Shamanism
The Timeless Religion
Published on 20. May 2025
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-0-241-63841-5 (ISBN)
Description
'Singh is a brilliant young scholar and a gifted writer, and this remarkable book will change how you think about religion, spirituality, consciousness, and human nature' Paul Bloom
What are the origins of shamanism and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? And what can we learn from indigenous healing practices?
In this enlightening book, anthropologist Manvir Singh offers a new explanation for one of the most misunderstood religious traditions. Travelling from Indonesia to the Amazon, living with shamans and observing music, drug use and indigenous curing ceremonies, he journeys into the origins of shamanism. Fundamentally, shamans are specialists who use altered states to engage with unseen realities and provide services like healing and divination. As Singh shows, shamanism's ubiquity stems from its psychological resonance. Its core appeal is transformation: a specialist uses initiations, deprivation and non-ordinary states to seemingly become a different kind of human, one possessed with the superpowers necessary to tame life's uncertainty.
Following a fascinating cast of characters, Singh tells a larger story about the ancient and modern expressions of this timeless tradition. He argues that biomedicine can learn from shamanic practices, yet that psychedelic enthusiasts completely misrepresent history. He also shows that shamanic traditions will forever re-emerge - and that by journeying into humanity's oldest spiritual practice, we come to better understand ourselves, our history and our future.
What are the origins of shamanism and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? And what can we learn from indigenous healing practices?
In this enlightening book, anthropologist Manvir Singh offers a new explanation for one of the most misunderstood religious traditions. Travelling from Indonesia to the Amazon, living with shamans and observing music, drug use and indigenous curing ceremonies, he journeys into the origins of shamanism. Fundamentally, shamans are specialists who use altered states to engage with unseen realities and provide services like healing and divination. As Singh shows, shamanism's ubiquity stems from its psychological resonance. Its core appeal is transformation: a specialist uses initiations, deprivation and non-ordinary states to seemingly become a different kind of human, one possessed with the superpowers necessary to tame life's uncertainty.
Following a fascinating cast of characters, Singh tells a larger story about the ancient and modern expressions of this timeless tradition. He argues that biomedicine can learn from shamanic practices, yet that psychedelic enthusiasts completely misrepresent history. He also shows that shamanic traditions will forever re-emerge - and that by journeying into humanity's oldest spiritual practice, we come to better understand ourselves, our history and our future.
Reviews / Votes
A fascinating compendium of shamanistic behaviour and techniques... Singh writes with a beguiling mixture of erudition and sheer delight in his discoveries. He is also willing to put in the hard yards * Spectator * Completely fascinating -- Helen Lewis * Strong Message Here, BBC R4 * Blending memoir, investigative journalism, and anthropological fieldwork, Shamanism is a deep dive into a religious tradition that is as mysterious as it is timeless * Time * Monumental... stunningly well-researched... grounded on expert scholarship but for the general reader * Irish Times * A vivid study of who shamans are, and why their practices, which predate organized religion, have endured for centuries. Singh deftly weaves together memoir and fieldwork, reporting from places as varied as Indonesia, the Amazon forest, and Burning Man, and reveals how shamanistic traditions have infiltrated both our culture and our politics * New Yorker * A panoramic survey: Singh has done the fieldwork, the legwork, and the drugwork * The Atlantic * An erudite, engaging and deeply personal journey into this ancient, yet ever-evolving, religious practice * Weird Walk * Eye-opening book that's a lot of fun to read... made me think and is a great advertisement for anthropology as a discipline -- Sophie Roell * Five Books * Deftly interweaving memoir, journalism, his own anthropological fieldwork, and cutting-edge archaeology, Manvir Singh's Shamanism provides a bracing new look at one of our species' oldest and most characteristically human experiences-reaching into the spiritual realm through the powerful figure of the shaman. Traveling from the Indonesian forest to the wilds of Burning Man, Singh takes us deep into history and the human heart, showing us that this ancient religion is very much present in our lives today -- Charles C. Mann, author of The Wizard and the Prophet Singh's Shamanism is a fast-paced, erudite, lyrical adventure through time and space that explores who shamans are, where they come from, what they do, and why we believe-or don't-in their supposed powers. This wildly enjoyable book will transform how you think about the human mind and the nature of culture -- Daniel Lieberman, author of ExercisedMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
502 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-63841-5 (9780241638415)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Manvir Singh is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, and his writings have also appeared in Wired, Vice and the Guardian, as well as leading academic journals such as Science. He has studied psychedelic use in the Colombian Amazon and conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Mentawai communities on Siberut Island, Indonesia.