The Shaman and his Universe
Routledge eBooks July 13, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003405009-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Describes don Juan Matus as a "brujo" who, in Castaneda's account, used shamanistic techniques to enter a supernatural dimension for meeting spirit allies and Mescalito and for transforming into animal shapes, a realm where ordinary concepts and categories no longer apply. The text notes that hallucinogenic plants have been widely documented. |
Abstract
The Indian, don Juan Matus, said he was a brujo , a term which connotes a sorcerer, or one who cures by means of magical techniques. Born in Sonora, Mexico, in 1891, he spoke Spanish ‘remarkably well’, but appeared at the first meeting to be unimpressed with Castaneda’s self-confidence. Carlos Castaneda found many of don Juan’s ideas and techniques strange and irrational. The world of the sorcerer contained mysterious, inexplicable forces that he was obliged not to question, but had to accept as a fact of life. The brujo employs various shamanistic techniques in order to gain access to supernatural territory, a dimension where he is able to meet his spirit allies and Mescalito and to transform into bird or animal shapes, and where the ‘rules’ are somehow less precise and the concepts and categories applicable to normal reality, no longer relevant. The variety and rich cultural application of hallucinogenic plants has been widely documented.