Anthropology

Peru’s brutal murders renew focus on tourist boom for hallucinogenic brew

ECfES.org has issued a public statement regarding this incident. It is available upon request. email : team@ecfes.org

Arévalo, a traditional healer, was shot twice under a midday sun on April, 19th, 2018. Witnesses say she collapsed to the ground, gasping: “They’ve killed me! They’ve killed me!” as her daughter Virginia ran to cradle her dying mother’s head.

Within minutes, anguish spilled into uncontrollable rage: Arévalo’s neighbours seized and lynched the alleged perpetrator, a Canadian man named Sebastian Woodroffe, 41, who had travelled to the region to learn about indigenous medicine. The horrific double murder has cast a harsh spotlight on the unregulated world of ayahuasca tourism. Ayahuasca, a plant brew that contains the hallucinogenic drug dimelthytryptamine (DMT), has attracted to Peru thousands of western tourists seeking to cure everything from spiritual anomie to drug addiction through traditional shamanic ceremonies. The boom has brought a welcome income for some of Peru’s most marginalized communities, but it has also been implicated in a number of deaths – and provoked accusations of cultural appropriation and profiteering.

Original Article (The Guardian):
Peru’s brutal murders renew focus on tourist boom for hallucinogenic brew
Artwork Fair Use: Awkipuma

Anthropology

Hemp flowing…

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Anthropology

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