Isangoma, lethuela, ng’anga–Southern African forms of healing-divining as part of global shamanism 3600-AF-ILN-OW

The course aims to introduce issues related to shamanism in the world and to analyse individual aspects of shamanism: healing, religious and spiritual functions, shaman as historian, strategist, advisor, psychologist. Students will understand the importance of shamanism in the development and survival of cultures, similarities in spiritual, religious, medical and psychological areas, and the worldwide reach of shamanism. The lecturer will show you how to ethically obtain data, how to analyse it and understand it. The course is to equip students with the knowledge needed to analyse shamanic cultures without prejudice and precognitive assumptions. Lecturer will compare selected forms of Southern African shamanism with Siberian and from other cultures. The articles selected for reading before attending the workshop will give students a broad perspective on the relationship between shamanism and Christianity. They are the result of many years of fieldwork and will enable students to take a broad perspective on shamanism in the Christianised part of Africa. Discussion of issues from the articles and workshops will help students fully understand issues related to shamanism and its role in the contemporary world.

Type of course

elective courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Reading the articles: Agnieszka Podolecka, “Spiritual healers in the Basotho society: An overview of ‘traditional’ beliefs in the Christianised Lesotho”, Studies in African Languages and Cultures 55, 2021. Podolecka Agnieszka, Cheyeka Austin, “Ng’anga – Zambian healers-diviners and their relationship with Pentecostal Christianity. The intermingling of pre- Christian beliefs and Christianity”, Journal for the Study of Religion, Volume 34 (2), 2021.

Course coordinators

Beata Wójtowicz

Learning outcomes

The effect of passing the course is that students acquire the following skills and competencies:
- The knowledge of shamanism, its forms and influence on contemporary cultures.
- They have an extended knowledge of selected problems of shamanic cultures
-The students are able to independently find research material and distinguish scientific studies from pop-cultural ones.
-They are able to analyse shamanic behaviours and beliefs.
-They able to recognize the influences of shamanic tradition in many cultures of the world (including native - Polish and European), its elements incorporated into institutionalized religions (e.g.Christianity) and influences on the traditions and behaviours of contemporary people.
-They are equipped with the basic knowledge of the analysis of field research findings.

Assessment criteria

Participation in the discussion based on the articles read and information from the lecture

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3600-AF-ILN-OW in USOSweb