Altai – The Altai Kizhi, Telengits, Teles, and Teleuts are pastoralists of mixed Turkic-Mongolian descent. After the great changes brought by Russian colonization in the 18th century, there arose shamans who, not
Environmentalism – Shamans cannot strictly be identified as environmentalists because, as animists, they are members of a large community of life rather than being surrounded by an impersonal environment or “nature.” However, the common indigenous requirement to be respectful and
Vilmos Diószegi (1923–1972) – Hungarian ethnologist and research fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. In addition to his extensive work on Siberian shamans, published as Popular Beliefs and Folklore
One of the most popular of the ancient mystery cults, the Dionysian mysteries were celebrated throughout Greece, and spread through most of the Mediterranean world after Alexander the Great’s conquests imposed Greek
Paul Devereux (1945– ) – British researcher of earth mysteries whose work has furthered scholarly attention to the archaeology of shamanism and opened up the topic to a broad audience beyond academia,
Descent of Inanna – A mythic poem dating from around 1750 BCE, surviving in at least 30 inscribed clay tablets with more than 400 lines of text and rediscovered in the excavation
Deprivation and Overstimulation – Rhythmic dancing, monotonous singing, chanting and drumming, prolonged fasting, hyperventilation, flagellation and other forms of pain, and light deprivation all mark ways in which shamans may deprive or
Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005) – Standing Rock Sioux and Santee Dakota; professor emeritus of history and religious studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Among Deloria’s many important publications are Custer
Deer tribe – Also known as the Métis Medicine Society. A global organization that promulgates a blend of Native American religious traditions, neo-shamanism, and New Age spirituality through lecture tours, workshops, publications,
De Mille, Richard – De Mille became suspicious that elements of Carlos Castaneda’s Yaqui “ethnography,” and indeed the shamaninformant Don Juan himself, were inauthentic—an elaborate fiction. He wrote a lengthy volume entitled
Dayak – Indigenous people of Borneo, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Their animist religious culture necessitates the employment of shamans as healers and intermediaries with other-than-human persons and Dayak ancestors who inhabit the rain
Datura – The use of hallucinogens is not universal to shamanisms, but many shamans, especially in South America, engage with culturally recognized plants as other-than-human persons in intimate relationships that enable powerful
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