How Authentic Are Ayahuasca Retreats?
How Authentic Are Ayahuasca Retreats?
The Truth Behind Modern Ceremonies and Traditional Practices
What comes to mind when you think of an “ayahuasca journey”?
The image you’re probably thinking of is a small group of people sitting in a circle somewhere in the South American jungle spaced out, each person hanging their head over a bucket purging demons. Meanwhile, the shaman is ululating some song presumably to ask nature spirits to aid this healing process.
But, the reality is much different.
Ayahuasca tourism has helped rural South American communities economically, but widespread commercialization puts its spiritual roots at risk.
And the most popular reasons for Westerners to attend a ceremony have little to do with the original purpose of the ritual.
No, ayahuasca rituals were held to:
- Communicate with nature
- Transmit belief systems
- Establish community Why?
Because if you peel off the layers from ayahuasca retreats promising the greatest spiritual revelation of your life, you’ll find the simple truth underneath showing you that it’s a religious practice.
It’s a means to foster the connection to what you’d call God.
But Isn’t It Also a Healing Practice?
It is. But the original purpose of said healing was to:
- Understand yourself as a part of something
- Use ayahuasca as a tool for divination and
- Balance out disharmony in your
I researched this excessively for my thesis to become a cultural anthropologist.
I had the immense pleasure of studying psychedelics in the summer of 2024 with researchers from all over the world and contributed by raising awareness of indigenous uses of psychoactive plant medicines, like ayahuasca, and the issue of cultural appropriation. It’s my favorite topic to share my insights on.
Now, with the steady increase of ayahuasca retreats all over the world, it’s more important than ever to distinguish real from fake. The last thing you want is to be deceived by shamans.
DALL-E
So, How to Make Sure It’s Legit?
For a novice, it can be difficult to tell fake shamans apart from real ones. This goes especially for people in vulnerable positions due to their health issues.
To make the process easier, here’s what you can look out for:
- The shaman is transparent about state regulations and potential
- The shaman addresses how they intend to provide medical
- The shaman’s background can be checked and
But there is one thing the shaman carries that makes them legit, which makes for a deeply immersive experience if you choose to follow it:
Culture.
As an anthropologist, I firmly believe that you can provide the most authentic experience of your culture simply by sharing your lifestyle with others.
Let’s dive into a few more reasons why.
Reason #1: Deep Connection to Lives and Culture
Find a shaman who can help you fully immerse yourself in the land and culture of the practice, and you’ll see the world from their eyes.
The anthropological term for this is “going native“ and it’s widely used in the study of cultures. The idea is to go into the field, become an active participant, and develop an embodied understanding of the culture as you respectfully adopt parts of it.
This transformative process opens up a world of insights:
- Empathy: Truly understand the values of the ritual, and foster deeper respect for a different
- Depth: Appreciate a stronger emotional connection making the experience more
- Nuance: Uncover subtle cues, like unspoken norms and deeper spiritual
This leads us to our second point.
DALL-E
Reason #2: Wisdom Passed Through Generations
Indigenous Peoples collectively uphold a mountain range of wisdom and traditional knowledge nurtured and passed on for centuries or even millennia!
What this can mean for you is:
- Growth: Insight into holistic approaches to healing and spiritual
- Guarantee: Access to ancient wisdom that has stood the test of
- Balance: A deeper connection to practices rooted in What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Compared to a retreat in Portugal run by Westerners with limited ayahuasca experience, the opportunity to engage with indigenous wisdom becomes the obvious, authentic choice.
And on top of this, all the genuine interest you show in these practices will come back to you in friendships with Indigenous Peoples of immeasurable value!
Reason #3: Profound Understanding of the Sacred Use of Plants
One of the most underrated reasons to undergo a psychedelic journey like an ayahuasca trip is its potential to learn more about nature.
As you connect more to the original meaning of these religious practices, you can significantly expand your knowledge on Earth and the plant kingdom:
- Well-being: Develop a greater respect for nature’s spiritual and healing
- Synchronicity: Feel what it’s like to live in harmony with the
- Rhythms: Deepen your connection to nature’s
When you “open up to the power of Mama Ayahuasca“, your insights gathered through your journey are directly linked to you, the plant, and its land of origin.
Reason #4: Respect for Ancestral Knowledge and Guidance
Over the last 3 decades, there’s been a huge shift in the way we look at psychedelics. People are starting to wake up to the great healing potential of these substances.
Science is taking strides to learn more about the benefits of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health issues. And this trend is only going to accelerate.
This means the need for individuals, who wish to heal with alternative options like ayahuasca journeys, to learn about traditional practices is higher now more than ever before.
Why?
Because the People who have carried this knowledge:
- Face exclusion from the scientific discourse
- Suffer from cultural misappropriation
- Struggle with misrepresentation
- Get commercially exploited
So if you wish to support the original meaning of practices like ayahuasca rituals, the opportunity to do so is now.
Alexandra A. Smith is a cultural and social anthropologist based in Vienna, Austria, and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. With a focus on psychedelics, indigenous rights, decolonization, and religious rituals, Alexandra brings an anthropological perspective on psychedelics in science and society. As a ghostwriter, interviewer, and storyteller, she is passionate about creative thinking, meditation, and autonomous living, always exploring the depths of the human experience. Her work seeks to bridge traditional wisdom and modern psychedelic culture, illuminating the transformative potential of these practices for a broad audience.
Alexandra A. Smith on Instagram
Related:
Insights from an Unexpected Ayahuasca Experience
The Time for Ayauasca Is Now and the Place is Costa Rica
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