A Study of Visual Symbolic Perception in Shamanic Rituals
Hang Sun, Eunyoung Kim
ECAH Official Conference Proceedings September 25, 2022 DOI: 10.22492/issn.2188-1111.2022.10 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | A sample group that experienced a model of religious rituals constructed from religious symbols |
| Intervention | model of religious rituals constructed from religious symbols |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | The authors report that visual symbols significantly generate perceptual experience in religious rituals, specifically through abstract and empathic symbols producing what they describe as an experience of 'arrogance.' They argue that religious symbols serve as an overlooked bridge between personal and religious perception in shamanic ritual research. |
Abstract
Shamanism is a primal shape that transcends ordinary consciousness as a cross-cultural phenomenon. From the universal analysis of Shamanism. During the process of religious rituals, shamans use visual elements, such as costumes and masks, to form a spatially based graphic narrative relationship that generates an experience of sacred perception. However, the study of shamanic rituals has focused on anthropology and neurotheology. Previous research has neglected the importance of religious symbols as a bridge between personal and religious perception. This study, therefore, explores the spatial construction of visual symbols in shamanic rituals as well as the connections and interactions between visual symbols and behavioral perception. In the research process, a sample group was used to experience a model of religious rituals constructed from religious symbols. Thereafter, a questionnaire was administered for the qualitative analysis of the emotional variables of the sample group. The results show that visual symbols significantly generate the perceptual experience in religious rituals. Through abstract and empathic symbols to produce a perceptual experience of arrogance. This research on religious symbols can help understand the inheritance and protection of shamanism. Furthermore, it may provide theoretical support for the visual perception of symbols and transmission of emotions.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |