Lux Ferre

Elkin, Adolphus P. – Australian anthropologist at Sydney University and author of Aboriginal Men of High Degree (1945). In contrast with pervasive denigrations of Aboriginal Australians in general and their “doctors” or

Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) – Historian of religions and fiction writer who was born in Romania but lived most of his life as an exile in France and the United States, where he

Election – From the perspective of other-than-human persons, or spirits, who initiate or work with shamans and/or cause illness, phenomena commonly interpreted as possession or trance should really be labeled “election.” An

Elders – Shamans are rarely the only social and ritual leaders in their communities. Caroline Humphrey, Urgunge Onon, and Marjorie Balzer clarify the role of shamans by discussing the differences between them

Ecstasy – Shamans are sometimes distinguished from other religious or cultural leaders by the ability to achieve an altered state of consciousness which Mircea Eliade labeled “ecstasy.” The etymology of this originally

Ebene – A snuff prepared from the beans of an Amazonian tree of the nutmeg family (genus Virola), which is either snorted through tubes (sometimes bird bones) or blown into the nostrils,

Dubois, Thomas – DuBois has examined Saami engagements with Norse communities, arguing that there was far more contact than previously thought, to the point that creative religious exchange ensued. The practice of

Drury, Nevill (1947– ) – Australian author whose introductory and survey work on shamans, Pagans, and esotericism (e.g., The Elements of Shamanism, 1989; Magic and Witchcraft: From Shamanism to the Technopagans, 2003)

Drums and drumming – Rhythmic sounds and movements are commonplace in shamanic performance. In Mircea Eliade’s construction of shamanism as “the techniques of ecstasy,” the creation of rhythm is the primary technique

Dreams – Some people understand that to dream is to journey in the other world, or that the dream world is the real one and that what is seen there will happen