The sound picture of the Saami shamanic drum
Rolf Kristoffersson
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis 1991 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67202 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Preserved Saami shamanic drums |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | The author argues that studying the sound of the Saami shamanic drum, rather than only its pictorial drumhead, offers new insight, and reports that signs of usage across preserved drums are surprisingly consistent. The drum produces low-frequency, high-amplitude tones, which the author suggests transfer more energy into the nervous system than other instrumental sounds. |
Abstract
Research on the Saami shamanic drum has mainly concerned the pictorial world of the drumhead. Therefore, studying the sound picture may give new insights into the Saami Shamanic drum. In my study of the Saami drum I have tried to find the answer to two questions: 1) Is it possible to detect the sound pictogram from some of the drums preserved? 2) Are there marks of usage which might indicate what kind of sounds the users preferred? A comparison of the different drums shows that the signs of usage are surprisingly consistent. The drum sounds reach the receptive organs in the human ear in a range of low but strong tones, with low frequencies but high amplitude. This means that more energy is transferred into the nervous system than with various other types of instrumental sounds.
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 |