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Encyclopedia > Core shamanism

Core Shamanism is a system of shamanic beliefs and practices from all over the world. Synthesized by Michael Harner, PhD, core shamanism does not hold a fixed belief system, but instead focuses on the practice of shamanic journeying and may on an individual basis integrate indigenous shamanism, the teachings of Carlos Castaneda and other spiritualities. The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... Michael Harner PhD is an anthropologist, american author and shaman. ... A shaman doctor of Kyzyl. ... Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was a Peruvian-born American author. ...


Specific practices include the use of rapid drumming [about 220 beats per minute] to attain the Shamanic State of Consciousness, communication with "power animals", and ritual dance. Those who practice core shamanism do not usually refer to themselves as shamans, preferring "shamanic practitioner." They say this is out of respect for indigenous peoples, and that they are usually very careful to avoid cultural imperialism. Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of dance forms or dance styles, where the purpose is ceremonial or ritualistic. ... Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting, distinguishing, separating, artificially injecting of the culture or language of one nation in another. ...


Criticism

However, critics like Daniel C. Noel, Robert J. Wallis see Harner's teachings as based on cultural appropriation and a misrepresentation of the various cultures he claims to have been inspired by;[citation needed] (reference: "The Soul of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities" ) they believe Harner's work laid the foundations for massive exploitation of Indigenous cultures by "plastic shamans" and other cultural appropriators.[citation needed] (reference: "The Soul of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities" ) Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


References

  • Harner, Michael, The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and Healing, Harper & Row Publishers, NY 1980
  • Daniel C. Noel, Soul Of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities, Continuum International Publishing Group ISBN 0-8264-1081-2
  • Robert J. Wallis, Shamans/neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-30203-X
  • Alice Kehoe, Shamans and Religion: An Anthropoligical Exploration in Critical Thinking. 2000. London: Waveland Press. ISBN 1-57766-162-1

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Shamanism - Crystalinks (1948 words)
Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices that involve the ability to diagnose, cure, and sometimes cause human suffering by traversing the axis mundi and forming a special relationship with, or gaining control over, spirits.
Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits that affect the lives of the living.
The word shaman originated among the Siberian Tungus (Evenks) and literally means he (or she) who knows; the belief that the word may be derived from Sanskrit is perhaps due to a confusion of the words 'shamanism' and 'shramanism', from the sanskrit shramana, Pali and Prakrit samana; but the samanas were ascetics, not shamans.
Classic Shamanism And Core Shamanism: Basic Differences (2719 words)
On the other hand, the experience of people who work with core shamanism is not identical to that of shamans and their counterparts who come to their work the old-fashioned way, anthropological accounts of which have been gathered for over two hundred years.
In other tribal societies, a shaman's son or daughter may be trained in the position; sometimes they are chosen before birth with divination methods (which would suggest spirit-choosing, like the classic experience) and sometimes they are merely selected by their parent when old enough.
Even in shamanic cultures, there are accounts of people who fell physically or mentally ill in ways that resembled shamanic transformation illnesses, and the local shamans came over to check, and declared it to be an ordinary sort of illness.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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