Lux Ferre

Parapsychology – Scholars and others interested in parapsychological, psychic, or “psi” phenomena and experiences (e.g., telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, psychokinesis, and precognition) have considered shamans as possible subjects for understanding, refuting, or validating

Pacific Northwest – Among the 11 recognized Native American nations of the North American Pacific Northwest coast, there are numerous village community identities, and shamans are prominent figures: for the Tsimshian, “Of

Owners – Shamans in some societies are said to engage with otherworld or other-than-human persons who “own” animal species or all animals. Permission may be sought from such beings before a hunt,

Other Worlds – Many shamanic cosmologies posit the existence of lands, realms, or dimensions accessible to shamans after initiation and training. These are rarely if ever equivalent to the transcendent realms posited

Other-Than-Human Persons – A phrase coined by Irving Hallowell, influenced by the Ojibwe of southern-central Canada. It refers to the widest possible community of living beings. For example, in the Ojibwe language

Orphic Mysteries – Like the Sumerian Descent of Inanna epic, the mysteries of the Greek hero Orpheus have been interpreted as being shamanic. In part, this is because Orpheus descended into the

Origins of Religion – Many theories about how religion began propose that shamanism is the earliest religion of humanity. This is rooted in the notion that hunter-gatherer societies are closest to the

Onon, Urgunge (1919– ) – A Daur Mongol who is the manager of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at Cambridge University. His collaboration with Caroline Humphrey in recording and discussing

Ojibwe – Also known as Anishinaabeg, Ojibwa, and Chippewa. ANative American people now living in the Midwest of the United States and south-central Canada. Their Algonquian language makes a grammatical distinction between

Oceania – Although some scholars insist that shamanism is the preserve of circum-Arctic regions, the peoples who live in the many islands of Oceania in the Pacific often employ religious leaders who