The place of music on the construction of emotional communities: Ayahuasca’s soundscape in Portugal.. PhD proposal in Etnomusicology, University of Aveiro – UA – Portugal (deadline estimated: October 2012).
This proposal fits in the domain of Ethnomusicology and aims to study the music on the ritual of two distinct religions, Santo Daime and União do Vegetal (UDV) from the theoretic concept of “Emotional Communities” and the role played by the music on its construction and performance. The use of the psychoactive drink ayahuasca is characteristic in these ritual practices, both born on the core of the Amazonia forest on the 1920’s and 1960’s and expanding on the end of the 1980’s; now we can find these ritual practices in 21 countries. When the indigenes, seringueiros and foreigners got together in order to heal body and soul diseases, the music on the ritual of ayahuasca began to be used in new contexts, characterized by the joint of different religious guidances and creating complexes ritualistic practices and a particular musical universe. With this research I aim to contribute to the development of the studies on the comprehension of music on the creation of Soundscapes linked to Emotional Communities in general and to its role on the construction of ritualistic processes that shape religious practices embraced by the circulation of psychoactive substances. I intend, in particular, to study the community placed in Portugal and understand how is locally developed a practice and a music that deeply aspire to a global unity.