34th Annual Student Research Conference
Between Forests and Villages: Shamanic Symbolism in the Himalayas
Robin Snyder
Dr. Dereck Daschke, Faculty Mentor
Does religion serve an evolutionary purpose? Is spirituality intrinsic in the human experience? These questions can be answered when looking at the similarities across human religions. The study of shamanism, done in the form of ethnographies, helps to bring insight to broad macro religious phenomena found in tribes across the world. I attempt to answer these questions by examining the shamanic tradition of Himalayan tribes. These tribes turn the environment around them, such as trees, mountains, and other objects, into a sacred system of symbols. This system serves to create a structure that can show how people should behave. The function of shamans and other spiritual leaders is to map out the profane, material world through sacred symbols, creating community structures and models for behavior.
Keywords: Shamanism, Religion, Anthropology
Topic(s):Philosophy & Religion
PHRE Senior Seminar
Anthropology
Presentation Type: Asynchronous Virtual Oral Presentation
Session: 16-4
Location: https://flipgrid.com/a8b68415
Time: 0:00