Fernando de La Rocque Couto is a Brazilian anthropologist and one of the first people from southern Brazil to meet Padrinho Sebastião in the 1970s, receiving his authorization to bring and disseminate Santo Daime beyond its Amazonian origins. He holds a degree in Social Sciences/Anthropology and a Master’s in Social Anthropology from the Universidade de Brasília, where his 1989 thesis examined the ritual use of ayahuasca within Santo Daime. He has since published on shamanism, human rights, legal pluralism, and the ritual use of ayahuasca, and has taught Anthropology and Sociology in Brasília.