A Study of Shamanism in the Nuba Mountains

The Structure of Sinhalese Healing Rituals

“…14 The convergence of the cultural manifestations of possession and epileptic fits raises important questions (see Nadel, 1946). The entry into trance states, the simulation of epileptic fits, the tom-tom beating, all seem very similar in Africa, Asia, or Haiti (Metraux, 1959:1208. There is a similarity between being hit by vas or falling under the power of the deity (dishtiya vetanava).…”

“…8 In particular LeVi-Strauss advocates the application of the key concepts of structural linguistics to the study of myths, which are to The author is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. 1 In some cases these two approaches have been brought together in a stimulating fashion (e.g., Fortes 1945; Gough 1959;Leach 1958;Nadel 1946Nadel , 1954, but in others they have remained complementary methods whose results may not be mutually compatible (e.g., Gough 1955).…”

The Monsters of Pergouset

“…Pergouset, as we have seen, is the most extreme example of fantastic animal decoration and we may reflect that while such figures are not confined to this region or to this period the greater number that occur in the department of Lot at this date indicate a local phenomenon -a fashion, perhaps, for imbibing hallucinogenic drugs or a record of an exceptional ability in a probably small group of the local population. A situation that has, of course, been postulated in another context for Shamanism (Nadel 1946).…”

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

“…Through most of the 20th century, one question that occupied researchers was whether or not the shaman's “trance state” (i.e., ASC) is genuine or contrived (Eliade 1964:33–36). Some were sure of the authenticity of this phenomenon, while others characterized shamans as actors who were role‐playing (Shirokogoroff 1935:362; Nadel 1965). Surprisingly, this still remains a topic of discussion.…”