Animism

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_quicksilver.net.nz>
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 15:38:51 +1200


Jerome Blondel:

> > I think that's no "adoration for shamans" which isn't integration of
> > spirits but integrating oneself into a Great Spirit. Which has been
> > raised on here but the end result is still murky.

>I wonder if 'adoration' of a great spirit is not equivalent with
>'integrating'* only the spirits which follow the great spirit inside
>the demesne...

I doubt it very much. "Adoration" is uniting one's spirit directly with a Great Spirit in pretty much a comparable way to a Devotee giving his self up to his god. A different philosophy lies behind integration - it's either reuniting the lost parts of oneself or a hunt for spiritual power (HW:RiG p211).

>I'm curious about shamans' ability to add new spirits
>to their tradition. It means that no two shamans will eventually
>have the same traditions, although they might have societies or
>something similar with the same tradition.

They still will have the same traditions for AFAIK a tradition isn't the sum total of the spirits that one knows and passes on. Instead it's a self-contained body of knowledge united by myth and legend. Even thought Shamans can add new spirits, they can't pass this knowledge onto others as part of their tradition.

>If only shamans can make people enter the spirit world

Even Holy People, Sacred Chiefs and Family Heads (HW:RiG p213) can create openings to the Spirit World in their worship rites and one can enter the spirit world from that (HW:NB p25-27).

--Peter Metcalfe

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