Dream interpretation in the Amazon Rainforest: “Wayusa Space” as an organizing element in a metamethodology for psychoanalytic dream theory 1

Two North American psychoanalysts made a number of journeys into the Amazon Rainforest to interact with dream interpreters practicing in an indigenous culture that places dream interpretation at the center of daily life for individuals and communities. The psychoanalysts found that the work of sophisticated dream interpreters in the Achuar communities of southeastern Ecuador and northwestern Peru showed important similarities, as well as important differences, with psychoanalytic dream interpretation. This article provides a brief description of the Achuar cultural context and describes practices of the Wayusa ritual, named for the Wayusa plant, used to make a tea which is consumed as part of the ritual. Notably, although the Achuar people use hallucinogens for many purposes, the Wayusa plant used in dream-interpreting rituals is not hallucinogenic. Special forms of rationality are used to interpret dreams, distinct from the processes engaged in dreams and hallucinations. This paper sketches a philosophy of science approach to the study of dreams and dream interpretation, using the concept of “ Wayusa Space” to contribute to a metamethodology for psychoanalytic dream theory. A clinical example of dream interpretation in the rainforest is used to illustrate group processes in the Wayusa ritual. Careful consideration of these processes reveals how “ Wayusa Space” contributes new levels of analysis for the psychoanalytic understanding of dreams.