Shamanism
The Timeless Religion
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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Publisher Description
From a brilliant, young, Harvard-trained anthropologist and contributor to The New Yorker comes a fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present moment, for readers disaffected with organized religion who seek a more personal approach to spirituality.
What are the origins of shamanism, and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? What can we learn from indigenous healing practices?
Traveling from Indonesia to the Colombian Amazon, living with shamans and observing music, drug use, and indigenous curing ceremonies, anthropologist Manvir Singh journeys into one of the most mysterious religious traditions. Fundamentally, shamans are specialists who use altered states to engage with unseen realms and provide services like healing and divination. As Singh shows, shamanism’s appeal stems from its psychological resonance. Its essence is spiritual transformation: a specialist uses initiations, deprivation, and non-ordinary states to seemingly become a different kind of human, one possessed of powers to cure, prophesy, and otherwise tame life’s uncertainties.
Following a fascinating cast of characters, Singh reveals the complexities and vicissitudes of a timeless, always relevant, and ubiquitous phenomenon. He argues that biomedicine can learn from shamanic practices and that psychedelic enthusiasts completely misrepresent history. He also shows that shamanic traditions will forever re-emerge – and that by contemplating humanity’s oldest spiritual practice, we come to better understand ourselves, our history, and our future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
New Yorker contributor Singh (Zoostalgia) brilliantly traces the evolution of shamanism across history. Exploring the practice's psychological roots, he contends that shamanism answers a deep human need to manage uncertainty through its theatrical rituals, invocation of the supernatural, and elevation of shamans to superhuman status. Countering the notion that shamanism is a vestige of ancient societies, he tracks its development from the Paleolithic era to the first and second centuries, when early members of the Christian church regularly "enter ecstatic states and perform healing rituals," through the 20th century, as it seeped into "seemingly enlightened spaces" by way of charismatic experts like money managers, who use "their models, degrees, personalities, and superhuman work schedules" to persuade clients that they can "control the uncontrollable." Singh makes especially insightful points about how shamanism has engaged in a somewhat contradictory dance with religion, first influencing it and then threatening to siphon away adherents who crave a rawer spiritual experience. He frames the current spike of interest in trance, spirit possession, psychedelics, and other nontraditional forms of spirituality as a continuation of this search for "spiritual relief" in a society where institutionalized religion has lost appeal. Combining meticulous research and an excellent grasp of psychological and sociocultural theories, Singh paints a panoramic portrait of a little-understood subject.
