Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy
... The shaman is, most fundamentally and centrally, a healer (Eliade, 1974;Frost & Egri, 1994;Dow, 1986). The word "healing" has the same root as the words "whole," "healthy," and "holy," meaning to make sound, whole, or have integrity. ...
... Such perspectives seem to have little room-or tolerance-for the ways of the shaman, who tends to be purpose/healing driven, holistic, and integrative of multiple ways of seeing and knowing, crossing numerous boundaries in the process (Waddock, 2015a). Thus, while shamans have been found in virtually all cultures of the world (Eliade, 1974), they are in little obvious evidence in most modern institutions. The idea of shaman is hardly accepted in mainstream business today, despite the healing that they may provide. ...
... Shamans in traditional cultures often gain their understandings and insights through what are called shamanic journeys. They enter into meditative, trance, or altered states of consciousness (e.g., Eliade, 1974;Harner, 1990;Frost & Egri, 1994;Krippner, 2002;Walsh, 2014) which are induced in a variety of ways. In the trance, the shaman travels to spiritual realms where information that is used for healing, connecting, and sensemaking purposes is accessed. ...
... An example of this is Shamanism, a spiritual-religious practice that arose in the Stone Age, about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. According to Eliade (1964), this is not a belief system, a religion or philosophy of life, but rather refers to the first way humans understood the natural world around them, coming before any belief or institution. Mistica (2005) explains that Shamanism is considered a "journey of consciousness" in order to make the human being better. ...
... According to archeological records, their spiritual leaders, the Shamans, are believed to have migrated during the great glaciations, guided by the migration of reindeer herds and subsequently spread across the continents (Mistica, 2005). Still on the subject of this practice, Eliade (1964) argues that Shamanism was the tradition responsible for basing all the other spiritual traditions that came later, understanding that its ancestral practices are still used today by various traditional peoples and communities. ...
... For shamans, all their knowledge must be deserved and is offered by nature itself, through learning in the daily works in community and in rituals that make possible the expansion of the mind and the journey to the world of spirits, where the shaman can acquire greater wisdom and skills useful to his group (Eliade, 1964). In this sense Von Stuckrad (2002) discusses that they use the principles of animism, a worldview where all beings on the planet have spirit and are all interconnected, each completing the function assigned to itself. ...
Objective: This paper aims to support ethnoconservation discussions that lead to the construction of knowledge in Environmental Education and awareness among current generations of these issues. Theoretical Framework: Several authors from the field of Ethnoscience contribute to the discussion of the topic, especially Couto (2007) and Diegues (2004). Their works provide important concepts for the proposed reflection while Afonso et al. (2015) support the discussion on the indigenous worldview. Method: Exploratory approach that considers theoretical reflections raised through bibliography. Results and Discussion: The reflections presented demonstrate the possibilities of contribution of ethnoconservation, as a field of research, supporting studies about the beneficial relationships between traditional peoples and communities with nature. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing support for Environmental Education today. These implications may cover different fields of formal and non-formal education, as well as initial and continuing teacher training and other related areas. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the theoretical field by supporting urgent and necessary discussions that involve different principles for sustainability.
... Water also emerges as an aggregating factor, a fundamental element of bonding and social integration 14 : rituals and cults performed to induce rain and to halt the devastating effects of floods are widespread and deeply rooted; religious paths are typically water paths, and the quest for water usually has a religious and sacred character. The religious centre, the place of worship, is generally a location rich in water 15 . ...
... 13 Sparano, 2015: 472-473. 14 Cipriani, 2016. 15 Cipriani, 2004. ...
... Water reminds us of the fundamental entanglement of humankind, the biological oneness of peoples, and the matrix connecting different human groups: what differentiates them is history, culture, and what defines their relationship with the environment, natural resources and other humans. As an element, it simultaneously indicates unity and division: it 29 Harner, 1982;Eliade, 1964. 30 Newman, 2010: 40. ...
