Shamanic Cosmos: From India to the North Pole Star

Is 'shaman' a magical operator? Or could he be a psychic, an exorcist, a bio-energo therapeutist, a fortune teller, an intermediary between the world of spirits and a human collectivity, a cultural hero, or just a mysterious, nameless person? Not with-standing standing decades of extensive researches into the bewildering shamanic practices, we are still looking for a precise, acceptable description of this thaumaturge, called shaman-leave alone a valid explanation of the baffling shamanic phenomena and, yet beyond, of its cosmology.

What then, is the shaman-linked 'ism': shamanism? Is it an infra-religion, a spirit-possession cult, or a religion in its own right? Or, how far is the shamanic cosmos directly involved in a religious cult? Addressing afresh these and other related questions, a group of eminent scholars from different European countries here tries to capture some of the highly gripping aspects of shamanic cosmology, diffused in varying Eurasian environments. This book is essentially the outcome of an International Symposium: October 1996, Venice, Italy.

Including new investigative studies of both the traditional authentic shamanism and neo shamanism, in diverse local situations: ranging from the frozen plains of Siberia to the jungles of Orissa, from the Himalayan valleys to the islands of Indonesia, the authors describe shamanic trance/flights/ecstatic experience; how a shaman envisions the true nature of the cosmos, beyond its trivial appearance; and how, through his mysterious power, he can move among the dead men, spirits and gods.

An unbiased inquiry into the intriguing, yet heart-stirring, shamanic phenomena, it is certainly a work of absorbing interest to ethnologists, social/cultural anthropologists, shamanologists, historians of religion, and general readers alike.

About the Authors:

Dr. Romano Mastromattie is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Tor Vergata, Rome.

A scholar and author of international renown has been carrying out researches in Nepal, and is the Founder and also present Director of the CIRSE (Inter-University Center of Research on Euro-Asian Shamanism)-a center instituted by a group of six Italian Universities, which coordinates Shamanic Studies.

Dr. Antonio Rigopoulos is a reputed historian of religions and philosophies. Having had a two-year stint as Assistant Professor of Indology at the California University, Santa Barbara, he is now engaged in research work at the University "Ca' Foscari" of Venice.
Currently Secretary General of the Venetian Academy of Indian Studies (VAIS), Dr. Rigopoulos is the well-known author of several books and articles on Sai Baba of Sirdi and Lord Dattatreya. His preferred field of research in India is Maharashtra and northern Karnataka.