My thesis examines from an ethnographic account how history has been made, told and interpreted by the Angaité people of the Chaco since the Paraguayan nation-state effectively carried out the colonization of this territory in the 19th century until the present day. The key elements of this account are the Angaité’s notions and practices on alterity, storytelling and shamanism and how they interplay with one another. I explore the notions of alterity and its counterpart similarity in the context of multiple material transactions in which the Angaité engage both among themselves and with outsiders. I also examine the inseparable socio-moral evaluations attached to such transactions. I show how certain transactions such as exchange or commoditisation do not necessarily conflict with good social relations. Nevertheless, the closest relationships – preferably evoked in kinship terms - are constantly constructed by the combination of several practices including sharing, pooling, cohabitation and companionship and the relational morality that underpins them. This relational morality, I argue, is both inscribed and enacted through the telling of Nanek Any’a narratives –“Old news/events”. I analyze some of these narratives in order to show how the Angaité people interpret the consequences of the colonization of the Chaco. For this I provide an intelligible context for the Nanek Any’a that may otherwise appear contradictory or incomprehensible to a non-Angaité listener. The Angaité’s versions of history compared to the official accounts challenge the simplistic of the Angaité as “acculturated” and a homogenous indigenous people and situate them as main actors of their own lives. Rather than the Angaité being the victims of history the Nanek Any’a emphasize that it was the mistakes and failing of their ancestors in their original encounter with the Paraguayans that resulted in an unbalanced relationship with the latter in socio-economic terms. In addition to this, I describe in the light of the historical processes undergone in the lives of the Angaité, how the shamanic discourses and capacities and Angaité cosmology have changed. I explore how they have constantly incorporated external elements, and thus such shamanic elements pervades contemporary areas of life and interactions that include not only the paradigmatic indigenous shaman, but unusual figures such as pastors, powerful outsiders and leaders.

The thesis discusses a category of cultural heritage that has been labelled "Sami circular offering sites", aiming to establish some basic facts about their origin, distribution and use, as well as their cultural and socio-political context and influence. The stone enclosures in question have been interpreted as Sami offering sites since the mid-19th century, but a discourse analysis of the research history indicates that this may have been based on a scholarly hypothesis rather than ethnographic or archaeological evidence. Furthermore it is questioned if all the structures that are currently included in this category are in fact remains of the same cultural practice. This is investigated through surveys of 81 suggested circular offering sites in Norway, two excavations and analyses of the find material. The large stone enclosures in counties Finnmark and Troms that were first categorised in this way prove to have quite consistent builds and measurements and a find material mainly dating between the 13th and 17th centuries. These structures are here labelled type 1. In contrast, constructions that have later been added to the category, particularly in other areas, have other and less consistent characteristics and seem to include remains of a range of different activities. They are here divided into two generic types 2 and 3. The thesis further discusses alternative interpretations for the type 1 structures, concluding that their materiality, construction, location, topography and finds are consistent with archaeological, historical and ethnographic evidence for wolf traps. Their distribution indicates a regional Sami cultural practice related to inland winter habitation and travel routes, while also apparently coinciding with the Russian/Karelian taxation area in northern Norway in the Middle Ages. Thus the builds may have been inspired by the fur trade or other activities of the latter groups. It is uncertain when exactly the installations fell into disuse, as datings are calibrated to AD 1450-1650. The abandonment could be related to the decline of Novgorod as a fur trade centre, Russian loss of taxation rights in northern Norway, increased Swedish impact in the inland areas and Norwegian activity along the coasts, which all led to changes in administration, taxation, trade patterns and demand for furs. The contemporary decimation of the wild reindeer population, increased reindeer herding and introduction of new weapons like crossbows, guns and foothold traps, may all have made permanent trapping installations less useful. The sites may, however, have gone out of use at different times. Certain finds of marrow split bones, very recent coins and other objects suggest a later reconceptualisation of some structures as offering sites, whether as a local explanation or inspired by the later scholarly definition. Throughout the thesis, the construction and distribution of the archaeological category and the preference for the ritual or religious interpretation are discussed as results of specific socio-political contexts, where stereotypical notions about Sami identity and culture have had a strong impact. The thesis explores how academic and other narratives influence each other within certain discourses of power and indigenous "rights and rites", and the continuous mutual impact on individual actions and emotions through networks of people, power and things. The present reinterpretation challenges existing academic and local narratives. It is based on the materiality of the structures, but the offering site explanation is not positively refuted. Yet, as part of an authorised heritage discourse, the present statement is more likely to impact future categorisation and practices than other narratives within other discourses, expressing a persistent and inherent power inequality. This may be ethically problematic in the context of an indigenous minority, but it may also be argued that the role of the archaeologist expert is precisely to expose the insisting materiality of the past and the power/knowledge networks that promote specific narratives about it.

