Concept
Santo Daime
Spirituality & Myth
Culture & IdentityWhat is Santo Daime?
Santo Daime is a Brazilian syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the state of Acre by Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra. It integrates Amazonian plant medicine with folk Catholicism, Kardecist spiritism, and afro-indigenous healing traditions.
In short
Santo Daime is a Brazilian spiritual movement that elevates ayahuasca to a central holy sacrament termed Daime. Its ritual practice centers on communal spiritual singing, ethical self-discipline, and devotion to the Queen of the Forest.
Key facts
- Who founded Santo Daime and in what geographical setting?
- It was founded in Rio Branco, Acre, by Raimundo Irineu Serra, an Afro-Brazilian rubber tapper from Maranhao.
- What spiritual figure inspired Mestre Irineu during his initiation?
- He had visions of a feminine spiritual entity identified as the Virgin of the Conception and the Queen of the Forest.
- How did Santo Daime influence Brazilian drug policy?
- Sociological evaluations of Daime communities demonstrated orderly living, prompting legal recognition of religious ayahuasca use in 1987.
Overview
Santo Daime originated in the remote rubber plantations of the western Amazon as migrant workers encountered indigenous shamans. Mestre Irineu codified these encounters into an egalitarian religious doctrine centered on collective devotion, community labor, and sobriety. Ceremonies involve drinking the Daime sacrament accompanied by maraca percussion, uniform dress, and channeled spiritual hymns known as hinarios. Following Irineu death, branches such as CEFLURIS expanded the tradition across major Brazilian cities and worldwide.
In the Agency editorial
The Agency edition examines Santo Daime as a cultural response to the social disruption brought by the early twentieth-century Amazonian rubber boom. The publication narrates Mestre Irineu eight-day solitary forest fast, his visions of the Queen of the Forest, and his deliberate renaming of the sacred plants. It credits the church exemplary communal discipline for paving the way to official government legalization in Brazil.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
Also from these editions: concepts
Also from these editions: terms
Related terms
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