Santo Daime: a living sacrament, a religion in-progress. PHD dissertation in History, UnB, 2007.
The dissertation analyzes the current constitution of the symbol of the brew Ayahuasca within the religion of Santo Daime, where the brew is considered, by a large part of the members, as a Christian Eucharistic sacrament whose meaning is explained by the concept of Juramidam. In simple terms, for the daimistas (members of Santo Daime), Juramidam is a concept that refers as much to the spiritual name of the religion’s founder – Mr. Raimundo Irineu Serra – as to a series of other representations, such as the idea of a second coming of Christ to Earth, and a current manifestation of the Holy Spirit. This work analyses the resignification of Ayahuasca in the context of the Daime religion, analyzing the historical, social and cultural process of the construction of symbols that form the base of this religion. Keeping in mind the fact that Santo Daime is an essentially oral cultural group, the content of the most important oral narratives present in the religion and the life histories of its participants, especially the founder, are analyzed.