Water is a theme connected to human and social development, not only biologically but also in terms of cultural and identity processes; surprisingly, studies that discuss water from a sociocultural/sociological perspective are scarce. The foundational role of water in the construction of social reality should be highlighted: as a matter of fact, thanks to it identity processes develop, and the realisation of the relationship between human beings and the environment, and between culture and nature, occurs. The relationship with water as a primordial substance tied to the roots of existence pertains to the physiological as well as the historical development of societies. Historically, societies see the presence of water in their territories as an indispensable element for establishing the foundations of civilisations, and a central criterion for setting the bases of development. With regards to the management of territorial resources, it should be noted that, although water is a primary resource, it is not available everywhere. Humans had to struggle to secure reliable water sources, using techniques derived from millenary knowledge systems, which enabled individuals and communities to live and survive in times of abundance and scarcity, tumultuousness and poor health. Past narratives and ethnographies related to traditional communities link symbols to history, productive forms, and material constraints due to the physical factors of the environment. Water is a foundational element of the cosmogonic and theogonic myths that governed the evolution of ancient genealogies and epistemologies. For its intrinsic virtues, water is considered a living and beneficial force: it is hard to find another substance that can at the same time wash away guilt, eliminate impurities, refresh and reinvigorate weary souls, and promise renewal and existential rebirth. Starting from these premises, the essay deals with the theme of water, a humble substance with complex implications, considering the foundations of culture, and analyzing the natural element from a sociological perspective with reference to myths of origins, naturalistic philosophical conceptions, and imaginary, up to and including aspects related to religiosity, to get to the roots of identity.
... Shamanism, an ancient practice rooted in long-established principles and customs, involves diagnosing, healing, and sometimes inducing suffering through interactions with spirits. Shamans, as described by Eliade (1989), develop unique relationships with spirits, allowing them to control these entities. Hutton (2001) defines shamans as those who, frequently at the request of others, make contact with the spirit realm while in a heightened level of awareness. ...
... These practices were deeply embedded in the social and cultural fabric of the communities where they were practiced. Traditional shamanism involved various techniques, including trance states induced by drumming, dancing, and the use of psychoactive substances (Eliade, 1964;Harner, 1980). Contemporary shamanism is experiencing a spiritual revival, focusing on personal transformation and healing. ...
This study explores the practice of shamanism from traditional healing practices to contemporary interpretations in Khandacakra Municipality of Kalikot, Nepal. Utilizing both primary and secondary data, the research examines the socio-cultural and economic factors influencing this transformation. The findings reveal that traditional shamanic culture is in practice in the community, with a significant portion of the population regularly consulting shamans. However, modernization, education, and global cultural exposure are driving changes in these practices. Contemporary shamanism, characterized by a blend of traditional and modern therapeutic approaches, is gaining acceptance, particularly among younger generations. The study highlights the potential for integrating shamanic practices with modern healthcare to provide a holistic approach to health and well-being. Despite challenges such as skepticism from the younger generation and competition from modern healthcare providers, there is strong support for the continued relevance of shamanic practices. This research contributes to the understanding of how traditional practices adapt to modern contexts and offers recommendations for sustaining these practices in the face of ongoing cultural and social changes.
... This terminology finds its origins from the tungus of Siberia and emerged in the intellectual circles of Europe with Russian scientific expeditions into Siberia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries [26,52]. In their society, shamans are people among thousands chosen by the spirits and are considered guides [17,23,26,30]. They generally experience in their youth a specific trance that is considered as the initial "shamanic call" of future shamans, which would reveal capacities to easily experience a shamanic trance, or as a defense mechanism against a difficult situation or an offense of the spirits [53,54]. ...
... They are usually called upon by people in difficulty, the "consultants", to help them with traditional rituals [57,58]. To address their responsibilities, shamans self-induce a trance and report a special connection with the element of nature and animal spirits, with an invisible world [23,26,30,59], and interconnected with the human world. They seemingly obtain information inaccessible in an ordinary state of consciousness to solve the consultant's problems [5,8,22]. ...
Background
Shamanism is a spiritual tradition in which trance practitioners deliberately modify their state of consciousness to seemingly interact with an invisible world to resolve their community members’ problems. This review aims to provide a multidisciplinary overview of scientific research on shamanic trance.
Methods
The search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Twenty-seven articles were found to be eligible, and their data were classified into four dimensions, namely, a) phenomenology, b) psychology, c) neuro-physiological functions, and d) clinical applications.
Results
These studies suggest that these trances are non-pathological, different from normal states of consciousness in terms of phenomenology and neurophysiology, and influenced by multiple personal and environmental variables. Furthermore, while trances may offer therapeutic potential, their scope should be approached cautiously, underscoring the need for rigorous studies to assess the effectiveness of shamanic approaches for complementary therapies.
Conclusion
Overall, shamanic trance and its potential benefits remain an intriguing and multifaceted area of scientific study, offering insights into the intersections of consciousness, spirituality, and possibly therapy.
... Meditation predates phenomenology as the practice was first described in ancient Indian texts in 1500 BCE (Sharma, 2015). However, meditation have likely been practiced even before this time (Eliade, 2024). The goal of meditation, in Vedic context, is to refocus the mind from the outer world into the inner world to reach the deeper self which is unchanging, pure, and provides joy and bliss (Sharma, 2015). ...
