essay
Shaman-client interchange in Okinawa: performative stages in shamanic therapy
Cultural conceptions of mental health and therapy • Boston • Published In 1982 • Pages: 303-315
By: Lebra, William P..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Lebra examines the shaman-client encounter. Drawing from his ethnographic notes, he identifies three stages, which he calls i) 'negotiating shamanic reality,' ii) 'determining spiritual cause,' and iii) 'prescribing remedial action'. In the first stage the shaman has to demonstrate his or her mastery over spirits before a client is willing to confide in him or her. With respect to spiritual cause, in 70 percent of the cases, ancestors are identified as the source of trouble. The most common prescription for remedial action is prayer. Lebra also discusses the use of comic interludes to relieve a particularly emotionally laden session.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Magical and mental therapy
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Spirits and gods
- Texts translated into english
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Okinawans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1960-1974
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1960-1974
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Okinawa, Japan
- NotesAdditional notes
- William P. Lebra
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 315)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 82003674
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ryukyuans