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Resumen

With the rapid emergence of ever more diverse forms of cultural tourism, sacred indigenous practices around the world are increasingly becoming part of the repertoire of experiences available in the global travel market. Particularly, the growing tourist use of sacred plants with psychoactive properties in shamanic contexts is a sensitive issue that is still underresearched. By implementing an ethnographic case study approach in the Mazatec town of Huautla de Jimenez (HDJ), Mexico, this study analyzes the effects of the touristic commodification of sacred-plant ceremonies in the social capital of indigenous communities. Findings reveal that tensions and disputes based on differing aspirations between traditionalists and modernists residents of HDJ have emerged as a result of the commodification of sacred-mushroom rituals or veladas. The lack of trust relations among local stakeholders diminishes the collective capacity to implement community-based initiatives of cultural heritage conservation and sustainable tourism development, which is indicative of a fractured social capital. Although the effects of neoshamanic tourism in HDJ match those of more traditional forms of tourism in rural and indigenous settings, the case study of HDJ exemplifies how the touristic commodification of culture has reached the most sacred and intimate cultural practices in the most remote corners of the world. Findings are placed on a global context to enhance a holistic understanding of how touristic commodification of intangible cultural heritage affects structural relations of social capital in destination communities.

Año de publicación
2021
Revista académica
Tourism, Culture and Communication
Volumen
21
Número
4
Número de páginas
313-329
Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation
Idioma de edición
English
Numero ISSN
1098304X (ISSN)
URL
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85123719521&doi=10.3727%2f109830421X16257465701918&partnerID=40&md5=d2efddbd75d06551b89a01da0cff2113
DOI
10.3727/109830421X16257465701918
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