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    Why shamanism? Why Peru? Why now? : why are Westerners travelling to Peru for a shamanic experience? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Maw, Nicola
    Why Shamanism? Why Peru? Why Now? This thesis answers these questions by exploring the richness of the Peruvian Amazon, Andean mountains, and the shamanic traditions that dwell within. I describe why it is that members of the West turn towards shamanism and specifically Peruvian shamanism for spiritual, environmental and medical reasons. The phenomenon of the shamanic tour is explored and the scientists who study Peruvian shamanism in order to understand and transfer its benefits to the Western world are also considered. Reasons for their interest include: curiosity, spiritual enlightenment, drug tourism, medical (psychological and physiological) and the need to experience and record shamanic knowledge before it is lost. Reasons why this knowledge is sought and made available at this time is explained including reference to the new age movement, disillusionment with religious and biomedical institutions in the West, changing worldviews and the Q'ero Inkan prophecy which foretells the time when the eagle of the North (the Western world) and the condor of the South (traditional world) will fly together and the Earth will awaken. As Western interest increases, and as the world changes, intellectual property rights become an issue for these traditional societies. Indigenous knowledge and current trends and implications of international intellectual property legislation are discussed.
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    Taking the spirits seriously: neo-shamanism and contemporary shamanic healing in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Sanson, Irene Dawne
    This thesis is a phenomenological and comparative study of contemporary shamanic healing and neo-Shamans in New Zealand. It considers neo-Shamanism as a complex of spiritual practices situated within a broad but identifiable cosmological sensibility, and as variable systems of healing. The relationships between neo-Shamans and some other new religious movements in New Zealand, and the similarities or differences between the practices of other neo- and indigenous shamans within a global context are examined. The discussion sits within a larger health and healing discourse about the relationships between neo-Shamanism, complementary and alternative medicine, and biomedicine amongst the medically pluralistic culture of New Zealand. It describes contemporary Māori healing as a possible variant of shamanism within local and global contexts; in particular, it examines the relationships between (some) neo- Shamans in New Zealand and (some) Māori healers. I argue that modern Western shamans are synthesising and creating multiple 21st century forms of neo-Shamanisms, and that neo-Shamans in New Zealand are part of this emerging (re)construction process. However, neo-Shamans in New Zealand are also unique in that they live and practise in this land, which has led to them creating new spiritual identities as neo-Shamanic practitioners in New Zealand. I suggest that neo-Shamans in New Zealand do many of the things that indigenous shamans have always done and continue to do (such as entering altered states of consciousness), albeit within a particular modern Western cultural context. Moreover, I contend that neo-Shamans are challenging orthodox Western science as they engage in a sacred science that ‘takes the spirits seriously’ (Blain, 2002:74). Secondly, I argue that many practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine consciously or unconsciously incorporate what might be regarded as shamanistic techniques and tools into their work, creating fusion models of healing. My observation is that the importation of shamanic healing practices into the West has contributed to these processes. I suggest that while at least some contemporary healers might be considered ‘shamans’ in disguise, nomenclature issues around whether or not they should be defined as shamans are less important than the fact that their healing practices have widened to include implicitly or explicitly a spiritual dimension.