Shamanism
Morten Axel Pedersen
The Oxford Handbook of the Anthropology of Religion February 19, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780191822285.003.0029 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mongolia and Inner Asia |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Proposes that shamanism can be conceived as an ultimate theory of change, with its unique theoretical potential residing in its capacity to be simultaneously 'a thing' and 'not a thing.' |
Abstract
Abstract Despite repeated pronouncements concerning its imminent death as a topic worthy of anthropological attention, shamanism has experienced a revival. However, it has not been subject to or the vehicle of much new and influential theorizing. Based on ethnographic work in Mongolia and Inner Asia, this chapter seeks to do some of the conceptual groundwork for a workable theorization of shamanism. The chapter suggests that shamanism can be conceived of as the ultimate cosmology or indeed theory of change that could potentially end all theories of change. Change, after all is the essence of transition, and the shamans and their spirits are optimally capable of rendering this immanent ontological lability visible, and, possibly, livable. It is precisely in this capacity for being simultaneously “a thing” and “not a thing,” the chapter argues, that the unique and not yet fully harnessed theoretical potential of shamanism resides.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |