Books
of Interest: ethnography, mythology and folklore
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COVER IMAGE |
TITLE |
SYNOPIS OR REVIEW |
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Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, alternative archaeologies
and contemporary Pagans by Dr Robert Wallis, due for publication February 2003.: UK purchase link to follow |
“Shamans
and shamanisms are in vogue at present. In popular culture, such diverse
characters as occultist Aleister Crowley, Doors musician Jim Morrison and
performance artist Joseph Beuys have been termed shamans. The anthropological
construct ‘shamanism’, on the other hand, has associations with sorcery,
witchcraft and healing, and archaeologists have suggested the meaning of
prehistoric cave art lies with shamans and altered consciousness. Dr Wallis explores the interface between ‘new’ (modern Western),
indigenous and prehistoric shamans, and assesses implications for
archaeologists, anthropologists, indigenous communities, heritage managers,
and neo-Shamanic practitioners. Identifying key figures in neo-Shamanisms,
including Mircea Eliade, Carlos Castaneda and Michael Harner, Wallis assesses
the way in which ‘traditional’ practices have been transformed into ‘Western’
ones, such as Castaneda’s Don Juan teachings and Harner’s core shamanism. The
book draws on interviews and self-reflective insider ethnography with a
variety of practitioners, particularly contemporary Pagans in Britain and
North America from Druid and Heathen traditions, to elucidate what
neo-Shamans do. Wallis looks at historical and archaeological sources to
elucidate whether ‘Celtic’ and ‘Northern’ shamanisms may have existed; he
explores contemporary Pagan engagements with prehistoric sacred sites such as
Stonehenge and Avebury, and discusses the controversial use by neo-Shamans of
indigenous (particularly Native American) shamanisms. Rather than discuss
neo-Shamans as, simply, inauthentic, invalid culture-stealers, Wallis offers
a more detailed and complex appraisal. He makes it clear that scholars must
be prepared to give up some of their hold over knowledge, and not only be
aware of these neo-Shamanic approaches but also engage in a serious dialogue
with such ‘alternative’ histories.” |
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Wade
Davis |
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Gregory Schrempp, William Hansen (edd.), Myth. A New
Symposium. |
Gregory Schrempp, William Hansen (edd.), Myth. A New
Symposium. |
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