Books in English
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Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices
By Erika Dyck, Patrick Farrell, Beatriz Labate, Clancy Cavnar, Ibrahim Gabriell, and Glauber de Assis (eds.)
Publisher:
Synergetic Press
Year: 2024 -
Power, Discrimination, and Privilege in Individuals and Institutions
By Sonya Faber, Monnica Williams, Matthew Skinta and Beatriz Labate (eds.)
Publisher:
Frontiers
Year: 2024 -
Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine
By Alex Belser, Clancy Cavnar and Beatriz Labate (eds.)
Publisher:
Synergetic Press
Year: 2022 -
Religious Freedom and the Global Regulation of Ayahuasca
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Routledge
Year: 2023 -
Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Synergetic Press
Year: 2021 -
Ayahuasca Healing and Science
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Springer
Year: 2021 -
Diversity, Equity, and Access in Psychedelic Medicine
By Monnica Williams and Beatriz Labate (eds.)
Publisher:
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
Year: 2020 -
Plant Medicines, Healing and Psychedelic Science: Cultural Perspectives
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Springer
Year: 2018 -
The Expanding World Ayahuasca Diaspora: Appropriation, Integration and Legislation
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Routledge
Year: 2018 -
Drug Policies and the Politics of Drugs in the Americas
By Beatriz Labate, Clancy Cavnar and Thiago Rodrigues (eds.)
Publisher:
Springer
Year: 2016 -
The World Ayahuasca Diaspora: Reinventions and Controversies
By Beatriz Labate, Clancy Cavnar and Alex Gearin (eds.)
Publisher:
Routledge
Year: 2017 -
Peyote: History, Traditions, Politics, and Conservation
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Praeger
Year: 2016 -
Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Year: 2014 -
Prohibition, Religious Freedom and Human Rights: Regulating Traditional Drug Use
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Springer
Year: 2014 -
The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca
By Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (eds.)
Publisher:
Springer
Year: 2014 -
The Internationalization of Ayahuasca
By Beatriz Labate and Henrik Jungaberle (eds.)
Publisher:
Lit Verlag
Year: 2011 -
Opening the Portals of Heaven: Brazilian Ayahuasca Music
By Beatriz Labate and Gustavo Pacheco, Translated by Matthew Meyer
Publisher:
LIT Verlag
Year: 2010 -
Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil
By Beatriz Labate and Edward MacRae (eds.)
Publisher:
Routledge
Year: 2010 -
Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Critical Essays
By Beatriz Labate, Isabel de Rose and Rafael Guimarães, Translated by Matthew Meyer
Publisher:
MAPS
Year: 2009 -
The Light from the Forest: The Ritual Use of Ayahuasca in Brazil
By Beatriz Labate and Edward MacRae (eds.)
Publisher:
Equinox
Year: 2008
Book Reviews
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Psychedelic Justice […] looks at ways in which such intersectional injustices are sustained in contemporary human relationships with psychedelics, harming the poor, women, queer folx, and ethnic minorities. But it also looks at ways in which the reverse can happen: how (1) injustices can become visible through particular relationships with psychedelics and (2) how stronger will and motivations can, even with psychedelics as catalysts, stimulate the structural change to end these injustices. Regardless of one’s discipline or field of interest, there is wisdom in here for everyone: from anthropologist to historian, from chemist to practitioner, from seeker to finder. This book can serve to awaken the privileged among and within us. This book can be seen as a contemporary example of critique reinvigorated by the perspective of the colonized. These critiques are various and come from different cultures. The focus of Psychedelic Justice on real past and present situations […] in the psychedelic society axis opens a door to critical thinking about the future. Psychedelic Justice does this by introducing a deficit in the critical literature and describing the symptoms, causes of, and solutions to important injustices.
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Psychedelic Justice presents a powerful community of voices lesser heard, and commands ourattention, persuades us to action. The central thesis carries a cautionary tale – that if we are not careful, we may find ourselves simply following the same-old patterns of perpetuating harm, and systemic oppression, no matter how “good” our intentions, or how “noble” the pursuit – our revolution of spiritual enlightenment, healing, a better way of being in the world through altered states of consciousness. Psychedelic Justice comprises a collection of essays from multiple authors, diverse in their backgrounds, expertise, and perspective – galvanized through the dimension of activism. Each layer unearths new meaning, expands our compassion, offers new doorways to slide through worlds outside our own direct experience. With this collection of essays, the authors support the reader to widen their lens and identify pockets of deep ignorance, which, left unchecked, have a potential for great harm through unconsciously perpetuating a status quo. Is the psychedelic movement actively building a new world, or unconsciously perpetuating the status quo? After reading this book, I believe many readers will be left answering that question in an unexpected way.
