Lecture 3 Animism Shamanism

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Lecture 3AnimismShamanism Plants
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Animism

• Primeval and universal belief that souls
  (spirits) inhabit ordinary plants, animals and
  things, governing their existence.

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Animism

• The human being is equal to animals, plants, and
  natural forces.
• The human being is a part of the nature, and not
  something distinct or above it.

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Therefore, in all animistic cultures

• Not only that all nature forms MUST be treated
  with respect, but it is essential to win on your
  side the good spirits, and ward off the
  malevolent spirits.
• This is accomplished through RITUALS which are
  essential for survival as they win the favor of
  the spirits of one's source of food, shelter, and
  fertility, and protects against evil spirits.

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Most animistic belief systems hold that the
spirit survives physical death.
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The Shaman
In an animistic society, the shaman is the
repository of knowledge that allows him (her) to
act as an intermediate between the visible world
and an invisible spirit world. He (she)
practices magic or sorcery for purposes of
healing, divination, and control over natural
events.
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Although very different, shamanistic traditions
have existed throughout the world since
prehistoric times.
Siberia
Russia
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North America
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South America
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China
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Shamans can traverse the axis mundi the world
axis, which links the physical and spiritual
worlds. Once in the spirits world, the shaman
would commune with the spirits for assistance in
healing, hunting, weather control and future
telling.
African
Egyptian
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Since plants are credited with souls, all over
the world people practice elaborate
agriculture-related ceremonies explicable, only
through animistic principles.
Corn mother - Mexico
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Man feeds the fields in Hoogoppalu, India The
Ritual of Feeding Grains to Plants is Practiced
in Malnad Region of Karnataka
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Tree worship rituals
Offerings made to a Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa)
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A new bride worships the Tulsi plant Occimum
sanctum
The CircumambulationWoman performs a Pradakshina
to the plant
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Tree shrine, Burma
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Spirit Houses are miniature homes that stand
outside mainly Thai Buddhist homes. It is hoped
that spirits will live in these houses instead of
the homes of people. Offerings to appease the
spirits are made at these houses.
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Tree spirit project -  Jack Gescheidt  http//jack
photo.com/images/tree/Gallery.html 
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• References
• Bird-David, Nurit. 1991. "Animism Revisited
  Personhood, environment, and relational
  epistemology", Current Anthropology 40, pp.
  67-91. Reprinted in Graham Harvey (ed.) 2002.
  Readings in Indigenous Religions (London and New
  York Continuum) pp.72-105.
• Blain, Jenny, Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic. 2002.
  Ecstasy and neo-Shamanism in North European
  Paganism. London Routledge
• Campbell,J. 1976. The Masks of God Primitive
  Mythology. New York and London Penguin Books.
• Eliade, M. 2004. Shamanism Archaic Techniques of
  Ecstasy. Princeton University Press, 2004.
• Harner, M. 1990. The Way of the Shaman. 2nd
  edition, Harper SanFrancisco, 1990
• Hallowell, A. Irving. "Ojibwa ontology, behavior,
  and world view" in Stanley Diamond (ed.) 1960.
  Culture in History (New York Columbia University
  Press). Reprinted in Graham Harvey (ed.) 2002.
  Readings in Indigenous Religions (London and New
  York Continuum) pp.17-49.
• Harvey, Graham. 2005. Animism Respecting the
  Living World (London Hurst and co. New York
  Columbia University Press Adelaide Wakefield
  Press).
• Perkins, J. 1994. The World Is As You Dream It
  Shamanic Teachings from the Amazon and Andes.
  Rochester, Vt. Park Street.
• Pinchbeck, D. 2002. Breaking Open the Head A
  Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of
  Contemporary Shamanism. New York Broadway Books.
• Vitebsky, P. 2001. The Shaman Voyages of the
  Soul - Trance, Ecstasy and Healing from Siberia
  to the Amazon, Duncan Baird.