More ancient than Hinduism or Buddhism, shamanism is followed in diverse ways throughout the world by peoples fortunate enough to have been overlooked by the institutional religions. Variously described as medicine men, witch doctors or oracles, shamans perform mystical rituals to mediate between the physical and spiritual realms on behalf of their flock.
Shamanism is the traditional religion of most of Nepal's native ethnic groups, and while many have adopted at least outward forms of Hinduism or Buddhism (depending on their location), it is still widely practiced in the eastern and western hills. In Nepali, the generic words for shaman are jhañkri and dhāmī, although each ethnic group has its own term as well. Forms and practices vary from one tribe to another, but a jhañkri and dhāmī - usually carrying a double-sided drum and often wearing a headdress of peacock feathers - is always unmistakable.
The jhañkri and dhāmī's main job is to maintain spiritual and physical balance, and to restore it when it has been upset. As a healer, he may examine the entrails of animals for signs, gather medicinal plants from the forest, perform sacrifices, exorcize demons, and chant magical incantations to invoke helper deities, or conduct any number of other rituals. As an oracle, he may fall into a trance and act as a mouthpiece of the gods, advising, admonishing and consoling listeners. As the spiritual sentry of his community, he must ward off ghosts, evil spirits and angry ancestors - sometimes by superior strength, often by trickery. All this, plus his duties as funeral director, dispenser of amulets, and teller of myths and consecrator of holy ground and so on, put dhāmī and jhañkri at the very heart of religious and social life in the hills. Little wonder that Hinduism and Buddhism have been so shaped in Nepal by these shamanistic traditions, producing a unique melting pot of religions.
“ Shaman” means a generalized or undifferentiated religious practitioner, one who combines general contact with the supernatural realm and application of this contact, particularly in curing. Such a practitioner is generally associated with those characteristics that have been mentioned as setting him apart qualitatively from the priest. “Priest” means a religious practitioner specializing in ritual and priest may be distinguished from a generalized practitioner or shaman, and from other specialized practitioners, such as the diviner, the prophet, and the specialized curer. It is also important to establish that, where he makes his appearance, the shaman engages not only in individual curing, but also in a particular form of group ceremony or ritual which we recognize as a shamanistic performance or séance. This shamanistic ritual typically incorporates such elements as spirit-possession, soul-flight, ventriloquism, and movement of objects, all effected by the shaman, whose behavior combines frenzy and trance, while the assembled laymen remain passive observers. A shamanistic performance in these particulars differs from a typical priestly ritual, which might be described as formal worship since it involves a reverent formalism that excludes virtuosity. In these terms, it is difficult to see in a priest a specialized shaman, for a priest's professional activities appear to fall entirely outside the range of shamanistic behavior.
In summary, shamans were the world's first healers, therapists, and mystics, who over tens of thousands of years developed a family of diagnostic, ritual, imaginable, medical, pharmacological, and psychotherapeutic techniques, some of which were merely superstitious but others of which clearly foreshadow contemporary methods. Shamanism should be vigorously researched and its few remaining tribal cultures protected. If not, then as the U.S. Congress's International Cultural Survival Act stated “immense undocumented repositories of ecological, biological, and pharmacological knowledge will be lost as well as immeasurable wealth of cultural, social, religious and artistic expression.” (Encyclopedia of Psychology, 1994) As shamanism exists admixed with Christianity, Islam or Buddhism in many areas, Shaman also publishes articles dealing with the relationship of shamanism to these world religions. Shaman is a semiannual journal (90-100 pages per issue) of a strictly academic nature, publishing original articles written in English. In addition, Shaman publishes reviews of current books, films, videos, records, tapes and CDs, accounts of works in progress and announcements of coming events.
Sex and Drugs may be the bane of youth, but they are two legs of the Primordial Religion known as Tantra. Tantra is a movement that transcends sectarianism. It is found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Shamanism, the three principal religions of Nepal. We will be "participant-observers" of all degree of these traditions. The degree of your participation in Buddhist meditation, Ganja puja with Hindu Sadhus or Shamanistic entheogenic journeys is entirely voluntary, but the opportunity is there. You will, in any case, be an observer and our small group will meet daily both formally and informally for philosophical dialogue in which we share and reflect on our experiences and observations. Most of your fellow travellers will probably have had some exposure to some of these traditions in some form. We will reflect on how these premodern orientations can be integrated into a postmodern lifestyle.
Your guides are a Tantric/Taoist couple with advanced degrees in philosophy, psychology, comparative religion and art. Their experience in contemplative traditions, including Tantra and Shamanism, goes back three decades. Alexander
is quite familiar with Indian culture, having lived there several years as a sadhak (Tantric Yogi). |
