[The Yawanáwa medical system and its specialists: healing, power, and shamanic initiation].
Cadernos de Saúde Pública March 1, 2001 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1590/s0102-311x2001000200008 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
In Yawanáwa shamanism, many different terms describe healers and their techniques of healing and aggression, which seems complex and varied. However, all these practices share a common foundation in concepts of power and knowledge. This article explains how the Yawanáwa understand these ideas by examining the process of shamanic initiation, through which power and knowledge are acquired.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Population | Yawanáwa people |
| Key finding | All Yawanáwa shamanic techniques of healing and aggression are based on the same concepts of power and knowledge, as demonstrated through the process of shamanic initiation. |
Abstract
A wide variety of terms are used in Yawanáwa shamanism to name both healers and the relations between these specialists and techniques of healing and aggression, a characteristic that appears heterogeneous and complex. However, there is unity behind this appearance, because all the techniques are based on the same concepts of power and knowledge. To show how these ideas are conceived by the Yawanáwa, this article explores the process by which power and knowledge are acquired: shamanic initiation.