Winkelman M, 1997, ‘Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Behaviour’ in Glazier S, Ed. Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook of Method and Theory. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 393 - 428.
View a profile of the author – Dr Michael Winkelman
Winkelman (1997) presents a psychophysiological metaphoric system to explore the universality of altered states of consciousness (‘ASC’) in the context of shamanic cultural practices. Based on his cross-cultural studies of shamans and other magico-religious practitioners, Winkelman posits that there are certain physiological characteristics that represent common denominators for a wide range of ASC (1997, p. 397). Such physiological common denominators include cortical synchronization, which results in slow wave brain activity, and a dominant parasympathetic state within the automatic nervous system (Winkelman 1997, p. 397).
These physiological characteristics are common responses to widely divergent stimuli, including auditory driving, extensive motor behaviour, fasting and nutritional deficits, sensory deprivation and stimulation, sleep and dream states, meditation, sexual restrictions, endogenous opiates, hallucinogens and community rituals (Winkelman 1997, pp. 398-402). Such procedures induce ASC, which results in the disruption of the normal functioning of the autonomic nervous system due to the over-stimulation of the sympathetic system. This causes a rebound into a state of parasympathetic dominance (Winkelman 1997, p. 398). Winkelman’s findings suggest that there is a biological basis for ASC, which supports Seigel’s (1989) assertion that ‘humans have an innate drive to seek ASC’ (1997, p. 421).
On the basis of this conclusion, assuming it is accurate, it is possible to draw insights from contemporary Australian society. Winkelman points to the ‘bar scene’ and alcohol consumption in the United States of America as an example of an alternate behaviour pattern that appears to meet the human need for ASC where institutionalised religion has failed to do so (1997, p. 421). In Australia, a nation renowned for its drinking culture, ‘alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive substance’ (Community Alcohol Action Network 2004). Indeed, former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, was immortalised in the Guinness Book of Records for sculling a yard glass of beer in eleven seconds (Hawke 1994, p. 28). It is interesting to consider that ‘the societal failure to create legitimate modes for the alteration of consciousness’ (Winkelman 1997, p. 421) could be a contributing factor in the tendency of certain individuals to engage in alcohol and drug use in modern Western society.
References
Community Alcohol Action Network 2004, Alcohol Use in Australia, Community Alcohol Action Network, viewed 1 April 2009, .
Hawke, B 1994, The Hawke Memoirs, William Heinemann, Melbourne.
Seigel, RK 1989, Intoxication: Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise, Dutton, New York.
Winkelman, M 1997, ‘Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Behaviour’, in S Glazier (ed.), Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook of Method and Theory, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn, pp. 393-428.
Townsend J, 1997, ‘Shamanism’, in S. Glazier, Ed, Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook, Westport, Conn, Greenwood Press, 429-469.
View a profile of the author – Joan B. Townsend
In ‘Shamanism,’ Townsend (1997) seeks to provide an overview of certain aspects of shamanism, including beliefs and worldviews of shamans, shamanic states of consciousness, possession, initiatory experiences and shamanic responsibilities. It is interesting to note that Townsend describes Winkelman as having adopted ‘the materialistic, neurophysical or biochemical explanatory metaphoric system to explore shamanism’ (1997, p. 430). Winkelman’s interpretive position stands in opposition to the approach of the phenomenological school, which seeks to study shamanism from a subjective phenomenological perspective. Although Townsend declines to express a preference for either system of analysis, she emphasises the importance of extensively examining the belief system and social context within which shamanic practice is carried out in order to ensure the integrity of the observations made (1997, p. 442).
Townsend describes the non-ordinary psychic states in which shamanic practices occur as shamanic states of consciousness (‘SSC’). A shaman engages with the spirit world whilst in a SSC in order to help and heal both living and deceased members of his or her community (Townsend 1997, p. 438). Winkelman (1997, p. 398-402) and Townsend (1997, p. 442) agree that the induction of SSC can be achieved in response to various stimuli, including drumming, chanting, fasting, meditation and hallucinogens. In addition to the various methods available for inducing SSC, there is also a spectrum of alternate consciousness available to shamans. Depending on the culture, the depth of a shamanic state of consciousness ranges from a very light condition to being comatose. Regardless of its depth, a distinguishing feature of SSC is that the shaman controls when he or she will enter or leave an altered mental state (Townsend 1997, p. 442).