L’étude d’un centre de soins énergétiques montréalais offrant un rituel de guérison révèle le besoin de composantes symboliques dans l’expérience de guérison. À partir de l’expérience rituelle et de la subjectivité des participants, mes objectifs seront de comprendre les raisons et les besoins d’une telle quête thérapeutique dans le contexte de la société québécoise. Dans cette perspective, je m’interroge sur la production de sens qui émane de représentations symboliques étrangères à la culture québécoise (chamanisme et alchimie) et ses répercussions sur l’expérience de guérison. Ces formes de subjectivités et d’actions thérapeutiques affirment une quête de sens face à la maladie que la communauté médicale ne peut soutenir. Dans cette quête de sens face à la maladie, le rituel du cercle de guérison s’impose comme une activité symbolique où le sujet, individuel ou collectif, met en scène son image, son identité et ses valeurs. Cet espace thérapeutique fournit une forme d’agentivité et un lieu pour remettre en question l’autorité médicale. J’examinerai donc le contexte et les raisons pour lesquels les gens se tournent vers ce type de soins, le symbolisme de la guérison et la place du rituel dans l’imaginaire des participants. En élucidant le contexte culturel et le sens que prend le rituel dans la vie des participants, je pourrai illustrer les opérations symboliques menant à la construction des expériences de guérison. / The study of an energetic cares center who is offering a healing ritual in Montreal reveals the need of symbolic components in the healing experience. Starting with ritual experiences as well as subjectivities of individuals, the aim of this presentation is to understand the needs and the meanings of such therapeutic itineraries in the context of contemporary Quebec. The growing popularity of alternative medicine such as neo-shamanic healing circle reveals the needs of symbolic components in the experience of healing. From this perspective, I’m questioning how these individuals can make sense of symbolic representations coming from different cultures (shamanism, alchemy). What are the meanings of the symbolic dialogue and his repercussion in the healing experiences? These forms of subjectivities and transformative actions affirm a meaning quest of illness that the biomedical community cannot provide. The ritual of healing circle is imposing himself has a symbolic activity allowing the subject to affirm his image, his identity and his values within an embodied transformative experience. This type of cares also provides a form of agentivity and a space to question the biomedical authority. I am going to examine the context in which people are turning to such care, the mechanism of transformation at work, as well as the role of the ritual in the imaginary of the participants. By shedding light on the cultural context and the meanings of the ritual for the participants, I will illustrate the symbolic operations leading to healing experiences.

