ONOFROFF, THE PROFESSIONAL DOCTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPNOSIS IN PERU (1898-1916)

This article examines the development of hypnosis in Peru by following the suggestive shows of the famous fascinator Enrique Onofroff and his interaction with certain social actors, especially the capital’s medical guild. We state that the growing concern for nervous conditions and the desire to apprehend foreign medical advances aroused medical interest in hypnosis, finding in the skill of the conjurer a way to experience its phenomena and unravel the mysteries of the mind, especially in cases controversial. Through the analysis of Onofroff’s various tours developed in 1898, 1912, and 1916, we examine the particularities of the reception of hypnotism in the medical élite and public opinion in a moment when “scientific knowledge” was found in personalities and spaces as unusual as in the boisterous show of an illusionist. Methodologically, the study is based on various documentary sources: reports, theses, scientific articles, and, above all, the capital and regional press.