“My heart sang within me, and I was glad to be dead”: The Reception of Near-Death Experiences Across the Cultures of Oceania.
Journal of Near-Death Studies 2018 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2018-36-3-p135-160 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Comparative survey (historical and ethnographic analysis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Documentary accounts from Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia recorded by mid-19th to mid-20th century missionaries, explorers, and ethnographers |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | Argues that near-death experiences appear in Polynesian and Melanesian documentary accounts alongside myths directly referencing the phenomenon, while they are almost entirely absent in Australia and Micronesia, where afterlife journey myths instead typically have shamanic contexts. The author attributes these patterns to cultural and religious differences in burial practices, attitudes toward the dead, and shamanic traditions. |
Abstract
A comparative survey of how near-death experiences (NDEs) intersected with afterlife myths and shamanic practices, as reported in the mid-19th to mid-20th century by missionaries, explorers, and ethnographers of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia, reveals various culturally distinct patterns. In Polynesia and Melanesia, documentary accounts of NDEs are found alongside myths and beliefs that directly refer to the phenomenon. In contrast, in Australia and Micronesia NDEs are almost entirely absent, and afterlife journey myths instead typically have shamanic contexts. I argue that these dynamics can be explained by reference to certain religious and cultural particularities, including differences in burial practices, variations in attitudes towards the dead, and diversity of shamanic traditions.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |