Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America
January 1, 2012
James Andrew Whitaker
7 citations
A book review of Carlos Fausto's 'Warfare and Shamanism in Amazonia' describes the work as examining the relationship between warfare and shamanism among indigenous Amazonian peoples. The book argues that these practices are interconnected and central to social and cosmological life, challenging Western distinctions between war and religion. Fausto draws on ethnographic fieldwork and historical sources to show how shamanic power and warrior status are mutually constitutive, with both involving predation and transformation. The review notes the book's detailed analysis of ritual, myth, and social organization, presenting it as a significant contribution to Amazonian anthropology.
Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America
May 1, 2006
Robert Storrie
3 citations
Among the Hoti, a small group of hunter-horticulturalists in central Venezuelan Guiana, egalitarian and anti-hierarchical moral understandings make all power ambiguous and all claims to authority suspicious. Individuals who cultivate a reputation as “Light Ones”—people skilled in interacting with powerful shamanic beings—provide essential safety and fertility for the community, yet rarely admit to shamanic ability. Through humor, mockery, and even violence, the Hoti limit shamans' capacity to accumulate authority and wield power, making the politics of shamanism demanding, dangerous, and sometimes deadly.
Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America
November 30, 2024
Isabel Santana De Rose
This paper reviews Jean Langdon's key contributions to the study of shamanism, emphasizing her role in reviving research in the 1980s when male anthropologists dominated the field. Langdon proposed that Indigenous shamanisms be understood as cosmological systems, emerging from specific political and historical contexts, and as dialogical categories shaped by diverse actors, discourses, and interests. The review highlights her influence on the anthropology of health and Indigenous health policies, as well as on discussions of gender and female agency in lowland South America. Langdon's later work focuses on contemporary shamanic networks, particularly those centered on ayahuasca, which connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors across geographic and conceptual boundaries, underscoring the dynamic and creative nature of Amerindian shamanisms.
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.