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appropriation that is ultimately detrimental to indigenous communities. Because shamanism primary concern

is health it becomes unfavorable when commercialization makes its primary concern money. It undermines

the authority of honest shamans whose intentions are to heal and solidifies shamanism as an attraction and not

a traditional way of medicine. Commercializing shamanism decreases access to locals who want to use

shamanic practices as well. Tourists pay about 30 dollars for an Ayahuasca ritual while Peruvians pay 2

dollars (Stuart, 2002). However, as prices increase exponentially for tourists, local Peruvians cannot afford to

use a shaman’s services.

With the rise of commercialized shamanism, preserving Shamanistic practices becomes more

important than ever. Culture is always evolving, it is a living construct and therefore should always be

authentic no matter if it is different than what it is traditionally thought to be. However cultural exchanges in

regard to tourism create a different dynamic that natural evolution of culture (Fotiou, 2010). This dynamic

places emphasis on the tourist and the tourists need and not the culture itself, many times at the expense of

traditional cultural practices. It perpetuates the commodification of indigenous culture that subsequently

marginalizes them in a way that reduces their place in Peruvian culture to a tourist attraction (Hill, 2008). This

is not simply natural evolution of culture. Not only is cultural heritage exploited, but much of indigenous

spirituality is also connected to nature and by exploiting the spiritual the industry many times ends up

exploiting natural and cultural sites to their detriment (Hill, 2008). However, although a lot can be defined as

exploitation, some of the commercialization of shamanism can be seen not as an exploitation of indigenous

knowledge, but as a conscious choice of indigenous communities to adapt to the economic demands of the

21st century. With the tourism industry grew a market for their skills, and so they answered that need in the

market (Langdon, 2016). Some people forget that many indigenous communities are already a part of a

capitalist system out of necessity, but this does not invalidate their status as indigenous. The same could be

said for commercializing shamanism. This cannot just save the spiritual practices of a community but their

entire way of life as well. Shamanism has adapted to face many different historical contexts in order to survive

and it is not surprising that it would adapt to the current situation (Langdon, 2016). If done correctly and by

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