Canela Shamanism: Shamans’ Accounts, “Journeying,” and Delimitation of Shamanic Terms
Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America December 15, 2017 William H. Crocker
Drawing on decades of fieldwork among the Ramkokamekra-Canela people of Brazil, the author recounts shamans' stories and provides ethnographic context to explore what defines a shaman and shamanism. The article examines whether shamanism is a process or method for achieving ends, a set of culturally specific beliefs, and whether altered states of consciousness occur in Canela shamanic practice. The author does not address shamanism's efficacy.