Lux Ferre

Nayaka – A hunter-gatherer community of the forested Gir Valley in the Nilgiri region of South India. Their relational epistemology is discussed in Nurit Bird-David’s article on animism (1999). The centrality of

Nature – One aspect of the common Western perception that indigenous peoples, especially hunter-gatherers, are “close to nature” is that shamans and shamanism provide helpful leads in restoring human respect for the

Native Americans – A significant number of traditional Native American cultures have employed and sometimes continue to employ people who have been labeled “shamans.” Indigenous terms that are sometimes translated as “shaman”

Native American Spirituality – Since there are hundreds of distinct Native American Nations, many containing more than one distinctive traditional religious practice, it should be clear that the phrase “Native American spirituality”

Native American Church – Founded in Oklahoma in 1918 and creatively fusing elements recognizable from earlier indigenous religious traditions and movements of North America and Central America (especially those of the Huichol

Myerhoff, Barbara (1935–1985) – One of the earliest anthropologists of Huichol (Wixáritari) shamanism, Myerhoff was one of the first non-Huichol (with Peter Furst) to participate in the annual pilgrimage to Wirikùta to

Mutwa, Credo (1921– ) – Prolific Zulu writer who styles himself variously as shaman, medicine man, and witch doctor. Mutwa’s books have been about healing, ritual, cosmology, and mythology. His promulgation of

Music – In addition to the making of rhythmic sound aided by drums, rattles, bells, and other instruments, shamans in many cultures sing or chant in the course of the rituals they

Mushrooms – While entheogen use is often perceived to be prevalent in shamanism worldwide, few indigenous shamans have made mushroom use an important part of their practice. Most of these are located

Murray, Margaret (1863–1963) – British Egyptologist who made an important contribution to that subject but is probably best known for her work The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921), which proposed a pan-European,