article

Northern Paiute shamanism revisited

Anthropos • 74 (1/2) • Published In 1979 • Pages: 11-24

By: Olofson, Harold.

Abstract

This work, is based on research done over a period of eight weeks on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation at Nixon, Nevada, in the summer of 1965. The data collected were elicited primarily from one major informant, William Paddy, a native of Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Idaho. This paper is offered not as a criticism of earlier works on shamanism by Lowie, Kelly, Steward, and Park, but as an addition to it. This document describes …'the two concepts of 'power', the prevalence of power and 'power specialties', the thwarting of the shamanic call, the use of the eagle feather in the pillowcase to prompt and test power dreams, the power quest (as seen in myth), 'obedience' or 'empathy tasks' in curing sessions, the importance of the interpreter, varying techniques of curing (with emphasis on the work of the Pyramid Lake shaman Bobby Dodd), and current religious eclecticism ( p.23).

HRAF PubDate

2012

Region

North America

Sub Region

Southwest and Basin

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2011

Field Date

1965

Coverage Date

1965

Coverage Place

Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, Nixon, Nevada, United States

Notes

Harold Olofson

Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-24)

LCCN

07021775

LCSH

Paiute Indians