Conjuring Credits

The Origins of Wonder

User Tools

Site Tools

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Next revision		Previous revision
Last revisionBoth sides next revision
misc:shaman_s_magic [2013/03/13 16:34] – created seedmisc:shaman_s_magic [2014/05/24 17:57] – stephenminch
Line 1: Line 1:
 ====== Shaman's Magic ====== ====== Shaman's Magic ======
  
-E. Lucas Bridges, in //The Uttermost Part of the Earth //(E. P. Dutton and Co, Inc., 1948, pp. 28486) gave this report of a shaman named Houshken, of the Ona tribe of Tierra del Fuego: "I told Houshken that I had heard of his great powers and would like to see some of his magic. He did not refuse my request, but answered modestly that he was disinclined, the Ona way of saying that he might do it by and by.+E. Lucas Bridges, in //The Uttermost Part of the Earth //(E. P. Dutton and Co, Inc., 1948, pp. 284-86) gave this report of a shaman named Houshken, of the Ona tribe of Tierra del Fuego: "I told Houshken that I had heard of his great powers and would like to see some of his magic. He did not refuse my request, but answered modestly that he was disinclined, the Ona way of saying that he might do it by and by.
  
 "After allowing a quarter of an hour to elapse, Houshken said he was thirsty and went down to the nearby stream for a drink. It was a bright moonlight night and the snow on the ground helped to make the scene of the exhibition we were about to witness as light as day. On his return, Houshken sat down and broke into a monotonous chant, which went on until suddenly he put his hands to his mouth.  "After allowing a quarter of an hour to elapse, Houshken said he was thirsty and went down to the nearby stream for a drink. It was a bright moonlight night and the snow on the ground helped to make the scene of the exhibition we were about to witness as light as day. On his return, Houshken sat down and broke into a monotonous chant, which went on until suddenly he put his hands to his mouth. 
Line 9: Line 9:
 "Without pulling the strip tight, Houshken now began to shake his hands violently, gradually bringing them farther apart, until the strip-, with the two ends still showing, was about four feet long. He then called his brother, Chashkil, who took the end from his right hand and stepped back with it. From four feet, the strip now grew out of Houshken's left hand to double that length. Then, as Chashkil stepped forward, it disappeared back into Houshken's hand, until he was able to take the other end from his brother. With the continued agitation of his hands, the strip got shorter and shorter. Suddenly, when his hands were almost together, he clapped them to his mouth, uttered a prolonged shriek, then held out his hands to us, palms upward and empty. "Without pulling the strip tight, Houshken now began to shake his hands violently, gradually bringing them farther apart, until the strip-, with the two ends still showing, was about four feet long. He then called his brother, Chashkil, who took the end from his right hand and stepped back with it. From four feet, the strip now grew out of Houshken's left hand to double that length. Then, as Chashkil stepped forward, it disappeared back into Houshken's hand, until he was able to take the other end from his brother. With the continued agitation of his hands, the strip got shorter and shorter. Suddenly, when his hands were almost together, he clapped them to his mouth, uttered a prolonged shriek, then held out his hands to us, palms upward and empty.
  
-"Even an ostrich could not have swallowed those eight feet of hide at one gulp without visible effort. Where else the coil could have gone to I do not profess to know. It could not have gone up Housken's sleeve, for he had dropped his robe when the performance began [and, like all male Onas without their robes, was naked note by Joseph Campbell]. There were between twenty and thirty men present, but only eight or nine were Houshken's people. The rest were far from being friends of the performer and all had been watching intently. Had they detected some simple trick, the great medicine-man would have lost his influence; they would no longer have believed in any of his magic.+"Even an ostrich could not have swallowed those eight feet of hide at one gulp without visible effort. Where else the coil could have gone to I do not profess to know. It could not have gone up Housken's sleeve, for he had dropped his robe when the performance began [and, like all male Onas without their robes, was naked - note by Joseph Campbell]. There were between twenty and thirty men present, but only eight or nine were Houshken's people. The rest were far from being friends of the performer and all had been watching intently. Had they detected some simple trick, the great medicine-man would have lost his influence; they would no longer have believed in any of his magic.
  
 "The demonstration was not yet over. Houshken stood up and resumed his robe. Once again he broke into a chant and seemed to go into a trance, possessed by some spirit not his own. Drawing himself up to his full height, he took a step towards me and let his robe, his only garment, fall to the ground. He put his hands to his mouth with a most impressive gesture and brought them away again with fists clenched and thumbs close together. He held them up to the height of my eyes, and when they were less than two feet from my face slowly drew them apart. I saw that there was now a small, almost opaque object between them. It was about an inch in diameter in the middle and tapered away into his hands. It might have been a piece of semi-transparent dough or elastic, but whatever it was it seemed to be alive, revolving at great speed, while Houssken, apparently from muscular tension, was trembling violently. "The demonstration was not yet over. Houshken stood up and resumed his robe. Once again he broke into a chant and seemed to go into a trance, possessed by some spirit not his own. Drawing himself up to his full height, he took a step towards me and let his robe, his only garment, fall to the ground. He put his hands to his mouth with a most impressive gesture and brought them away again with fists clenched and thumbs close together. He held them up to the height of my eyes, and when they were less than two feet from my face slowly drew them apart. I saw that there was now a small, almost opaque object between them. It was about an inch in diameter in the middle and tapered away into his hands. It might have been a piece of semi-transparent dough or elastic, but whatever it was it seemed to be alive, revolving at great speed, while Houssken, apparently from muscular tension, was trembling violently.
Line 17: Line 17:
 "The others has crowed round us and, as the object disappeared, there was a frightened gasp from among them. Houshken reassured them with the remark: "The others has crowed round us and, as the object disappeared, there was a frightened gasp from among them. Houshken reassured them with the remark:
  
-"'Do not let it trouble you. I shall call it back to myself again.'" (Quoted by Joseph Campbell in //The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology//, 1959, pp. 24648.)+"'Do not let it trouble you. I shall call it back to myself again.'" (Quoted by Joseph Campbell in //The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology//, 1959, pp. 246-48.) 
 + 
 +{{tag>anecdote}}

Page Tools

Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Imprint & Privacy Policy