<p>Min undersökning visar att det i den ursprungliga judiska traditionen finns en närhet till den kosmiska strukturen. Den har därmed också bevarat en närhet till naturen och till de mänskliga instinkterna. Dessa är i sig varken primitiva eller onda, inte heller tillhör de en förfluten tid och kultur; de utgör istället en bro till helighet, även i vår tid. En ny tidsålder tvingar fram en ny syn på människans instinkter, som då de i likhet med emotionerna medvetandegjorts och bearbetats i en kontemplativ process, erbjuder en livsnödvändig källa till hälsa, energi och helighet.</p><p>I min analys av den schamaniska ritualen i Metzora har jag lämnat den gängse tolkningen, och jag har dessutom relaterat ritualens symboler till ett kabbalistiskt synsätt. Jag har därmed lyft fram begreppet balans, som är grundläggande i alla ursprungliga religioner. Jag har också relaterat begreppen ”balans” och ”obalans” till de bibliska begreppen ”renhet” och ”orenhet”, som enligt min analys av Metzora betecknar mental balans respektive mental obalans. Jungs många kommentarer om coniunctio oppositorum har hjälpt mig att sprida ljus över denna process.</p><p>Med hjälp av amplifikation har jag strävat efter att fördjupa förståelsen av den schamaniska ritualen i Metzora och dess funktion. Genom att relatera de tre symbolerna i ritualen till en kabbalistisk text har jag visat att ezov – isop - inte är den mest troliga symbolen för ödmjukhet, vilket är den vanligaste tolkningen. I min tolkning symboliseras istället ödmjukhet av sheni toláat - den rödfärgade ylleremsan. Tillsammans utgör de tre föremålen i ritualen – etz erez, ezov och sheni toláat - en symbol för balans. Till skillnad från den traditionella tolkningen har jag också försökt ge en psykologisk förklaring till den uppenbarligen psykosomatiska och stressrelaterade hudåkomma som i de flesta översättningar felaktigt kallas för ”spetälska”. Jag har därmed delvis frångått den traditionella synen på denna sjukdom som ett straff för baktal och skvaller.</p>

Min undersökning visar att det i den ursprungliga judiska traditionen finns en närhet till den kosmiska strukturen. Den har därmed också bevarat en närhet till naturen och till de mänskliga instinkterna. Dessa är i sig varken primitiva eller onda, inte heller tillhör de en förfluten tid och kultur; de utgör istället en bro till helighet, även i vår tid. En ny tidsålder tvingar fram en ny syn på människans instinkter, som då de i likhet med emotionerna medvetandegjorts och bearbetats i en kontemplativ process, erbjuder en livsnödvändig källa till hälsa, energi och helighet. I min analys av den schamaniska ritualen i Metzora har jag lämnat den gängse tolkningen, och jag har dessutom relaterat ritualens symboler till ett kabbalistiskt synsätt. Jag har därmed lyft fram begreppet balans, som är grundläggande i alla ursprungliga religioner. Jag har också relaterat begreppen ”balans” och ”obalans” till de bibliska begreppen ”renhet” och ”orenhet”, som enligt min analys av Metzora betecknar mental balans respektive mental obalans. Jungs många kommentarer om coniunctio oppositorum har hjälpt mig att sprida ljus över denna process. Med hjälp av amplifikation har jag strävat efter att fördjupa förståelsen av den schamaniska ritualen i Metzora och dess funktion. Genom att relatera de tre symbolerna i ritualen till en kabbalistisk text har jag visat att ezov – isop - inte är den mest troliga symbolen för ödmjukhet, vilket är den vanligaste tolkningen. I min tolkning symboliseras istället ödmjukhet av sheni toláat - den rödfärgade ylleremsan. Tillsammans utgör de tre föremålen i ritualen – etz erez, ezov och sheni toláat - en symbol för balans. Till skillnad från den traditionella tolkningen har jag också försökt ge en psykologisk förklaring till den uppenbarligen psykosomatiska och stressrelaterade hudåkomma som i de flesta översättningar felaktigt kallas för ”spetälska”. Jag har därmed delvis frångått den traditionella synen på denna sjukdom som ett straff för baktal och skvaller.

This study is a consideration of the notion of the artist as a visionary. This perception of the artist is explored in relation to the work and ideas of three twentieth century artists; the American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1952), the German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1983) and the South African artist Jackson Hlungwani (1918 -). The work and ideas of these artists is discussed primarily in terms of the similarities and differences between their art and ideas and those encountered in traditional shamanism and the visionary aspects of Romantic and Gothic art and culture as represented by the work and ideas of eighteenth century English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827). Each of the twentieth century artists who are considered represents a different strain of the idea of the artist as a visionary. Pollock is discussed in terms of his implicit identification with the artist-shaman. This identification is revealed by the influence Jung's writings and Native American (Indian) art and culture had on his work. Beuys is considered in relation to his explicit adoption of a shaman-like persona. Hlungwani is a practising healer in a traditional community whose art explores an apocalyptic vision of redemption. The comparisons between the artists under investigation and the visionary aspects of traditional shamanism and Gothic and Romantic culture entail an analysis of pictorial elements, subject matter and content in the work of these artists. The intention was to explore those properties in the work and ideas of these artists which correspond to the notion of the artist as a visionary. / Thesis (M.A.F.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