In this study, I recounted my experience using mantra meditation during a phenomenological study for the purposes of bracketing. The efficacy and purpose of bracketing have been debated from Husserl (1931), whose aimed was to achieve objectivity, to Heidegger (1962) who advocated for immersion of the researcher, through the French school (Merleau-Ponty, 1964) of middle ground, by whom bracketing was seen as the process to unearth and suspend biases for the better understanding of participants’ experiences (Arsel, 2017; Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Creswell & Poth, 2016; Fischer & Guzel, 2023). In this study, however, I propose another approach to bracketing that expands beyond phenomenology and the duality of objectivity or immersion. I propose that bracketing, with the aim of meditation is inseparable from qualitative research. Meditation, as a form of bracketing, provokes the researcher to be fully present ensuring that participants’ experiences are heard and interpreted in a faithful manner. In this orientation, the goal of bracketing is not to rid one’s subjectivity but to allow subjectivity to be diminished and the researcher to be fully present to the other.
... Значението и използването както на праисторическите финландски скални рисунки, така и на историческите жертвени олтари на саамите могат да бъдат свързани с шаманизма. В този случай терминът шаманизъм се отнася не само към общата група архаични вярвания и практики по света (Eliade, 2004;Price, 2004;Siikala, 1981), но също и до исторически специфична форма на шаманизъм, описана в северната част на Феноскандия (Taavitsainen, 1978;Siikala, 1992;Pentikäinen, 1995;Lahelma, 2008, рр. 45-64). ...
... It wanders in a twilight world of ignorance until it is automatically reborn again." 19 On shamanism (although I prefer the word "initiate", instead of "shaman", because the latter is being used as a general expression applicable to the magico-religious life of all primitive peoples) and entering the spirit world seeMeuli, 1935;Chadwick, 1942;Eliade, 1964;Lewis, 1971; Burkert, 1972: 120-165;Dodds 1973; Burkert 1996: 67-69;Humphrey 1996;Afonasina 2007;Bondzhev 2023a. NoteBurkert's (2004: 74) statement, where he called the opposing views among scholars "battlefield between rationalists and mystics". ...
The Thracian institution of the king-priest is attested since at least the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. This study presents Orpheus not just as a talented poet and singer, but also as a Thracian king-priest from before the Trojan War, who had different spiritual understanding (later known as Orphism) and attempted to reform the old religious belief system. The solar circles, some of them oriented towards the sunrise, found on numerous rock sanctuaries in Thrace, show that Sun-related practices were present in Thrace millennia before Orpheus and they were one of the key elements of his philosophy, just as the idea of bodily purification, which ultimately lead to enlightenment and divine inspiration. It is also reasonable to assume that his teaching involved a doctrine, probably only for initiates, related to the cycle of the soul after its final departure from the body.
... It wanders in a twilight world of ignorance until it is automatically reborn again." 19 On shamanism (although I prefer the word "initiate", instead of "shaman", because the latter is being used as a general expression applicable to the magico-religious life of all primitive peoples) and entering the spirit world seeMeuli, 1935;Chadwick, 1942;Eliade, 1964;Lewis, 1971; Burkert, 1972: 120-165;Dodds 1973; Burkert 1996: 67-69;Humphrey 1996;Afonasina 2007;Bondzhev 2023a. NoteBurkert's (2004: 74) statement, where he called the opposing views among scholars "battlefield between rationalists and mystics". ...
The Thracian institution of the king-priest is attested since at least the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. This study presents Orpheus not just as a talented poet and singer, but also as a Thracian king-priest from before the Trojan War, who had different spiritual understanding (later known as Orphism) and attempted to reform the old religious belief system. The solar circles, some of them oriented towards the sunrise, found on numerous rock sanctuaries in Thrace, show that Sun-related practices were present in Thrace millennia before Orpheus and they were one of the key elements of his philosophy, just as the idea of bodily purification, which ultimately lead to enlightenment and divine inspiration. It is also reasonable to assume that his teaching involved a doctrine, probably only for initiates, related to the cycle of the soul after its final departure from the body.
