Toward an anthropology of shamanisms: Introduction to selected topics

Toward an anthropology of shamanisms: Introduction to selected topics

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26881/etno.2024.10.01

Keywords:

history and meanings of the term “shamanism”, shamanic studies, paradigms in shamanism studies, anthropological methodology

Abstract

The article provides a concise introduction to two issues in anthropological research on shamanism:
1) the conceptual use of the term “shamanism” and 2) the main methodological approaches to its study. It proposes a kind of cognitive map of shamanisms, shaped by key ideas from anthropology. The text also suggests a way to organize the extensive literature on shamanism from both paradigmatic perspectives, encompassing approaches, schools, and frameworks, and a historical perspective, considering stages, phases, and periods of research. In doing so, the article offers a structured entry point into the complex field of shamanism studies

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Author Biographies

Tarzycjusz Buliński, University of Gdańsk

cultural anthropologist, PhD habil., associate professor at the Institute of Anthropology, University of Gdańsk. Research interests: anthropology of education, ethnology of Indigenous peoples of Amazonia, theory and methodology of anthropology, childhood studies. 

Oyungerel Tangad, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences

mongolian cultural anthropologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Research interests: cultural transformations in Mongolia, anthropology of morality, descriptive ethics, epistemology, local ontologies, fieldwork methodology, intercultural translation and communication.

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Published

2025-11-02

How to Cite

Buliński, T., & Tangad, O. (2025). Toward an anthropology of shamanisms: Introduction to selected topics: Toward an anthropology of shamanisms: Introduction to selected topics. Ethnography. Practices, Theories, Experiences, 10(10), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.26881/etno.2024.10.01

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