUMEN
El proyecto de investigacio n sobre el
chamanismo en la Amazonia peruana,
ha permitido a su autor conocer al
vegetalista, un tipo de chama n conocedor
de una gran variedad de plantas
medicinales y con una vocacio n a
ayudar a sus conge neres Рa menudo
sin cobrar. El artõÂculo describe como los
vegetalistas escuchan la llamada, como
son invitados a su iniciacio n, al largo
periodo de entrenamiento, el status que
se les confiere y el papel que juegan en
la sociedad de la Amazonia peruana.
Los vegetalistas juegan un papel muy
importante en una sociedad en la que
las clõÂ nicas y las enfermeras de distrito
escasean. Estos son especialmente necesarios
para los pobres y aquellos
habitantes que se hayan diseminados
por la regio n.
RESUMO
O projeto de pesquisa sobre o xamanismo
na Amazoà nia peruana levou o
autor a conhecer o vegetalista, uma
categoria de xamaÄ com conhecimentos
especiais sobre uma grande variedade
de plantas medicinais e com vocacËaÄ ode
ajudar ao pro ximo Рmuitas vezes de
gracË a. O artigo descreve como os
vegetalistas saÄ o chamados a seguir a
vocacË aÄ o, a sua iniciacË aÄ o, o longo
perõÂodo de treinamento, o status a eles
conferido e o papel que desempenham
na sociedade da Amazoà nia peruana. Os
vegetalistas exercem uma funcËaÄ o importante
numa sociedade onde postos
de sau de ou ate enfermeiras saÄ o raridades.
Eles se tornam assim essenciais
para os pobres e os habitantes de uma
regiaÄ o escassamente populada.
SHAMANISM: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Nevill Drury (1982:1) describes shamanism as a
visionary tradition, an ancient practice of utilizing
altered states of consciousness to contact the gods
and spirits of the natural world. Browman (1979:6±7)
uses the term `shaman' to refer to those persons who
mediate relationships between humans and the supernatural,
and intervene in specific cases of misfortune
and illness to determine a cause and to administer a
cure. When we think of the shaman, the image of an
enigmatic and mysterious medicine man or sorcerer
comes to mind Ð a figure who through entering a
condition of trance is able to undertake a vision-quest
of the soul, journey to the sacred places and report
back to humankind on matters of cosmic intent. It
might be that the shaman is a healer, able to conquer
the spirits of disease, a sorcerer, skilled in harnessing
spirits as allies for magical purposes, or a type of
psychic detective able to recover lost possessions. At
other times the shaman may seem to be somewhat
priestlike Ð an intermediary between the gods of
Creation and the more familiar realm of everyday
domestic affairs. But whatever the specific role, the
shaman, universally, is one who commands awe and
respect, for the shaman can journey to other worlds
and return with revelations from the gods (Drury
1982:1).
Compared with others in their society, shamans
frequently have more extensive knowledge of the
natural world (ranging from plants to stars), a keener
grasp of the subtleties of interpersonal and psychic
phenomena, and a clearer understanding of, and more
intimate involvement with the world of the spirits.
Depending on the specific cultural context, shamans
are involved in consulting, propitiating, and manipulating
supernatural beings; divining the causes of
thefts, fevers, and deaths; curing illnesses ranging
from fractures to psychotic episodes; and guiding
members of society in economic pursuits, political
activities, and religious ceremonies. When viewed
collectively, shamans combine, in varying degrees in
different cultures, the roles of physician, pharmacologist,
psychotherapist, sociologist, philosopher, lawyer,
astrologer, and priest Ð and aspects of other
statuses which in our society have become highly
specialized (Browman 1979:6±7).
In the Peruvian Amazon we have a phenomenon
called the vegetalista, who precisely fits this description.
The vegetalista is a person of exceptional
knowledge, ranging from entheogens and medicinal
plants, from which his name is derived, to knowledge
of the spiritual domain Ð vegetalistas may be male or
female, but for fluidity in reading I will make use of the
male pronoun Ð perceived under the influence of the
entheogen, ayahuasca. The vegetalista is the contemporary
healer for poor urban and rural mestizos.
Not only is he the healer par excellence, but also the
only psychologist available to these people. He is the
person who, in an altered state of consciousness, can
divine, travel to distant places and find lost objects.
The vegetalista is still a man of considerable power
and can be found all over jungle cities in Peru and in
rural settlements. To many of these mestizos, the
vegetalista is often the only help in critical situations.
He is the person with whom these people can relate,
and they feel comfortable with him. Although the
mestizo is acculturated into modern society, they very
ISSN 0256±6060±Unisa Lat. Am. Rep. 16(2) 2000 43