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This volume presents has an important task: trying to understand the complexities regarding ayahuasca, as its use expands worldwide, and leads to reinventions and controversies. Issues such as tradition, identity, legitimacy, stigmatization, disputes between groups, legal prosecutions, drug policies, gain a new perspective through the ayahuasca diaspora lens. This collective work presents us with a bold approach to face those developments, as it avoids simple answers to complex questions, and tries to give us a broader perspective on the issues at stake.
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This volume […] focuses on the numerous ways in which the use of ayahuasca has expanded and consequently has been transformed, as it has entered numerous new cultural and social settings throughout the globe. The [book] also does not shy away from investigating some of the more controversial topics that have emerged in the field of ayahuasca studies. This multitude of voices may at times seem like a cacophony, but hopefully with thoughtful volumes such as this one, the field of the study of ayahuasca will continue to contribute to an increasingly sophisticated understanding of this emergent and important global phenomenon.
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Este volume apresenta uma tarefa importante: tentar compreender as complexidades das formas de consumo da ayahuasca, à medida que seu uso se expandeem todo o mundo, dando margem à reinvenções e controvérsias. Questões como tradição,identidade, legitimidade, estigmatização, disputas entre grupos, processos judiciais,políticas de drogas, ganham uma nova perspectiva através da lente da diáspora daayahuasca. Este esforço coletivo nos propõe,portanto, uma abordagem audaciosa para enfrentar esses desenvolvimentos, evitandorespostas simples para questões complexas e tentando colocar em perspectiva as questõesem jogo.
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The collection presents visions and approaches to peyote and at the same time explores some common and cross-cutting issues and questions. Peyote today finds itself situated at a crossroads, one at which are encountered debates overenvironment and sustainability; national and international politics dealing with the use and trafficking of drugs; human and indigenous rights, and questions of anethnic and religious nature.
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Como si fuera el corazón o la punta del iceberg, el peque˜no cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii), bien conocido entre el gran público por sus propiedades psicoactivas y popularizado por un buen número de obras literarias y especializadas, es el principio articulador y la parte visible de este libro que posee un propósito global —u holístico— y a la vez un estilo accesible que lo hace ágil de leer. El libro ofrece una contribución de carácter colectivo que reside en el esfuerzo por presentar “una descripción densa y de carácter antropológico” del cactus peyote, sumando voces tanto de académicos como de activistas, de expertos en cuestiones legales e, incluso, incluyendo la perspectiva de un nativo americano, un líder sicangu lakota de la denominada Iglesia Nativa Americana. Este encuentro de voces y perspectivas analíticas sitúa al peyote en una serie de contextos históricos, culturales, ecológicos, políticos y legales de México, Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y Canadá, con líneas que recorren transversalmente el libro. La tesis del libro podría ser formulada como un respeto a la biodiversidad y a los ecosistemas, así como a la riqueza y a la pluralidad cultural, a la variedade de los seres vivos en una vasta región americana y a la profundidad de la experiencia humana tanto entre culturas de orígenes antiguos como en tradiciones de gestación más reciente, siempre en torno a un peque˜no cactus psicoactivo al que circundan diversas modalidades de vida ritual.
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Como si fuera el corazón o la punta del iceberg, el peque˜no cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii), bien conocido entre el gran público por sus propiedades psicoactivas y popularizado por un buen número de obras literarias y especializadas, es el principio articulador y la parte visible de este libro que posee un propósito global —u holístico— y a la vez un estilo accesible que lo hace ágil de leer. El libro ofrece una contribución de carácter colectivo que reside en el esfuerzo por presentar “una descripción densa y de carácter antropológico” del cactus peyote, sumando voces tanto de académicos como de activistas, de expertos en cuestiones legales e, incluso, incluyendo la perspectiva de un nativo americano, un líder sicangu lakota de la denominada Iglesia Nativa Americana. Este encuentro de voces y perspectivas analíticas sitúa al peyote en una serie de contextos históricos, culturales, ecológicos, políticos y legales de México, Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y Canadá, con líneas que recorren transversalmente el libro. La tesis del libro podría ser formulada como un respeto a la biodiversidad y a los ecosistemas, así como a la riqueza y a la pluralidad cultural, a la variedade de los seres vivos en una vasta región americana y a la profundidad de la experiencia humana tanto entre culturas de orígenes antiguos como en tradiciones de gestación más reciente, siempre en torno a un peque˜no cactus psicoactivo al que circundan diversas modalidades de vida ritual.
