Shamanism in Contemporary Society
Author(s): Justin Woodman
Source: Anthropology Today, Vol. 14, No. 6 (Dec., 1998), pp. 23-24
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2783241
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THE HMONG/MIAO IN ASIA
Since international mono-ethnic conferences
settled for an electronic mailbox and a
are becoming increasingly common, the
further meeting in Chiangmai in 2000. A
still support covert armed resistance in Laos
recent gathering of kindred spirits at the
book of the proceedings is planned.4
and Vietnam, and those who do not. The
Alison Lewis spoke interestingly on the
Centre des Archives d'Outre-Mer,
remains deeply divided between those who
former have their own campaigns and
Aix-en-Provence, France, on 11-13
impact of Protestant missions on the A
agendas on behalf of what are seen as
September, under the auspices of the
Hmao ('Flowery Miao') in Yunnan around
Hmong interests, and it was not likely they
European Science Foundation and CNRS at
the turn of the century. Michaud spoke of
would attend such a meeting. However, the
the University of Provence, was of interest
his work on Hmong identity in the
conference was fortunate to secure
in being an academic conference of a
little-studied north of Vietnam, and Lemoine
presentations on the Hmong diaspora by two
different type to those the Hmong have
delivered a compelling lecture on the
leaders of the Hmong liberal community
recently organized for themselves. The
non-religious nature of Hmong shamanism.
(and the first two Hmong to obtain
There were linguistic contributions (Ratcliff,
doctorates); Garry Lee, and Yang Dao, who
Niederer), and more applied considerations
delivered closing papers.
Hmong are traditional shifting cultivators of
South East Asia and southern China, whose
diaspora to the West after the Vietnam War
has resulted in new forms of transnational
identity, and a veritable explosion of
publications.1 Hmong associations have
by Hmong researchers from Thailand and
Vietnam (Leepreecha, Vuong). My own
contribution attempted a critical
concerned with identification and
bibliography of works in 'Hmong studies'.
classification, and the newer language of
Hmong identity is not so unproblematic as
been formed and meetings held across
France, Australia and the US; there are
Hmong e-mail networks, newsletters and
increasingly trading links. In the calm
atmosphere of the Indochina archives, the
intention here was to hold a more serious
international meeting of Hmong scholars, of
a type there has not been since the early
1980s.2
An Orientalist discourse in which the
names of 19th century Cornish pastors and
early French Indochina colonial officials
figure large has succeeded in imaging the
Hmong as a proud, free, independent people,
fiercely opposed to the hierarchical
structures of Asian despotisms condemned
by missionaries and early explorers. And
during this three-day conference, organised
by Jean Michaud of the Centre for
South-East Asian Studies at Hull and
sur le Sud-Est Asiatique in Aix, there was
which Schein and Cheung spoke particularly
assumed. Stories were told at the conference
well; an approach taking full account of the
of how Hmong from the US, recently
dislocated positions from which
visiting their original homelands in China in
ethnographers have for some time now
search of their 'roots', were astonished to be
conducted their research on 'fixed' ethnic
greeted by groups of people called 'Miao'
groups. Not that the Hmong, traditionally,
speaking unfamiliar languages. Indeed there
were ever that spatially 'fixed'; as shifting
was a problem to know just what to call this
cultivators, they were used to taking their
conference; the derogatory 'Miao' is
kinship relations with them, and recreating
resented by all the Hmong outside China,
their society wherever they went, as
while inside China they are officially known
Lemoine reminded us. But there did seem to
as 'Miao' along with distantly related groups
be a disjunction, on the one hand a concern
like the A Hmao of Yunnan, the Hmu of
with the rapid loss of traditional 'culture',
Guizhou, and the Kho Xiong of Hunan,
and on the other, a feeling that what we
whom several attendees had studied. Hence
were doing was also a part of Hmong
the double title.
cultural production; will a Hmong Studies
And many papers addressed more
much discussion of the tribal, segmentary
traditional life as shifting cultivators which,
Jacques Lemoine (CNRS) maintained, has
formations of the 'Miao', arising from his
work with the Ge in China, a group resisting
Schein dealt with issues of transnational
organize themselves as a political bloc seem
often to have failed, and some of this
atomism may have rubbed off on those who
have worked with them. There was talk of
setting up an International Hmong Studies
Association, or starting a Newsletter, but we
1. One bibliography numbers over 1,000 entries,
although missing many important ones and heavily
biased towards English-language and North American
publications; A Bibliography of the Hmong (Miao),
1983, compiled by Douglas Olney (Southeast Asian
Refugee Studies Occasional Papers No.1); Center for
between the American Hmong and Miao in
Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota
Hmong society were also covered. Bob
Certainly attempts by the Hmong to
Nicholas Tapp
University of Edinburgh
identity exchange in her account of relations
China. Some of the current changes in
survived their transition to urban life.3
Department be the next step? E]
constructivist notions of Hmong identity.
