Yanomami Shamanic Initiation: The Meaning of Death and Postmortem Consciousness in Transformation
Zeljko Jokic
Anthropology of Consciousness May 1, 2008 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-3537.2008.00002.x (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 Yanomami shamanic initiation is a process of 'corporeal cosmogenesis' where the shaman's body becomes a cosmic body inhabited by spirits, and that after death the shaman's soul multiplies through these spirits, allowing the initiatory cycle to continue. |
Abstract
ABSTRACTThe main aim of shamanic initiation among the Yanomami people of the Upper Orinoco River region in Venezuela is the metamorphosis of the human body into a cosmic body, or what I term “corporeal cosmogenesis.” During the initiatory ordeal, the neophyte undergoes an intense experience of death through dismemberment by the spirits and subsequent rebirth, thus overcoming the human condition and becoming an individual living spirit. But, at the same time, he becomes a “collection” of other spirits who leave their natural habitats—located on the mountaintops and in the forest—and move into the initiate's body, which becomes their abode. As the candidate surrenders his soul and humanness to the spirits, the latter become his personal allies and sources of power while imbuing the shaman's postmortem ego with certain properties that can best be described in holographic terms. After the shaman's biological death, his personal spirits become disembodied again and disperse back into the forest and on the mountaintops. When the shaman dies, his soul multiplies, as each of the disembodied spirits becomes a carrier of the shaman's soul image. In this way, through initiations, the shaman becomes a part of a dynamic cosmic circuity, as his hekura can be called upon to invade the bodies of new shamans, and start a cosmogonic initiatory act anew.
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 6
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- "Between Realness and Unrealness": Anthropology, Parapsychology and the Ontology of Non-Ordinary Realities November 7, 2015
- Engaging the anomalous: reflections from the anthropology of the paranormal What is Paranormal? April 2, 2016
- Psychedelia in the United States: An Ethnographic Study of Naturalistic Psychedelic Use December 1, 2020
- Shamanism and Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences The Oxford Handbook of Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences May 22, 2024
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