Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes - Molly Bassett
32. Do Native peoples have shamans?
Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes - Molly Bassett
Edward Anthony Polanco [+]
Virginia Tech
Dr. Edward Anthony Polanco is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Virginia Tech. He was born in Los Angeles, CA and his family and ancestors are from Kuskatan (Western El Salvador). His academic interests include Native peoples, Latin America, Gender, Religion, and Healing. His main expertise is healing and gender in the Nahua world (Mexico and El Salvador).
Description
Using examples from various Mesoamerican communities this chapter explores the appropriateness of the term "shaman" in Turtle Island and Abya Yala. Using the term Shaman for Native practitioners in what is today Mexico or other parts of the "Americas" can conceal and distort the nuances of local practices. Here we see that it is best to use local Indigenous terms.