Religious Specialists

1
Religious Specialists

• Small-scale societies
• These men/women usually have other roles/jobs
  within the society. Their skills are called upon
  when necessary.
• Generally no distinction between
  secular/religious activities, so from an emic
  perspective, the term Religious Specialist
  would not exist.
• Large-scale societies
• Society may be able to support (in terms of food,
  clothing, etc.) full-time Religious
  Specialists.
• May gain most of their income for performing
  religious duties/ceremonies. May attain
  important political and economic positions.
• Examples in the United States?

2
Definitions in Western Academic Studies (our
system)

• Our (etic) way of trying to categorize/classify
  in order to study our world. Our brains process
  info with the help of associations and
  categories, so in order to share knowledge, we
  must agree on the meaning of terms.
• Yet terms are tricky and a singular concrete
  definition is often elusive. The Anthropological
  Study of Religion is fairly new compared to other
  disciplines and so terms are not as stable.
• From this chapter, the terms Shaman, Priest,
  Diviner and Healer are all good examples.
• Rule of thumb when first delving into a certain
  field Use the definition of a term as it is most
  commonly/popularly used within the discipline.
  Once a broader understanding of the field is
  gained, then can branch out to alternative
  definitions of a term/create a new version.

3
Shamans vs. Priests

• Shaman An individual who receives his or her
  power directly from the spirit world.
• He or she acquires status and abilities, such as
  healing, through personal communication with the
  supernatural during shamanic trances or altered
  states of consciousness.
• What is the spirit world? The supernatural? Where
  are these places? Can we relate them to our own
  views?
• Priest Full-time religious specialist
  associated with formalized religious
  institutions.
• Given their Status by kinship groups, political
  units, communities or by a formal religious
  organization.
• Tend to be found in more complex food-producing
  societies.
• Based on these definitions, what are some
  examples of Shamans in the U.S.A.? Priests?
• Pentecostal Healers (p. 129)

4
Shaman origins

• Tungus language of Central Siberia. Originally
  denoting a religious specialist who heals the
  sick, divines the future and secures success in
  the hunt with help of spirits and a drum.
• Few left of this group today. Witch hunts in
  1600s, Stalin and persecution.
• Right A Shaman of the Sami people (Noaidi) with
  his drum. Woodcut, 1767.
• In the present day, Shaman has taken on a variety
  of meanings. Broader definitions usually point
  to
• Those who have direct contact/communication with
  the supernatural through trance and/or spirit
  helpers.
• Culturally defined and accepted rituals and
  paraphenalia
• Special social position

5
Becoming a Shaman

• Chosen by supernatural entity through
  dreams/vision/sickness/by another Shaman, or by
  the behavior of a child with regard to sacred
  objects.
• Ex Dalai Lama
• Each Dalai Lama is said to be the reincarnation
  of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, beginning with
  Gendon Drup (1391-1474). The Dalai Lama is seen
  as the patron deity of Tibet, is the embodiment
  of ideal values and a cornerstone of identity and
  culture.
• The Dalai Lama is chosen based on familiarity
  with possessions/values of the previous Dalai
  Lama.
• May deliberately seek a call to Shamanism
  (Inducing Altered States of Consciousness) if
• Becoming a Shaman social authority
• May not want to become a Shaman if
• Role in society is marginalized or not highly
  appreciated. May undergo unpleasant, sometimes
  near-death Rite of Passage Rituals.
• Training
• Often involves learning from an older Shaman
• Main purpose is to learn how to make contact with
  and manipulate the supernatural for some specific
  end.
• Involves learning how to voluntarily enter and
  control an Altered State of Consciousness.
• May acquire a spirit familiar that helps Shaman
  to connect to the Supernatural World.
• Ex Inuit Shaman life story (1427).
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vKxdqjn1sFM8
• Excerpt originally taken from www.isuma.tv a
  great free website for indigenous film makers.
• Chosen by signs, with the involvement of another
  Shaman. Socially marginalized as a potential
  Shaman until he experiences an Altered State in
  the form of a vision. Acquires spirit helpers.
  Inuit worldview? Origin Myth presented?

