Luis Eduardo Luna is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

researcher.

Biography

Luna was born in 1947, in Florencia,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1989 from the Institute of

Comparative Religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

, as well as an honorary doctorate in 2000 from

Saint Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 18 ...

, New York. He currently is a language teacher at the

Hanken School of Economics Hanken School of Economics (, also known as Hanken) is a business school in Finland with two campuses, Helsinki and Vaasa. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest business school in Finland, and one of the oldest in the Nordic countries. Its programme ...

in Helsinki, Finland.

Research

Luna is best known for his research of the

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancie ...

ic tea

. His research has focused on traditional

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

usage as well as the newer syncretic ayahuasca churches such as

Santo Daime Santo Daime () is a Universalism, universalistic/Syncretism, syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, Amazonian States of Brazil, state of Acre State, Acre based on the teachings of Raimundo Irineu Serra, known ...

and the

União do Vegetal The Union of the Plant Beneficent Spiritist Center ( ; or UDV) is a religious society founded on July 22, 1961 in Porto Velho ( Rondônia) by José Gabriel da Costa, known as Mestre Gabriel. The UDV seeks to promote peace and to "work for the ...

. He is the director of Wasiwaska, Research Centre for the Study of Psychointegrator Plants, Visionary Arts, and Consciousness, located in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

; currently, they are studying the neurological aspects of ayahuasca inebriation on the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...

Writings

* ''Vegetalismo: Shamanism Among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon'', 1986, * ''Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman'' with

Pablo Amaringo Pablo Cesar Amaringo Shuña (January 21, 1938 – November 16, 2009) was a Peruvian artist, renowned for his intricate, colourful depictions of his visions from drinking the entheogenic plant brew ayahuasca. He was first brought to the Wes ...

, 1991, * ''Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys to Alien Worlds through Psychedelics and Other Spiritual Technologies'' with

Rick Strassman Rick Strassman is an American clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He has held a fellowship in clinical psychopharmacology research at the University of California San Diego and was Profes ...

, Slawek Wojtowicz M.D Ede Frecska M.D, 2008,

References

Colombian anthropologists Ayahuasca Living people Psychedelic drug advocates Psychedelic drug researchers Stockholm University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Psychonautics researchers {{anthropologist-stub