A Shaman's Cure: The Relationship Between Altered States of Consciousness and Shamanic Healing¹

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis study, which is based upon ethnographic data collected between 1999 and 2008 in Nepal, examines the connection between the shaman's altered states of consciousness (ASC; i.e., what goes on inside the healer's mind/brain) and therapeutic changes that take place in the patient's mind/body. Unlike other studies that primarily emphasize the shaman's internal psychological state, this article attempts to explain the role of the healer's ASC and elucidate how desired therapeutic changes depend upon patient-healer interactions. This question is explored in the context of a healing ritual highlighting various aspects of the cosmology of Nepalese shamans. k e y w o r d s : symbolic healing, altered states of consciousness, spirit possession, nepal, shamanism & i n t r o d u c t i o n Since 1999 (Figure 1), I have investigated shamanic practices among various ethnic groups and Hindu castes in Nepal (Chhetri, Jirel, Sherpa, R ai, Gurung, and Tamang). What specifically caught my attention while observing numerous shamanic healing rituals were the dynamic interactions that take place between the entranced shaman, the invisible supernatural beings called upon,

Biological foundations and beneficial effects of trance

“…Altered states of consciousness can influence healing by other means. Trance may promote health by psychophysiological or psychoneuroimmunological means (Sidky 2009). The theatrical and ritual aspects of shamanic practices can strengthen the patient's belief in the shaman's power, as stressed by Singh, and in turn maximize psychoneuroimmunological effects for healing.…”

A ritual by any other name

“…Altered states of consciousness can influence healing by other means. Trance may promote health by psychophysiological or psychoneuroimmunological means (Sidky 2009). The theatrical and ritual aspects of shamanic practices can strengthen the patient's belief in the shaman's power, as stressed by Singh, and in turn maximize psychoneuroimmunological effects for healing.…”

Bearing the Decline of Animal Sacrifice: Enhanced State of Consciousness, Illness, Taboos, and the Government in Southwest China

“…For instance, the notion of symbolic healing suggests that the therapies developed through healing rituals are primarily psychosomatic in nature (McClenon :64–67; Winkelman ), and in turn, psychosomatic illnesses tend to respond well to social support and the sense of inclusion and comfort that healing rituals provide (Eisenberg ). Aiming to further specify such dynamics, Sidky asks how the shaman's altered state of consciousness brings about changes in the patient's mind/body (:172). In manipulating cultural symbols, the shaman brings into play dramatic symbolic imagery, metaphor, evocations, and so on.…”

“…In so doing, he activates beliefs and expectation in his patients in terms of their society's conceptions of illness and health (c.f. Peters :53) and creates linkages between the patient's body, society, and the spirit world (Sidky : 186–188). These activations and linkages are thought to elicit emotional and cognitive effects and trigger a psychoneuroimmunological response in the patients (Laughlin, McManus, and d'Aquili :193).…”