Elders, Healers & Shamans

1. Elders, Healers & Shamans Rels 120 14 January 2014

2. 3 Key Patterns in Indigenous Traditions rels 120 - appleby • The sacred life force, creator or spirit is present in all living things • In human persons, in every animal, in plants, trees, mountains, water and the earth • Everything that exists is animated by the sacred spirit = ANIMISM • Everything is united in kinship with everything else – no hierarchy of importance • Indigenous rituals celebrate and strengthen this sacred kinship of spirits

3. 2nd Key Pattern rels 120 - appleby • In addition to the ordinary experience of time and space, there is Sacred Time and Sacred Space • Sacred time is circular and cyclical • Rituals bring sacred time and events into the present reality, e.g., “Dreamtime,” Uluru (Ayers Rock); http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/447/video • Sacred spaces provide openings between the spirit world and the earthly world • They may be centres of sacred power, or holy mountains or symbolic constructions

4. Uluru, Ayers Rock, Australia rels 120 - appleby

5. Stonehenge (UK) rels 120 - appleby

6. 3rd Key Pattern rels 120 - appleby • Respect for sacred origins, gods and the spirits of ancestors • Creation stories are central myths that reveal something about sacred reality • Specific tribal origins may be linked to the creation story and represent elements of creation • Spirits of all sorts influence life on earth – acting out punishment or reward • Rituals aim to satisfy or appease ancestral spirits and gods, e.g., Kung dance “n’umtchai”; http://www.der.org/films/num-tchai.html

7. David Kinsley says that“healing is a central concern”for most religions rels 120 - appleby Serious illness raises questions about human existence • the meaning of life • contexts of birth, death, loss, grief • the place of human persons in the cosmos or universe

8. Many cultures believe thatbodily healthis related to spiritual health • If I am physically sick, that indicates spiritual illness • Health is related to morality • Am I sick because I am a bad person? • Am I sick because I have done something wrong? Healing involves restoring spiritual harmony, correcting my behaviour or rebuilding broken relationships rels 120 - appleby

9. Spirituality  illness  morality If • physical illness is due to spiritual malaise • or moral evil or immoral behaviour then • healers in many cultures will tend to be religious specialists • shamans • priests • prophets • sages • spirit mediums • spiritual healers • herbalists rels 120 - appleby

10. SHAMANS rels 120 - appleby • Healing experts • plant-based medicines • bonesetting, bleeding, massage • healing rituals • potent charms • Source of healing power = mastery of spiritual techniques • knowledge of, direct communication with, ability to travel within, spirit world

11. Scene from The Journals of Knud Rasmussen rels 120 - appleby Video clip on the life story of an Inuit shaman, click here http://www.indigenouspeople.net/inuit.htm

12. Discuss the story of the Inuit Shaman.These questions may help you in this task: rels 120 - appleby Describe the powers of a shaman. What kinds of experiences and activities are regarded as shamanic? What is a “taboo”? What happens when taboos are broken? What is then required? Who were the Shaman’s “helping spirits”? What was his “song of joy”? Why do human seek protection from spirits? What ritual actions are performed to “satisfy” the souls of animals? What else did you find significant in the Shaman’s story?

13. ECSTASY rels 120 - appleby mastery of ecstasy is primary healing technique of shamans ec = out of, or beside • state of consciousness outside of self • often in a trance • soul travels out of shaman’s body • for purposes of diagnosing illness and seeking or winning person’s healing

14. SPIRIT TRAVEL rels 120 - appleby • Purpose of travel: • to communicate with the gods • to communicate with the dead - ancestors, spirits of the dead • to communicate with spirits that dwell in the land of the living • Primary healing expertise lies in this ability to travel throughout the spirit world

15. PURPOSE OF TRANCE rels 120 - appleby • seek out other spirits • converse with them • argue, combat, plead with, convince, & influence their actions with regard to the lives of human beings • see actions & motivations of other shamans & sorcerers who may be the source of attacks on the ill person

16. ILL PERSON rels 120 - appleby Shaman also sees into the body and spirit of the ill person • what is the status of their spirit? • what spiritual objects have been shot into them? • what is the cause of their illness? Foundational Belief: spirits in the spirit world & in the land of the living impinge upon people and events

17. ILLNESS & HEALTH rels 120 - appleby Both sickness & health depend on spiritual causes, sources or beings E.g., deities, demons, ghosts, animal spirits, plant spirits, ancestors • angry god or spirit • lonely deceased ancestor • jealous neighbour • angered animal or plant spirit Cause of illness: stealing soul of person or shooting objects into person

18. INITIATORY ORDEAL rels 120 - appleby A shaman’s initiatory ordeal often involves an illness or a disintegration of the self: • undergo symbolic death & rebirth • in a trance, ritually, ceremonially, or near-death physical experience of illness • soul travel, tour of the cosmos, receive gifts & powers, return to self & body, regain bodily & spiritual health • transformed by experiences • reborn as a shaman

19. Shamanism & Spirit by Edith Turner rels 120 - appleby There was a sick man whose spirit was failing. He travelled under the sea ice to the door of the seal house where he encountered people sitting in a circle. The seal people taught the sick man for a full year about shamanism. When he returned to his sick bed, only one hour had passed, and he recovered to become a healer for his people.

20. SOURCES OF ILLNESS rels 120 - appleby curse object shot into person tensions and hostilities between people possession by spirit spiritual disorder

21. SUMMARY rels 120 - appleby • unbreakable connection between body and spirit of ill person • spirit world causes illness • healing occurs within spirit world • healer diagnoses source of illness • combats illness on a spiritual level • healing and religious rituals inextricable from one another

22. …in Edith Turner’s words rels 120 - appleby “When a healer puts her hands on suffering human tissue, this is an act of actual spiritual connection with the other…connectedness can carry energy and power from person to person…Through this connectedness, people receive the shaman’s powers and are healed.”

23. Caption: Ju/'hoansi or !Kung San in healing trance laying on hands. Kalahari Desert, Botswana Photographer: Marjorie Shostak APSHO_1802 rels 120 - appleby

24. Shamanism : an encyclopedia of world beliefs, practices, and culture rels 120 - appleby Walter, Mariko Namba / Fridman, Eva Jane Neumann Publisher ABC-CLIO 2004 Read “Colonialism and Shamanism” by David Chidester STFX Macdonald Library Reference Collection In library use only Call Number GN475.8 .S445 2004 2 copies

25. Photos of the Kalahari !Kunghealing dance may be found atAnthroPhoto Image Gallery http://www.discoverlife.org/ap rels 120 - appleby Search page = http://www.anthrophoto.com/cgi-bin/ImageFolio31//imageFolio.cgi Using search terms “kung” and category “humans”: http://www.anthrophoto.com/cgi-bin/ImageFolio31//imageFolio.cgi?search=kung&cat=Humans&bool=and&x=10&y=11 Photos: APDEV_1030; APDEV_1031; APSHO_1802; APDEV_0792