Shamanism : archaic techniques of ecstasy. / Translated from the French by Willard R. Trask.

Translation of Le chamanisme et les techniques archa�iques de l'extase.

Bibliography: p. 518-569.

--Foreword. --Note on orthography. --1. General considerations. recruiting methods. shamanism and mystical vocation. --2. Initiatory sicknesses and dreams. --3. Obtaining shamanic powers. --4. Shamanic initiation. --5. Symbolism of the shaman's costume and drum. --6. Shamanism in Central and North Asia. --7. Shamanism in Central and North Asia. --8. Shamanism and cosmology. --9. Shamanism in North and South America. --10. Southeast Asian and Oceanian shamanism. --11. Shamanic ideologies and techniques among the Indo-Europeans. --12. Shamanic symbolisms and techniques in Tibet, China, and the Far East. --13. Parallel myths, symbols, and rites. --14. Conclusions.

'First published in 1951, Shamanism soon became the standard work in the study of this mysterious and fascinating phenomenon. Writing as the founder of the modern study of the history of religion, Romanian émigré--scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) surveys the practice of Shamanism over two and a half millennia of human history, moving from the Shamanic traditions of Siberia and Central Asia--where Shamanism was first observed--to North and South America, Indonesia, Tibet, China, and beyond. In this authoritative survey, Eliade illuminates the magico-religious life of societies that give primacy of place to the figure of the Shaman--at once magician and medicine man, healer and miracle-doer, priest, mystic, and poet. Synthesizing the approaches of psychology, sociology, and ethnology, Shamanism will remain for years to come the reference book of choice for those intrigued by this practice.'

Paperback.