Studia Theologica Varsaviensia, 1986, R. 24, nr 1

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Przeglądaj Studia Theologica Varsaviensia, 1986, R. 24, nr 1 wg Temat "Ameryka Północna"

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    Tajne stowarzyszenia szamańskie na kontynencie północnoamerykańskim
    Dajczer, Tadeusz (Akademia Teologii Katolickiej w Warszawie, 1986)
    The North American shaman may be defined as a practitioner who, with the help of spirits, cures the sick or reveals hidden things etc. while being in an ecstasy. During the trance he may leave his own body, or he may simply summon the spirits to him and ask them to help him. His principal function remained the healing either individually or as a member of a secret shamanistic society. Societies or brotherhoods of a secret and usually sacred character existed among very many American tribes. On the Plains the larger number of these were war societies and they were graded in accor dance with the age and attainments of the members. There were also societies concerned with the religious mysteries, with the keeping of records, and with the dramatization of myths, ethical societies, and societies of mirthmakers, who strove in their performances to reverse the natural order of things. In the South West each Pueblo tribe contained a number of esoteric societies, which mediated between men and the zoomorphic beings of Pueblo mythology. Secret societies in North America which were for both men and women were usually shamanistic societies and were exclusive. At Zuni (South West) there were thirteen societies devoted to healing disease, either collectively in their ceremonies or through individual members. The Grand Medicine society, called Midewiwin, of the Chippewa and neighbouring tribes, was a secret society of four degree's or lodges, into which one could be successively inducted. As a result of these initiations the spiritual insight and power, especially the power to cure disease, was successively increased, while on the purely material side the novitiate received instruction regarding the medicinal virtues of plants. In central California among the Coast Pomo the shamanistic nature of the society was clearly revealed by the fact that all of the members were shamans, and no shaman practiced outside of the society. The society existed here for the purpose of curing and initiations. Among the Inland Porno the medicine society existed for the sake of ceremonial impersonations, the chief impersonator remaining distinctly a health-giver. The central California secret medicine societies were usually characterized by the use of masks and disguises, and the impersonation of healing spirits. Shamanistic specialization seems to be more widely and continuously distributed in California. Over a large part of the state three types of specialists were found: the weather, bear, and rattlesnake shamans. The latter both cured and prevented the bites of that snake. The differentiation of shamans was based according to the degree of power and curative ability, the distinction between the shamans and the laity being not always definitely marked. The original and fundamental trait in the phenomenon of secret shamanistic societies was usually the need for a fuller participation in the sacred.