Ayahuasca is a traditional ceremony performed within local and Indigenous communities in Peru. A shaman will guide the ceremony with the intention of helping individuals on spiritual journeys. (Bouso, J. C., & Sánchez-Avilés, C. 2020.) Banisteriopsis caapi and psychotria viridis plants are ground up and liquified; this brew is then given to the shaman and the person engaging on the spiritual journey.
It is important to note that the motivations for drinking Ayahuasca and how the ceremony is conducted varies from place-to-place within South America and even Peru. The way in which the ceremony takes place is not the focus of the research, but simplification of an Indigenous practice needs to be avoided to stop further appropriation.
The spiritual journey can involve hallucinations and outer body experiences that are said to help relieve problems with mental health. Indigenous interpretations view the hallucinations as interactions with the spirit world and nature, while western interpretations view the hallucinations as a distancing from the self in a process commonly called “ego-death”. (Hay, M. 2020.) This ceremony is an integral part of the medicinal field in Peru, it is a traditional activity that is used to align individuals with their spirit and connect them to the environment around them. In this case the environment is both physical and non-physical. The non-physical environment is why this ceremony is considered spiritual; it allows the drinker to connect with themselves and the energies that surround them. It creates an environment that becomes sacred with their spiritual journeys and discoveries. (Doyle, R. 2005.)
Looking into the Ayahuasca ceremony through an environmental justice lens to further look into current injustices surrounding environmentalism is aided when the environment is determined to be the space created by the cultural ceremony. When an individual drinks Ayahuasca the space they are physically taking up becomes a spiritual and sacred place. They are embarking on a traditional experience that has been used for thousands of years by Indigenous communities in Peru and throughout South America. The physical environment around the shaman and the drinker gain a sense of cultural and spiritual importance due to the ingesting of the drink and because of the experience itself.