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Ventegodt, 2016). Commercialized Ayahuasca, which dominates the industry today, has become shallow,

which highlights the shaman’s purpose for the ceremony to make money (Stuart, 2002). The experience is

easily more intimate with an authentic shaman, because the presence of a competent shaman is what creates

an authentic and meaningful Ayahuasca experience (Kordova & Ventegodt, 2016). However, the accessibility

of knowledge concerning Ayahuasca rituals leads to many people claiming to be shamans when they are not,

and this commercialization leads to the reckless practice of shamanism. There’s a sensationalism that

conveniently leaves out adverse effects or the cultural significance so that it is easier for tourists to idealize

and appropriate culture without realizing. Tourists undergo the ritual and can potentially die from the

inexperience and insincerity of these shamans. This is when the commercialization of shamanism does not

only hurt the indigenous communities it exploits but can potentially cause damage to tourists as well.

The concept of hallucinogenic spirituality in commercialization is largely influenced by Ayahuasca.

As previously stated, while some seek these experiences with respect and curiosity, many go into such

situations with the singular intention of trying the drugs involved. Ayahuasca and its rituals have been highly

exploited and now exist as a commodity in the Sacred Valley. The healing connotations of the ritual are lost as

the government and organizations fixate advertisements on its hallucinogenic properties. The drug becomes

the focus of the experience and not its deep cultural and spiritual origins. The misrepresentation of such

spiritual practices has created great economic benefit for tourist organizations and enterprising individuals,

and is the reason for why such misrepresentation is perpetuated. Not only do Western tourists and their

mentalities bring capitalist concepts to the Peruvian tourism industry, it also brings them to indigenous

communities. The exploitation of their cultural practices becomes competition in an area they presumably had

a monopoly on previously, as well as prompting some communities to also integrate themselves into the

industry of shamanism in order to profit from tourism as well. This complexifies the nature of indigenous

communities’ relationship with the shamanic tourism industry and again questions what is authentic

shamanism, who has the right to use the knowledge, and in what ways. It could be though, that the fascination

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