The Cave Library

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Directory to The Cave Library:
• The Shamanism Library.
• The Celtic Studies Library.
• The German/Nordic Studies Library.
• General Information Library.
• Visit other libraries of The Lighthouse:
  • The Lighthouse Library.
  • Physical Studies Library.

• Here's an opinion expressed by one of the moderators on the soc.religion.shamanism newsgroup. We think it's a pretty good statement on how to proceed with your investigation of Shamanism.

  I have found it good practice to look first to your own traditions. In the case of those of us with mixed Indo-European ancestry, the traditions may have become mostly lost, but records have also been left behind and there are always a few families which carry some of the older ways (although very quietly).

  Such expressions as "the four directions", "the four winds", "the world tree", "the world pillar", "the Otherworld", "ascent of Soul", "descent "walking between the worlds", and "ecstasy" have a long tradition in the West. Under orthodox religions with their emphasis on form and the 'motions' and 'words' of ritual, much of the actual experience has gone underground. Having a working knowledge of the Classical Myths, of Norse and Celtic Mythology, with a dash of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian lore can be very useful in providing a "symbolic bank" from which experiences might be recognized and interpreted. Expanding out to include the traditions of other Eurasian peoples among the Siberian and Uralic peoples we get the words "kam" noyete, tietja, and shaman. Please note that shaman is a word from Siberia. Many Native Americans honestly believe it is from North America.

  There are also some surprising sources of information out there. For instance, if you are Roman Catholic, try taking a look at Carmelite spirituality, especially St. John of-the-Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. St. Hildegard of Bingen is also a fascinating study of a traveler between the worlds.

  Finally, Take a look at Joan Halifax, Holgar Kalweit, Juha Pentikainen, Shirley Nicholson, and especially Mircea Eliade's SHAMANISM: ARCHAIC TECHNIQUES OF ECSTASY. (It makes good background reading, but is admittedly very academic.) Find out why, whenever the subject of Shamanism is raised, the first area of the world examined is Siberia and perhaps also Central Asia. Then, IMHO, other areas of the world can be useful in helping to fill in the gaps. By the time you get to this stage, when you go out to discuss you will find that you have much to share. Sharing stories opens many doors with traditional peoples because you do not arrive with empty hands, but with an open heart.

  Dean Edwards

• General Overview of Shamanism. This is an FAQ specifically written for anyone encountering Shamanism for the first time.

Books:

• Animal Speak. Ted Andrews.
• The Four-Fold Way: Walking The Paths of The Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary. Angeles Arrien
• Zuni Fetishes. Using Native American Objects For Meditation, Reflection, and Insight. Hal Zina Bennett.
• By Oak, Ash, and Thorn. D.J. Conway.
• Shamanic Voices. Joan Halifax.
• The Way of The Shaman. Michael Harner
• The Jivaro: People of The Sacred Waterfalls. Michael Harner
• Hallucinogens and Shamanism. Edited by Michael Harner.
• Drumming At The Edge of Magic. A journey into the spirit of percussion. Mickey Hart and Jay Stevens.
• Soul Retrieval: Mending The Fragmented Self. Sandra Ingerman.
• Shaman, Healers, and Medicine Men. Holger Kalwert (spelling?)
• Urban Shaman. Serge King.
• Native Healer. Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzlybear).
• Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions. Lame Deer & Richard Erdoes
• The Celtic Shaman. John Matthews. (Paperback: IR+9.99 - UK+9.99 - US$14.95apx). Celtic Shamanism derives for the native traditions of North-West Europe. The Shamanic contributions of the Celts and their predecessors has been overlooked until now, and is one of the last Shamanic traditions to be explored. In this important new book by John Matthews presents for the first time the techniques and methods of Celtic Shamanism which, while it shares common elements with American, Australian and Siberian teachings, derives entirely from Celtic source material. The Celtic Shaman offers a varied and practical plan of self-tuition for those interested in Celtic mythology and the Western mysteries.
• Earth Medicine. Kenneth Meadows
• Medicine Way. Kenneth Meadows
• Shamanic Experiences. Kenneth Meadows
• Mircea Eliade: Eliade is extremely important in the study of Shamanism and religions. In 1982 he was the Distinguished Service Professor in the Divinity School and professor at the University of Chicago.
• Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Eliade.
• A History of Religious Ideas. Volumes 1 and 2. Eliade.
• The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structures of Alchemy. Eliade.
• Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural Fashions. Eliade.
• The Quest: History and Meaning in Religion. Eliade.
• The History of Religions. Eliade.
• Ordeal by Labyrinth. Conversations with Claude-Henri Rocquet (an interview with Eliade).
• Shamanism. Edited by Shirley Nicholson.

