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Shamanic Cosmos

From India to the North Pole Star by: Romano Mastromattei , Antonio Rigopoulos

The papers study aspects of Shamanic cosmology as found diffused in Eurasion environments, inquiring into Shamanic trance/ecstatic experience, the cosmos as viewed by the Shaman and his mysterious power among the spirits.

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ISBN: 9788124601068
Year Of Publication: 1999
Edition: 1st
Pages : x, 252
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 23 cm.
Weight: 600

Overview

Is ‘shaman’ a magical operator? Or could he be a psychic, an exorcist, a bio-energo- therapeutist, a fortune teller, an intermediary between the world of spirits and a human collectivity, a cultural hero, or just a mysterious, nameless person? Notwithstanding decades of extensive researches into the bewildering shamanic practices, we are still looking for a precise, acceptable description of this thaumaturge, called shaman — leave alone a valid explanation of the baffling shamanic phenomena and, yet beyond, of its cosmology. What, then, is the shaman-linked ‘ism’: shamanism? Is it an infra-religion, a spirit- possession cult, or a religion in its own right? Or, how far is the shamanic cosmos directly involved in a religious cult? Addressing afresh these and other related questions, a group of eminent scholars from different European countries here tries to capture some of the highly gripping aspects of shamanic cosmology, diffused in varying Eurasian environments. This book is essentially the outcome of an International Symposium: October 1996, Venice, Italy. lncluding new investigative studies of both the traditional authentic shamanism and neo- shamanism, in diverse local situations: ranging from the frozen plains of Siberia to the jungles of Orissa, from the Himalayan valleys to the islands of Indonesia, the authors describe shamanic trance/flights/ecstatic experience; how a shaman envisions the true nature of the cosmos, beyond its trivial appearance; and how, through his mysterious power, he can move among the dead men, spirits and gods. An unbiased inquiry into the intriguing, yet heart-stirring, shamanic phenomena, it is certainly a work of absorbing interest to ethnologists, social/cultural anthropologists, shamanologists, historians of religion, and general readers alike.

Contents

Preface
— Antonio Rigopoulos
Introduction
— Romano Mastromattei
1. Cosmos as Everyday Reality in Shamanism : An Attempt to Formulate a More Precise Definition of Shamanism
— V. N. Basilov
2. The Tauntheman Naq Festival : An Example of Ritual Burmanization Through the Naq Cult
— Benedicte Brac de la Perriere
3. Shamans and the Sphere of the ‘Pure’ among the Kalasha of the Hindu Kush
— Augusto Cacopardo
4. The Celestial Ride
— Gian Giuseppe Filippi
5. Bidhi Sambah Gru Dham : Music as Ordering Factor of Khmer Religious Syncretism
— Giovanni Giuriati
6. Shamanism in Siberia Today
— Mihaly Hoppal
7. Is There a Shamanic Cosmology?
— I. M. Lewis
8. Cosmicizing the ‘Beyond’
— Marcello Masenzio
9. The Shamanic Quality of Space
— Romano Mastromattei
10. Say Pom: Space, Movement and Symbol in a Himalayan Therapeutic Ritual
— Martino Nicoletti
11. A Look at the New Shamans
— Galina Ogudina
12. Forms of Possession in the Marathi Cultural Area : The Cases of Khandoba and Dattatreya
— Antonio Rigopoulos
13. Architecture and Water in Newari Culture : Spaces Dedicated to the Cult and Gathering of Water in Kathmandu valley
— Valerio Sestini
14. The Horse and the Journey to Heaven of the Shaman and of the Vedic Sacrificer
— Giovanni Torcinovich

Meet the Author
avatar-author
Dr. Romano Mastromattei is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Tor Vergata, Rome. A scholar and author of international renown has been carrying out researches in Nepal, and is the Founder and also present Director. of the CIRSE (lnter-University Centre of Research on Euro-Asian Shamanism -- a centre instituted by a group of six Italian Universities, which coordinates Shamanic Studies.
Books of Romano Mastromattei
avatar-author
Dr. Antonio Rigopoulos is a reputed historian of religions and philosophies. Having had a two-year stint as Assistant Professor of Indology at the California University, Santa Barbara, he is now engaged in research work at the University “Ca’ Foscari” of Venice. Currently Secretary General of the Venetian Academy of Indian Studies (V AIS}, Dr . Rigopoulos is the well-known author of several books and articles on Sai Baba of Shirdi and Lord Dattatreya. His preferred field of research in India is Maharashtra and northern Karnataka.
Books of Antonio Rigopoulos