their official classification as 'Miao'; Louisa
nature of Hmong social organization in their
cultural production and identity exchange
many ethnographers, and the refugees, have
Simon Cheung examined textualized identity
Christian Culas of the Institut de Recherche
There seemed almost to be two languages
talked at this conference; an older language
Cooper's paper dealt with notions of 'rape',
of topical concern after a series of teenage
gang rapes in Minnesota, while Patricia
2. The Second Hmong Research Conference,
University of Minnesota, 17-19 November 1983.
3. Lemoine's ethnography, Un Village Hmong Vert
du Haut Laos, was published by CNRS in 1972.
4. Sadly Professor Gordon Downer of Leeds, a
pioneer of Miao-Yao linguistic studies, was unable to
join us, having passed away very recently; see
Symonds gave a harrowing account of the
Obituary by Hugh Baker, The Guardian, Monday 14
impact of HIV/AIDS on Thai Hmong
September.
populations.5
The overseas Hmong refugee community
5. Beth Hawkins, 'The Country', City Pages
(Minn.), 12 August 1998.
SHAMANISM IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
'Shamanism in Contemporary Society', an
several workshops exploring the experiential
encompassing such topics as the role of
international conference, was hosted
dimension of a variety of shamanisms.
teacher plants in shamanic experience,
between 23 and 26 June by the University of
Similarly, the conference was opened not
cyborgs, shamanism and postmodernism,
Newcastle upon Tyne's Department of
with a traditional address, but with a
shamanism in the corporate sector,
Religious Studies. During the initial session,
shamanic ceremony led by Gordon Sharpe,
shamanism in the Old Testament, soul-loss
where delegates were invited to enter into a
and spirit-possession, shamanic power and
Harvey outlined the raison d'e^tre of the
sacred circle and explore their sense of
the collective unconscious, and the
conference as providing a forum for the joint
connection to the earth and to each other.
shamanisms of Mexico and Central Asia;
exploration of the perspective of academics
This was followed by a participatory
workshops variously explored Inca
and contemporary western shamanic
shamanic drumming session led by Carol
shamanism, past-life journeying, Romani
Youngson and the Deer Tribe.
shamanism, and included a healing
organizers Charlotte Hardman and Graham
practitioners alike. In the spirit of this goal,
the usual conference format of paper
presentations was broadened to include
Papers were a vibrant mixture of
experiential and theoretical analyses,
ceremony (the delegate being healed later
reported a cessation of the symptoms of her
ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY Vol 14 No 6, December 1998 23
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explored experientially in most of the
ailment). The overarching theme running
'wolfman' analyses in the light of the
throughout most papers and workshops was
shamanic idiom of the 'power animal',
workshops (which was perhaps more
the importance of experiential engagement
suggesting that similar cases would reach a
appropriate, given the experiential focus of
in the understanding of shamanic praxis.
more positive resolution if viewed not as the
the conference).
Given this thematic context, the general
mood of the conference was marked by a
call for the re-evaluation of rationalist
epistemological frameworks invariable
symptoms of sexual neurosis, but as
visionary, initiatory experiences.
Both Robert Wallis and Piers Vitebsky
were, however, careful to problematize
The conference evidenced a distinct
postmodernist flavour, most notably in its
focus upon the authority of individual
experience. As a consequence, I felt that the
called upon by academics in their encounters
contemporary western shamanisms,
general thrust of the debate was sometimes
with the otherworldly. Specifically, the
critiquing the co-option and
in danger of accentuating experiential
notion that the spirit world maintained an
decontextualization of indigenous shamanic
narratives over a more objective
experiential existence beyond the scope of
praxis by New Age shamans, and the
methodology, mirroring what seemed to me
to be an implicit assumption that
scientific-reductivist tropes was advocated in
resultant neo-colonialist overtures apparent
numerous papers and workshops. This was
in the privileging of western concepts of
scientific-rationalist epistemologies were of
perhaps most strongly underscored by
spirituality over those of indigenous peoples.
limited application to this subject area.
