This symposium, organized by David Dupuis and Els Lagrou as part of the exhibition Visions

chamaniques. Arts de l'ayahuasca en Amazonie péruvienne (Shamanic Visions: Ayahuasca Art

in the Peruvian Amazon), will explore, beyond the commonplace of "representation", the
contemporary issues surrounding the relationship between visionary mental images and
graphic and iconographic production, in particular through the case of ayahuasca, a
psychotropic beverage traditionally used by the indigenous populations of Western
Amazonia, whose use has recently become globalized.

By referring to substances such as ayahuasca, iboga, the San Pedro and peyote cacti or
psilocybe mushrooms as "hallucinogens", the medical view has historically characterized
them as sources of "unreal perceptions" with pathogenic potential. In contrast to this view,
which has prevailed in European societies since the 19th century, many groups place
"hallucinogens" at the heart of their social life. Among the indigenous populations of the
Americas, the use of these substances, subject to socially normalized rules and purposes, is
often the subject of genuine institutionalization. Whether smoked or consumed in the form
of a beverage or snuff, these substances played a significant role in various domains:
determining social position through their use in shamanic and warrior initiations, therapeutic
practices, ceremonial life, relationships with the dead, ancestors, spirits and gods. The
consumption of "hallucinogens" has the function of enabling encounters with beings who are
usually invisible, whose presence is manifested not only visually, but also aurally, olfistically
or tactilely.

In some indigenous collectives, the graphic motifs used to paint bodies and artifacts are
associated with these visionary encounters with non-human beings. The last three decades
have also seen the development of visionary iconographic and figurative art, particularly in
the context of inter-ethnic relations. The "visions" induced by the ingestion of ayahuasca
(banisteriopsis caapi) are thus frequently presented by the peoples of Western Amazonia,
who use it as a major source of inspiration for their aesthetic productions - an assertion that
has never ceased to question anthropologists and art lovers alike, and which continues to
provoke lively debate.

This one-day workshop will explore the relationship between visionary mental images and
iconographic productions, from an anthropological perspective open to interdisciplinary
dialogue and supported by ethnographic case studies from several cultural and geographical
scales: indigenous Amazonian societies; mestizo worlds of urban Amazonian spaces;
transnational spaces of globalized shamanism.

PROGRAM

"Visionary perceptions and expressions among Amazonian natives: images, motifs and
songs".
Els Lagrou, anthropologist (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)
The widespread use of ayahuasca (or yagé) by the indigenous populations of Western
Amazonia must be understood in the context of the relational universe they inhabit. This
universe is characterized by animist, perspectivist and multinaturalist ontologies, which
conceive of the human being as part of an interactive network of subjectivities sharing a
capacity for bodily transformation. In this context, the consumption of "hallucinogenic"
substances is intended to provide access to the agencies, presences and intentions of other
beings, human and non-human, usually inaccessible to the senses. The visionary perceptions
that support these encounters are composed of a synesthetic combination, and can be
auditory as well as visual, olfactory and tactile. In this talk, we propose to reflect on the ways
in which indigenous populations have given shape to the relational universe thus
experienced, both in their traditional modalities and in more recent artistic manifestations.

"Experiments and exercises in perception in the formation of the Amazonian Amerindian

imagination".
Anne-Christine Taylor, anthropologist, honorary CNRS research director (LESC-EREA)

This talk explores the interdependence between the perceptual and cognitive experiences
provided by the three main registers of expression that make up "tradition" in indigenous
Amazonia: verbal arts, ritual performances and graphic arts. Starting with a necessarily
schematic examination of certain characteristics of these registers and their modes of action,
the aim here is to see how these experiences, by referring to each other, combine to
establish the presence of entities other than "natural" in the lived world of Amazonian
Amerindians.

"Reflections on the effects of ayahuasca based on the analysis of two uses: the shamanic
practice of Huni Kuin Indians and the religious practice of Santo Daime followers".
Patrick Deshayes, anthropologist (LESC-EREA)

