Anthropology of Shamanism

A 12,000-year-old Shaman burial from the southern Levant (Israel)

by Natalie Munro

Grosman, L, N.D. Munro and A. Belfer-Cohen. 2008. A 12,000 year old burial from the southern Levant (Israel): a case for early shamanism. Proceedings of the Natinal Academy of Sciences. 105(46): 17665-17669

El chamanismo y las drogas enteogénicas/alucinatorias del mundo precolombino

by Carlos Manuel Quirce Balma

This article presents some of the most current and widespread theories on shamanism.
Both traditional and modern... more This article presents some of the most current and widespread theories on shamanism.
Both traditional and modern theories which lean towards neurophysiologic interpretations
of altered and higher states of consciousness are dealt with. The generalized and central
use of psychedelics and plants containing altering substances by the different pre-
Columbian cultures are discussed. Moreover, work by psychedelic anthropologists has
been contrasted with the schools of thought influenced by Mircea Eliade.

Toward a Multidisciplinary Approach to Ayahuasca Studies

by Steve Beyer

A review of the current state of ayahuasca studies: an introduction to the Special Ayahuasca Issue of the journal... more A review of the current state of ayahuasca studies: an introduction to the Special Ayahuasca Issue of the journal Anthropology of Consciousness

Artists as Shamans: A Critical and Historical Overview - and Some Friendly Advice to Scholars

by Denita Benyshek, MFA, MA

Presented at the 2011 Conference of the International Society for Shamanistic Researchers: Shamanism and its Arts, State Ethnographic Museum of Warsaw, Poland.

Artists as Shamans: A Critical and Historical Overview - and Some Friendly Advice to Scholars

by Denita Benyshek, MFA, MA

Presented at the 2011 Conference of the International Society for Shamanistic Researchers: Shamanism and its Arts, State Ethnographic Museum of Warsaw, Poland.

What Do the Spirits Want from Us?

by Steve Beyer

Shamanism, if nothing else, is a special way of relating to the spirits. The tragic vision of Upper Amazonian... more Shamanism, if nothing else, is a special way of relating to the spirits. The tragic vision of Upper Amazonian shamanism helps teach us the meaning not only of its own ceremonies but also the meaning of vision fasts, talking circles, dreams, and our own encounters with each other.

Ayahuasca and the Grotesque Body

by Steve Beyer

Ayahuasca meets Mikhail Bakhtin. Westerners coming to ayahuasca are often seeking what James Hillman called an... more Ayahuasca meets Mikhail Bakhtin. Westerners coming to ayahuasca are often seeking what James Hillman called an "imageless white liberation" -- an insight, an epiphany. What they encounter instead is a ferocious corporeality. In the cultural context of the Upper Amazon, that is what ayahuasca is for.

Hydroelectric dams on Brazil's Xingu River and indigenous peoples

by Robin Wright

The Shamanistic Journey and Anthropological Travels

by Janet Chernela

Citation:  Chernela, Janet and Eric Leed. 1996. "Healing and the Body Politic: Shamanic Journeys and Anthropological Travels."  Anthropological Quarterly, Special Edition, 69(3)129-133.

Having to do with views of medicine and the person in indigenous and western minds. Having to do with views of medicine and the person in indigenous and western minds.

Jakutisch abāhy ‘Teufel’

by Marek Stachowski

Old Japanese FaFuri ‘priest, shaman’ and Yakut aba ‘poison’

by Marek Stachowski

Review: Molnár Á.: Weather-magic in Inner Asia

by Marek Stachowski

The Spirits Say They Aren't Crazy: Trance and Healing in Cultural Context

by Lisa Mertz

Ethnographischer und popularisierter Schamanismus.

by Jörn Heise

2002

La triple furia de Cú Chulainn: Motivos literarios y correlatos antropológicos

by Alberto Montaner

Montaner Frutos, Alberto, «La triple furia de Cú Chulainn: Motivos literarios y correlatos antropológicos», Revista de Poética Medieval, vol. 25 (2011) [= monográfico Épica, folklore y literatura comparada: Nuevas perspectivas, ed. Ó. Abenojar y A. Boix], pp. 221-294

Here is revisited Dumézil’s theory about the battle fury linked
to the legends of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn and... more Here is revisited Dumézil’s theory about the battle fury linked
to the legends of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn and one of the Horatii roman triplets. According to him, both legends show rites of passage, as it is proved by the comparison with the one performed in the sacred cannibal dance of the Canadian Kwakiutl Tribe. After a detailed review of the evidence, it is
concluded that Cú Chulainn shows, in fact, three kinds of fury, one related to the initation trance, and two others as varieties of true battle fury. Only the  rst one can be twined with the Kwakiutl rite, while the young Horatius’ story has no relation with this phenomenon and must be explained as a legal and
etiologic legend.

