Shamanism Essay

Part B; Shamanism

Traditional shamanism can be described as a healer or religious practitioner who interacts with spirits while in a trance state. Some cultures claim that becoming a shaman is described as a calling, which can manifest in the diagnosis of personality disorders or personal suffering. The specific term shaman, has been loosely thrown around and applied to all sorts of people participating in various trance like religious acts. Traditional shamans treat a wide variety of spiritual misfortunes and operate on the temporal basis of part-time or “as needed,” also notable is that shamans are not always paid for their services. Also important is that each shaman’s method of practicing is idiosyncratic and independent. Shamans also do not operate within

Shamans that answer the call may be reluctant to pursue this profession possible due to it’s lengthy training process.

When looking at ‘The Dark Side of the Shaman” Brown talk of the Aguaruna, specifically a middle-aged Shaman named Yankush, who when kinfolk or friends fall sick, he then attempts to find the source of the affliction and then , if possible, removes the source of the ailment from the patient’s body. The Aguaruna believe, that life-threatening illness is caused by sorcerers. In “The sound of rushing water” Harner suggest that within Jivaro reality, reality state can only be achieved by the consumption of the hallucinogenic drink natema. The Jivaro believe that baseline life is “a lie” or perceptual illusion. The Jivaro says, that the true antecedent forces that dictate reality are supernatural and can only be observed or altered with the aid of hallucinogenic drugs. These above mentioned cultures embody true traditional shamanism. To compare traditional shamans to pseudo-shamans of contemporary western culture, I would say they share similarities in the mere sense that both