"Pilgrimage and Healing"

Thousands trek to Nevada’s Burning Man festival to burn a towering effigy and the hopeful ill journey to Lourdes seeking a cure as they have for centuries. Although pilgrimage may seem an antiquated religious ritual, it remains a vibrant activity in the modern world as pilgrims combine traditional motives--such as seeking a remedy for physical or spiritual problems--with contemporary searches for identity or interpersonal connection. That pilgrimage continues to exercise such a strong attraction is testimony to the power it continues to hold for those who undertake these sacred journeys. In Pilgrimage and Healing, the authors, Jill Dubisch and Michael Winkelman, bring together anthropological and interdisciplinary perspectives on these persistent forms of spiritual quest to expand our understanding of the role of pilgrimage in an increasingly secular world. This volume examines the healing dimensions of pilgrimage and seeks to illuminate why so many participants find pilgrimage a compelling way to address the problem of suffering.

Shamanic Revival in Mongolia

While traditional shamanism continues to decline around the world, it is currently undergoing a revival in Mongolia. In a bewildering urban landscape where long traditions of nomadic lifestyles are things of the past, the ancient beliefs of Tengrism (modern term for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, polytheism and ancestor worship) serve to fill a spiritual void. A new generation of Mongolians has been chosen by the spirits to serve as Shamans. Photographer Hwee Young How has published a photographic essay exploring the shamanic resurgence. 

Shamanic Drum Divination

Divination is the art of seeing and interpreting signs in everything around us and the drum is a powerful divination tool. The Sámi shamans of northern Scandinavia were renowned for their drum divination skills. They used drum divination to determine the future, location of game, diagnosis and remedies. Sámi drumheads are decorated with cosmological rune symbols and drawings of heavenly bodies, plants, animals, humans and human habitations; sometimes divided into separate regions by horizontal or vertical lines. For divination, the drum is held horizontally with the drum face parallel to the floor. A metal ring or other kind of pointer is centered on the top of the drumhead. The drum is gently played with the drumstick so that the pointer moves across the drumhead. The diviner observes the movement of the pointer in relation to the symbols on the drum to interpret the answer. Detailed instructions on how to make and use divination drums can be found in the book Oghams & Oracles: Divination in the Druidic Tradition.

The Shaman's Jaw Harp

The instrument we call the jaw harp exists in many forms, is found on nearly every continent and has countless regional names and variants. It is classed as a plucked idiophone: it consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame. The tongue/reed is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a springy sounding, rhythmic drone-like note. For many people the jaw harp is an instrument of meditation and introspection. Among the shamans of Central Asia, the drum is thought of as a yang instrument, and is suitable for use in group ceremonies, but the jaw harp is considered a yin instrument and is used by the shaman to directly enter a trance state, and is therefore more for the player and less for the listeners. Read more.