An Introduction to Shamanism

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.

Author: Thomas A. DuBois
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 05/01/2009
Pages: 330
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780521873536

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2010

About the Author
DuBois, Thomas A.: - Thomas A. DuBois is the Birgit Baldwin Professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where he teaches in the fields of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore Studies and Religious Studies. He is author and editor of five books including Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (1999) and Sanctity in the North: Saints, Lives and Cults in Medieval Scandinavia (2008).