The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position
The professional ecstatic is a religious specialist, who has become recognized as a person able to carry out an ecstatic ritual, corresponding with the local cultural expectations in force. The ecstatic ritual per se comprises a number of persons, i.e. it is a collective ritual. Part of the criteria...
Published in: | Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Donner Institute
1982
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135 https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67135 |
id |
fttsvojs:oai:journal.fi:article/67135 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fttsvojs:oai:journal.fi:article/67135 2023-05-15T16:06:54+02:00 The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position Sonne, Birgitte 1982-01-01 application/pdf https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135 https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67135 eng eng The Donner Institute https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135/27433 https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135 doi:10.30674/scripta.67135 Copyright (c) 1982 Birgitte Sonne https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 CC-BY-NC-ND Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis; Vol 11 (1982): Religious Ecstasy; 128-150 2343-4937 0582-3226 Experience (Religion) Ecstasy Altered states of consciousness Eskimos Siberia Shamanism Social control Moral conditions Ritual Leadership Religious info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 1982 fttsvojs https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67135 2020-05-29T23:18:13Z The professional ecstatic is a religious specialist, who has become recognized as a person able to carry out an ecstatic ritual, corresponding with the local cultural expectations in force. The ecstatic ritual per se comprises a number of persons, i.e. it is a collective ritual. Part of the criteria that may be employed as a measure of the professional ecstatic's social status, is covered by the determining designation, social and cultic position. What ecstatic ritual duties does he have, and how large a part in the whole range of collective rituals within his society will his duties comprise? This question is examined through the social and ritual position among the Eskimos in their traditional, and thus relatively stable, societal cultures. The professional ecstatics among the Eskimos may be defined as shamans. However, the shamans were only part-time specialists among the Eskimos. They did have ritual tasks in the economic rituals of their society, and most of them had to pass a special ritual of initiation to obtain recognition as a shaman. The Eskimos have no juridical institutions, and as their informal leaders have no juridical authority, the shaman must exercise a considerable control of social morality. The shaman can here function simultaneously as informal leader, which is an impossible combination in societies with some degree of political organization. A shaman never became a leader due to his shaman powers in isolation. In societies where hunting demanded organized cooperation under a single man's leadership, he should also have organisatorial gifts. If a shaman, apart from his recognized shaman powers, possessed these qualities, he could attain a leader's status. His advice as a shaman, in common situations of crisis, combined with his authority as a leader, would endow him with particularly great authority. Article in Journal/Newspaper eskimo* Siberia Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis 11 128 150 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online |
op_collection_id |
fttsvojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Experience (Religion) Ecstasy Altered states of consciousness Eskimos Siberia Shamanism Social control Moral conditions Ritual Leadership Religious |
spellingShingle |
Experience (Religion) Ecstasy Altered states of consciousness Eskimos Siberia Shamanism Social control Moral conditions Ritual Leadership Religious Sonne, Birgitte The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
topic_facet |
Experience (Religion) Ecstasy Altered states of consciousness Eskimos Siberia Shamanism Social control Moral conditions Ritual Leadership Religious |
description |
The professional ecstatic is a religious specialist, who has become recognized as a person able to carry out an ecstatic ritual, corresponding with the local cultural expectations in force. The ecstatic ritual per se comprises a number of persons, i.e. it is a collective ritual. Part of the criteria that may be employed as a measure of the professional ecstatic's social status, is covered by the determining designation, social and cultic position. What ecstatic ritual duties does he have, and how large a part in the whole range of collective rituals within his society will his duties comprise? This question is examined through the social and ritual position among the Eskimos in their traditional, and thus relatively stable, societal cultures. The professional ecstatics among the Eskimos may be defined as shamans. However, the shamans were only part-time specialists among the Eskimos. They did have ritual tasks in the economic rituals of their society, and most of them had to pass a special ritual of initiation to obtain recognition as a shaman. The Eskimos have no juridical institutions, and as their informal leaders have no juridical authority, the shaman must exercise a considerable control of social morality. The shaman can here function simultaneously as informal leader, which is an impossible combination in societies with some degree of political organization. A shaman never became a leader due to his shaman powers in isolation. In societies where hunting demanded organized cooperation under a single man's leadership, he should also have organisatorial gifts. If a shaman, apart from his recognized shaman powers, possessed these qualities, he could attain a leader's status. His advice as a shaman, in common situations of crisis, combined with his authority as a leader, would endow him with particularly great authority. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sonne, Birgitte |
author_facet |
Sonne, Birgitte |
author_sort |
Sonne, Birgitte |
title |
The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
title_short |
The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
title_full |
The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
title_fullStr |
The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
title_full_unstemmed |
The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
title_sort |
professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position |
publisher |
The Donner Institute |
publishDate |
1982 |
url |
https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135 https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67135 |
genre |
eskimo* Siberia |
genre_facet |
eskimo* Siberia |
op_source |
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis; Vol 11 (1982): Religious Ecstasy; 128-150 2343-4937 0582-3226 |
op_relation |
https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135/27433 https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67135 doi:10.30674/scripta.67135 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 1982 Birgitte Sonne https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67135 |
container_title |
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
container_volume |
11 |
container_start_page |
128 |
op_container_end_page |
150 |
_version_ |
1766402919208321024 |