... Again, there is quite a rich anthropological literature on religious conversion. However, in the case of the Arctic peoples of Russia, academic attention has been focused mainly on traditional beliefs (Eliade 1964;Balzer 1990;2011;Vitebsky 1995;2005;Hutton 2001;Znamenski 2007;Siikala and Ulyashev 2011 to mention only the most important booklength studies), while religious conversion has been discussed, if at all, in the context of the influence it had on these beliefs (Znamenski 2007;Siikala and Ulyashev 2011;Wiget and Balalaeva 2011). Furthermore, since open missionary activity was impossible throughout the Soviet period, and hidden conversions though they did occur involved few individuals and were difficult to study, the phenomenon of conversion among indigenous peoples of the Russian North was often discussed only in its historical, pre-communist contexts (for example , Slezkine 1994;Znamenski 1999;Vitebsky and Alekseyev 2020). ...
... However, this does not mean that they are religious. Religious experiences of nature are characterized by a different structure of contact with the sacred and, more importantly, must be grounded in a particular religious ideological system, such as in shamanism with a coherent cosmology (Eliade 1964), which is completely absent in the case of surfing, as well as any other sport. ...
... Numerous anthropological studies have detailed the human propensity of ASC in diverse cultures (Bourguignon 1977;Dinges 1990;Saniotis 2001;Ebon 1966;Eliade 1964, Krippner 2000Winkelman 1992;2000a, 2000b. The anthropologist Erika Bourguignon has noted that 90% of human societies use at least one technique for inducing ASC. ...
The mind-body relationship has long been a subject of inquiry from both philosophical and scientific perspectives. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato posited dualistic models, where the mind and body are distinct substances. In contrast, modern approaches in Mind-Body Medicine (MBM) offer integrative models that emphasize the interconnectedness of mental and physical states and the proactive role of the patient in their own healing process. This review examines the evolutionary roots of altered states of consciousness (ASC) as a precursor to current MBM techniques. By tracing ASC to early hominins and their cognitive development, it posits that the ability to enter various ASC—such as those used in rituals, meditation, and other mind-body practices—provided evolutionary advantages, influencing both individual fitness and social cohesion. Moreover, this review discusses tonic immobility in animals as a survival mechanism and explores parallels in human and non-human primate behaviors involving ASC. Additionally, neurochemical pathways that govern ASC, such as serotonergic and dopaminergic regulation, are explored for their roles in promoting social behaviors, cognitive flexibility, and emotional regulation. Furthermore, the role of the default mode network is investigated in relation to psychotropic and mood altering substances and altered states of consciousness. This integrated perspective offers new insights into the origins of MBM and underscores the significance of ASC in both evolutionary and contemporary contexts.
... Based on an eyewitness account of a ritual, which the Headman practiced to block an assassin's assault with "kargysh" curses against a helpless client, the materials will highlight symbolic paths opened by these shamanic devices during the performance of kamlaniye. "Kamlaniye", a Russian word signifying Siberian rituals conducted by either shamanic specialists or lay persons (see Vitebsky 2001), is synonymous with the animistic religions of the Altaians and other South Siberian (Tuva, Soyot, Karagas) horse-breeding "tribal" (clan-based) ethnic people (see Vainshtein [1972] 2009), whose sacrificial rites and veneration of a "sky god" formed the background of Eliade's theory of a pristine residue of an "archaic" North Asian shamanism (Eliade 1964, see also Diószegi 1974, cited in Hoppál 1998. ...
Alleged practices of magical assault and vampirism are a recurrent feature of popular explanations of misfortune in Tuva, South Siberia. Based on a field study of healing practices in an “Association of Shamans”, this article analyses rituals of redressing curse afflictions in the context of Russian political domination. A central purpose of this discussion is to foreground the centrality of kinds of parasitical worship and occult threat to structures of political power in—and beyond—the territory of Tuva. Focusing on a “cursescape”, which develops from the combative practices of shamans, occult specialists, and office-holders, the article probes a repertoire of shamanic healing symbols. It is argued that healing efficacy is constructed in the process of engaging with hunting symbols and animal spirits, which appear in Indigenous Siberian cosmologies. The analysis shows that ideas of ritual risk underpin the process of symbolic resolution. Whereas shamanic practices provide refuge to spirits evicted from their natural landscapes, Tibetan Buddhism—the unifying religion of Tuva—offers an alternative path of healing the effects of the shamans’ propagation of spirits. The article highlights indigenous perceptions of a “cursed” landscape as a space where the agencies of “darkness” and their political sponsors are confronted with an emancipating religious modality emerging from local Buddhist rituals. The analysis displays the unsolved drama of itinerant spirits and shamanic ancestral souls, whose agency is revealed through successive—yet inauspicious—forms of reincarnation.
