Hungarian shamanism, material and history of research
Jenö Fazekas
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis August 1, 1967 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67026 (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 shamanistic survivals in Hungarian folk tradition can be used to reconstruct an important segment of pre-Christian Hungarian religion and intellectual culture, and that these survivals should be compared foremost with Siberian and other Eastern shamanism, while also accounting for Central Asian and South-East European contacts, pre-existing local beliefs, and Christian overlays. |
Abstract
It is claimed that it is possible to recover an important segment of the religion of pre-Christian Hungary and its intellectual culture by attempting to isolate the shamanistic survival in Hungarian folk tradition. According to certain scholars this shamanistic element came from the East some thousand years ago to the region now dominated by Hungarian folk tradition along with the migrant Hungarians. It should consequently be compared foremost with shamanism in the Eastern lands where the Hungarians originated and where shamanistic beliefs and practices were living until quite recently, principally Siberia. At the same time, however, one must also take into account the contact between the invaders and other tribes in Central-Asia and South-East Europe. Furthermore, the Hungarians encountered and underwent the influence of beliefs that already existed in the land of their adoption before their arrival. Finally, all these traditions were again modified and overlaid by Christian ideas and customs.
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 2
- The Way of the Táltos: A Critical Reassessment of a Religious-Magical SpecialistPota taltosov: Kritično ovrednotenje posvečenca v religijo in magijo Studia Mythologica Slavica November 23, 2022
- Identification of hallucinatory themes in the Late Neolithic art of Hungary. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 1989