This intervention will be based on the comparison and analysis of two social practices
involving the use of ayahuasca. The effects of ayahuasca are relatively similar in both
contexts, but the interpretation and management of these effects are distinct, even opposed.
Whereas in Huni Kuin shamanism, vomiting is sought-after, as is confrontation with fear; in
Santo Daime shamanism, vomiting is a sign of impurity or ill-being, and fear reflects
unresolved situations or problematic attitudes. For these "daimists", we must dominate
these two effects and seek a contemplative form called "miração". In Huni Kuin shamanism,
on the other hand, contemplative situations should be avoided, as they are interpreted as
the action of spirits to make humans forget their condition and thus capture them. Fighting
these contemplative effects and seeking frightening confrontation is, for them, the way to
find meaning in daily actions and the human condition.
What's more, in indigenous Amazonia, the figurative image is almost always seen as a lure or
illusion. Compared to Western concepts, there is an inversion between the figurative and the
non-figurative, the latter being more associated with reality. For Shipibo-Konibo and Huni
Kuin alike, a photo is far less realistic than the kene, which, although non-figurative,
approaches the deeper meaning of reality. In this talk, we will explore the status of the image
in these different social contexts, in order to shed light on how it conditions the status and
interpretation of the visions provoked by ayahuasca ingestion.

"Expectations and imaginaries of visionary experience in traditional and contemporary

ayahuasca practices among the Shipibo-Konibo".
Bernd Brabec, ethnomusicologist (University of Innsbruck)

The function and structures of Shipibo-Konibo healing and sorcery techniques have
undergone profound changes in recent decades, due to increasing interaction with Western
visitors and urban contexts. Whereas in traditional indigenous thought, the visionary aspects
of ayahuasca were a mere addition to earlier modes of interaction with non-human entities,
they have acquired paramount importance in the psychologized neo-shamanic practice of
international visitors, to which indigenous ritual specialists now respond. In this talk, I will
describe the history of these transformations in the use of ayahuasca, analyzing their
implications for the value attributed to visions and the meaning given to them.

"Seeing to believe. Visionary experience as a vector of cultural transmission in a shamanic

center in the Peruvian Amazon."
David Dupuis, anthropologist, INSERM research fellow (IRIS/EHESS)

The ability of so-called "psychedelic" substances to enhance feelings of collective belonging

and support cultural transmission has long been observed by ethnologists, and highlighted
more recently in the context of renewed interest in the therapeutic use of these substances.
In recent decades, this property has also been perceived as problematic by anti-cult
movements and public authorities in some European countries, who have denounced the
potential use of these substances for "mind control" purposes. Based on ethnographic data
gathered at a shamanic center in the Peruvian Amazon, this talk will explore the place of
ayahuasca and the role of "visions" in the dynamics of social affiliation and belief
transmission. I will show that, far from the behaviorist-inspired model of "mental
manipulation", this dynamic gives a central place to the agentivity and reflexivity of
participants. We'll see that the dynamics of cultural transmission are based on participants'
efforts to test the object of belief through a process of "experiential verification". Particular
attention will be paid to the central place accorded by participants to "visions" in this
dynamic, which makes the hallucinogenic rite a veritable experimental testing device for
local cosmological and etiological propositions. Finally, I will explore the conditions of
sustainability of the social affiliation emerging from these practices, and question the stakes
of these observations in the context of the contemporary dynamic of medicalization of
"psychedelic" substances.

"Formal constants of visionary experience and psychedelic aesthetics".

Elise Grandgeorge, art historian
In the 1920s, German psychologist Heinrich Klüver opened up a new field of investigation by
analyzing the recurrent sequences of visual imagery produced by mescaline, which he called
"constant forms". Lattices, spirals, cobwebs and tunnels are, in his view, the general patterns
of visionary experience and may reflect the functional organization of the visual cortex. This
attempt to rationalize hallucination allowed us to renew a strictly pathological reading of the
phenomenon, which dominated scientific circles in the first half of the 20th century. From
the late 1970s onwards, the hypothesis became particularly stimulating for both
anthropology and neuroscience. From the 1960s onwards, these works also enjoyed a
specific reception within psychedelic culture. In this paper, I will analyze the development of
Klüver's thought during this decade, as well as its valorization in the context of the birth of
psychedelic art in the USA.

"More than just a look: psychedelic imagery and brain architecture"

Leor Roseman, neuroscience researcher (University of Exeter)

The components of the psychedelic visionary experience can be divided into two broad
categories. Abstract visions (geometric patterns such as spirals, tunnels, cobwebs or
honeycomb grids) on the one hand; figurative visions (objects, faces, beings, places) on the
other. In this talk, abstract and figurative visions will be examined in relation to brain
architecture. Various theories have suggested that the architecture of the visual cortex is
linked to the geometric patterns that characterize psychedelic visions. From this perspective,
the motifs favoured by psychedelic art are also a representation of cerebral architecture. In
this talk, these theories will be presented and discussed using examples drawn from
psychedelic visionary art, and put into dialogue with certain anthropological observations
and modelling.