... They were carried in processions or displayed on platforms, carved steps, niches, and altars. Shamanic communication with the supernatural world of the ancestors and movement between the three cosmological worlds were intertwined (Eliade 1972). Waqas were often places where the ancestors could be called upon for assistance in agriculture, warfare, health, and fertility (Gullberg 2020). ...
Astronomy was an integral part of Andean mythology and creation, and it was at the very heart of Inka culture for religion and agriculture. To understand Inka astronomy, it must be placed into context in the greater society. Why was it important, why was it used, and how was it used? This chapter will lay the groundwork for aspects of Inka culture and its association with astronomy. This then will be built upon in subsequent chapters to better understand Inka thought and reasoning through the use of oral traditions (Fig. 3.1).
... Musik di Indonesia; Sejarah dan Perkembangan Kontemporer dari Asia daratan (Eliade, 1989). ...
Kajian tentang kiai pesantren yang sangat kreatif dalam melakukan “pribumisasi” dan pembalajaran fiqh kepada masyarakat melalui seni musik dan syi’iran jarang dilakukan. Di Kabupaten Pasuruan terdapat kesenian syi’iran yang diiringi dengan “musik” berupa suara pukulan bantal dan tepukan tangan, yang dikenal dengan “syi’iran gheblug” atau seni “blug-gheblug”. Dengan “syi’iran gheblug” ini, fiqh menjadi perilaku yang hidup (living fiqh) di tengah-tengah masyarakat, terutama kaum perempuan. Penelitian ini memfokuskan kepada teknik penyampaian materi-materi fiqh melalui musik “syi’iran gheblug” yang dilakukan K.H. Zainal Abidin (1887-1980) dari Pondok Pesantren Fiqihiyyah Rembang Pasuruan dan pengikutnya dalam perspektif komunikasi konseling. Penelitian menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan etnografi. Informan penelitian sebanyak 25 kiai dan ibu nyai kampung di Kecamatan Rembang Kabupaten Pasuruan. Data berasal dari dokumen dan fieldnotes. Langkah-langkah analisis data: data reduction, data display, dan conclusion drawing. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa para kiai menyampaikan pesan-pesan fiqh sesuai dengan bahasa masyarakat, kadar pemahaman mereka, dan bersikap empatik sehingga pesan-pesannya dapat menyentuh lubuk hati mereka. Teknik penyusunan pesan fiqh berdasarkan kondisi tempat atau ruangan (space order) dan menggugah emosi komunikan (emotional appeal). Musik dan syair fiqh dipopulerkan melalui komunikasi jejaring sosial (social of network) kiai yang sangat erat. Kiai juga melalukan penguatan (reinforcement) berupa pujian dan hadiah bagi grup syi’iran yang terbaik. Penelitian ini berkonstribusi bagi kajian ilmu dakwah, terutama da’wah bil-irsyad (konseling).
... Musik di Indonesia; Sejarah dan Perkembangan Kontemporer dari Asia daratan (Eliade, 1989). ...
Definisi musik sendiri sangat beragam dan luas, baik dari aspek substansi maupun pendekatan. Tidak ada konsensus mengenai apa musik itu. Meskipun para sarjana musik pada umumnya menyetujui bahwa musik itu terdiri atas elemen- elemen spesifik (misalnya ritme, melodi) tetapi tidak ada kesepakatan elemen atau unsur dasar apa saja yang membentuk sebuah musik karena memang sangat beragam. Apakah suara deru angin, gemercik air, hempasan ombak, atau kicauan burung adalah sebuah atau bagian dari musik?
Walaupun begitu para sarjana dan spesialis studi musik pada umumnya setuju jika musik itu adalah “cultural universal” yang bisa dipastikan ada di semua kelompok masyarakat – baik “modern” maupun “primitif”, baik masyarakat kompleks maupun simpel – di jagat raya ini, meskipun tentu saja latar, bentuk, instrumen, makna, dan tujuan bermusik dari mereka berbeda-beda. Banyak juga dari mereka yang memandang musik sebagai sebuah “seni keindahan.”
Berikut ini contoh definisi musik yang disampaikan oleh Gordon Epperson, seorang Profesor Musik dari University of Arizona dan penulis buku The Musical Symbol: A Study of the Philosophic Theory of Music. Ia mendefinisikan musik sebagai sebuah seni yang “concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and, in most Western music, harmony” (Epperson 2024, 1).
... Musik di Indonesia; Sejarah dan Perkembangan Kontemporer dari Asia daratan (Eliade, 1989). ...
The connection between astronomy and daily life in ancient times is described, showing the relationships between celestial cycles, religion, and the management of power.