KEYWORDS: Battle fury. Berserksgangr. Ríastrad. Initiation rite. Cú Chulainn. Horatii and Curiatii. Tigillum Sororium. Cannibal dance. Native American Kwakiutl Tribe.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Furia guerrera. Berserksgangr. Ríastrad. Rito iniciático. Cú Chulainn. Horacios y Curiacios. Tigillum Sororium. Danza caníbal. Tribu amerindia kwagul.

FOURNIER, Patricia and Luis A. Jiménez, “La desenfrenada analogía etnográfica: De los shamanes tunguso a los fenómenos entópticos en la interpretación del arte rupestre”, in Patrimonio, identidad y complejidad social, Patricia Fournier and Fernando López A. (coords.), pp. 121-144. CONACULTA-INAH-ENAH, PROMEP, México. 2010 (BLUE PRINTS)

by PATRICIA FOURNIER G.

Psychedelics and Species Connectedness

by David Luke

Krippner, S., & Luke, D. (2009). Psychedelics and species connectedness. Bulletin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, 19 (1), 12-15.

Psychedelic shamanism might be thought of primarily as a communication with Nature, for instance by asking the plants... more Psychedelic shamanism might be thought of primarily as a communication with Nature, for instance by asking the plants directly which ones can heal a particular illness, or by asking the plant spirit to teach them, or by using the plant in aiding the psychological metamorphosis into a plant or animal “allies.” Given that shamans have most likely been communicating with Nature in this way for thousands of years, it might well be asked what can be gained for humanity’s relationship with the ecosystem from such a dialogue and, perhaps more importantly, how can Nature benefit from this relationship?

Synthesising Practice and Performance, Securing Recognition: Thangmi Cultural Heritage in Nepal and India

by Sara Shneiderman

Published in Ritual, Heritage and Identity: The Politics of Culture and Performance in a Globalised World. Christiane Brosius and Karin Polit, eds. London: Routledge, 2011. 202-245

The Other World of Oz: The Threshold Passage of Dorothy Gale

by Ronald L. Boyer

This paper was written as a class assignment for Dr. Laurel McCabe in the graduate program in Depth Psychology at Sonoma State University.

This is a revised version of the paper (sans photo illustrations, pending limited publication copyrights authorization from MGM). 

The family classic film, The Wizard of Oz (MGM version, 1939), based on the beloved children's "wonder tale"... more The family classic film, The Wizard of Oz (MGM version, 1939), based on the beloved children's "wonder tale" by L. Frank Baum (1900), is examined as a modern hero quest myth. The essay focuses on the archetypal motif of the threshold passage described by Joseph Campbell (1949/1973) and demonstrates key underlying symbolic features of this initiatory motif in Baum's "modernized fairy tale". In this story, the threshold passage motif coincides with the initial stage of Dorothy's transformational journey, i.e., separation, the main subject of the paper.

Art Audience as Shamanic Community: How Art Meets Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Needs

by Denita Benyshek, MFA, MA

    Within the field of psychology, the majority of research on artistic creativity focuses on the... more     Within the field of psychology, the majority of research on artistic creativity focuses on the originating creator, i.e. the artist, while neglecting the art audience. A brief literature review considers the trajectory of thought that led to such neglect. Utilizing the definition of shaman constructed by Ruth Inge-Heinze (1997), a preliminary definition of the art audience as shamanic community is constructed. The study demonstrates how art can provide for the audience’s psychological, social, and spiritual needs; thus, illustrating the defining constructs of the art audience as shamanic community. The formation of a new subfield in creative studies, the psychology of the art audience, is recommended with specific recommendations for future studies.