The radical otherness that heals

The radical otherness that heals

Yagecero Neoshamanism in Colombia

  • Auteur: Caicedo Fernández, Alhena
  • Éditeur: Universidad de los Andes
  • ISBN: 9789587980868
  • eISBN Pdf: 9789587980875
  • Lieu de publication:  Bogotá , Colombia
  • Année de publication: 2021
  • Pages: 254
“The Radical Otherness That Heals proposes an interesting theoretical advance in various schools of local and regional, and national and transnational analysis. It is based on a multilocal ethnography and a detailed sociological and political reading of the interactions between institutions and social and cultural representations of otherness. The original theoretical proposal consists of reading the reconfiguration of shamanisms stemming from processes of ethnicization and patrimonialization, and skillfully reconstructing the national ideological space and the most recent effects of multiculturalism through representations of otherness” Anne-Marie Losonczy, Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris “The concept of the yagecero field serves as the axis of this innovative research that intertwines a multi-sited ethnography with a biographical approach to the actors. An extensive review of the literature on indigenous shamanisms, their networks, national politics, inter-ethnic relations and representations of the radical alterity that heals makes it possible for the reader to draw near, based on the close proximity of neo-shamanic practices, to perceive the national and transnational influences that are an integral part of the ongoing dynamics of this phenomenon. The analysis of neo-shamanism and the practices of the taita yageceros in Colombia contributes to deepening current debates on contemporary shamanisms and the broader issue of new religiosities, the transformations of indigenous groups and their politics of identify. This book provides a valuable input to the characterization of New Age spirituality from its understanding as a localized practice. It opens a space to compare the aforementioned manifestations in Colombia with similar ones in different countries.” Esther Jean Langdon, Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil
  • Cover
  • Title page
  • Copyright page
  • Content
  • List of Figures
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
    • Shamanism and its overflows
    • Some methodological considerations
  • Contexts
    • The shamanic networks of the north-western Amazon
    • Shaman and curandero networks
    • Shamanic power: Learning and acquiring power
    • The auca and the power of difference
    • The Indian as Other: Representations of Otherness
  • “The path of the Indians”: A neoyagecero initiation
    • “Building bridges”: Javier Lasso
    • “Weaving alliances”: Kajuyali Tsamani
    • “Think beautiful”: Orlando Gaitán
    • “Summoning the bloodline”: Florentino Ágreda
    • New taita yageceros
    • Initiation and legitimation of the new taita yageceros
    • The language of yage
    • The language of the yagecero
    • Neoshamanisms in action
  • Yagé sessions
    • The malocas
    • The neoyageceros
    • Preparations
    • The ritual prescriptions
    • “Health and good pintas”: A ritual device of yagé sessions
    • Ritual adaptations
  • Malocas and the path of yagé
    • Contamination and purification
    • The path of yage
    • Communities: Orders and hierarchies
    • The altar at Cruz del Sur
    • The altar at El Sol Naciente (Carare community)
    • Ritual gatherings
  • Authenticity and shamanic power
    • Reinventing tradition: Taita Pacho Piaguaje
    • The power of the city
    • Medicalisation of yagé sessions
    • Heritagisation of ritual yagé consumption
    • Yageceros and Indian authenticity
  • From shamanism as a cure and the Indian as a remedy
    • Who are the urban yageceros?
    • The radical otherness that heals
    • The healing
    • The sacred
    • Indianness
    • The New Age
    • Brujería as the reverse side
  • The new horizons of yagecero shamanism in Colombia
  • Bibliography

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