Abstract
The Tungic term saman has long been with us in anthropology and other disciplines in Western academia. During the first half of the 20th century, however, shamans, as the term became anthropologized or Anglicized, were regarded primarily as “primitive” magico-religious specialists who carried out so-call individual rituals. They were regarded as less important or impressive than monks, priests, and other religious specialists who represented a body of people or a religious institution and who officiated in elaborate rituals. With respect to individual personalities, shamans were often regarded as mentally ill, although anthropologists were quick to recognize that many of the technologically less advanced peoples were more tolerant than their highly industralized neighbors in not ostracizing their deviants, but rather providing them with a culturally sanctioned role.
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Ohnuki-Tierney, E. (1983). Shamans and Imu: Among Two Ainu Groups. In: Simons, R.C., Hughes, C.C. (eds) The Culture-Bound Syndromes. Culture, Illness, and Healing, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5251-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5251-5_7
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