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An Introduction to Shamanism

Thomas A DuBois author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:14th May '09

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An Introduction to Shamanism cover

This Introduction surveys the beliefs, rituals and techniques found in shamanic traditions around the world.

Shamans are professionals who make use of personal supernatural experiences as a resource for the wider community's physical and spiritual well-being. This book introduces the beliefs and rituals typical of shamanic traditions around the world and the techniques used by shamans including music, entheogens, material culture and verbal performance.Shamans are an integral part of communal religious traditions, professionals who make use of personal supernatural experiences, especially trance, as a resource for the wider community's physical and spiritual well-being. This Introduction surveys research on the topic of shamanism around the world, detailing the archaeology and earliest development of shamanic traditions as well as their scientific 'discovery' in the context of eighteenth and nineteenth century colonization in Siberia, the Americas, and Asia. It explores the beliefs and rituals typical of shamanic traditions, as well as the roles of shamans within their communities. It also surveys the variety of techniques used by shamans cross-culturally, including music, entheogens, material culture and verbal performance. The final chapters examine attempts to suppress or eradicate shamanic traditions, the revitalization of shamanism in postcolonial situations, and the development of new forms of shamanism within new cultural and social contexts.

'… the book stands out overall as one of the best of its kind.' Robert Wallis, Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture

ISBN: 9780521873536

Dimensions: 235mm x 151mm x 19mm

Weight: 650g

330 pages