Studies on Shamanism

In this book the authors made a selection of their essays concerning Siberian/Eurasian shamanism. The strong emphasis on the comparative approach which stresses the different historical forms of shamanism distinguishes this contribution from other studies on the subject.The eight essays of Part I are arranged under the following headings: Siberian and Inner Asian Shamanism; The Siberian Shaman's Technique of Ecstasy; Two Types of Shamanizing and Categories of Shamanic Songs; Finnish Rock Art, Animal Ceremonialism and Shamanic World-view Singing of Incantation in Nordic Tradition; Shamanic Themes in Finnish Epic Poetry; Shamanic Knowledge and Mythical Images by Anna-Leena Siikala.In Part 2, Mihaly Hoppal summarizes his essays in the following chapters: Shamanism: An Arctic and/or Recent System of Beliefs; On the Origin of Shamanism and the Siberian Rock Art; Pain in Shamanic Initiation; Traces of Shamanism in Hungarian Folk Beliefs; The Role of Shamanism in Hungarian Ethnic Identity; Changing Image of the Eurasian Shamanism; Ethnographic Films on Shamanism; Urban Shamans: A Cultural Revival.