Shamanism, history, and the state / edited by Nicholas Thomas and Caroline Humphrey.
Thomas, Nicholas, 1960-; Humphrey, Caroline.
1994
GN470.2 .S53 1994 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection

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Title Shamanism, history, and the state / edited by Nicholas Thomas and Caroline Humphrey.
Alternate Title Sharmanism, history & the state.
ISBN 0472105124 (acid-free paper)
9780472105120 (acid-free paper)
Imprint Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, ©1994.
Language English
Description viii, 232 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Call Number GN470.2 .S53 1994
Summary The ecstatic and inspirational religious practices referred to as shamanism have long fascinated European intellectuals, theorists of religion, and anthropologists. Yet, despite an extensive literature on curing and trances, the political and historical significance of shamanic activities has been largely neglected. Shamanism, History, and the State offers a major reappraisal of the topic, drawing together nine essays that explore the contexts of shamanic practice in ancient Rome, south Asia, Siberia, Polynesia, and elsewhere. The contributors to the volume - distinguished anthropologists, classicists, and historians from England, Australia, and France - present new ways of thinking about social and historical connections and show that shamanism is not static and stable but always changing as a result of political dynamics and historical processes. They ask - and answer - important questions: What relationship have shamanic practices had with other indigenous forms of ritual authority? With state power? To what extent have these activities provided a focus for anticolonial protest? How have magic and cult activities been appropriated and internalized by states? This fascinating series of case studies exemplifies a new style of comparative anthropology. Shamanism, History, and the State will be essential reading for students and teachers of anthropology, classics, and comparative religion. Contributors are Tamsyn Barton, Susan Bayly, Mary Beard, Maurice Bloch, Peter Gow, Roberte N. Hamayon, Stephen Hugh-Jones, Caroline Humphrey, and Nicholas Thomas.
Note Spine title: Sharmanism, history & the state.
"Based on a conference that took place at King's College, Cambridge, in October 1989"--Acknowledgments.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references and index.
Added Author Thomas, Nicholas, 1960-
Humphrey, Caroline.
Record Appears in On-Campus Resources > Books
All Resources
Marginal powers : shamanism and hierarchy in eastern Oceania / Nicholas Thomas
Shamans, prophets, priests and pastors / Stephen Hugh-Jones
Shamanism in Siberia : from partnership in supernature to counter-power in society / Roberte N. Hamayon
River people : shamanism and history in western Amazonia / Peter Gow
Saints' cults and warrior kingdoms in South India / Susan Bayly
The slaves, the king, and Mary in the slums of Antananarivo / Maurice Bloch
Astrology and the state in imperial Rome / Tamsyn Barton
The Roman and the foreign : the cult of the "great mother" in imperial Rome / Mary Beard
Shamanic practices and the state in northern Asia : views from the center and periphery / Caroline Humphrey.

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