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Shamanism:
Indigenous or Urban?
by
Judy Winters
Based in nature, shamanism is the world's earliest form of spirituality.
Historically the shaman functioned as tribal physician, psychotherapist
and spiritual leader, all rolled into one. Recently there's been
a  resurgence
of interest in shamanism, probably because it's a holistic cosmology.
People flock to places where native shamans still live and work within
their cultures of origin. Simultaneously non-natives offer shamanic
healing sessions and workshops in urban settings. Is one kind preferable
to the other?
Let's start with some definitions. The indigenous shaman is born
into a tribal or non-Westernized culture and sanctioned by his or her
community to carry on its traditions of healing and connections to the
spirit world. The urban shaman, on the other hand, is born and raised
in a contemporary culture, but feels called to serve the community by
adapting practices derived from indigenous cultures.
Of course, locating an indigenous culture not influenced in some way
by urban life is almost impossible. The shaman may live in a tipi with
kin, but drives a truck into town to sell wares and perform ceremonies
for non-natives. In actuality there exists a continuum from very indigenous
to very urban, with many blends in between. For the sake of discussion,
however, we'll examine the stereotypes. In shamanic cultures, many
illnesses and unfortunate circumstances are
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attributed
to malevolent sorcery. With time abundant, healing techniques may be
exaggerated and time-consuming. Dreams are thought to be an alchemical
agent for changing reality; they are almost never personal, but rather
contain messages for the collective. Some indigenous shamanic practices
might be judged by Western ethics to be cruel and unusual punishment,
including body mutilation, deprivation, dangerous journeys. Also, the
indigenous shaman tends to teach through experiential methods and the
telling of stories rather than left-brained explanations.
I am Dutch-American by birth, was brought up in a Protestant faith and
earned a master's degree in psychology later in life. In the mid-90s,
I suddenly uncovered a latent ability to heal using shamanic techniques
from the Andes Mountains. As such I will serve as our stereotypical
urban shaman. Although my medicine wheel is based on the Peruvian model,
it also contains items from other cultures. In my practice I rely on
my psychological training – including personal dream interpretations
– along with ceremony, ritual and energy techniques to assist clients.
I use whatever is helpful to address their issues – science, technology,
yoga, astrology, herbs – and keep my sessions short, but powerful.
In teaching situations I employ both story and logical explanations
to bridge the gap between worldviews.
Origin
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Origin