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Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos

ISSN 1626-0252

2 papers in the library · 1 citation · publishing 2018-2024

Papers

Montrer pour cacher : la transmission d’un savoir rituel shuar (Amazonie équatorienne) dans le contexte néo-chamanique

Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos February 14, 2024 Katarzyna Zajda

Contemporary Shuar shamanism is both plastic and adaptable, serving a heterogeneous clientele that increasingly includes Western patients. In neo-shamanic rituals inspired by New Age religion, the shaman faces a paradox: traditionally, effectiveness depends on silence, as the shamanic experience is too complex and multi-sensory to describe and must remain secret. Yet European patients require explanatory discourse to believe in the shaman's efficacy. The shaman bridges this gap through simple speeches that often echo patients' own propositions, transposing into a discursive register the acts of mystification traditionally performed with objects. This constitutes a dissimulation that hides its own secret.

DOI: 10.4000/nuevomundo.70134 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Shuar shamanism Neo-shamanism Ritual action Ritual discourse +1