Cet article considère les potentiels noétiques des psychédéliques en tant que pharmaka dans le cadre stieglerien de l’organologie et de la pharmacologie de la noèse. Il vise à soutenir, brièvement et provisoirement, que les expériences médiées par les pharmaka psychédéliques peuvent, d’une part, être mieux comprises à partir de ce cadre « spirituo-matérialiste » mais, d’autre part, peuvent également remettre ce cadre radicalement en question. Il aborde les dimensions libidinales, ontologiques et épistémologiques des pharmaka psychédéliques, en particulier l’ayahuasca, également en relation avec l’interprétation néguentropique-néganthropique de la noèse de Stiegler, et défend l’idée que ces pharmaka peuvent contribuer de manière significative à un futur pluralisme noétique ou à une noodiversité et donc à l’expansion nécessaire – mais pas nécessairement technique – de la noosphère néganthropocène.
The article is devoted to an urgent topic, the study of zoomorphic images in the traditional picture of the Yakut world. In particular, the semantics of the mammoth image in the rich spectrum of its semantic connotations in the Sakha culture is considered. Currently, the permafrost region is associated not only with the cold pole, deer and other phenomena, but also with the image of a gigantic prehistoric animal – the mammoth. In the traditional Yakut culture, there was no integral image of a mammoth. The remains of an extinct animal became the cause of the emergence of images of various zoomorphic or fantastic creatures. The presented article consistently reveals some semantic interpretations of the mammoth image present in modern Yakut culture. According to these haracteristics, the mammoth appears as a being: who created rivers and lakes; living in water; commanding cold; inhabiting sources of death; a being who served as a totem and is an element of shamanic practices. Special attention is paid to the transformation and manifestation of the mammoth image at the present stage of the development of Yakut culture, using the example of emblematics, design, decorative and applied arts and a regional brand. The article illustrates how the image of the mammoth is preserved and translated into the heraldic symbols of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
One of the basic features of shamanic rituals cross-culturally in East and Southeast Asia is that the ritual itself is structured as a journey up to the sky, climbing the world mountain or the world tree, or else a journey down to the bottom of the sea and back again. The shamanic retinue is understood to make this journey in person, rather than, as in Daoist ritual, sending divine emissaries up to the highest heavens. The journey is conducted through narrative song and dance, accompanied by strings of bells and lutes. The point of departure is the physical village or village household where the ritual is being conducted, and the journey progresses through a series of well-marked way stations via the temple of the earth god to the higher hills and finally to the villages and markets in the sky, before crossing the heavenly seas and ascending the highest mountain. On the way, demons and other impediments are encountered. The route and way stations vary depending on the purpose of the ritual and the intended divine recipient of offerings and submissions. The present article will explore the route up to the sky and the way stations in more detail, taking a single ritual type as performed by the Pụt and Then ritual practitioners as an example. The Pụt and Then are literate ritual specialists found among the Tày and Nùng peoples in northern Vietnam and southern China, near an area which is known to have been a centre of Brahmanical and Buddhist learning from very early times.
Bringing a paradigm shift in the approach to artefacts from a more philosophical-anthropological point of view as active agents of spiritual practices and cultural narratives, this scholarly article calls for a respect for the differentiations between the novel insights drawn from Actor-Network Theory, New Materialism, and phenomenology concerning our considerations on theories of cultural evolution. And with these, the research tries to get out of the traditional and more date Western perspectives on objects as passive receptacles of meaning to define artefacts as dynamic participants in meaning-making and communication. It's almost a type of transdisciplinary study, fusing the philosophy theory and analysis with those of anthropology, to reflect the very complex interplay between humans and objects within their shared cultural-spiritual landscapes. In this respect, the research problematizes such anthropocentric assumptions of agency and meaning-making by its investigation into artefact agency in evolving spiritual practices and cultural narratives. Therefore, this paper on a dialectic relationship between humans and artefacts puts a rather broad challenge to the idea of artefact agency and has it count in possible ethical implications of the very perspective presented. Finally, it will provide new ways of understanding the identity of culture, spiritual experience, and human-object relationships, while pushing the need for nuanced and more integrative approaches to material culture studies in ongoing debates within humanities.
The article proposes a reflection on the contribution of the ādivāsī issue in the broader debate on Environmental Humanities in India. The theme of indigeneity on the one hand and the ontological turn in anthropology on the other have highlighted the centrality and importance of the ecological message in the theoretical approach of these disciplines. However, the paper investigates a possible originality of Indian thought in a debate that too often, even in postcolonial studies, has been manipulated by the West. Through the case study of some indigenous cultures of central-eastern India, the paper proposes some original examples of indigenous ontologies and shamanism conveying an idea of respect and consubstantiality of man with other non-humans and with an earth that is mother for everyone. The essay concludes by mentioning the pioneering vision of two of the first Indian anthropologists who understood the importance of the man-spirits-nature connection and of a holistic vision of the cosmos among the native cultures of the Subcontinent.