This thesis presents an analysis of Piaroa shamanic practices that combines elements of symbolic, psychobiological and phenomenological approaches. Theories from, and clinical findings in, neuroscience, pharmacology, psychology and psychoneuroimmunology are integrated with extended participant observation field study involving basic shamanic training to demonstrate how Piaroa shamans learn to understand and effect biopsychosocial adaptation and promote health. It is argued that Piaroa shamanism is a sophisticated means of interpreting ecological forces and emotional processes in the interests of minimising stress across related systems: self, society, ecosystem, and cosmos. Piaroa shamans should be cadres in the promotion of an ethos, the good life of tranquillity, which serves as the basis for low-stress social relations. Piaroa mythology is predicated upon human-animal-god reciprocity and provides the shaman with a series of informationprocessing templates, designed to be invoked with the use of hallucinogens, which assist him to understand inter-systemic relations. I analyse how Piaroa shamans develop the psychic skills to divine and regulate ecological relationships and emotional processes, while highlighting possible relationships among native symbolism, neurology, consciousness and the emotions. It is argued that Piaroa shamanic practices involve conditioning the mind to achieve optimal perceptive capacities that, in association with sensitive biopsychosocial study, facilitate accurate prediction and successful psychosocial prescription. A cultural neurophenomenological approach enables articulation of the psychocultural logic of ethos, epistemology, divination, sorcery, and curing, and a fuller picture of a South American indigenous society’s shamanic practices than less integrative approaches have afforded

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T15:02:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2002590 bytes, checksum: 1cf0b65b7aa4ef3d01cfab2a703ce00c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Nostratic is a hypothetical language infered by Holger Pedersen in the beginning of the 20th century. Since the hypothesis was set up in the scientific world, several generations of linguists have been trying to solve the problem it created. Ancestral language of Greek and Hebrew, the Nostratic indicates in its vocabulary a lifestyle forgotten lifestyle by both cultures, but though its marks did not disappear in their lexicon. Spoken in the Mesolithic, when the Early Stone Age was in transition to the Polished Stone Age, this language followed in its existence the change from a hunting and gathering economical culture to an agricultural and urbanized one. The study of the nostratic root *&#661;&#817;ot&#803;&#8711;- breathe, blow allowed to perceive it as cognate for the Greek &#7936;&#951;&#954;ó&#959; blow, breath, air and the hebrew root &#8730;qt&#803;r incense, scent , whereas in its sister languages, in both linguistic families, it has often meant soul, phantom, spirit, deity . The Greek, an example of the Eurasiatic Branch of the Nostratic Languages, more specifically the Indo-European, still keeps in its vocabulary some relation with the shamanic religion. On the other hand, the Hebrew, example of the Afrasiatic Branch, from the Semitic family, already suffered deep changes due to the advent of agriculture, which reached that people in more archaic periods than the indo-europeans. To illustrate this, there was a selection of the older literary texts in each language, which allowed us to analyse the most primitive reccurrence of this lexicon, for comparison. For this comparison, a semantic study was accomplished in order to check which elements of its semantics are more persistent and which are lost in the evolve of these languages, and thus it was possible to chart which archaic concepts for soul in the Nostratic religion are still present today. / O Nostrático é uma língua hipotética deduzida por Holger Pedersen no início do século XX. Desde que a hipótese foi levantada no mundo científico, várias gerações de linguistas vêm tentando resolver o problema que ela criou. Ancestral do Grego e do Hebraico, o Nostrático aponta em seu vocabulário para um modo de vida esquecido pelas duas culturas, mas cujas marcas não desapareceram de seu léxico. Falada no Mesolítico, quando a cultura da Pedra Lascada estava em transição para a Pedra Polida, essa língua acompanhou ainda em sua existência a transformação de uma economia de caça e coleta para uma agrícola e paulatinamente urbanizada. O estudo da raiz nostrática *&#661;&#817;ot&#803;&#8711;- respiração, sopro permitiu perceber como cognatos o vocábulo grego &#7936;&#951;&#954;ó&#959; sopro, bafo, ar e a raiz hebraica &#8730;qt&#803;r incenso, aroma , enquanto que em suas línguas irmãs, em ambas as famílias linguísticas, vinha frequentemente significando também alma, fantasma, espírito, divindade . O grego, representante do ramo Eurasiático das línguas nostráticas, mais especificamente o Indo-Europeu, ainda mantém em seu vocabulário alguma relação com a religião xamânica. Por outro lado, o hebraico, representante do Afrasiático, da família Semita, já sofreu profundas transformações devido ao advento da agricultura, que atingiu aquele povo em períodos mais arcaicos que entre os indo-europeus. Para ilustrar isso, fez-se a seleção dos textos literários mais antigos de cada língua, permitindo analisar a recorrência mais primitiva desse léxico e só então compará-los. Para essa comparação, vale-se de um estudo semântico que permite verificar quais elementos de sua semântica são mais persistentes e quais foram perdidos na evolução dessas línguas, assim sendo possível mapear que conceitos arcaicos para alma na religião nostrática ainda estão presentes na atualidade.

