Shamanism and the Origin of States

Spirit, Power, and Gender in East Asia

Inbunden, Engelska, 2008

Av Sarah Milledge Nelson

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Sarah Milledge Nelson’s bold thesis is that the development of states in East Asia—China, Japan, Korea—was an outgrowth of the leadership in smaller communities guided by shamans. Using a mixture of historical documents, mythology, archaeological data, and ethnographic studies of contemporary shamans, she builds a case for shamans being the driving force behind the blossoming of complex societies. More interesting, shamans in East Asia are generally women, who used their access to the spirit world to take leadership roles. This work challenges traditional interpretations growth of Asian states, which is overlaid with later Confucian notions of gender roles. Written at a level accessible for undergraduates, this concise work will be fascinating reading for those interested in East Asian archaeology, politics, and society; in gender roles, and in shamanism.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2008-07-15
Mått152 x 229 x undefined mm
Vikt720 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor304
FörlagLeft Coast Press Inc
ISBN9781598741322

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Preface and Acknowledgments xv , CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION TO SHAMANISMAND THE ORIGIN OF STATES , CHAPTER 2: LANDSCAPES, LEGENDS, AND SKYSCAPES, CHAPTER 3: WHAT IS A SHAMAN? CHAPTER 4: POWER, LEADERSHIP, AND GENDER, CHAPTER 5: SHAMANS IN THE EAST, ASIAN NEOLITHICCHAPTER 6: SHAMANISM IN EARLY CHINESE STATES, CHAPTER 7: SHAMANISM IN KOREA, CHAPTER 8: SHAMANISM IN THE JAPANESE ISLANDS 199, CHAPTER 9: RETYING THE KNOTS

'n this book Sarah Milledge Nelson suggests that shamanism was a significant building block for state formation in East Asia, and that women, who often had the shamanistic access to the spirit world, played an important role in this process. She shows how this would have been the case, by systematically going through archaeological, historical and ethnographic records of various regions of East Asia and surrounding areas, from Palaeolithic through early historic times, unravelling and rewinding various strands of mythological, ideological, documentary, and simply anthropological. Very convincingly, [Nelson] demonstrates the fun and value of an alternative approach to East Asian archaeology.' umiko Ikawa-Smith, McGill University