The Ethnopoetics of Shamanism
Over the last century, Western portrayals of shamanism have changed radically toward an ethnopoetics of shamanism. While shamanic practices had long been indirectly registered by Westerners, it is only since the late nineteenth century that they have take
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The Ethnopoetics of Shamanism
The Ethnopoetics of Shamanism
Marcel de Lima
THE ETHNOPOETICS OF SHAMANISM
Copyright © Marcel de Lima Santos, 2014. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-44368-7 All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-68456-4 ISBN 978-1-137-43640-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137436405
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: August 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Clara
Contents
Introduction
1
1
Shamanism: A Historical Appraisal
5
2
The Poetics of Shamanism
51
3
The Case of Nicholas Black Elk
97
4
The Case of María Sabina
125
5
The Case of Carlos Castaneda
161
Conclusion
209
Notes
213
Index
259
4
Introduction
The overall theme of this work is shamanism, the protean phenom-
enon that has accompanied mankind since prehistoric times. The term shamanism strictly refers to a distinctive religious phenomenon of Siberia and Central Asia, but the broader practices have been present in most cultures, both in “primitive” societies and in “civilized” peoples, around the world. This phenomenon involves the practice of a shaman—someone who embodies the ability and the will to achieve an altered state of consciousness, often on the verge of derangement— for a variety of purposes that involve the supernatural.1 Hence the figure of the shaman assumes a central position in the representation of this most complex practice. My main concern, though, is the representation of shamanic practices in the Western world in the last century. It is my intention, in order to provide a better understanding of such representations, to historicize the phenomenon as much as possible. I am also interested in discussing the ethnopoetic dialogues surrounding the texts dealing with shamanic practices, and hence, after a historical exposition of shamanism, I insert my three cases of study into the discourse of both ethnography and literature, toward a poetics of shamanism. I am interested in analyzing some of the ideas, experiences, and individuals that do not seem to fit into any one of the usual forms of ethnographic, historical, or literary representation. My book will focus on shamans and the way different forms of representation use and juggle with conceptual categories such as myth, vision, magi
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