Studies on Shamanism

Description

In this book the authors made a selection of their essays concerning Siberian/Eurasian shamanism. The strong emphasis on the comparative approach which stresses the different historical forms of shamanism distinguishes this contribution from other studies on the subject. The eight essays of Part I are arranged under the following headings: Siberian and Inner Asian Shamanism; The Siberian Shaman’s Technique of Ecstasy; Two Types of Shamanizing and Categories of Shamanic Songs; Finnish Rock Art, Animal Ceremonialism and Shamanic World-view Singing of Incantation in Nordic Tradition; Shamanic Themes in Finnish Epic Poetry; Shamanic Knowledge and Mythical Images by Anna-Leena Siikala. In Part 2, Mihaly Hoppal summarizes his essays in the following chapters: Shamanism: An Arctic and/or Recent System of Beliefs; On the Origin of Shamanism and the Siberian Rock Art; Pain in Shamanic Initiation; Traces of Shamanism in Hungarian Folk Beliefs; The Role of Shamanism in Hungarian Ethnic Identity; Changing Image of the Eurasian Shamanism; Ethnographic Films on Shamanism; Urban Shamans: A Cultural Revival.