Shamanism has its origins in early human history and is as ubiquitous as the human desire to penetrate the mysteries of the supernatural. For millennia shamans have traveled into the realm of the spirits, hunting lost souls, healing the sick, interpreting dreams, and providing guidance in human endeavors on behalf of individuals and communities. In the wake of a rapidly transforming world, new forms of shamanism are developing and thriving.
This two-volume reference is the first international survey of shamanistic beliefs from prehistory to the present day. In nearly 200 detailed, readable entries, leading ethnographers, psychologists, archaeologists, historians, and scholars of religion and folk literature explain the general principles of shamanism as well as the details of widely varied practices.
What is it like to be a shaman? Entries describe, region by region, the traits, such as sicknesses and dreams, that mark a person as a shaman, as well as the training undertaken by initiates. They detail the costumes, music, rituals, artifacts, and drugs that shamans use to achieve altered states of consciousness, communicate with spirits, travel in the spirit world, and retrieve souls. Unlike most Western books on shamanism, which focus narrowly on the individual’s experience of healing and trance, Shamanism also examines the function of shamanism in society from social, political, and historical perspectives and identifies the ancient, continuous thread that connects shamanistic beliefs and rituals across cultures and millennia.