• Juha Pentikainen

  • 93-215323: Northern Religions and Shamanism. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado; Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society, 1992. xv, 214 p.: ill.; 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: BL685 .N67 1992.
  • 91-176089: Uralic Mythology and Folklore. Budapest: Ethnographic Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society, 1989. 365 p.: ill.; 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: BL975.F8 U73 1989.
  • 90-114112: Cultural Minorities in Finland. An overview towards cultural policy. Helsinki: Finnish National Commission for Unesco, 1985. 113 p.: ill.; 21 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: DL1018 .C83 1985.
  • 88-46031: Kalevala Mythology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, c1989. xix, 265 p.: ill.; 25 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: PH326 .P4613 1989.
  • 86-106045: Lonnrotin Kalevala. [Helsinki]:Opintotoiminnan keskusliitto, c1985. 80 p.: ill. (some col.); 21 x 22 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: PH325 .P4 1985.
  • 82-189722: Cultural Pluralism and The Position of Minorities in Finland. A study. 2nd ed. Helsinki: Finnish National Commission for Unesco, 1981. 111 p.; 21 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: DL1018 .C84 1981.
  • 80-492324: Oral Repertoire and World View. An anthropological study of Marina Takalo's life history. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia: [sold by Akateeminen Kirjakauppa], 1978. 366 p., [1] fold. leaf, [2] leaves of plates: ill.; 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: GR1 .F55 no. 219.
  • 79-387512: The Nordic Dead-child Tradition. Nordic dead-child beings. Helsinki, Suomalainen tiedeakatemia, 1968. 388 p. maps, tables. 4 leaves of maps. 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: GR1 .F55 no. 202.
  • 77-376949: International Society for Folk Narrative Research Congress (6th: 1974: Helsinki, Finland) Folk narrative research: Some papers presented at the VI Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1976. 371 p., [4] leaves of plates: ill.;25 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: PH107 .S8 no. 20.
  • 76-513320: Uskonnollinen Liike: Suomalaisia Tapaustutkimuksia. [Helsinki]: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1975. 290 p.: ill.,maps; 19 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: BR943 .U85.
  • 74-180639: The Division of The Lapps Into Cultural Areas. Helsinki, Finnish Society for the Study of Comparative Religion, 1972. 135-151 p. illus., maps. 25 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: DL971.L2 P38.
• Medicine Cards. The discovery of power through the Way of The Animals. Jamie Sams and David Carson
• Secrets of Shamanism. Jose Stevens, PhD and Lena S. Stevens
• Piers Vitebsky. An anthropologist and Head of Social Sciences at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge (England). For 20 years he has carried out field work in tribal India, Sri Lanka and Siberia and speaks several local languages.
• 94-72921: The Shaman. New York, Toronto, London: Little,Brown and Company. First American edition. ill., 184 p., photographs, index. (List price: $14.95) ISBN 0-316-90304-3.

  REVIEW:

  Yesterday I was able to get hold of an excellent overview of Shamanism around the world. It is printed on high quality paper and is wonderfully illustrated with many photographs which were not previously available.

  "The shaman occupies a key role as a healer, mediating between the world of the living and the world of spirits, and is a potent figure in the increasingly important areas of alternative medicine and new religion. This book is a richly illustrated guide to the world of Shamanism today and in the past, from the snowscapes of Siberia to the jungles of the Amazon."

  "Themes explored include visions, initiation rites, Shamanic chants, Shamanism and mental health, Shamanic use of plants, and the political and social background to the shaman's work, from the Stone Age to post-Communist Russia. Also covered are the links between the shaman's sense of unity in nature and the recent growth of ecological consciousness in Western societies. At the core of this book are key questions about the mysterious realities that fall outside the rationalist, scientific tradition."

  "Illustrations include color photographs of modern Shamanism in practice in a variety of cultures around the world, records of Shamanic art and artifacts, and a wealth of historic archive images, including cosmological maps and other equipment. Many of the images are previously unpublished."

  At the back of the book, on tinted paper, is a fascinating commentary on sources, as well as a useful index of addresses and a directory of peoples discussed in the text. In glancing through the book I found the description cited above to be accurate and strongly recommend this to anyone with a serious interest in Shamanic studies. This is destined to be a classic introduction to the study of Shamanic traditions. This is a good one to recommend to your local librarian.