The reading of four contemporary novels, namely: Credo by Melvyn Bragg, The Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett, Everything You Need by A.L. Kennedy and American Gods by Neil Gaiman explores the prominent position of mythification and remythification in contemporary literature. The discussion of Bragg's novel examines the significance of Celtic mythology and folklore and to what extent it influenced Christian mythology on the British Isles and vice versa. The presentation of the transition from a cyclical, pagan to a linear, Christian belief system is analysed. My analysis of Bennett's novel supports the observation that political myth as myth transformed contains elements and qualities embodied by sacred myths and investigates the relevance of Johan Degenaar's observation that "[p]ostmodernism emphasises the fact that myth is an ambiguous phenomenon" and practices an attitude of "eternal vigilance" (1995: 47), as is evident in the main protagonist's dispassionate stance. My reading of Kennedy's novel explores the bond that myth creates between the artist and the audience and argues that the writer as myth creator fulfils a restorative function through the mythical and symbolic qualities embedded in literature. Gaiman's novel American Gods focuses on the function of meta/multi-mythology in contemporary literature (especially the fantasy genre) and on what these qualities reveal about a society and its concerns and values. The thesis contemplates how in each case the original myths were substituted, modulated or transfigured to be presented as metamyth or myth transformed. The analysis shows that myth can be used in various ways in literature: as the data or information that is recreated and transformed in the creative process to establish a common matrix of stories, symbols, images and motifs which represents a bond between the author and the reader in terms of the meaning-making process; to facilitate a spiritual enrichment in a demythologized world and for its restorative abilities. The study is confirmed by detailed mythical reference. / English Studies / (D. Litt. et Phil. (English))

But : comparer le processus de transformation intérieure au cours de la psychothérapie par le Jeu de Sable avec la transformation du néophyte au cours des rites d’initiation chez les Chamans, dans l’Alchimie et dans les cultes à mystères en Egypte et en Grèce. Méthodologie : Analyse de 856 photos des jeux de sable construits par 28 enfants de 4 à 12 ans. Conclusion : Il existe une similitude entre le processus de transformation vécu en psychothérapie et la première des trois étapes de l'initiation vécue par le néophyte. On retrouve dans les jeux de sable des scénarios archétypiques qui peuvent être classés dans des catégories spécifiques associées aux différentes étapes de la transformation intérieure décrites dans les mythes initiatiques. / Aim : comparison between the stages of inner transformation in Sandplay therapy with children and the stages of initiation in the Mystery cults of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, in Alchemy and in Shamanism. Sample : 28 children from 4 to 12 years old. Instrument of analysis : 856 photos made during the therapy. Results : We report on a similarity between the process of transformation in Sandplay therapy and the first stage of initiation in the different cultures. We found out that in Sandplay therapy the archetypes appeared according to the own internal logic of the transformation process described in the great myths. The archetypes can be classified in categories, which are specific to different stages of the inner transformation.