"Singing to Plants" by Stephan V. Beyer.
The description of the actual world of shamanism leaves me feeling massively disillusioned. McKenna et al. did us a disservice by shaping the western popcultural idea of what indigenous shamanism is.
The description of the actual world of shamanism leaves me feeling massively disillusioned. McKenna et al. did us a disservice by shaping the western popcultural idea of what indigenous shamanism is.
Not sure if this is specific to mestizo culture, but the shaman that the book describes looks to me much more like a superstitious, opportunistic charlatan than a clerical psychonaut.
Gordon Wasson did not reveal to the west the idea about ethneogens that Maria Sabina represented. He came to her with a preconceived goal of looking for god, which was not what she was using the mushrooms for.
Anyway, my point is that shamanism looks different through the lens of rigorous ethnography than it when conveyed to us by the influencial popcultural figures. I won't be able to explain it well in a comment, but I highly recommend the book, even if you only read fragments.