SHAMANS, PRIESTS AND WITCHES:
A Cross-Cultural Study of
Magico-Religious Practitioners
LIST OF TABLES ..... v
LIST OF FIGURES ..... v
PREFACE ..... vii
1 - INTRODUCTION ..... 1
1.1 - Historical Anthropology of Magic and Religion ..... 1
1.2 - The Problem of Magic and Religion ..... 4
1.3 - Theoretical Perspectives and Hypotheses ..... 6
1.4 - Chapter Outline of Principal Findings ..... 9
1.5 - Advantage and Limitations of This Study ..... 12
2 - METHODS ..... 15
2.1 - Determining Magico-Religious Practitioner Statuses ..... 15
2.2 - The Sample ..... 17
2.3 - Development of the Coding Format ..... 18
2.4 - Variables ..... 18
2.5 - Statistical Methods ..... 23
3 - MAGICO-RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONER TYPES, SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS ..... 25
3.1 - Cluster Analysis and Practitioner Types ..... 25
3.2 - Validation of Cluster Analysis Classification ..... 26
3.3 - Practitioner Types and Socioeconomic Conditions ..... 27
3.4 - Practitioner Characteristics ..... 28
4 - PRACTITIONER CONFIGURATIONS AND SELECTION-FUNCTION RELATIONS ..... 37
4.1 - Practitioner Type Interrelations ..... 37
4.2 - Practitioner Configurations and Social Conditions ..... 39
4.3 - Selection Procedures and Magico-Religious Activities ..... 42
4.4 - The Evolution of Magico-Religious Practice ..... 46
5 - SHAMANISM ..... 47
5.1 - The Classic Shaman ..... 47
5.2 - The Cross-Cultural Shaman ..... 48
5.3 - The Universal Basis of Shamanism ..... 50
6 - SHAMANISTIC HEALERS ..... 47
6.1 - The Shaman/Healer ..... 55
6.2 - The Social Transformation of the Shaman ..... 57
6.3 - The Medium ..... 59
6.4 - Shamans and Mediums ..... 61
6.5 - The Healer ..... 63
6.6 - Shamans and Healers ..... 65
7 - THE PRIEST ..... 69
7.1 - The Priest ..... 69
7.2 - Characteristics of Priests ..... 70
7.3 - The Status of the Priest ..... 72
7.4 - Priests and the Sociology of Religion ..... 75
8 - THE SORCERER/WITCH ..... 77
8.1 - Sorcery, Witchcraft and the Evil Eye ..... 77
8.2 - The Sorcerer/Witch Characteristics ..... 79
8.3 - Hypothesis: Distinct Sorcerer/Witch Practitioner Types ..... 81
8.4 - Sorcerer/Witches - Origins and Associations ..... 86
9 - ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS ..... 93
9.1 - A Psychophysiological Model of Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) ..... 93
9.2 - Psychophysiological Aspects of ASC Induction Procedures ..... 95
9.3 - Temporal Lobe Syndromes and ASC ..... 97
9.4 - ASC Data Analysis ..... 99
9.5 - Possession ASC and Temporal Lobe Conditions ..... 100
9.6 - Possession ASC and Social Complexity Variables ..... 104
9.7 - ASC and Magico-Religious Practitioner Types ..... 105
9.8 - Social Conditions and ASC Induction Procedures ..... 107
10 - THERAPEUTIC ASPECTS OF SHAMANISTIC HEALING ..... 111
10.1 - Why ASC? ..... 111
10.2 - Shamanistic Theories of Illness and Therapy ..... 112
10.3 - Traditional ASC Therapies ..... 115
10.4 - Physiological and Clinical Bases of ASC Therapies ..... 117
10.5 - Possession, ASC Therapy and Temporal Lobe Syndrome ..... 120
11 - CONCLUSIONS ..... 123
11.1 - The Institutional Bases of Magico-Religious Practices ..... 123
11.2 - Universals of Magico-Religious Practice ..... 125
11.3 - Magic and Religion ..... 125
APPENDIX 1 - MAGICO-RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONERS ..... 131
APPENDIX 2 - METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX ..... 143
2.1 - Data Reliability ..... 143
2.2 - Social Complexity Variables ..... 143
2.3 - Sample Interdependence and the Autocorrelation Method ..... 144
2.4 - Measurements of Similarity ..... 145
2.5 - Quadratic Assignment Program ..... 146
2.6 - Profit: Identifying MDS Dimensions ..... 146
2.7 - Entailment Analysis ..... 147
APPENDIX 3 - MAGICO-RELIGIOUS AND ASC VARIABLES ..... 149
3.1 - Coding Reliability Checks ..... 149
3.2 - Variables ..... 150
3.3 - Coding Instructions ..... 157
3.4 - SCCS Supplemental Bibliography ..... 169
ENDNOTES ..... 173
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..... 179
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