However, this apparent asymmetry
neurochemist Elaine Perry, who bravely
This point was aptly underscored by the fact
offered an alternative view of the
that a number of delegates were perturbed
articulated a much needed deconstruction
neuroscientific perspective, suggesting that
by an instance in Mihaly Hoppal's film
and re-evaluation of the tendency within the
the neurological effects produced by
presentation, depicting the sacrifice of a
social sciences to marginalize 'shamanic'
psychotropic plants may in fact facilitate
horse as part of a Tungusic shamanic
states of consciousness through a focus upon
genuine experiences of the otherworldly.
ceremony. As an alternative to the co-option
structural and socio-political contexts. In this
Perry presented a number of anomalous
of traditional shamanisms, Daniel Noel
respect, the conference also successfully
cases drawn from the medical and
suggested that the Jungian tradition should
avoided the academic elitism often visible in
psychiatric literature to support this view.
be looked to as the 'indigenous' shamanism
more traditional conference agendas, where
Notably, the numbers of academics present
of the west. However, during a panel
scholastic/theoretical discourses are
who were already involved in some form of
discussion focusing on his recent book The
frequently privileged over and above the
voices and experience of practitioners.
shamanic practice suggests that a shift
Soul of Shamanism, Noel was criticized for
towards a more totalizing approach to
over-emphasizing the literary origins of
magico-religious phenomenon is well under
western neo-shamanism in the works of
way within the academic sphere.
Michael York and Natalie Tobert shared
Furthermore, the inclusion of experiential
workshops added a welcome participatory
Eliade and Casteneda. The panel suggested
dimension to the proceedings, circumventing
that contemporary neo-shamanism was a
the dryness sometimes encountered in
the view that western perspectives were too
more dynamic, grass-roots phenomenon that
similar academic contexts. I left the
deeply embedded in a psychopathology
had arisen out of the dialogue between
conference feeling that it had been an
which marginalized those suffering from
indigenous shamanisms and western
enlightening and informative experience; but
psychic disorders. Tobert subsequently
practitioners. Many papers considered
above all else, it had been fun.
argued that it might be more meaningful and
contemporary western shamanisms in
beneficial to approach ailments such as
relation to their roots within indigenous
appear in a volume with the provision title
A selection of the papers presented will
schizophrenia and multiple personality
praxis, yet, given the conference's title,
Shamanism in Contemporary Society, which
disorder as incursions of the otherworldly,
surprisingly few papers explicitly examined
is to be published in 1999. a
rather than compartmentalize them as forms
the practical role of shamanic states of
of mental illness. Likewise, Alan Bleakley
consciousness in everyday life in a modern,
Department of Anthropology, Goldsmiths'
reconsidered Freud's classic 'ratman' and
urban context. This issue was, however,
College, London
Justin Woodman
OLLUI1LF ______
CARLOS CASTANEDA
Carlos Cesar Arana Castaneda, the
drug-induced mental adventures with a
experimented with peyote, jimson weed and
self-proclaimed 'sorcerer' and best selling
Yaqui Indian shaman named Don Juan once
dried mushrooms, undergoing moments of
author, died of liver cancer on 27 April 1998
fascinated the world and his ten books
ecstasy and panic, all in an effort to achieve
at his home in Westwood, California -
continue to sell in 17 languages. The book
varying states of nonordinary reality.
Castaneda said he saw giant insects, learnt to
apparently aged 72. 'Apparently' because
which launched his reputation with a strange
Castaneda was an inveterate and unrepentant
mixture of anthropology, allegory,
fly, grew a beak, became a crow and
liar about the statistical details of his life;
parapsychology, ethnography, Buddhism
ultimately reached a plateau of higher
even his given name is in some doubt.
and perhaps fiction, was The Teachings of
consciousness, a hard-won wisdom that
According to Deborah Drooz, a friend and
Don Juan, based upon a master's thesis
made him a 'man of knowledge' like Don
executor of the estate, Castaneda didn't like
written as an anthropology graduate student
Juan.
attention, making certain not to have his
picture taken or his voice recorded. He died,
as he lived, secretly and mysteriously: no
funeral or public service was held and his
cremated ashes were apparently spirited
away to Mexico.
Despite, or perhaps because, of his
cultivation of mystery, Castaneda's tales of
at UCLA. He said he stopped in an Arizona
Although Castaneda's death certificate
border town where he met an old Yaqui
lists him as never married, he was married
Indian from Sonora, Mexico, named Juan
from 1960-1973 to Margaret Runyan
Matus, a brujo - a sorcerer or shaman - who
Castaneda of Charleston, West Virginia.
used powerful hallucinogens to initiate the
(Source: Anthropology Newsletter 39:6) El
student.
Under Don Juan's strenuous tutelage,
which lasted several years, Castaneda
24 ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY Vol 14 No 6, December 1998
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