The Beauty of the Primitive: Shamanism and Western Imagination
"This is simply the best book on modern shamanisms ever written, largely because its author understands pre-modern shamanisms so well." Ronald Hutton, Author ofShamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination"The Beauty of the Primitiveis an admirable piece of scholarship. Erudite and shrewdly observed, it tells the fascinating tale of the interaction between scholarly anthropology and popular culture, as optimistic Westerners created their idealized stereotypes of shamans and shamanic practice. The book confirms yet again the observation that "we see things not as they are, we see things as we are." It is also a treasure trove of memorable stories."--Philip Jenkins, Author ofDream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality"Andrei Znamenski, well known as a critical scholar of shamanism in various contexts, has written an extremely readable, erudite, and nuanced analysis of contemporary forms of shamanism. Znamenski bases his analysis on an impressive acquaintance with ethnographic and anthropological literature from the eighteenth century onward, an intensive reading of contemporary western shamanic literature, and his own research-including not only fieldwork in traditional shamanic contexts but also interviews with western shamanic practitioners.The Beauty of the Primitivewill rank among the most important publications in shamanism research for years to come."--Kocku von Stuckrad, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam"Travelling through time and space,The Beauty of the Primitivetraces the growing appreciation of shamanism in the West as part of a growing anti-modernism. Andrei Znamenski digs deep into Russian, German, Finnish, and American sources to reveal the Western imagination of ancient and modern medicine-men, sorcerers, conjurers, magicians and spiritualists. Freud, Jung, Bogoras, Eliade, Castaneda, and Harner are but a few of the many scholars, writers, explorers, and spiritual seekers awaiting the reader in this brilliant exposé of the intellectual history of shamanic and neo-shamanic practices." --Christer Lindberg, Professor of Social Anthropology, Lund University"Znamenski...illuminates how scientists, governments, spiritual seekers, and the general public have interacted with, interpreted, and appropriated indigenous belief systems. ...This is a valuable book that can stand beside such works as Ronald Hutton'sShamans: Siberian Spirituality and the WesternImagination. ...Highly recommended." --Choice