The Ethnopharmacology of Tobacco in Native South America

Summary

The use of tobacco by South American Indians is deeply rooted in their culture and thought. From early pre-Columbian times to the present, tobacco has functioned as an important drug for magico-religious, medicinal, and recreational purposes. Data culled from about 1,800 ethnographic sources and pertaining to nearly 300 societies reveal that the Indians employ six major and several minor means of nicotine application. A comparison of the ethnographical data with experimental clinical studies of tobacco indicates that pharmacology corroborates the nicotine therapy and practice of South American shamans.

For a broader discussion of the general topic and for detailed documentation consult, J. Wilbert (1987) Tobacco and Shamanism in South America. New Haven: Yale University Press, on which this essay is largely based.