Shamanic Roads
Carole Pegg
Drones, Tones, and Timbres January 9, 2024 DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252045455.003.0008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | Shamanic performances use vocal, instrumental, and bodily vibrations to create place, summon spirits, and heal clients, with client participation necessary for the process. |
Abstract
Chapter 7. Shamanic Roads are spiritual pathways established by shamanic origins, bestowal of the shamanic gift, and power. This chapter compares traditional and contemporary initiation journeys and describes how shamans use song-chants, recitative, drone-partials vocal music and timbral sounds to create place in relation to spirit actors, nature, and landscape. It discusses the improvisational creativity of shamanic performances in combining these timbral sounds with vocalizations, spirit embodiment and mimesis; vibrations, spinning and seeing; and sonic modes of travel. Finally, a case study analyses the healing rituals (mental health, infertility, terminal illness) and reclamations of place of Altaian shaman Arzhan Közörökov when creating, opening, and unblocking a client’s road, noting that spirit actors are summoned and enlivened by vocal, instrumental, and bodily vibrations and that client contributions are necessary for healing.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain changes during a shamanic trance: Altered modes of consciousness, hemispheric laterality, and systemic psychobiology A normal subject with extensive training in the Mongolian shamanic tradition | 2017 | Case study | n = 1 |
| The Diaspora of Brazilian Religions | 2013 | Ethnographic case studies | |
| Transformation in Dang-ki Healing: The Embodied Self and Perceived Legitimacy. A male dang-ki, 10 temple assistants, and 9 clients at a shrine in Singapore | 2016 | Case study | n = 20 |
| (Neo)Shamanic Dialogues Members of a Guarani Indian village on the Atlantic coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil | 2012 | Case study | |
| Kambô: A Shamanic Medicine - Personal Testimonies | 2018 | Case study |