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Visiting the Six Worlds : Shamanistic Journeys in Canadian Mi'kmaq Cosmology

Hornborg, Anne-Christine LU orcid (2006) In Journal of American Folklore 119. p.312-336
Abstract
Mi’kmaq Indians’ descriptions of journeys between parallel worlds, as we find them in tales collected from the early seventeenth century to the earlier twentieth, are far too complex to fit into Mircea Eliade’s model of shamanism or romantic images of Indians as being “one with nature”. The tales reveal six parallel worlds in which all types of beings belongs to families, have wigwams, and search for food. The parallelism between the worlds has no significance for beings living their ordinary lives, but it is of the utmost importance for understanding how differing types of beings (people, animals, supernaturals) achieve interworlds journeys. The notions of cosmological deixis and perspectivism are used to explore the narratives and shed... (More)
Mi’kmaq Indians’ descriptions of journeys between parallel worlds, as we find them in tales collected from the early seventeenth century to the earlier twentieth, are far too complex to fit into Mircea Eliade’s model of shamanism or romantic images of Indians as being “one with nature”. The tales reveal six parallel worlds in which all types of beings belongs to families, have wigwams, and search for food. The parallelism between the worlds has no significance for beings living their ordinary lives, but it is of the utmost importance for understanding how differing types of beings (people, animals, supernaturals) achieve interworlds journeys. The notions of cosmological deixis and perspectivism are used to explore the narratives and shed light on Mi’kmaq cosmology. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cosmological deixis, Mi’kmaq tales, shamanism, traditional ecological knowledge, interworlds journeys, perspectivism
in
Journal of American Folklore
volume
119
pages
312 - 336
publisher
American Folklore Society
external identifiers
  • wos:000240779100004
  • scopus:70449816756
ISSN
0021-8715
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (015017000)
id
c4c6acda-757a-4009-9c7b-d68dc953faa9 (old id 156447)
alternative location
http://muse.jhu.edu/article/204004
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:23:16
date last changed
2023-09-25 19:30:18
@article{c4c6acda-757a-4009-9c7b-d68dc953faa9,
  abstract     = {{Mi’kmaq Indians’ descriptions of journeys between parallel worlds, as we find them in tales collected from the early seventeenth century to the earlier twentieth, are far too complex to fit into Mircea Eliade’s model of shamanism or romantic images of Indians as being “one with nature”. The tales reveal six parallel worlds in which all types of beings belongs to families, have wigwams, and search for food. The parallelism between the worlds has no significance for beings living their ordinary lives, but it is of the utmost importance for understanding how differing types of beings (people, animals, supernaturals) achieve interworlds journeys. The notions of cosmological deixis and perspectivism are used to explore the narratives and shed light on Mi’kmaq cosmology.}},
  author       = {{Hornborg, Anne-Christine}},
  issn         = {{0021-8715}},
  keywords     = {{cosmological deixis; Mi’kmaq tales; shamanism; traditional ecological knowledge; interworlds journeys; perspectivism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{312--336}},
  publisher    = {{American Folklore Society}},
  series       = {{Journal of American Folklore}},
  title        = {{Visiting the Six Worlds : Shamanistic Journeys in Canadian Mi'kmaq Cosmology}},
  url          = {{http://muse.jhu.edu/article/204004}},
  volume       = {{119}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}