I finished reading the book "Shamans of the World: Extraordinary First-Person Accounts of Healings, Mysteries, and Miracles," edited by Nancy Connor with Bradford Keeney.
Previously, I read "Shamanism," by Mircea Eliade which was excellent. This book is different in the sense that it is more of personal interviews with shamans in different regions of the world.
From the Introduction, pgs. 11-12:
Shamans of the World
The chapters in this book are arranged in ascending order of observable energy, from the healers who mainly use traditional or herbal medicines and barely observable trance states to the wildly ecstatic trance dances of the Bushmen. In this way, I hope that by the time you finish, you will be able to take the energy of all the healers you've encountered with you into your everyday world. Although this arrangement is imperfect, since healing techniques can run through a wide range of styles in both the individual healers presented and the cultures as a group, it is as good an arrangement as any.
We start with Walking Thunder, a Dine medicine woman from New Mexico who uses herbal remedies as well as ceremonial sandpaintings and chanting to effect her cures. We then move on to Joao Fernandes de Carvalho and Otavia Pimental, two healers from Brazil who use simple prayer, laying on of hands, and herbal remedies to help others. Next is Gary Holy Bull, a Lakota Sioux from South Dakota, who uses the traditional Yuwipi ceremony to treat patients. The next culture we visit is the Guarani, who uses rattles and bamboo poles to induce altered states of consciousness during both individual and group rituals for healing. Then we shift to Africa, where we visit with Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, who uses a variety of techniques, from throwing the bones to deep shamanic trance states, in a range of of contexts to effect healing. The next stop is Bali, where we visit with several Balians who also use an assortment of techniques, from ceremonial drawings designed for protection to wild group trance dances, to achieve balance in life and therefore healing. Ikuko Osumi, a Japanese healer who uses the intense power of seiki to instill health and well-being is next. The last three cultures we visit are all African in origin. First we hear from the Shakers of St. Vincent, who use the power of mourning and ecstatic prayer to create community-based healing. And we spend our remaining time with the Bushmen of Botswana and Namibia-represented by both Kalahari Bushmen healers and Ropes to God-who use ecstatic community trance dances for both individual and community healing.
I hope that you enjoy your journey through these pages as much as I enjoyed my journeys with these wonderful people. - Nancy Connor
I know that David Icke has previously interviewed Credo Mutwa and he is the only one in the book to confess that he and his mother have been abducted several times by the gray aliens, who they called the Mantindanes. This book oozes culture and is a fascinating read.
Previously, I read "Shamanism," by Mircea Eliade which was excellent. This book is different in the sense that it is more of personal interviews with shamans in different regions of the world.
From the Introduction, pgs. 11-12:
Shamans of the World
The chapters in this book are arranged in ascending order of observable energy, from the healers who mainly use traditional or herbal medicines and barely observable trance states to the wildly ecstatic trance dances of the Bushmen. In this way, I hope that by the time you finish, you will be able to take the energy of all the healers you've encountered with you into your everyday world. Although this arrangement is imperfect, since healing techniques can run through a wide range of styles in both the individual healers presented and the cultures as a group, it is as good an arrangement as any.
We start with Walking Thunder, a Dine medicine woman from New Mexico who uses herbal remedies as well as ceremonial sandpaintings and chanting to effect her cures. We then move on to Joao Fernandes de Carvalho and Otavia Pimental, two healers from Brazil who use simple prayer, laying on of hands, and herbal remedies to help others. Next is Gary Holy Bull, a Lakota Sioux from South Dakota, who uses the traditional Yuwipi ceremony to treat patients. The next culture we visit is the Guarani, who uses rattles and bamboo poles to induce altered states of consciousness during both individual and group rituals for healing. Then we shift to Africa, where we visit with Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, who uses a variety of techniques, from throwing the bones to deep shamanic trance states, in a range of of contexts to effect healing. The next stop is Bali, where we visit with several Balians who also use an assortment of techniques, from ceremonial drawings designed for protection to wild group trance dances, to achieve balance in life and therefore healing. Ikuko Osumi, a Japanese healer who uses the intense power of seiki to instill health and well-being is next. The last three cultures we visit are all African in origin. First we hear from the Shakers of St. Vincent, who use the power of mourning and ecstatic prayer to create community-based healing. And we spend our remaining time with the Bushmen of Botswana and Namibia-represented by both Kalahari Bushmen healers and Ropes to God-who use ecstatic community trance dances for both individual and community healing.
I hope that you enjoy your journey through these pages as much as I enjoyed my journeys with these wonderful people. - Nancy Connor
I know that David Icke has previously interviewed Credo Mutwa and he is the only one in the book to confess that he and his mother have been abducted several times by the gray aliens, who they called the Mantindanes. This book oozes culture and is a fascinating read.
