- Paperback: 640 pages
- Publisher: Arkana; New edition edition (27 July 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140191550
- ISBN-13: 978-0140191554
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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101,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #38 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Occult > Shamanism
- #67 in Books > Mind, Body & Spirit > Earth Based Religions > Shamanism
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
Eliade writes of the shamans with that masterly combination of sympathy and detachment. . . . . [His] findings will almost certainly be echoed by great voices of the future. -- "New York Times Book Review
Eliade is the most informative guide to the modern mythologies. -- Frank Kermode, New Statesman
[A] close and detailed yet comparative study of shamanism. . . . [It] has become the standard work on the subject and justifies its claim to be the first book to study the phenomenon over a wide field and in a properly religious context. -- "Times Literary Supplement
Clearly the best work on Shamanism published so far. -- "The Review of Religion --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Eliade is the most informative guide to the modern mythologies. -- Frank Kermode, New Statesman
[A] close and detailed yet comparative study of shamanism. . . . [It] has become the standard work on the subject and justifies its claim to be the first book to study the phenomenon over a wide field and in a properly religious context. -- "Times Literary Supplement
Clearly the best work on Shamanism published so far. -- "The Review of Religion --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
Clearly the best work on Shamanism published so far.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
SINCE the beginning of the century, ethnologists have fallen into the habit of using the terms "shaman," "medicine man," "sorcerer," and "magician" interchangeably to designate certain individuals possessing magico-religious powers and found in all "primitive" societies. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
SINCE the beginning of the century, ethnologists have fallen into the habit of using the terms "shaman," "medicine man," "sorcerer," and "magician" interchangeably to designate certain individuals possessing magico-religious powers and found in all "primitive" societies. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't normally write reviews for books but felt the one review giving one star for this book to be so unjust that it deserved a more balanced addition.
This book is a scholarly meticulously researched study of the various practises of shamanism throughout the world. It does not provide you with a description of the techniques of how to be a shaman, nor how to have an ecstatic journey, nor how to have an out of body experience, which is presumably what the one star reviewer was looking for. Instead it provides a detailed description of shamanism as it was and is practised.
There are over 50 pages of reference works on which Eliade drew in order to provide this summary, which groups his findings by region as well as by certain common practises - parallel myths symbols and rites.
There are descriptions of the 'rebirth' experiences of shamans [the genuine near death experiences, not the common interpreation now used of born again]; the practises of healing, the travels of the shaman in out of body experiences, their roles as psychopomp and their practise of healing via 'soul retrieval'. He also describes 'soul loss' and what it means to each group.
The amount of carefully researched detail that is provided is astonishing, it is almost a life's work but carefully organised into this relatively compact volume. It draws on the work of anthropologists and the better and more serious researchers of religions, as such it is also reliable in its findings.
Personally I found this book to be a treasure house of information - but then I bought the book knowing what it contained and what I was going to use it for.
To summarise - an invaluable scholarly work on shamanic practises throughout the world over the ages .
This book is a scholarly meticulously researched study of the various practises of shamanism throughout the world. It does not provide you with a description of the techniques of how to be a shaman, nor how to have an ecstatic journey, nor how to have an out of body experience, which is presumably what the one star reviewer was looking for. Instead it provides a detailed description of shamanism as it was and is practised.
There are over 50 pages of reference works on which Eliade drew in order to provide this summary, which groups his findings by region as well as by certain common practises - parallel myths symbols and rites.
There are descriptions of the 'rebirth' experiences of shamans [the genuine near death experiences, not the common interpreation now used of born again]; the practises of healing, the travels of the shaman in out of body experiences, their roles as psychopomp and their practise of healing via 'soul retrieval'. He also describes 'soul loss' and what it means to each group.
The amount of carefully researched detail that is provided is astonishing, it is almost a life's work but carefully organised into this relatively compact volume. It draws on the work of anthropologists and the better and more serious researchers of religions, as such it is also reliable in its findings.
Personally I found this book to be a treasure house of information - but then I bought the book knowing what it contained and what I was going to use it for.
To summarise - an invaluable scholarly work on shamanic practises throughout the world over the ages .
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Originally written in 1964, and a translation. A difficult read, but if you are studying anthropology or shamanism, your bookshelf will not be complete without the works of this author. Considered a source book and often quoted from, this is an academic work of some importance, despite being published over 40 years ago. A longer book and broader in content than "Rites and symbols of initiation". Contains examples and comparisons from many cultures of the central themes of shamanic practises, such as initiation, recruitment and regalia.
18 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Eliade's wide-ranging study of shamanism is a classic in shamanic literature. This historic and academic thesis is perfectly complemented, in my view, by Ross Heaven's book, The Journey To You, which makes this shamanic perspective accessible and useful in modern life. Eliade shows how shamanism is powerful and useful in all societies, while Heaven makes it a vital practice to the modern urban West.
Eliade's is one of the best books i have read in terms of content, though it can be a long read! But well worth the effort.
Eliade's is one of the best books i have read in terms of content, though it can be a long read! But well worth the effort.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Thorough, well-written text on Shamanism. Still the classic.
This is a substantial work on Shamanism, most particularly in Central Asia and including specific nuances in tribes and variations of, also extending to other regions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by scholarlyfemme
PLENTY OF 'WHAT', NOT ENOUGH - SUBJECTIVE I KNOW - 'WHY'
Difficult to comment as I didn't finish it. Was a little, in fact 'a lot', more academic in tone and style than I had anticipated. Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by Easily Me
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