Shamanism cover art

Shamanism

The Timeless Religion

Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Shamanism

By: Manvir Singh
Narrated by: Frits Zernike
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

From a brilliant, young, Harvard-trained anthropologist and contributor to The New Yorker comes a fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present moment, for readers disaffected with organized religion who seek a more personal approach to spirituality.

What are the origins of shamanism, and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? What can we learn from indigenous healing practices?

Traveling from Indonesia to the Colombian Amazon, living with shamans and observing music, drug use, and indigenous curing ceremonies, anthropologist Manvir Singh journeys into one of the most mysterious religious traditions. Fundamentally, shamans are specialists who use altered states to engage with unseen realms and provide services like healing and divination. As Singh shows, shamanism’s appeal stems from its psychological resonance. Its essence is spiritual transformation: a specialist uses initiations, deprivation, and non-ordinary states to seemingly become a different kind of human, one possessed of powers to cure, prophesy, and otherwise tame life’s uncertainties.

Following a fascinating cast of characters, Singh reveals the complexities and vicissitudes of a timeless, always relevant, and ubiquitous phenomenon. He argues that biomedicine can learn from shamanic practices and that psychedelic enthusiasts completely misrepresent history. He also shows that shamanic traditions will forever re-emerge – and that by contemplating humanity’s oldest spiritual practice, we come to better understand ourselves, our history, and our future.
Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts Religious Studies Shamanism
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.