Yopo, ethnicity and social change: a comparative analysis of Piaroa and Cuiva yopo uset.

dc.contributor.author

Rodd, Robin

dc.contributor.author

Sumabila, Arelis

dc.date.accessioned

2021-02-15T05:24:13Z

dc.date.available

2021-02-15T05:24:13Z

dc.date.issued

2011-01

dc.date.updated

2021-02-15T05:23:39Z

dc.description.abstract

Most Orinocoan ethnic groups, including the Cuiva and the Piaroa, use yopo, a hallucinogenic snuff derived from the seeds of the Anadenanthera peregrina tree. This study contrasts Piaroa and Cuiva attitudes toward and uses of yopo in light of ongoing processes of social change. We do not believe that these sociocultural forces will lead to a phasing out of yopo in Piaroa and Cuiva life. However, we demonstrate how, in nearby communities, a combination of historical and ethical contingencies lead to very different patterns and understanding of drug use. Yopo is strongly associated with the performance of narratives central to each ethnic group's cosmology and identity. Cuiva yopo consumption is also a means of resisting persecution and asserting the right to a just reality. Piaroa attitudes towards yopo are affected by the interplay of shamanic ethical principles and missionary activity, and are sometimes paradoxical: yopo is the reason for harm and the means of salvation; required by shamans to create the future and yet regarded by many laypeople as a relic of the past. We identify persecution, local responses to missionary activity, and shamanic ethics as key factors affecting the evolution of hallucinogen use by Amazonian ethnic groups.

dc.identifier.issn

0279-1072

dc.identifier.issn

2159-9777

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22358

dc.language

eng

dc.publisher

Informa UK Limited

dc.relation.ispartof

Journal of psychoactive drugs

dc.relation.isversionof

10.1080/02791072.2011.566499

dc.subject

Humans

dc.subject

Substance-Related Disorders

dc.subject

Hallucinogens

dc.subject

Shamanism

dc.subject

Culture

dc.subject

Colonialism

dc.subject

Social Change

dc.subject

Legislation, Drug

dc.subject

Religion

dc.subject

Christianity

dc.subject

Indians, South American

dc.subject

Ethnic Groups

dc.subject

Colombia

dc.subject

Venezuela

dc.title

Yopo, ethnicity and social change: a comparative analysis of Piaroa and Cuiva yopo uset.

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Rodd, Robin|0000-0002-7552-7160

pubs.begin-page

36

pubs.end-page

45

pubs.issue

1

pubs.organisational-group

Duke Kunshan University

pubs.organisational-group

Duke Kunshan University Faculty

pubs.organisational-group

Duke

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

43

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