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Com 12 capítulos e trazendo contribuições de diferentes áreas, como biologia, ecologia, história, direito, antropologia e ciências da religião, bem como a perspectiva indígena a respeito do tema, a coletânea aponta, ao mesmo tempo, diferentes visões e abordagens sobre o peiote e alguns temas e questões comuns ou transversais. O peiote situa-se hoje numa espécie de encruzilhada, na qual se encontram debates sobre questões ambientais e de sustentabilidade; políticas nacionais e internacionais que tratam de usos e tráfico de drogas; direitos humanos e indígenas e questões étnicas e religiosas. Nesse sentido, uma das discussões levantada de diferentes maneiras ao longo do livro diz respeito a como esses diversos interesses interagem e a como eles podem ser devidamente equilibrados.
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The essays focus on different groups of people that use ayahuasca: on tribes that use ayahuasca in what is often considered a traditional setting, on tribes that have relatively recently adopted the use of ayahuasca, on mestizo shamanism and on the tourists that flow in mostly from North America and Europe. This diversity gives us a varied collection of essays, although all show how ayahuasca is used as a way to build culture and identity, as well as build connections between tribes and/or groups. The picture that emerges out of the various essays is one that shows that some of the widespread ideas surrounding the history of ayahuasca as well as the way ayahuasca has been used traditionally are unfounded and in dire need of revision. The essays open up some new paths for researching the interplay between tradition, culture, identity and ayahuasca. This book is a welcome addition for those interested in the use of ayahuasca in the Amazon and beyond, for both anthropologists and those with an interest in ayahuasca in general. Highly recommended.
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By now I have read several books on the issue of ayahuasca, and some of them I also reviewed (Mayer 2010; 2013); but this anthology, compiled by Beatriz CaiubyLabate and Clancy Cavnar, impressed me in a particular way. It is characterized by a sensible composition of individual contributions which result, in an overall view, in a dense, multifaceted, and compelling, picture of the present situation of ayahuasca shamanism and its development trajectories. Each of the chapters deconstructs images and ideas which, since the 1960ies, have been developed in western people’s minds around the ayahuasca complex, its alleged rootedness in an ancient tradition, as an embodiment of authentic, primeval nature wisdom. The articles show a high degree of reflexivity as well as self-reflexivity which goes along with an important, for some people in some respects probably painful deconstruction – a deconstruction not only of ideas of ayahuasca, ayahuasca shamanism, and ayahuasca tourism, but also of concepts and projections of authenticity, tradition, nativeness, and ahistoricity as well as of successful transcultural understanding. The book extends far beyond a specific interest in the ayahuasca complex. It is inspiring, thought-provoking, and eye-opening.
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The authors weave together the traditional arguments supporting the sacramental use of substances adding a dimension only recently on the scene, the human rights basis for drug policy reform, going beyond a strictly freedom of religion context. The Editors have made a fine attempt at collating a selection of articles spanning traditional and religious uses of various substances currently banned under international conventions.
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It is a must-read for anyone attempting to understand the global implications of ayahuasca today. The book provides a comprehensive and broad overview of the “ayahuasca complex” and has the potential to become a standard work for serious students of the subject.
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This book, The Internationalization of Ayahuasca, represents a remarkable synthesis of perspectives, analyses, data sources, and conversations on the subject of the use of ayahuasca, a “hallucinogenic” substance used traditionally in South America. This volume offers a richly multidisciplinary discussion of ayahuasca, bringing together multiple cultural, health, and legal aspects. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of ritual healing practices and traditions and the politics, contestations, and plurality of voices and perspectives surrounding their global spread and regulation. The volume covers the gamut of topics related to ayahuasca, so it offers comprehensive, single-volume coverage of the issue and is therefore a most teachable instrument and an essential resource for a range of researchers and practitioners. This book brings many different areas of knowledge together so that the result is an integrated whole, covering issues that span politics, culture, history, science, and policy. At the book’s core is an effort to understand ayahuasca for what it is—a substance used traditionally, for many years by indigenous groups, one with distinctive effects, and one which has often been the subject of controversy as a result of its internationalization.
