Skip to content

A shamanic etiology of affliction from western Nepal.

G G Maskarinec

Social Science & Medicine September 1992 DOI: 10.1016/0277-9536(92)90010-n (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Shamanism
Key points Argues that Nepali shamanic oral texts articulate a coherent, precise etiology of affliction spanning physical to metaphysical causes, and that their recitation in every diagnostic and healing session instructs patients and the public in this system, thereby validating shamanic intervention and reproducing worlds that require it.

Abstract

As a central feature of every ceremony, Nepali shamans (jhãkris) publicly recite lengthy oral texts, whose meticulous memorization constitutes the core of shamanic training. These texts include passages that explain the origins of diseases and afflictions, and provide elaborate instructions for their alleviation. Through a discursive analysis of key passages, I demonstrate that shamans possess a coherent etiology of affliction. These concepts are articulated as integrated parts of the treatments that shamans perform. Rather than attributing all afflictions to ambiguous other worldly causes, these shamanic etiologies identify precise sources and effects that cover a spectrum ranging from the purely physical to the purely metaphysical, intersecting the natural and supernatural worlds. Patients and the public are repeatedly instructed in this unambiguous system of affliction in every diagnostic and healing session, since these ceremonies always incorporate recitations of the relevant texts. Accessible to non-specialists, the system conveyed by these recitations acts to validate shamanic intervention as a significant and intelligible activity. Using their oral texts, shamans effectively reproduce worlds that require shamanic interventions.

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 4

Related reading

Explore topics

Shamanism