AYAHUASCA E OUTRAS PLANTAS MEDICINAIS

RELATOS DO USO POR ESTUDANTES DE DIFERENTES POVOS INDÍGENAS DO BRASIL

Abstract

Ayahuasca, like other medicinal plants, is traditionally used by indigenous peoples
of South America, but has been incorporated by non-indigenous groups with little or no reference
to this ancestral use. This article brings reports of the uses of ayahuasca and other medicinal
plants by students from PET Conexões Saberes Indígenas at UFSCar belonging to different
indigenous peoples of Brazil. Special attention was given to ayahuasca by the Tukano, Omágua
and Dessana peoples, as it is an emblematic example of a world-known drink, produced from a
set of plants native to South America, but which were appropriated by non-indigenous groups.
From these reports we show that ayahuasca is part of the existence of these and other indigenous
peoples. However, we did not fail to bring other plants also traditionally used by indigenous
peoples, such as the gabiroba and pitangueira used by the Kanhgág people, the catingueira
important for the Pankararu people and the rapé (another set of plants) meticulously prepared
by the Omágua people.