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UmbertoSansoni
widermythologicalandfolkloristicheritageoftheMiddleandModernAges.In
particular,thereisthecaseofthe‘Benandanti’intheeasternAlpswhowereac-
tiveuntilthe16thcentury(anderadicatedbytheItalianInquisition),ortheIl-
lyrian‘Krasniki’,theSerbian‘Zduhac’,theHungarian‘Tàitos’(until18thcentury)
aswellassomeothernotableGermanandMediterraneantraditions.
Thehugediversityofvisionaryexperiencesamongdifferentculturalgroups
is,infact,areflectionofthevarietywaysinwhichsocietiesconnectwiththe
religiousworld.Butthestrongconnectionbetweenknownshamanicpracticesof
trancetechniquesisalsoclear.Thesecanbeassociatedwiththeuseofhalluci-
nogens,fasting,sensorialdeprivations,visions(sometimestriggeredbymental
dissociationslinkedwithschizophreniaandepilepsy),theincubationofdreams,
music,singing,dance(oftenaccompaniedwiththerhythmicsoundofadrum),
theconsciousandcontrolledexitofthesoulfromthebodyfortravel(or‘magic
flight’),encounterswithspiritsorgods,thevisitationofspiritguidesinform
ofanimals(incertaincasesfantasticoranthropomorphic),thepassageinto
theupperorlowerworld(throughtunnels,stairsorbridges),andanorganized
cosmologythathasacentralpoint(axismundi)whichmaybetheWorldTree
ortheTreeofLife.
Itmustbeemphasizedthatashamanshouldnottobeconfusedwithapriest;
heorsheisanactivepractitionerandnotapassivereceiverofmysticalmes-
sagessuchasamedium.Moreover,heorsheperceivesthespiritualother-world
asreal,thetrulygenuineoneandwhencomparedtoourworlditlookslikealie
(JivaroofEquador)ora‘fadeddream’(Drury1995).
Finally,theriteofinitiationisaveryimportantcharacteristicofshamanism
asitfacilitatesspiritualascensionwhichprovidesdirectknowledgeaboutboth
therealandthespiritualworld.Additionally,shamanicritualstendtomagi-
callyfocusuponapracticalgoalofwhichthemostwellknownformistocure
anillness;however,thereareotherobjectives,suchasguidingadeceased’ssoul,
huntingsuccess,fixingbrokentaboosandrebuildingcosmicharmonybetween
differentworlds.
Rockartandshamanism
Whenconsideringthewideexpanseofthephenomenon,itsarchaismandits
basisinso-calledanimism,itislikelyshamanismisoneofthemostancient
manifestationsofsacredexperiencesamongearlyHomosapiens.Palaeolithic
caveart,thoughstillsubjecttovigorousdebate,providesuswithstrongclues
aboutthisreligiosity;however,post-Palaeolithicrockartundoubtedlyprovides
incontrovertibleevidence,suchasthecaseoftheBushmenrockpaintings(Lew-
is-Williams1981,1987).Thefundamentalroleofshamanisminsocietyisan
