Shamans and shams: The discursive effects of ethnotourism in Ecuador

En new commodified forms of shamanism have emerged in kichwa communities due to the influx of tourists interested in the indigenous cultures of the ecuadorian amazon. Shamanic rituals are popular because they map onto the tourists' fantasies of cultural alterity, but the resulting economic exchanges raise issues of legitimacy and authenticity: tourism privileges the performative aspects of shamanism, rather than traditional training. As a result, kichwa communities have seen a rise in “new” shamans skilled at shamanic performance, who have access to the hallucinogenic plants employed in the ritual, but lack the proper training traditionally associated with becoming a shaman. In this context the meaning and legitimacy of shamanic vocation is contested and constructed both interculturally and intraculturally.