A Grey and Fervent Shamanism
Journal de la Société des Américanistes 1991 DOI: 10.3406/jsa.1991.1370 (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 three bodies of shamanic sung poetry—Pima-Papago dreamt poems about ghosts and the end of the world, Shoshone Ghost Dance songs, and the Aztec Cantares mexicanos—can be understood as both poetry and shamanism. The Shoshone songs are simpler poetically but more thrilling as shamanism, while the Cantares mexicanos are the most poetically complex and have been controversially interpreted as analogous to Ghost songs. |
Abstract
This essay treats three instances of shamanic sung poetry : from the contemporary Pima-Papago, the early 20th century Shoshone, and the 16th century Aztecs. The object is to understand them as poetry and shamanism. The first example, being familiar to the author, is the easiest to interpret : dreamt poems concerned with ghosts and the end of the world. The second, from the famed Ghost dance religion, is found to be simpler as poetry but more thrilling as shamanism. The third, called the Cantares mexicanos, is the most complex poetically and has been controversially interpreted as analogous to Ghost songs. That controversy is reviewed.