The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consciousness
Shamanism is a prehistoric practice, beginning with the dawn of humanism and continuing to the present day. Shamans were and are healers, mythographers, and the spiritual leaders of their communities; the ecstatic nature of their trances is a transformative state of consciousness. Ryan, a researcher in mythology and comparative religion, pulls together anthropological and ethnological writings on shamans to trace commonalities, showing similar practices in cultures from Siberia to Nepal to Australia. Caves are analogous to the inward journey of the shaman, which transforms the person as well as the culture, and Ryan analyzes the cave drawings of several ancient shamanic cultures. This book has a strong scholarly base, copious illustrations, and well-supported arguments. The bibliography is thorough. Recommended for academic libraries supporting anthropology, ethnology, and religion.?Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., CortlandCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.