Ecospirituality in Indigenous Shamanism: Exploring Myth, Ritual, and the Spiritual Connection with Nature in Mamang Dai’s Escaping the Land
C. Preha, V. M. Berlin Grace, Cyjetha Cycil, Arnest Kharmawlong, T Shiny Karunya, A.P. Abisha, D David Wilson
Interdisciplinary Literary Studies August 1, 2026 DOI: 10.5325/intelitestud.28.3.0307 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | Argues that Indigenous ecospirituality in Mamang Dai's Escaping the Land operates as a decolonial counter-discourse, reclaiming ecological knowledge suppressed by colonial and postcolonial structures and challenging anthropocentric modernity. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Ecospirituality embodies the sacred interdependence between humans and the natural world, drawing from indigenous cosmologies, ritual practices, and mythic traditions. For communities negotiating the pressures of colonialism, modernity, and cultural erosion, these beliefs constitute vital systems of identity, memory, and ecological ethics. Yet, scholarly documentation on the ritual, shamanic, and mythological dimensions of Indigenous cultures in Northeast India remains limited. This study examines ecospirituality in Mamang Dai’s Escaping the Land, analyzing how shamanic practices, cosmological stories, and symbolic figures such as the Rainman articulate an Indigenous philosophy of environmental reciprocity. Through a qualitative textual and ethnographic reading, the paper foregrounds how the narrative reclaims ecological knowledge suppressed by colonial and postcolonial structures. The study argues that Indigenous ecospirituality operates as a decolonial counter-discourse that challenges anthropocentric modernity and restores relational modes of understanding the environment.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |