Dalland, Rasmus Hage

Laursen, Emil Rasmus

This project examines the ayahuasca-tourism in Iquitos, Peru, and it aims at understanding what the tourists are looking for, when they search for this kind of experience. Iquitos has experienced an increasing amount of tourists who arrive in the city for the purpose of participating in ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca is a traditional medicine that has been an essential part of the ancient indigenous culture in Peru for centuries. It features strong hallucinogenic powers that are seen as a gateway to personal insights. During the last decade the city has experienced a tourist boom of Westerners who seek this spiritual experience. Through Foucault’s term of problematization the project tries to grasp why and what this movement represents by examining the articulated problems and wishes in the forthcoming meeting with ayahuasca. And more over how the problems and wishes articulated can be regarded as critique. The conclusions are that our informants are frustrated by the many choices the modern Western individual has. At the same time they appreciate this amount of choices as long as it does not become a coercive condition. Another problem is ‘the modern noise’, which prevent the tourists from obtaining peace of mind. They want to develop resilience so they can cope with modern danger, but at the same time they problematize the dangers that provoke this need for resilience. This paradox makes us conclude that the tourists present a critical attitude towards the societal infrastructure, even though the critique is fragmented.This project examines the ayahuasca-tourism in Iquitos, Peru, and it aims at understanding what the tourists are looking for, when they search for this kind of experience. Iquitos has experienced an increasing amount of tourists who arrive in the city for the purpose of participating in ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca is a traditional medicine that has been an essential part of the ancient indigenous culture in Peru for centuries. It features strong hallucinogenic powers that are seen as a gateway to personal insights. During the last decade the city has experienced a tourist boom of Westerners who seek this spiritual experience. Through Foucault’s term of problematization the project tries to grasp why and what this movement represents by examining the articulated problems and wishes in the forthcoming meeting with ayahuasca. And more over how the problems and wishes articulated can be regarded as critique. The conclusions are that our informants are frustrated by the many choices the modern Western individual has. At the same time they appreciate this amount of choices as long as it does not become a coercive condition. Another problem is ‘the modern noise’, which prevent the tourists from obtaining peace of mind. They want to develop resilience so they can cope with modern danger, but at the same time they problematize the dangers that provoke this need for resilience. This paradox makes us conclude that the tourists present a critical attitude towards the societal infrastructure, even though the critique is fragmented

Ayahuasca-turisme i Iquitos, Peru

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Roskilde Universitet