Before colonial encounters devised ways to create “the other” out of Indigenous populations, we were other to them. Indigenous populations of the Americas greeted European newcomers using rites of hospitality perfected through time and enacted for all those who were other to them. The state of Otherness was not exclusionary or related to cognition of a power imbalance but was bracketed by the difference embedded in “not us, the people.” But Otherness constituted a space of impending danger particularly as an encounter lingered, because time required the incorporation of the Other into the social fabric of the group, albeit in a liminal state. Based on archival and ethnographic evidence, this chapter explores several narratives of first encounters with colonizers and the immediate aftermath of such encounters probing into strategies and tactics of accommodation and social integration of newcomers.
Philosophical speculation about how psychiatric externalism might function in practice has yet to fully consider the multitude of externalist psychiatric systems that exist beyond the bounds of modern psychiatry. Believing that anthropology can inform philosophical debate on the matter, the paper illustrates one such case. The discussion is based on 19 months of first-hand ethnographic fieldwork among Akha, a group of swidden farmers living in highland Laos and neighboring borderlands. First, the paper describes the Akha set of medicinal, ritual, and shamanic practices, analyzing issues of stigma and medical pluralism within it. Second, it makes the case that the Akha realize a functioning biopsychosocial system which comes with a well-developed set of resources for treating the social dimension of illness. Externalism among the Akha re-frames psychiatric illness as a ‘problem in living,’ which becomes manageable as such. The paper claims that, in so doing, the Akha system succeeds in many of the areas where modern internalist psychiatry falls short, and that it does so because Akha society is structured in such a way so that its practitioners can shift the social environment around the patient. As a takeaway for philosophers, it suggests that the development of an externalist psychiatry must begin from questioning the accepted ontology of the social causes of psychiatric illness.
This book reevaluates Carl Jung’s ideas in the context of contemporary research in the evolutionary sciences.
Recent work in developmental biology, as well as experimental and psychedelic neuroscience, have provided empirical evidence that supports some of Jung’s central claims about the nature and evolution of consciousness. Beginning with a historical contextualisation of the genesis of Jung’s evolutionary thought and its roots in the work of the 19th century Naturphilosophen, the book then outlines a model of analytical psychology grounded in modern theories of brain development and life history theory. The book also explores research on evolved sex based differences and their relevance to Jung’s concept of the anima and animus.
Seeking to build bridges between analytical psychology and contemporary evolutionary studies and associated fields, this book will appeal to scholars of analytical and depth psychology, as well as researchers in the evolutionary and brain sciences.
Free preview chapter and full book for purchase at Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Carl-Jung-and-the-Evolutionary-Sciences-A-New-Vision-for-Analytical-Psychology/Clark/p/book/9781032624518
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Kontekstualisasi merupakan istilah yang lazim digunakan di kalangan gereja Protestan dalam kurun waktu 40 tahun terakhir ini, sementara di kalangan gereja Katolik dikenal dengan istilah inkulturasi. Walaupun sekilas terdengar sama namun keduanya memiliki perbedaan karena kontekstualisasi pada dasarnya adalah upaya untuk mendekatkan teks dengan konteksnya, sementara inkulturasi justru cenderung memberikan penekanan yang lebih kepada konteks ketimbang teks. Tulisan ini sendiri berusaha menggambarkan bagaimana upaya kontekstualisasi terutama dalam hal mendekatkan musik gereja atau musik liturgis pada konteks dimana gereja Protestan berada. Beberapa sinode gereja yang akan menjadi bahan amatan dalam tulisan ini, yaitu Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun, Gereja Kristen Jawa, Gereja Kristen Protestan Bali, dan Gereja Protestan Maluku. Selain itu tulisan ini juga akan menyinggung peran Yayasan Musik Gereja (Yamuger) dalam upaya kontekstualisasi terutama dengan penerbitan buku nyanyian jemaat Kidung Keesaan yang mengakomodasi karya-karya baru dari berbagai penulis lagu di tanah air.