  He includes a lot of material on contemporary neo-Shamanism along with an excellent overview of traditional and historical Shamanism. In the thread "Er where to begin" the point was made that many older Shamanic lines are dying out around the world. There also seems to be somewhat of a re-emergence going on as well among traditional shamans. However, Vitebsky points out that Shamanism constantly adapts to changing situations and his observations on neo-Shamanism are worth a look.

  Reviewed by Dean Edwards (a moderator on newsgroup soc.religion.shamanism).

• The Four Winds: A Shaman's Odyssey Into The Amazon. Alberto Villaldo and Erik Jendresen

Articles on Shamanism

Citations in the Magazine & Journal Articles database.

• Hamayon, Roberte N. The Eternal Return of The Everybody-for-himself Shaman. A fable. (from 'God, Meaning, and Democracy') (Wisdoms of Enchantment: Contemporary Forms of the Sacred). Diogenes, n166 (Summer, 1994):99 (11 pages). Abstract available.
• Sim Woo-Sung. Shamanist Temples in Seoul. Korea Journal v34, n3 (Autumn, 1994):77 (5 pages). Abstract available.
• Riches, David. Shamanism: the key to religion. MAN v29, n2 (June, 1994):381 (25 pages). Text available.
• Walsh, Roger. The making of a shaman: calling, training, and culmination. Journal of Humanistic Psychology v34, n3 (Summer, 1994):7 (24 pages). Abstract available.
• Steadman, Lyle B.; Palmer, Craig T. Visiting dead ancestors: shamans as interpreters of religious traditions.. Zygon v29, n2 (June, 1994):173 (17 pages).
• Farrell, Dianne E. Shamanic elements in some early eighteenth century Russian woodcuts. Slavic Review v52, n4 (Winter, 1993):725 (20 pages). Abstract available.
• Orenstein, Gloria F. The "problematics" of writing about sacred ritual and the spiritual journey. Women's Studies Quarterly v21, n1-2 (Spring-Summer, 1993):22 (16 pages). Abstract available.
• Orenstein, Gloria F. Letter to Christine Downing. Women's Studies Quarterly v21, n1-2 (Spring-Summer, 1993):42 (6 pages). Abstract available.
• Surin, Kenneth. Transform the world, change life: Michael Taussig's poetics of destruction and revelation. (analysis of 'Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man') South Atlantic Quarterly v92, n2 (Spring, 1993):261 (34 pages). Abstract available.
• Grayson, James Huntley. The accommodation of Korean folk religion to the religious forms of Buddhism: an example of reverse syncretism. Asian Folklore Studies v51, n2 (Oct, 1992):199 (19 pages). Abstract available.
• McClenon, James. The experiential foundations of Shamanic healing. Nonorthodox Medical Systems: Their Epistemological Claims). Journal of Medicine and Philosophy v18, n2 (April, 1993):107 (21 pages). Abstract available.
• Miller, Alan L. Myth and gender in Japanese shamanism: the 'itako' of Tohoku.. History of Religions v32, n4 (May, 1993):343 (25 pages). Abstract available.
• Sun Soon-Hwa. The vocational socialization of the Korean shaman. Korea Journal v32, n3 (Autumn, 1992):86 (17 pages). Abstract available.
• Johnson, Willard. A recently received Native American shamanistic myth of little spirits. Western Folklore v51, n2 (April, 1992):207 (7 pages). Abstract available.
• Basilov, Vladimir N. Islamic shamanism among Central Asian peoples. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium). Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):5 (14 pages). Abstract available.
• Michailovsky, Boyd; Sagant, Philippe. The shaman and the ghosts of unnatural death: on the efficacy of a ritual. (Nepal). (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium). Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):19 (19 pages). Abstract available.
• Helimsky, Evgeny A.; Kosterkina, Nadezhda T. Small seances with a great Nganasan shaman. (Siberia). (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):39 (17 pages). Abstract available.
• Kim, Seong-Nae. Dances of 'toch'aebi' and songs of exorcism in Cheju shamanism. (Korea). (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):57 (12 pages). Abstract available.
• Hamayon, Roberte N. Stakes of the game: life and death in Siberian shamanism. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):69 (17 pages). Abstract available.
• Jilek, Wolfgang G. The renaissance of shamanic dance in Indian populations of North America. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):87 (14 pages). Abstract available.
• Chaumeil, Jean-Pierre. Varieties of Amazonian shamanism. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):101 (13 pages). Abstract available.
