The Nature of Shamanism: Substance and Function of a Religious Metaphor [Paperback]

Michael Ripinsky-Naxon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 1993

[The author] explores the core and essence of shamanism by looking at its ritual, mythology, symbolism, and the dynamics of its cultural process. In dealing with the basic elements of shamanism, the author discusses the shamanistic experience and enlightenment, the inner personal crisis, and the many aspects entailed in the role of the shaman.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is provocative! It is a 'thinking book'; the reader cannot remain passive. It makes one realize that truths are constantly being rediscovered in all cultures throughout all time how we create culture and how culture in turn creates us the circle of truths, ancient and modern. I was sometimes awestruck by the comprehension of the author. A profound and powerful work, I enjoyed it to the last sentence." Lana Clark, Ph.D.

"Among the two or three best books on shamanism in the world....I use it as a textbook in my classes." Dr. Stanley Krippner Professor, Saybrook Graduate School -- Publisher Comments

Michael Ripinsky-Naxon's The Nature of Shamanism is a masterful reexamination of the roots of shamanism that supplements - and, in some ways, rivals - Mircea Eliade's classic study Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. A comparison to Eliade's work is unavoidable, partly because both books are monumental scholastic treatises on the universal nature of shamanism, and partly because Ripinsky-Naxon's central premise - that psychotropic substances are at the root of shamanic metaphor - directly challenges one of Eliade's principal assumptions - that psychotropic shamanism was a relatively recent, degenerate development...I recommend The Nature of Shamanism both as a valuable counterbalance to Eliade's Shamanism and as one of the best-documented cross-cultural studies of shamanism available anywhere. At the very least, this volume should spark a revolution in the academic study of shamanism - challenging more scholars to open their minds to the world of psychotropic shamanism -- Timothy White, Shaman's Drum, No. 36, Fall 1994

The author challenges Mircea Eliade's position as the designer of the manual on shamanism, and introduces another grasp on the subject which goes beyond Eliade's historico-textual approach to the psychological and structural roots of the phenomenon complex...[Ripinsky-Naxon's] book is an important contribution to the shamanic literature at the same time as it will turn out to be, no doubt, controversial.... Here is a fascinating account of shamanism from points of view that we have little heard of. Dr. Ripinsky-Naxon has placed shamanism in focus of religion, demonstrated its close connections with different religious aspects and symbols, and outlined its functions as "a religious metaphor." It is an impressive work...He has given us an interesting theoretical manual for shamanic studies -- Ake Hultkrantz, Journal of Prehistoric Religion, Vol. 8, 1994

This is not a book for the uninitiated who seek a popular account of "the nature of shamanism." Those familiar with the subject, however, will find much that is interesting in this scholarly study of "the meaning and configuration of shamanistic metaphors" which is the result of the author's "long-standing interest in the phenomenology and philosophy of cultural metaphors and symbolic forms." This book requires careful reading. For example, consider the author's statement of purpose [p. 2]. "I have attempted here an integrated examination of the substantive aspect of shamanism as a phenomenology of religious experience and of its cultural function as a metaphor in myth, religion, art, and language. These to me represent both the dynamic factors and products of the ongoing hominizing process. I have also endeavored, in part, to confront the transformational forms and processes involved in the development of the precognitive, unconscious, magico-religious responses and their gradual transformations into cognitive experiences, which, through a maze of verbal and nonverbal symbols, such as ritual behavior, result in the articulation of mystical states, as well as in the ultimate numinous essence."...The book has 20 black and white illustrations, 46 pages of notes, an extensive bibliography, and an excellent index. It will be a useful reference for students of shamanism -- John Rashford, Economic Botany, Vol. 49, 1995

From the Publisher

This book is provocative! It is a 'thinking book'; the reader cannot remain passive. It makes one realize that truths are constantly being rediscovered in all cultures throughout all time - how we create culture and how culture in turn creates us - the circle of truths, ancient and modern. I was sometimes awestruck by the comprehension of the author. A profound and powerful work, I enjoyed it to the last sentence.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (May 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791413861
• ISBN-13: 978-0791413869
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far, the best book to be found on the subject, September 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nature of Shamanism: Substance and Function of a Religious Metaphor (Paperback)

A fundamental work for those beginning their study of shamanism, as well as an essential volume for the initiated, The Nature of Shamanism offers a singularly thorough and profound treatment of the subject. Densely written and filled with seemingly endless layers of meaning, it can be used as a reference and should be read again and again. Each time I return to this book with a new level of understanding, it is as if I am reading each section for the first time, as new and more profound meanings are revealed.

I could not agree more with this reviewer's comments: "This book is provocative! It is a 'thinking book'; the reader cannot remain passive. It makes one realize that truths are constantly being rediscovered in all cultures throughout time - how we create culture and how culture in turn creates us - the circle of truths, ancient and modern. I was sometimes awestruck by the comprehension of the author. A profound and powerful work, I enjoyed it to the last sentence."
-- Lana Clark

This book is an invaluable contribution to the field, and I would readily recommend it above all others.