Shamanism in Southwest Native American Cultures
Shamanism: Archaic? Modern? Accurate? In this essay I will explore key questions about the nature of the shaman, as reflected in class readings and external sources. What Is a Shaman? This question continues to be debated in anthropology and religious studies. In some ways this reflects the usefulness of the term. It is now a mainstay concept in anthropology. At the same time there has been a consistent criticism of the label “shaman,” as described by Mircea Eliade, as being simply an idealized type rarely encountered in the field. Scholars of religion are similarly finding shamanic elements in religious practices, if not actual individuals labelled as shamans. On top of all this shamanism has seen a minor resurgence in the west, testing the assumption that shamanism is limited to tribal or primitive societies. Beck et al see the shaman as the holder of “secret,” tra...