• Guillemoz, Alexandre. Seoul, the widow, and the mudang: transformations of urban Korean shamanism. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):115 (13 pages). Abstract available.
• Matarasso, Michel. Toornarsuk, or shamanism upside down. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):129 (3 pages). Abstract available.
• Heinze, Ruth-Inge. The role and functions of contemporary shamans in Southeast Asia. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):133 (12 pages). Abstract available.
• Mitrani, Philippe. A critical overview of the psychiatric approaches to shamanism. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):145 (20 pages). Abstract available.
• Barbier, Jacques; Barbier-Locquard, Catherine. Shamanism and psychoanalysis (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):165 (3 pages). Abstract available.
• Hamayon, Roberte N. Afterword. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium). Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):169 (12 pages). Abstract available.
• Perrin, Michel. Appendix: the poetic vision of Setuuma, Guajiro shaman. (Shamans and Shamanisms: On the Threshold of the Next Millennium) Diogenes, n158 (Summer, 1992):181 (4 pages). Abstract available.
• Wright, Robin M. Guardians of the cosmos: Baniwa shamans and prophets. (part 2). History of Religions v32, n2 (Nov, 1992):126 (20 pages). Abstract available.
• Milovsky, Alexander S. Tubiakou's spirit flight. (the great shaman of the Nganasan people in northern Siberia). Natural History, n7 (July, 1992):34 (8 pages). Abstract available.
• Hot new age diversion: Shamanism. Rolling Stone, n630 (May 14, 1992):91. Abstract available.
• Overing, Joanna. The shaman as a maker of worlds: Nelson Goodman in the Amazon. MAN v25, n4 (Dec, 1990):602 (18 pages). Abstract available.
• Heissig, Walther. New material on East Mongolian shamanism. Asian Folklore Studies v49, n2 (Oct, 1990):223 (11 pages).
• Sidky, M.H. 'Malang,' Sufis, and mystics: an ethnographic and historical study of shamanism in Afghanistan. Asian Folklore Studies v49, n2 (Oct, 1990):275 (27 pages).
• Wolf, Margery. The woman who didn't become a shaman. (Taiwan). American Ethnologist v17, n3 (August, 1990):419 (12 pages). Abstract available.
• Joralemon, Donald. The selling of the shaman and the problem of informant legitimacy. (commercialization of a Peruvian shaman). Journal of Anthropological Research v46, n2 (Summer, 1990):105 (14 pages).
• Drake, Christopher. A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Soshi. (book reviews). Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies v50, n1 (June, 1990):283 (51 pages). Pub Type: Review.
• Brown, Michael Forbes. Dark of the shaman; the traditional healer's art has its perils. Natural History v, n11 (Nov, 1989):8 (2 pages).
• Rheingold, Howard. Ethnobotany and the search for vanishing knowledge. (Special Section: Plants as Teachers). Whole Earth Review, n64 (Fall, 1989):16 (8 pages).
• Specktor, Mordecai. Shamans or charlatans? Do some teachers of Native American spirituality distort Indians' culture? (new age). Utne Reader, n34 (July-August, 1989):15 (3 pages).
• Tapp, Nicholas. Hmong religion. (Folklore and Folklife of Thailand). Asian Folklore Studies v48, n1 (April, 1989):59 (36 pages).
• Flaherty, Gloria. Goethe and Shamanism. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe). MLN v104, n3 (April, 1989):580 (17 pages).

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• Books:

  • RJ Stewart. There are some 30 books listed here. Also The Merlin Tarot, The Dreampower Tarot, tapes, and CD's.
  • Cowen, James
  • Geoffrey of Monmouth
  • Matthews, John
  • Meadows, Kenneth
  • Monroe, Douglas

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Magazines:

• Magical Blend Magazine: This magazine cuts across many disciplines and viewpoints without prejudice. They deal with anything that will help you on your "Transformative Journey". E-mail: magical@crl.com.
• "The Eden Matrix". Check this out. Lots of resources listed. They include magazines, comics, music, concerts on the Net, etc.

  
  Book Sellers:
  

• The Electronic Bookstore. Gopher to "enews.com".
• Book Stacks Unlimited, Inc. Your local bookstore - No matter where you live.
• Publishers' Catalogues.
• Association of American University Presses.
• Llewellyn Publications.
• Irish Interest Books may be ordered from:
  Read Ireland Bookstore
  342 North Circular Road
  Phibsboro, Dublin 7 IRELAND
  FAX: 353-1835-2389

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About the Curator.
copyright © 1996-2004 G. Pichowsky.