The research focuses on studying the structure of the ladder locus in Chekhov’s works of the 1890s–1900s, fixing non-classical shifts in the structure of the locus and assessing their amount. Using the historical and literary approach (M. M. Bakhtin, Yu. M. Lotman, and D. S. Likhachev), the author continues the study of the symbolic potential of Chekhov’s creativity, started by A. P. Chudakov, I. N. Sukhoi, and S. A. Komarov. In spatial terms, the article relies on M. O. Goryacheva and N. E. Razumova’s research. Using the continuous sampling method, 56 fragments from 1888 to 1903 were selected, 32 fragments were analyzed. The results show that when creating the author’s myth, Chekhov relies on the folklore, biblical context, imagery of Nietzsche, Merezhkovsky, Griboyedov, Gogol, and Dostoevsky; he creatively rethinks the material of the sources. Three individual author’s motives related to the ladder locus are identified: 1) the motive of the shameful and obscene, 2) falling down the stairs, and 3) the vertical gap. The analysis of the structure of the Chekhov ladder locus confirms the conclusions drawn earlier on the material of other spatial units: the topos of the garden, forest, manor, and the locus of the bench. The non-classical nature of spaces in the late creative period of the writer leads to the need to remove the attitude towards the realism of Chekhov’s texts and indicates the beginning of the modernization process in Russian literature in the last decade of the 19th c.
Italo Calvino’s The Cosmicomics, despite its pluralistic openness to multiple critical interpretations by various theoretical and conceptual frameworks including post-humanism, science-fiction studies, postmodernism and many more, deals with the fundamental issue of the human’s physical and conceptual inseparability from Nature or the cosmos. The human’s inseparability from the non-humans (including animals, vegetation and inanimate matters) has profound ecological implications. What Calvino establishes in the mentioned text is the human’s inevitable and unconditional inclusion in Nature rather than his self-proclaimed, physical/conceptual exclusion from the same. This is vindicated by the fictional illustrations in the text in which the ‘human’ is posited as a mere member of the ecosystem, and not as its master. In this context, this article endeavours to explore and analyze the said ecological implications of the mentioned work in the light of some the established ecological theories and postulations.
O artigo apresenta histórica e teoricamente o Círculo de Éranos como um modelo interpretativo para as Ciências da Religião. Trata-se, a rigor, de uma aproximação ao mesmo tempo histórica e temática ao Círculo de Éranos buscando as pluralidades nos encontros que pudessem contribuir à uma hermenêutica para as Ciências da Religião. Sabe-se que os encontros, inaugurados por Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, colocou em conversa variados pensadores de áreas distintas, como Rudolf Otto, Carl Jung, Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, Jakob Hauer, Heinrich Zimmer, Karoly Kerenyi, Gershom Scholem, Henry Corbin e Mircea Eliade. Em uma tentativa incansável de aproximar Ocidente e Oriente, Jung, a título de contextualização, teve a oportunidade de modificar parte de suas teorias devido a convivência com os participantes, atribuindo, assim, uma renovada significação religiosa às suas reflexões. Além de Jung, Mircea Eliade, como um dos principais interlocutores com Jung, também contribuiu a respeito do significado da vida religiosa. Este artigo, portanto, busca recuperar a história do Círculo de Éranos e, ao invés de vasculhar o valor do Círculo de Éranos em si, pretende trabalhar a contribuição do Círculo de Éranos para a constituição da área das Ciências da Religião e Teologia pelo viés da linha de pesquisa Linguagens da Religião propondo uma base hermenêutica da pluralidade a partir de uma reinterpretação do significado da pesquisa em Ciências da Religião tendo no Éranos uma forma de spiritus rector original.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) have historically been perceived as profound spiritual encounters, often interpreted as glimpses into the afterlife or direct communications with the divine. These experiences, which typically include vivid perceptions of transcendent phenomena such as bright lights, encounters with deceased loved ones, and a deep sense of peace, have reinforced religious beliefs and provided comfort regarding the existence of an afterlife. Recent technological advancements in pharmacology, neurological stimulation, virtual reality, and psychological techniques have made it possible to simulate these experiences artificially. This paper explores the potential misuse of these technologies to engineer NDEs as tools for religious manipulation and control. By examining the methodologies for inducing these experiences, implementation strategies, and potential impacts, we highlight the ethical considerations and risks associated with manipulating individuals' beliefs and behaviors. The paper underscores the importance of maintaining transparency, ensuring informed consent, and providing psychological and spiritual support to prevent the unethical exploitation of engineered NDEs for control purposes.
Keywords: near-death experiences, NDEs, religious manipulation, engineered experiences, pharmacological induction, neurological stimulation, virtual reality, psychological techniques, ethical considerations, informed consent, spiritual support, psychological harm, social unrest, religious control, divine deception.
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