The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft

Chapter 6: Religious Specialists 

Chapter Summary

Take a Shaman’s Journey Activity

Coming Soon!

Multiple Choice Questions 

In which cultural group did priests routinely predict astronomical events in order to control power?

The major different between shamanism and neoshamanism is that:

Which of the following is not a contemporary Zuni priesthood cult?

Why is the primary reason that shamans journey (or travel)?

Priests are found primarily in societies with each of the following characteristics except:

Case Studies 

Ch. 6 Video Case Study Activity on Religious Specialists 

View the clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=penw3SfVcEU (5 minutes) 

  • What specific actions does the shaman take to provoke an altered state of consciousness so that he can journey/travel? (Hint: there are at least three) 
  • What does the shaman do to show the audience that he is not going to engage in any sleight of hand or trickery? 
  • What happens in this healing? What do you observe? 
  • How does the client react to the healing immediately afterward and then later, upon reflection? 

Study Questions

  1. Religious specialists in U.S. society are often distinguished by a particular mode of dress, grooming, and general behavior. Some specialists are subject to special rules, such as celibacy in Catholicism. What is the function of setting religious specialists apart from other members of the community? How does this help the individual in his or her function as a religious specialist?  
  1. Contrast shamans and priests. What are the primary differences between shamans and priests? How might communities interact differently with each of them? How would relationships they have with their clients or congregants be different? 
  1. Shamanism is rapidly growing in urban areas such as Korea. What do you think this is due to? What does shamanism offer that is different from that of more traditional mainline religious traditions? 
  1. How is neoshamanism different from classic shamanism? Do you think the practice of neoshamanism is an example of cultural appropriation? Why or why not? 

Suggested Readings 

Black Elk Nicholas (as told through John G. Neihardt). Black Elk Speaks. Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. Annotated by Raymond J. DeMallie (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2008). Lakota holy man and shaman relates his life story and power visions at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Buecher, Frederick. The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days (San Francisco: HarperOne, 1991). Autobiography of Buechner’s childhood, finding Christ, and becoming a minister. 

Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Rolling Stone (New York: Vintage Books, 2007). An examination of the personality and the prophetic revelations of the founder of the Latter Day Saints. 

Deloria, Jr., Vine. The World We Used to Live In. Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2006). Lakota theologian, historian, and attorney examines historical accounts to reveal the powers of North American medicine men. 

Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. (NY: HarperOne, 1990). This is a resource and reference guide on shamanism and its revival in the West. 

Hoffmeier, James K. The Prophets of Israel. Walking the Ancient Paths (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2021). An Old Testament scholar and archaeologist explores biblical prophets in the Holy Lands. 

Larson, Stephen. The Shaman’s Doorway. Opening Imagination to Power and Myth (Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press, 1988). A noted psychotherapist relates how the shaman’s visions have relevance to the contemporary world. 

Merton, Thomas. The Seven Story Mountain: Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1998). Merton discusses his early doubts, his conversion to Catholicism, and his decision to take life vows as a Trappist monk. 

Nelson, John K. A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996). Includes description of the role of Shinto priests and the story of how several men became priests.   

Suggested Websites  

https://www.shamanism.org/ (Foundation for Shamanic Studies) 

https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/old-gods-new-times-a-shaman-ritual-in-south-korea/ (Korean shamanism) 

https://catholicworldmission.org/how-to-become-a-priest/ (steps on how to become a Catholic priest 

http://www.ashiwi.org/AshiwiAwanMessenger.html (official Zuni Pueblo tribal newsletter) 

https://www.monastiriaka.gr/en/inside-mount-athos-w-65643.html (Official Website of Mt. Athos) 

https://www.orthodoxmuskegon.church/iconography-project/the-meaning-of-icons (Iconography Project – the meaning of icons) 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/priesthood (Encyclopedia Britanica: Priesthood: definition, types, significance, and facts) 

https://www.alim.org/history/prophet-stories/ (Stories of the Prophets: Islamic History – brief, informative biographies for important Islamic prophets) 

https://overviewbible.com/prophets/ (The Beginners Guide to Prophets of the Bible – definitions of prophet and prophecy, plus an overview of biblical prophets) 

Suggested Video 

The Shaman’s Apprentice (Mark Plotkin, Bullfrog Films, 2001) – stunningly filmed in the Amazonian jungles of Surinam, Ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin demonstrates the importance of Indigenous knowledge that is threatened by extinction along with the rainforest 

Mark Plotkin: What the People of the Amazon Know that You Don’t – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJ20tt5nPQ – Plotkin discusses the plight of isolated and uncontacted Indigenous peoples in the Amazon 

From the Archives: Bob Simon Visits Mt Athos – https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/euRhNjMYgf7fw6ocOrjgHLoFWTUBLcdQ/ – (60 Minutes, 2011) – special access/film/history of the life of the monks on Mt Athos; extraordinary photography and interviews 

Mayan Astronomy – https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/where-did-it-come-from-the-ancient-maya-astronomy-video (History Channel, 2012) – use with NMAI Teacher Webinar – Maya Astronomy and Mathematics, Yesterday and Today – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmnWUyl_LjY – together these are an introduction to the Maya mathematical system and show the importance of prediction in Maya historical cultures  

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