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cover image
The Shaman
Voyages of the Soul: Trance, Ecstasy, and Healing: From Siberia to the Amazon
Rating :
rating
Author(s) :
Piers Vitebsky
Pages :
184
Pub Date :
1995
Edition(s) at Erowid :
1995(pb,1st US ed,f)
Publisher :
Little, Brown, and Co
ISBN :
0316903043
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FROM THE EROWID REVIEW #
  • 8
    Review by Erowid, 1999 Sep 13
    This is a good basic book on shamanism. It doesn't have a lot of in-depth discussion, but does a fine job of covering the basics of shamanism, from traditions in various parts of the world and their common elements to the theories, purposes and fuctions of shamanism. One of its best features is a nice collection of color photos. This . . . (more)
BACK COVER #
A richly illustrated guide to the whole world of shamanism, this book looks at both its historic and its present-day manifestations, from the snowscapes of Siberia to the jungles of the Amazon.

  • Includes more than 250 illustrations, mostly in full colour, presenting a unique pictorial record of shamanism, with many previously unpublished photographs.
  • Describes key themes such as healing, visions, initiation, cosmology, the shaman's drum, and mental health.
  • Written by a leading world expert, based on a synthesis of many years of research and field work.
  • Includes a detailed region-by-region survey of shamanism, with full-colour maps.
  • Explores both spiritual and psychological aspects of the subject, as well as the relevance of shamanism to contemporary Western culture.
  • Includes a directory of shamanic cultures
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S) / EDITOR(S) #
Peter Vitebsky, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and Head of Social Sciences at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge (England). For twenty years he has carried out field work in tribal India, Sri Lanka, and Siberia and speaks several local languages. His most recent book examines female shamans in India and compares them to Western psychoanalysts (Dialogues with the Dead, Cambridge and New York, 1993).