The Shaman's Needle: Development, Shamanic Agency, and Intermedicality in Aguaruna Lands, Peru
Shane Greene
American Ethnologist November 1, 1998 DOI: 10.1525/ae.1998.25.4.634 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that shamanic curing, often perceived as static by development discourse, actually exhibits dynamic cultural agency. The analysis of an Aguaruna shamanic session reveals practices that challenge static views of ethnomedicine, supporting the concept of intermedicality and the active role of native practitioners in medical development. |
Abstract
In this article I juxtapose and integrate three distinct but interrelated lines of analysis: (1) a critique of “development” with respect to its (misconceptions of ethnomedicines as epistemologically and practically (that is, culturally) static; (2) an explication of how shamanic curing epitomizes such perceived stasis; and (3) an ethnographic analysis of a specific shamanic session (originally presented by Brown [1988]) conducted by an Aguaruna shaman whose discourse and practice, when contextual ized and fully explored, undermine (misconceptions of stasis. The article employs a notion of intermedicality to examine medical development, demonstrating the important social agency executed on the part of native practitioners. I discuss implications for theorizing indigenous culture and the importance of an ethnographic approach , [development, shamanism, ethnomedicine, culture change, medical anthropology, Amazonia]
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- 'Everybody's creating it along the way': ethical tensions among globalized ayahuasca shamanisms and therapeutic integration practices. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 2023
- Encounters with Sorcery: An Ethnographer's Account Anthropology & Humanism November 21, 2010
- Exploration of trance states: phenomenology, brain correlates, and clinical applications Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences May 9, 2024
- Altered vision: Ayahuasca shamanism and sensory individualism Current Anthropology April 1, 2021
- The woman who chose the terreiro. Lay care and medical landscapes in mental health care in Rio de Janeiro. Anthropology & medicine December 1, 2022
and 10 more in the library