Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation
Anthropology & Humanism December 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-1409.2010.01067.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Reflective essay or personal narrative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key points | Argues that a personal shift in consciousness, resulting from a direct encounter with the unseen world, can transform an anthropologist's relationship to their work and benefit the discipline by moving beyond disengaged paradigms. |
Abstract
SUMMARYFrom over 20 years of working with shamans and their apprentices in northern Peru and the United States, this article describes my own journey from scientist and skeptic to humanist and adept. It tells of the fundamental shift in consciousness I experienced as a result of a specific instance in which the veil between the seen and unseen worlds temporarily lifted, allowing me to engage with Spirit in new ways. It presents, as a result of this shift, the struggles I have faced in redefining my own relationship to my work as an anthropologist. Finally, it suggests some of the advantages to our discipline that can come from thinking outside the paradigmatic box that has, for much too long, kept us disengaged from the world in which we live.
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 | |
| Shamanism and the Origins of Spirituality and Ritual Healing | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Towards a Post-colonial Reflection on Shaman and Shamanism as Conceptual Tools in Biblical Studies Religion and Theology December 10, 2019
- Grasped by the Spirit: An Anthropological and Theological Understanding of an Existential Religious Experience Religions May 19, 2026
- Shaman Pots, Sympathetic Magic, and Spinning Souls among the Medio Period Casas Grandes: Altered States of Consciousness in Other-than-Human Persons Religions March 27, 2024
- The Future of a Discipline: Considering the Ontological/Methodological Future of the Anthropology of Consciousness, Part IV: Ontological Relativism or Ontological Relevance: An Essay in Honor of Michael Harner Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2012