Christian Rätsch
Encyclopedia
Christian Rätsch is a German writer ethnopharmacology
and psychoactive plants and animals. Rätsch is an anthropologist and author
. He was born in 1957 in a Bohemian community in Hamburg
, Germany
. His father was an opera singer, his mother a ballet dancer. He started learning about shamanism and sacred plants at 10 and had his first drug experience at 12.
Ratsch earned a doctorate in Native American cultures. He conducted field research for three years while living with the Lacandón Indians
in Chiapas
, Mexico
investigating shamanism first-hand, and completed his doctorate
on their incantations and spells. Rätsch resides in Hamburg with his wife Claudia Müller-Ebeling
. He is the founder and co-editor of The Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness.
Ethnopharmacology
Ethnopharmacology is the scientific study of ethnic groups and their use of drugs.Ethnopharmacology is distinctly linked to plant use, botany, as this is the main delivery of pharmaceuticals. It is also often associated with ethnopharmacy...
and psychoactive plants and animals. Rätsch is an anthropologist and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was born in 1957 in a Bohemian community in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His father was an opera singer, his mother a ballet dancer. He started learning about shamanism and sacred plants at 10 and had his first drug experience at 12.
Ratsch earned a doctorate in Native American cultures. He conducted field research for three years while living with the Lacandón Indians
Lacandon
The Lacandon are one of the Maya peoples who live in the jungles of the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the southern border with Guatemala. Their homeland, the Lacandon Jungle, lies along the Mexican side of the Usumacinta River and its tributaries. The Lacandon are one of the most isolated and...
in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
investigating shamanism first-hand, and completed his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
on their incantations and spells. Rätsch resides in Hamburg with his wife Claudia Müller-Ebeling
Claudia Müller-Ebeling
Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and art historian. She has coauthored with Christian Rätsch on a number of works of shamanic pharmacopoeia, ethnopharmaceuticals and ethnohallucinogens. Müller-Ebeling resides in Hamburg, Germany.-Works:* Müller-Ebeling, Claudia and Christian...
. He is the founder and co-editor of The Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness.
Works
- Müller-Ebeling, ClaudiaClaudia Müller-EbelingClaudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and art historian. She has coauthored with Christian Rätsch on a number of works of shamanic pharmacopoeia, ethnopharmaceuticals and ethnohallucinogens. Müller-Ebeling resides in Hamburg, Germany.-Works:* Müller-Ebeling, Claudia and Christian...
and Christian Rätsch and Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2002). Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. Transl. by Annabel LeeAnnabel Lee (artist)Annabel Lee is a musician and translator. She is married to and collaborates with Michael Moynihan with whom she has a child.-Literary work:...
. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions International.