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This work is an important contribution to the growing literature on ayahuasca, and should be read by any serious student of the subject. It provides not just a summary of where things stood at the time of its publication, but also a road map for anticipating the possible paths that ayahuasca use and research will travel in the future.
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In the book mentioned above, authors try to notify us of how music, poetry and song, can be not only an essential part of religious rites, but also the principal vehicle by which a religion might express its own doctrine. ‘Music as the Manifestation of Divinity’ might be another title of this research. I am convinced, this should be a very useful and instructive for anyone who likes to be initiated into the Dionysian experience of the most musical religions all over the world.
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This small book, recently published in both Portuguese (Mercado de Letras) and English (Lit Verlag; translation by Matthew Meyer), is a seminal work in the budding fi eld of ayahuasca music studies. Labate and Pacheco’s book will surely find wide appeal in the Lusophone academic community now that it has been published in Portuguese. Accordingly, the recent release of the English translation promises to be equally invigorating for Anglophones with an interest in the ethnomusicology of religion.
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A pleasant feature of the book is that one gets, in addition to the remarks on the eponymous ethno-musicological topic, a well-founded short introduction to the two large Brazilian aya¬huasca religions.
Review by Gerard Mayer
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The Brazilian authors of these re-published papers, translated from the Portuguese, all point to the incredible syncretic quality of Brazilian spiritualists, particularly in the way the Ayahuasca religions have moved from a lower-class religiosity of the black poor and the caboclo (Amerindian or mixed-race Amerindian) to a more middle-class and professional congregation, which now incorporates commercial jingles, notions of astral planes and reincarnation, and even anthropological theory.
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After laying down some useful basic history of the diverse ayahuasca movements and defining some of the key concepts to come (such as ‘ayahuasca religion,’ ‘religion,’ and ‘sacrament’), the book moves in a pleasantly systematic way through a number of related topics on the subject. Anthologies of this sort are often much less conceptually and topically integrated, so the tightness of essays is very welcome. The book is a model for well-integrated anthologies that seek to promote not only ethnographic knowledge but also a social agenda. The essays also contribute to our mounting awareness of the standard processes of new religious movements, and they incorporate some of the state-of-the-art thinking about religious experience and religious efficacy. Scholars working in the area of religion and religious change will find much in the collection that supports their thinking but also gives them new things to think about.
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This collection of anthropological writings seeks to help fill the gap of English-language research in the area, which to date is relatively sparse. And as these movements begin to make inroads into North America and Europe, these articles are timely in helping to develop the groundwork for a more global understanding. Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil works on many levels; firstly it is engaging enough for the novice to be able to take a great deal of information, especially historical and cultural, away with them. Secondly, it provides the seasoned academic with important structural, linguistic and socio-historical perspectives, all interesting tools in understanding the ayahuasca religious movement. Overall this is an excellent and insightful collection of articles and is highly recommended for academics and ayahuasca enthusiasts alike.
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Labate and MacRae’s edited volume provides access in English to many important and illuminating studies on these ayahuasca religions and points to some of the crucial questions about the claims of the efficacy of ayahuasca’s therapeutic potential, the nature of the altered state experience, and the structure of ritual, as well as the pitfalls faced by these religious groups in their fight to gain legitimacy for the use of ayahuasca without government interference. This is a valuable collection for those interested in new religious movements, shamanism and healing, hallucinogenic plants, and the religious use of altered states of consciousness.
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The spread of these religious groups has been accompanied by an intensified scientific interest, fascinating on the one hand as a typical Brazilian expression of religiousness, and, on the other, mainly due to their ritualized usage of the hallucinogen as a “sacrament”. The book Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprehensive Bibliography & Critical Essays highlights how strongly this interest is reflected in scientific studies from the last two decades.
Review by G. Mayer
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This comprehensive guide offers an essential insight into the Brazilian literature, representing the various approaches that research has taken and indicating what directions it may take in the future. This book brings together a wealth of otherwise inaccessible scholarship on the anthropology of consciousness with respect to ayahuasca, a substance and a subject that is becoming increasingly popular both inside and outside academia.