Construct A History Of Shamanism

For many Indigenous people, spirituality is more than simply a belief in a higher being. Spirituality is the holistic belief that all living and nonliving things are interconnected and deserving of the highest respect.  In accordance with Medicine Wheel teachings, the East portion of the medicine wheel is synonymous with spirituality. By recognizing the importance of spirituality and how it helps shape cultural identity, one has the potential to be able to better understand how

In Eastern Algonquian religion they believed that there was a spiritual world that interacted constantly with the physical world.

     While American Indians are well known for their use of psychedelic agents other cultures have also been known to use psychedelics, especially psilocybin. So-called “magic'; mushrooms also grow naturally in many parts of Europe and Asia. Norse tribesmen, for example, were believed to use Amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushrooms to bring on feelings of rage before going into battle. The same mushroom may have also been the inspiration to the founders of Hinduism. Preparations of datura, the agent found in jimson weed, are used in magic and witchcraft in many areas of the world, (Aaronson, 1970). More recently many artist, writers, and musicians have been known to use mescaline and psilocybin and other naturally occurring hallucinogens such as those found in morning glory seeds, and nutmeg, as well as synthesized hallucinogens like LSD. Because of their mind-expanding qualities, the high insight into reality that they seem to produce, as well as highly complex sensory experiences, some report receiving inspiration from such drugs.

In the Western world, magic is defined as the ability to alter one’s consciousness at will. The magicians perform hand tricks to startle the senses and free the audience from the outdated and restricted thoughts by inspiring awe and surprises within the individuals. This is the common image that we bring up when thinking of the word magic and magician. Westerners find no relation between magic and nature as the two are thought as two distinct concepts. However, people of the oral, traditional land conjure up different idea in regard of magic and nature. The two are correlated concepts as magic can be defined as “humans experience their own consciousness as simply one form of awareness among many others” (7). Magic is shifting out one’s consciousness to put it in others shoes. The others indicate the many beings regarded to have intelligence, the components of nature. By thinking in the perspective of other nonhuman entities, as Abram succeeded in doing in the traditional land, the magicians communicate with the nature. As the author mentions, “Countless anthropologists have managed to overlook the ecological dimension of the shaman’s craft, while writing at great length of the shaman’s rapport with supernatural entities” (6), the Western people simply fail to recognize the relationship between nature and magic because they have

The theme of spirituality takes place in many novels that we have read this semester. Natives has used spiritual guidance as a means of connecting with their past and honoring their ancestors. To Natives, spirits have always played an important role in their culture and everyday lives. When Natives were forced to convert to Christianity and over time have their beliefs sucked out of them, the spiritual connection was broken as generations passed. One novel that particularly spoke to me on this subject was Monkey Beach, by Eden Robinson. The main character, Lisa, is struggling to fins herself after being blessed with the gift of being a shaman. In this novel, the author exploits how the European or western “white” culture has destroyed the

Native American religion has become a commodity due to the fact that Neo-Shamans are more focused on giving a presentation and making a profit rather than the spiritual aspects of Native American religion. According to Cohen, “It is my belief that Westernized religion in general has become a commodity almost ad hoc in North America. It is a potential money making industry, and anyone can take part”. She

On the other hand, the healing powers that sorcerers possess are respected in other communities. Witch doctors, although not real witches, are trusted to concoct remedies to protect others against witchcraft. Furthermore, Shamans are believed to be endowed with the power to both cure and kill. The Shaman has the ability to go into a trance to interact with the spirit world on behalf of the community. Although there are varying opinions on the practicing of witchcraft, it still continues today whether it is accepted or not.

Believed the supernatural powers can be manipulated by “medicine men or women” who would cure and advise other tribe members and act as a medium between our world and the spirit world. Shamans were believed to predict the future and use medicine and magic to heal the sick.

2016). What I found after the research is that medicine men and woman, or spiritual leaders of the Native American tribes had the ability to assist in areas of healing, or called the spirits to offer good weather, etc. This is important because this indicates a leadership ability, and those that are wise, knowledgeable, and have experience were entitled to this position (Britanica). What I find fascinating about this aspect of their religion, is that it connects to many of the other aspects they share. In order for them to connect to nature, perform rituals, find a vision quest and connect to the spirit world, all these combinations are intertwined (Britanica). What I was able to find, is that the spirit world guided the Native Americans to become connected with their practices. Whether they wanted to have a better hunt, or prosperous crops, healthy tribe members, everything was connected through the spirits that guided them. Although they did not have many references to death and the afterlife, the spirit was mentioned many times as it still remained, as long as those that are living still remembered the dead. What I also found unique and interesting is that the basic religious functions are performed by every member of the group, meaning that there was not much distinction between the tribe in terms of who was able to perform what duties, as there was a little need for trained professional needed to perform these rituals (Hopfe et al. 2016). Despite their religious practices, when they were driven by the European man, slowly the population died off and converted to Native American

Paganism, spiritualism, witchcraft – call it what you may, there’s no denying that the occult is ever-present. In Vancouver, one is particularly accustomed to the crystal shops and new age book stores hiding around each corner – a walk along West 4th in Kitsilano attests to that. With melting pot populations, cities tend to host unconventional ‘schools of thought’; and at the turn of the eighteenth century, two cities, New Orleans and Beijing (formerly Peking) became hubs for the supernatural. Though different in many ways, the similarities of New Orleans Voodoo and Manchu Shamanism are striking.

Shamans do their work by changing the state of their mind, or consciousness. This can be achieved through the use of the rhythm of the drum or of music. It can be achieved through physical activities such as long ceremonies of dancing and singing. It can also be achieved through the use of hallucinogens such as Ayuhuasca. What shamans do to shift their consciousness is different in different cultures. It is important to know that a large amount of shamanic healers don’t use

The Native American medicine man, also known as a shaman (modern term), priest, healer, and even a “Star Being” were known to be the spiritual leaders of Native American cultures. Each medicine man was unique in his own way simply because each Native American tribe had their own origin of spirituality and religious beliefs. Each medicine man had their own theory on how to rid people of their troubles and ease their pain when they were ill or in some sort of distress. In this research paper I will be examining different medicine man practices and beliefs from the Native American tribes of the Cheyenne, Iroquois, and the Sioux Indians. I will be discussing

A Reflection on “VOICE,R EPRESENTATION, AND DIALOGUE: THE POETICS OF NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS” BY ROBIN RIDINGTON

In Dawson’s, “Salvador Roquet, María Sabina, and the Trouble with Jipis” talked about the positive side of drugs like LSD and mushrooms. Salvador Roquet and Maria Sabina both used these drugs as ways to treat people psychology. Roquet had a clinic in Mexico City where he treated hundreds of patients with LSD and Sabina who was a shaman and treated tribesmen and visitors with mushrooms. Both had great success before the ban on hallucinogenic drugs in Mexico and America.

To begin with, it is an important determent to know that it is women who are practicing witchcraft among these societies. The Tibetan and Kathmandu Village believe that “Women carry the hereditary to witchery” and “Women among lower social class is linked to witchcraft” (Gellner, 1994; Levine, 1982). In the Tibetan Nyinba, the beginning of this belief was linked to “the assumption of a female phenomenon”