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Rituals associated with the Use of Hallucinogens
SEDLÁKOVÁ, Gabriela
Summary Consciousness-changing procedures have been used by various cultures in religious, healing, and other rituals since ancient times, and today is no exception. Such procedures had a different meaning before, and were, usually associated with Shamanism. The thesis paper aims at acquaintling the reader with drug practices of occasional users of hallucinogenic substances and with their behaviour during the actual use of these substances. The objective of this work is to analyze the rituals associated with the use of hallucinogens, specifically focusing on the ritual aspects related to the present day and to determine how the informants experience and perceive the ritual. In the theoretical part of the (thesis) paper, I characterize individual hallucinogens in detail, i.e. substances which bring about mental changes, abnormalities in perception, emotions, experiences, and behaviour. I go on to explain the concept of ritual, its origin, function, and classification, and finally I focus on the concept of rituals as associated with their use, both historically and in present times. In the research part of this work, I selected the qualitative method of investigation, using the narrative interview as my primary technique. The research sample consisted of occasional users of hallucinogenic drugs in the age range of 18 to 26 years. In a casual, uninhibited, and pressure-free environment, the informants communicated their experience with usage. When collecting data, I primarily emphasized the detection and analysis of ritual practices among occasional hallucinogen users. The results of the practical part showed that elements of ritual behaviour appear in contemporary society as well, and a close association and similarity can be seen between ancient shamanic customs and today's forbidden and non-tolerated social use, even though the informants themselves do not admit the entireness of the use of the substance as a ritual and are not aware of it. They consider only certain aspects to be a ritual during the use of the hallucinogenic substances, such as the setting or their actual state, as it may be, during the use. These individual forms are essentially only an individual part of it according to the criteria of ritual.
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