Negative Space: South America
- Methods of Tobacco Use in South America
- In ritualistic use, tobacco was consumed in quantities large enough to cause hallucinations. The most common method of use was some form of smoking. Among some cultures, tobacco use replaced coca use.
- The Social Uses of Alcoholic Beverages in a Peruvian Community
- Paul L. Doughty describes the creation and social use of chicha in Peru.
- Tobacco and Shamanism in South America
- Johannes Wilbert summarizes methods of tobacco use in South America, European perception of tobacco use in South America, and likely actual use, from historical documents and modern ethnography.
- Tobacco Shamanism
- Tobacco use as part of shamanism appears to have followed horticulture, and tribes that relied on farming also recognized tobacco as a powerful insecticide. It is used both to rid plants of vermin and to cure humans of, for example, intestinal worms, a practice that Europeans also adopted.
- Wild and Cultivated Nicotianas
- Tobacco most likely originated in South America, but even before Europeans began spreading it across the world it had traveled throughout the Americas and even to Australia and Africa, though these species may not have had a high nicotine content.
More Information
- Tobacco and Shamanism in South America•
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This fascinating book covers the use of tobacco for religious purposes throughout hundreds of tribes in South American. It’s a fun read for the layman and a resource for scholars.
