A Shaman's Cure: The Relationship Between Altered States of Consciousness and Shamanic Healing1
Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-3537.2009.01016.x
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA shaman's altered state of consciousness (ASC) during healing rituals in Nepal is not merely an internal psychological event but plays a crucial role in therapeutic changes for the patient through patient-healer interactions. Based on ethnographic data from 1999 to 2008, this analysis explains how the healer's ASC, combined with the cosmology of Nepalese shamans, facilitates desired therapeutic outcomes, contrasting with prior studies that focus solely on the shaman's internal state.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Nepalese shamans and their patients |
| Citations | 23 |
| Key finding | The shaman's altered state of consciousness contributes to therapeutic changes in the patient through patient-healer interactions, not just through the shaman's internal psychological state. |
Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study, which is based upon ethnographic data collected between 1999 and 2008 in Nepal, examines the connection between the shaman's altered states of consciousness (ASC; i.e., what goes on inside the healer's mind/brain) and therapeutic changes that take place in the patient's mind/body. Unlike other studies that primarily emphasize the shaman's internal psychological state, this article attempts to explain the role of the healer's ASC and elucidate how desired therapeutic changes depend upon patient–healer interactions. This question is explored in the context of a healing ritual highlighting various aspects of the cosmology of Nepalese shamans.