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 alternative medicine. Shamanism; a richly illustrated guide; looks at both historic and present-day manifestations; from the snowscaps of Siberia to the jungles of the Amazon.The book discusses visions; initiation rites; shamanic chants; shamanism and mental health; the shamanic use of plants; and the political and social background to the shaman’s work. Also covered are the links between the shaman’s sense of unity in nature and the recent growth of ecological consciousness in Western societies.* Includes more than 250 color illustrations that present a unique pictorial record of shamanism in practice and as represented in art and artifacts* Includes a detailed region-by-region survey of shamanism with full-color maps* Explores both spiritual and psychological aspects of the subject; as well as the relevance of shamanism to contemporary Western culture
#1015534 in Books University of Oklahoma Press 1992-09-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .69 x 6.00l; .99 #File Name: 0806119616272 pages
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. EXCELLENT SERVICE.By James L.NO PROBLEMS. EXCELLENT SERVICE.1 of 4 people found the following review helpful. love it. Dyed in the wool SouthernerBy Southern galAgain; love it. Dyed in the wool Southerner.13 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Insights of RefugeesBy Darell ClemWhile some reviewers hold to the strictly politically correct philosophical worldview given by the victors of the Conflict Between the States; Southerners had a philosophy which they were willing to die for; regardless of how others want to impose their own antagonist's view on to them. This book gives an unpopular view; in the modern mindset; of the values of Southerners; namely their independent spirit and love of chivalry. Their personal reasons for defending their homeland can only be buried by prejudiced opinions artificially imposed on the records of what Southerner's conveyed as their actual "to the death" beliefs; who dared to stand in the way of the Manifest Destiny Doctrine; as historical records prove; was the original motivation to recapture the South.Statements as; "The book also seems a bit too sympathetic to people who were after all deeply racist; going into exile rather than accepting the freeing of the slaves. It supports the traditional version of a Reconstruction of Carpetbaggers and Scalawags; oppressing the South after the war; rather than the more recent revisionist view that Reconstruction was largely positive but failed because of a southern backlash." shows a total disregard and arrogant hatred for the Southern people that were pillaged and the families that suffered from war atrocities such as General Sherman's march the sea...people robbed by marauding armies that left them to starve to death. The opinion that the Reconstruction was anything but a period of racial manipulation for the victor's revenge (because by war's end; bitterness replaced the "Manifest Destiny" motivation); which instigated racial animosity lasting even until modern times; was purely an act of the victors wrappings themselves in self righteousness propaganda. The opportunity to bring all sides together for restructuring the inherited society of the South was missed; leaving the Southern economies in shambles well the 20th Century.This book reveals how Southerner's continued to be treated inhumanly with the subversive activity of the Northern Government supporting the Mexican uprising against Emperor Maximillian's attempts to modernize Mexico; with the help of Confederate refugees. Mexico's economy had collapsed leaving huge debts to Europe and opening the door for Napoleon III to take possession of the country. While Maximillian was misled into believing he was loved by the Mexican people; his plans to modernize Mexico would have been a better future than resulted in the return to rule by oligarchies. This book shows how he was loyal to the end; refusing to abandon the country he had adopted when given the chance and the continued abuses to the Southern refugees.
