Erowid
 
 
Plants - Drugs Mind - Spirit Freedom - Law Arts - Culture Library  
Review Erowid at GreatNonprofits.org
Help us be a "Top Rated Nonprofit" again this year and spread
honest info (good or bad) about psychedelics & other psychoactive drugs.
("Share Your Story" link. Needs quick login creation but no verification of contact info)
cover image
The Nature of Shamanism
Substance and Function of a Religious Metaphor
Rating :
rating
Author(s) :
Michael Ripinsky-Naxon
Pages :
289
Pub Date :
1993
Edition(s) at Erowid :
---(---)
Publisher :
State University of New York Press
ISBN :
0791413861
BACK COVER #
Ripinsky-Naxon explores the core and essence of shamanism by looking at its ritual, mythology, symbolism, and the dynamics of its cultural process. In dealing with the basic elements of shamanism, the author discusses the shamanistic experience and enlightenment, the inner personal crisis, and the many aspects entailed in the role of the shaman.

BLURBS #
"This book is provocative! It is a 'thinking book'; the reader cannot remain passive. It makes one realize that truths are constantly being rediscovered in all cultures throughout all time--how we create culture and how culture in turn creates us--the circle of truths, ancient and modern. I was sometimes awestruch by the comprehension of the author. A profound and powerful work, I enjoyed it to the last sentence."
-- Lana Clark

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S) / EDITOR(S) #
Michael Ripinsky-Naxon is Director of the Cnetral American Institute of Prehistoric and Traditional Cultures in Belize and executive board member of the American Foundation for Cultural Studies. He was formerly the Director of Prehistoric Studies at the Mediterranean Research Center, Greece.