Jakobsen† Shamanism

Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to the Mastery of Spirits and Healing
2. Auflage 1999
ISBN: 978-1-78920-207-6
Verlag: Berghahn
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 290 Seiten, Mobipocket Unencrypted

Shamanism has always been of great interest to anthropologists. More recently it has been "discovered" by westerners, especially New Age followers. This book breaks new ground byexamining pristine shamanism in Greenland, among people contacted late by Western missionaries and settlers. On the basis of material only available in Danish, and presented herein English for the first time, the author questions Mircea Eliade's well-known definition of the shaman as the master of ecstasy and suggests that his role has to be seen as that of a master of spirits.

The ambivalent nature of the shaman and the spirit world in the tough Arctic environment is then contrasted with the more benign attitude to shamanism in the New Age movement. After presenting descriptions of their organizations and accounts by participants, the author critically analyses the role of neo-shamanic courses and concludes that it is doubtful to consider what isoffered as shamanism.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jakobsen†, Merete Demant

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Indigene Religionen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. Shamanism: Definition and Description

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Introduction

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The Origin of the Term

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Definitions of Shamanism

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Definitions of Shamanism by Two Organisers of Shamanic Courses

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Trance/Ecstasy

Chapter 2. Early Encounters Between Explorers, Missionaries and Shamans

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The Work of Poul and Niels Egede in Greenland

Chapter 3. The Greenlandic Angakkoq

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Apprenticeship and Initiation

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The Pantheon

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Paraphernalia

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The Séance

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Travels

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Healing

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The Concept of the ‘Witch’

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Burial Customs

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Myths and Legends

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Angakkut in Oral Tradition on the East Coast

Chapter 4. Neo-shamanism and the New Age

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Old Traditions Moulded to the Needs of Westerners in Search of Spirituality

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Courses in Neo-shamanism

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A Description of the People Participating in Courses

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The Basic Course in Shamanism

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The Paraphernalia

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Introduction to the Concept of Shamanism

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The Instruction in Journeying

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Power-Song and Journeying

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Healing

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Advanced Courses in Shamanism

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Approaches to the Role of Shamanism in Modern Society

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Manuals on Neo-shamanism

Chapter 5. The Revival of Shamanism in Other Cultures

Conclusion

Afterword

Appendix: Advanced Courses in Shamanism

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Nordic Shamanism and The Spirits of Nature

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Shamanic Healing and Spiritual Ecology

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Soul Retrieval Training

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The Soul Retrieval

Bibliography

Subject Index

Name Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jakobsen†, Merete Demant
Born in Copenhagen, Merete Demant Jakobsen† taught in Denmark, Britain, and Alaska. Having worked on shamanism in ethnography and literature for her Danish degrees, she completed her doctorate at the University of Oxford in anthropology. She iwas researching negative spiritual experiences at the Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College, Oxford.