ABSTRACT
The Ayahuasca Religions arose in Brazil in the 1930s, and were organized by migrants from the Northeast who came to the Amazon region to work in the extraction roof rubber. Two main branches were formed: the Santo Daime and the Unio do Vegetal (UDV). The Santo Daime religion was created in the city of Rio Branco, capital of Acre, by Raimundo Irineu Serra. The UDV was founded by Jos Gabriel da Costa. While working as rubber tappers, Irineu and Gabriel, like many other migrants, came into contact with native peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, and initiated to the ritual use of ayahuasca. The rituals in the religion of Santo Daime are called trabalhos. The main sacred space for Daimistas is the Amazon forest, the woods, source of raw material for the tea they ritually imbibe. In the ritual practice of the group, Daime is an instrument of access to the spiritual world.
