Spiritual and Social Strategies of the Matsés Ethnic Group: Application of the Poisonous Secretion Kambo (Acaté), Diet, the Snuff Mixture në-në, and Gender Flexibility as Natural Adaptations
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11240%2F25%3A10513761" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11240/25:10513761 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=9bsdvxTkyl" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=9bsdvxTkyl</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/Rel2025-40520" target="_blank" >10.5817/Rel2025-40520</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Spiritual and Social Strategies of the Matsés Ethnic Group: Application of the Poisonous Secretion Kambo (Acaté), Diet, the Snuff Mixture në-në, and Gender Flexibility as Natural Adaptations
Original language description
The negative impacts of environmental changes, the introduction of new diseases, and disputes over land and resources require natural adaptations that enable optimal survival and reproductive success in an ever-changing environment. This article focuses on the social and spiritual strategies developed by the indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon, the Matsés, to adapt to the challenging conditions of the rainforest. The methodology is based on ethnographic research conducted in the Matsés Reservation in 2018, 2023, and 2024. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted among the residents of the town of Angamos and the community of San Roque. Key strategies identified with spiritual elements include the application of Kambo (in the Matsés language "Acaté"), the poisonous secretion from the frog species Phyllomedusa bicolor; the practice of a diet involving the snuffing of the psychotropic mixture në-në; and gender flexibility that supports adaptation. These strategies have helped increase the socio-ecological resilience of the Matsés people at various levels and, along with an enhanced spiritual relationship with nature, have increased their adaptability and the psychological support available to them.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>SC</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50404 - Anthropology, ethnology
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Religio
ISSN
1210-3640
e-ISSN
2336-4475
Volume of the periodical
33
Issue of the periodical within the volume
1
Country of publishing house
CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC
Number of pages
11
Pages from-to
43-53
UT code for WoS article
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EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105011245253