6
The Shamanic Role and Rituals

• Shaman may perform rituals, but
• The success of a Shaman lies not in his/her
  ability to memorize and perform the ritual (as a
  Priest would need to), but in the ability to
  successfully contact and in some way control the
  supernatural.
• Public rituals
• Are often large and boisterous (drumming,
  singing, dancing, elaborate costumes) in order to
  evoke the correct mood.
• A way for the observer to participate in the
  experience of the Shaman as he/she contacts the
  spirit realm or enters an Altered State of
  Consciousness.
• May include tricks or props in order to further
  bring the observer into the world of the Shaman.
  
• Ex http//www.youtube.com/watch?vtW6pVFOpE6Qfea
  turerelated
• Axis Mundi
• The World Axis which links the 3 realms (upper,
  lower and ours).
• The Shaman is able to pass through the realms via
  the Axis Mundi. A ladder, pole or tree is often
  used in Shamanic rituals to represent this axis.
• Shamans may be feared for their powers over the
  supernatural, especially as those powers have the
  potential to be used for harm.

7
Ethnographic Examples

• Siberian Shamanism
• Yakut (Shka) Shamanism (northeastern Siberia).
  1931 Soviet government began a program to wipe
  out native religions. Ethnic Russians moved in,
  Christianity spread, traditional people were
  integrated, Shamanism was persecuted. After
  break-up of Soviet Union, the ban on Shamanism
  was lifted and native religion was once again
  taught in schools.
• But how much had changed? Are there any true
  Shamans left?
• Akimel Oodham (Pima) Shamanism
• Healers From southern Arizona and northern
  Mexico. Chosen by animal spirits that appear in
  their dreams. Cure mostly staying sickness
  that is caused when an individual fails to obey
  cultural laws set down at the time of creation
  (such as killing an eagle or using firewood from
  a tree that has been struck by lightning).
• Korean Shamanism
• Today, most are women. Called upon to guide the
  dead to the underworld, to cure illness, for
  divination and to ensure good fortune. Shamans
  are chosen by spirits who are attracted to those
  whose maum or soul has been hurt by some sort of
  illness. The individual will become possessed
  until she accepts the call of the spirits and
  becomes a Shaman. Shamans in Korean society are
  sometimes seen as social deviants, so this may be
  a role not willingly taken.

8
Neoshamanism

• Revival of shamanistic beliefs and systems
• Focuses on the individual, shamanism as a form of
  self-help to improve ones life. Traditional
  shamanism focuses on helping the community.
• Generally does not recognize dangers of
  traditional shamanism (i.e. Terrifying trance
  experiences, painful Rite of Passage ceremonies).
• Thought to be brought on by a variety of factors
  including
• Hippie culture of the 60s, an interest in
  non-Western religions, environmentalism, New Age
  thought, self-help and self-realization movements
  and popular anthropology works
• Carlos Castandeda, Don Juan Matus and Tensegrity
• At first, used mind-altering drugs to experience
  another reality.
• Then developed Tensegrity (tensional integrity)
  Aim is to increase awareness of the energy fields
  that, according to Castaneda, humans are made of.
• Done via body movements and breathing, not unlike
  Martial Arts, Yoga.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?ve07107HTiVcfeature
  related
• Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman and Core
  Shamanism
• Mainly studied the Jivaro in the Upper Amazon and
  the Saami/Sami in northern Europe.
• Based upon his experiences, believed that there
  are near universal methods of shamanism without a
  specific cultural perspective he dubs Core
  Shamanism.
• Trains more than 5,000 people a year in self-help
  techniques related to Core Shamanism.
• A Commodification of indigenous identity, beliefs
  and practices?