Český lid
September 15, 2020
Dima Salibová
6 citations
An indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador hosts tourists seeking retreats featuring traditional medicinal plants like ayahuasca and tobacco, offering individual ceremonies or the Natemamu rite—a ten- to twelve-day series of ceremonies involving large quantities of ayahuasca. The article examines the commodification of the Natemamu rite as a global market product and the impacts on hosts and visitors. Based on participant observation, interviews, and audio-visual documentation, the findings indicate that the introduction of Western tourists has driven processual changes to the rite and ideational and material changes on both sides. Tourists experienced more ideational changes, while the Shuar experienced more material changes, aligning with each group's expectations of the encounter.
Český lid
June 25, 2020
Helena Dyndová
5 citations
Contemporary Czech shamanism thrives despite a general Czech distrust of formal religion. Based on fieldwork conducted since 2017, the author describes how shamanism's 'action approach' to human problems offers an attractive explanation for experiences during ritual. The paper details shamanic paraphernalia, ritual setting, and how these create a safe space for spontaneous communitas and participants' personal understanding of their psychotherapeutic and religious experience. The final section examines how contemporary Czech shamanism fits within the broader discourse of modern Western spirituality.
Český lid
September 25, 2025
Danijela Jerotijević
In urban Slovakia, women's circles practicing alternative spirituality use singing, dancing, movement, shared narratives, and emotionally attuned interactions to build temporary communities (communitas) and psychological safety. Although participants emphasize individual authenticity and personal spiritual experience, the group remains central for mediating meaning, personal transformation, and emotional regulation. The study demonstrates that collective emotional and ritualized mechanisms of cohesion are key even in settings that prioritize individual experience.
Český lid
December 15, 2021
Athanasios Barmpalexis
An ethnographic study of contemporary shamanic healers in North East Scotland examines the role of eremitism—the practice of living an isolated, simple life—in folk healing systems. Two healers, Terry Mace and Norman Duncan, have each self-consciously chosen geographic isolation, living simply and self-sufficiently away from materialism and socializing. The article argues that this eremitic tendency is not only a key feature of traditional shamanic healing but also persists in modern manifestations. By focusing on these two cases, the work highlights the significance of eremitism in contemporary shamanisms.