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Review of : Stone, Alby “Explore Shamanism”.
Explore Books / Heart of Albion Press, Loughborough, UK, 2003. Pbk. xi, 184pp.
Illus, Bibliography, Index. ISBN 1-872883-68-0. r.r.p. £9.95
This is the latest in Heart of Albion’s series, which
introduce topics relating to folklore and mythology. Readers of journals such as
3rd Stone and At The Edge, will be familiar with the author and this
work is certainly an excellent addition to his oeuvre.
The book starts off with a chapter which analyses the various definitions of what shamanism is and who a shaman is and what he or she does. This is not as straightforward as it may seem as the term has been used for a wide variety of practices in various cultures. For the purposes of this book he has decided that the term should only be used for those people called “Shaman” in their own culture and where the practices have a long history. However, this definition does not preclude the author from discussing other people who have been described, by analogy, as Shamans in other cultures by outsiders such as anthropologists.
Stone then continues with a detailed look at the place of
the shaman in literature and theory. This shows that shamans have been known and
written about in Scandinavian culture since about 1,000 years ago. However, the
first published eyewitness account of a shamanic performance dates from the mid
16th century. The position of the shaman in literature has changed
from noble savage, to devil worshipper, a sufferer of mental illness, a pre-civilisation
survivor to the present day where it has been incorporated into New Age
discourses in the West. In academic institutions there has been an upsurge in
shamanic studies as well, with much debate especially relating to the nature of
the shamanic experience itself.
This experience is fore grounded in the third chapter on
being a shaman, where the author describes the main shamanic practices, how a
shaman is chosen (and by whom) and has a detailed look at gender issues relating
to shamanism. This is actually fairly central to many forms of shamanism, as it
sometimes (but not always) involves some form of transgression of socially
defined gender boundaries, either through cross-dressing, gendered behaviours,
sexuality and so forth. His description here also reinforces the fact that there
is no “ideal” form of shamanism, as it takes on many forms and variations
and there is no single form that can be said to be the archetype. The following
chapter continues this theme with a consideration of the differing costumes,
tools and musical devices that shamans employ in their performances. Again there
are wide variations but most tools embody items that can be said to be useful in
the shaman’s ascent or descent into the two main spirit worlds. This chapter
is well illustrated; my own regret is that budget constraints prevent the use of
colour illustrations.
Shamanic performances are Stone’s next main topic. Here
he spends some time discussing the role of hallucinogenic drugs in the shamanic
rituals. He concludes that they are neither essential nor exceptional, but
rather the shaman partakes of the same drugs (if any) that the rest of his
culture enjoys. This participatory nature of shamanism is in contrast to some
modern, neo-shamanistic, practices in the West. He also shows that trance and /
or ecstasy are not essential in the performance, but may be employed in some
societies, and that neither are they the same experience. As for the
“reality” of the spirit worlds that the shaman visits, this is not really an
issue. All that matters to the participants is that the shaman, by whatever
devices, gives the impression that he or she has made the journey and done
whatever was necessary there. That outside observers don’t see any sign of the
spirits is of no consequence to the participants.
Having mapped out what constitutes shamanism in our present
age, Stone takes a look at the on-going debates over the pre-history of
shamanism. The problems here are quite awkward. Almost by definition shamanism
was originally employed in pre-literate societies, so there is no record of its
beginnings. Secondly attempts to use paleolithic rock art as “evidence” for
shamanistic practices is highly contentious. We simply cannot read off our
interpretations of drawings made thousands of years ago on cave walls and assume
that the original artists shared them. We simply don’t know. For those wanting
archaeological evidence the problem is in the nature of the artefacts. Much of
the costume and tools of present day shamans is of a highly biodegradable
nature. There is also an element of bricolage about the assemblages of objects
incorporated into any particular shaman’s costume, so even if one found
various items in a grave for example, one couldn’t necessarily identify them
as coming from a shaman’s costume. Equally, we cannot assume that present day
shamanic costumes share any features of those from previous era. The best early
evidence that appears to have been found is some rock art in Siberia, from about
4,000 years ago which appears to show scenes and objects that are now associated
with shamanism.
Stone concludes his text with a look at the various forms
of what are best described as neo-shamanism. This has blossomed, mainly in the
West, as an offshoot of 50’s and 60’s counter-culture (although 90’s
counter culture has also seen elements of shamanism. These neo-shamanisms are
either individualistic (“Core Shamanism” which isolates what its founder
considers to be the essential elements of shamanism – which, of course, misses
the point about it being integral to the societies that practice it) or which
have been grafted onto other religious and occult revivals, in the forms of
Northern Tradition Seidr; Celtic shamanism, Chaos magic and so forth. Stone
doesn’t denigrate these as being inauthentic, rather sees them as a new form
that shamanistic practices has taken. However, whether they last as long as the
Siberian and Central Asian forms remains to be seen.
To complete the book Alby Stone provides both a list of
books and periodicals for further reading and a comprehensive bibliography. In
the space available I would say that Stone has accomplished all that he set out
to do. He gives a very readable and detailed description of what shamanism is,
the outlines of the academic debates surrounding it and where it may be going in
the future. For anyone who needs an introduction to the subject I doubt if there
is a better text at present. This isn’t a how-to-do-it manual, for that
you’ll need to look elsewhere, but for anyone wishing to understand what
shamanism is all about, here’s where to start.
Excellent
8/10
Richard Alexander