Shamanism as an experiencing of "the Unreal"
Odd Nordland
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis August 1, 1967 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67028 (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 the shaman's ecstasy and trance are induced by intensifying monotonous auditory and motoric stimulation plus emotional induction from the surrounding crowd, and that the shaman's special social and cultural position makes these phenomena extremely difficult to approach through observation and experiments. Suggests that steadily increasing monotonous stimulation in modern mechanized civilization provides other situations that raise problems for fertile meditation on the subject. |
Abstract
Our usual conception of the shaman is, indeed, that he employs monotonous effects to fall into ecstasy and arrive at the state of trance: he sings and dances alone, or along with others. The auditory stimulations and the motoric movements, in increasing intensity, and the emotional induction from the crowd around him result in his falling into a trance in the end, and the disconnecting of higher cerebral centers: his "soul" journeys, released from the body. It is now that he is said to be capable of relating experiences which we cannot judge on the basis of our "knowledge", experiences which he and those present, on their part, accept as knowledge. The special position of the shaman, and the specific social and cultural situation which is the background for his contribution, make it extremely difficult to approach phenomena like ecstasy and the trance through observation and experiments. But there are other methods. In our technical and mechanized civilization, monotonous stimulation is steadily increasing, and a considerable number of situations exist which have raised problems for fertile meditation on this subject.
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 |