Building a Bridge Between Heaven and Earth on the Wings of Song: The Use of Music in a Hallucinogenic Healing Ritual in the Lower Huallaga, Loreto, Peru

Abstract

The “meaning” of the music used by a semi-urbanized shaman in eastern Peru during an ayahuasca healing ceremony is clarified through a joint analysis of ritual and musical structures. It is suggested that music in such hallucinogenic rituals is an important and integral symbolic and structural feature of the ritual, in addition to providing psychological support and guidance to the participants.