The State Oracle of Tibet, Spirit Possession, and Shamanism
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India, including the medium of the State Oracle of Tibet and other spirit mediums |
| Duration | Five years |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | Argues that the oracular phenomenon and its practitioners, such as the Nechung medium, are examined within Tibetan Buddhist cosmology and socio-political context, questioning whether they can be categorized as shamans. |
Abstract
This paper is based upon five years of ethnographic research among the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India, and extensive interviews with the medium of the State Oracle of Tibet and other spirit mediums. It investigates the nature of the oracular phenomenon and its place in the Tibetan Buddhist cosmology as well as the socio-political role of the Tibetan State Oracle, or Nechung. The topics explored include spirit possession, shamanism, and spirit mediums. The central theoretical question addressed is whether or not magico-religious practitioners such as the medium of Nec- hung and other Tibetan spirit mediums can legitimately be categorized as shamans.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- From hostage to host: the spirit possession, mediumship, and gender relations in Chitral, Pakistan Journal of Humanities Social and Management Sciences June 30, 2023
- "You're My True Vessel": Knowledge and Digital Fan Culture Discussed on the Basis of Mediumship and Possession in Supernatural's Narrative and Fandom Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture December 6, 2014