Abstract
To choose a terminology for an investigation of shamanism in contemporary Norway is not entirely without problems. Many shamans are adamant in rejecting the term religion in connection with their practices and choose broader rubrics when describing what they believe in. When shamanism was approved as an official religion by the Norwegian government in 2012, the tensions ran high, and many shamanic practitioners refused to accept the connection between religion and shamanism. This chapter provides an account of the emic categories and connections used today by shamanic entrepreneurs and others who share these types of spiritual beliefs. In particular, the advantages and disadvantages of the term religion and how it is deployed on the ground by shamans in Norway will be highlighted.
Highlights
In the late 1980s, shamanism gained a foothold in Norway, at the same time influencing cultural life and various secular and semi-secular currents.One aim of this chapter is to take the diversity and hybridity within shamanic practices seriously through case studies from a Norwegian setting
I try to paint a picture of shamanism in Norway in its cultural context and describe the concepts, rubrics, and connections that practitioners deploy to position themselves in a Norwegian cultural and political context
As James Beckford notes, “Disputes about what counts as religion, and attempts to devise new ways of controlling what is permitted under the label of religion have all increased” (Beckford 2003, p. 1)
Summary
In the late 1980s, shamanism gained a foothold in Norway, at the same time influencing cultural life and various secular and semi-secular currents. I have chosen to examine the field of shamanism in Norway ethnographically by focusing on some specific contexts and personalities using interviews, observation, and document analysis as my main research tools. Even though these tools represent different approaches to the field, the combination opened the possibility for more depth as well as understanding. A culture analytical approach is about understanding and interpreting what is meaningful for members of a culture (Frykman and Löfgren 1979; Ehn and Löfgren 1982) It is about seeing how meaning is created and re-created. Cultural analysis constitutes a tool to highlight perspectives that say something about contemporary shamans’ values, attitudes, and interpretations of everyday life, including shamanic activities and experiences
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