By entering into altered states of consciousness and engaging in culturally specific shamanic rituals, shamans are able to connect with a ‘spirit world’ that receded in the West in the wake of scientific materialism (Townsend 1997, p. 460). Whilst certain Western shamanic theorists contend that ‘shamans are mentally ill, severely neurotic, psychotic, or schizophrenic’ (Townsend 1997, p. 454), Townsend opines that shamanic practitioners represent the spiritual antidote to severe Western materialism (1997, p. 460).
References
Townsend, JB 1997, ‘Shamanism’ in S Glazier (ed.), Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook, Westport, Conn, Greenwood Press, pp. 429-469.
Winkelman, M 1997, ‘Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Behaviour’, in S Glazier (ed.), Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook of Method and Theory, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn, pp. 393-428.
Riboli, D 2004, ‘Trance, Shamanic’ in Walter MN & EJ Neumann Fridman (eds), Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices and Culture, vol. 1, Calif, Santa Barbara, pp. 250-255.
AND
Winkelman, M 2004, ‘Cross-cultural Perspectives on Shamans’ in Walter MN & EJ Neumann Fridman (eds), Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices and Culture, vol. 1, Calif, Santa Barbara, pp. 61-70.
View this encylopedia online at Google Books
Shamanic Trance (Diana Riboli)
This article attempts to provide a comprehensive definition of ‘shamanic trance.’ ‘Trance’ is defined as an induced or spontaneous sensorial detachment from ordinary reality that allows a shaman to navigate between the everyday world and the spirit realm (Riboli 2004, p. 250). Townsend (1997, p. 441) posits that ‘trance’ is an inappropriate term in the context of shamanic studies, given that it ‘implies a hypnotic or dazed state,’ and that a preferable label for a non-ordinary state in a shamanic context is ‘shamanic state of consciousness.’
It is important to note the dichotomy between a trance of possession and a shamanic trance. Shamanic trance, or ‘soul flight,’ is characterised by a degree of control over and a voluntariness to enter into an altered state of consciousness that is absent from trance of possession. Whilst the shaman’s body remains on earth and the soul travels to alternate universes during soul flight, a supernatural being is lodged within the shaman’s body during a trance of possession. In a trance of possession, a shaman is unable to dominate the spirit by which he or she is possessed (Riboli 2004, p. 251). On this point, Townsend (1997, p. 443) alternatively suggests that shamans are actually in control of the possessing spirits during a trance of possession.
Like Winkelman (1997) and Townsend (1997), Riboli contends that shamans use various methods to induce altered states of consciousness, including psychotropic substances and deep concentration (2004, p. 251). However, Riboli posits that there is no convincing proof that intermittent sonorous stimulation, such as the beat of a drum, can produce neurophysical effects (2004, p. 251). Consensus is reached between Townsend (1997, p. 442) and Riboli (2004, p. 252) on the point that an understanding of shamanic states of consciousness cannot be achieved in isolation from the cultural context in which they occur.
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Shamans (Michael Winkelman)
Winkelman’s cross-cultural studies on shamans is aimed at determining whether shamanism is culturally specific, universal or a ‘widely distributed cross-cultural phenomenon’ (2004, p. 61). For the purposes of Winkelman’s research, the term ‘shaman’ refers to healers from simple hunter-gatherer societies whose training is conducted through altered states of consciousness (2004, p. 63). Individuals are often called to the shamanic role by an initiatory psychological crisis, which generally induces a death-and-rebirth experience. Although certain observers regard the shaman’s initiatory crises as schizophrenic or pathological in nature, these experiences are best described as ‘a temporary period of emotional turmoil and psychological distress’ (Winkelman 2004, p. 64). According to Winkelman, the role of the shaman is markedly different to the roles of shaman/healers, mediums and healers. Winkelman concludes that the ‘differences among shamanistic healers reflect the adaptation of the psychobiological potentials of ASC [altered states of consciousness] to different subsistence practices and social and political conditions’ (2004, p. 67).
References
Riboli, D 2004, ‘Trance, Shamanic’ in Walter MN & EJ Neumann Fridman (eds), Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices and Culture, vol. 1, Calif, Santa Barbara, pp. 250-255.
Townsend, JB 1997, ‘Shamanism’ in S Glazier (ed.), Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook, Westport, Conn, Greenwood Press, pp. 429-469.
Winkelman, M 1997, ‘Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Behaviour’, in S Glazier (ed.), Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook of Method and Theory, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn, pp. 393-428.
Winkelman, M 2004, ‘Cross-cultural Perspectives on Shamans’ in Walter MN & EJ Neumann Fridman (eds), Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices and Culture, vol. 1, Calif, Santa Barbara, pp. 61-70.
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