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The song of the shaman
The word " shaman " - indicates Google - is among those that recur most frequently in the chronology of web research. Both in etymological research and in that of the filmed documents.
When you think of the shaman as you imagine it.
The Treccani Encyclopedia says that:
"Through ritual songs and dances rhythmic to the sound of the drums he reaches a state of ecstasy".
The shaman is considered a healer and an intermediary between the known world and the supernatural.
He is an expert in communicating with spirits through the change of his state of consciousness. He travels in the reality of the parallel worlds, where he acquires wisdom and power.
Do you know what the first shaman of antiquity was?
It may seem strange but it was Orpheus. The artist par excellence, who embodies eternal values of art.
The ancient Greeks say that Orpheus accompanying the song with the lira, he was able to sail the ship of the Argonauti, stumbled upon. And with the power of his voice he convinced Persephone to enter the kingdom of the dead, to recover his beloved Euridice.
Shamanism is one of the most ancient spiritual practices that man knows.
It has spread on several continents: from Northern America to that of the South. From Africa to Australia.
Up to reach the Polynesian islands where it is still practiced.
While in Europe the shamanic practices remained unchanged only with the Sami who live in Lapland.
The songs have a very simple structure. The melodies repeated like a mantra , resonance with the vibration of the universe.
They generate an oscillation that resonates with cell vibration.
Vibration that modifies the structure of the cell membrane, regenerates it as long as it takes vigor.
There are songs to heal the body and others to heal the soul.
When it comes to healing the soul, melody and the words of the songs come from divine inspiration. Shameanic songs have different functions.
They can be customized for a single individual or for a group of people.
Used to ask for the intercession of spirits in favor of man in particular moments: the rain after a period of drought, or a flourishing collected after sowing.
The primary purpose of the shamanic song is to connect with the universe and bring different energies on the ground floor.
The power of shamanic singing depends on the " door" that opens between the shaman and the world of spirits.
And that door is open by the voice of the singing, not by the song itself.
That's why the presence of the shaman guarantees that the whole ritual is perfect.
To celebrate the rite and welcome all those who participate in the event.
Carl Gustav Jung - the father of analytical psychology - is also known outside of his area. But not everyone knows that his close collaborators called him - in a low voice - "the shaman" .
Removed in 1913 from the teachings of Sigmund Freud, Jung modified his orientation and expanded analytical research from the history of the individual to that of the community.
In his book Libido writes: "There is a collective unconscious as well as an individual unconscious, which in archetypes finds its symbolic representation. The life of the individual considers himself as an evolutionary path, called the process of identifying and manufacturing the personal self.
Process that needs a comparison with individual unconscious and collective unconscious ".
Michael Smith, American clinical psychologist great specialist in Jung and shamanism - as well as medical anthropology - wrote a book entitled Jung and shamanism .
The author explores differences and affinities between Jungian shamanism and psychology. Both rooted in a model of life that focuses on the perception of the heart.
"Adventing us in this book means knowing shamanic initiations, dissociations, despair, loss of the soul " writes Michael Smith.
"But also the therapeutic power of rites, ecstasy and altered states of consciousness. It means discovering things that we do not know about the role of talismans and amulets, compared to the relapse on the collective unconscious. In addition to everything that psychotherapy can use today ".
I read this book with pleasure, even if it requires some attention.
It is a detailed history of shamanism.
Full of details and interesting news.
In fact, what is sometimes erroneously considered a ritual linked to beliefs and superstitions, here is analyzed and evaluated in the practical-scientific application of the panorama of psychology.
Shamanism lives in us and also in our territory
Staying on the subject of books, I would like to report a "local" experience told by Devana and Susanna Graravaglia, in the book "Shaman" .
Forty -three women met in 2013 during the autumn equinox in a village of the Varese Prealps, to recreate the sacred female circle.
They spent two days and one night, sharing the spaces of the house and the kitchen. Their "awakenings" their intuitions and healing experiences.
Singing and dancing around the sacred fire, they founded the planetary circle of women, to support the vision and ancient female knowledge that lie in the womb of the goddess.
During the ceremony, a council of the elderly was formed, which each month come together in the full moon ceremony. And every year they find themselves at the autumn equinox on a sacred site in Europe, to consolidate sisterhood.
Song of shaman women
I think that in this period of great change, where it is not easy to plan the future, allow yourself regenerative moments through listening or practice of the songs of the shamans, is of great help.
Experience - better if daily - reconnects you with primordial vibration. Raise your frequency and reappear your being.
You "waterproof" you against the intrusion of external agents, and distract your ear from the persuasive call of the sorceress Circe.
Thus, even when everything seems indefinite everything around you, the newfound force will be your resilient resource.
Read the article: the importance of singing and voice in ethnomusicology
I am doing a research on spontaneous singing, and I thank infinitely for coming into contact with different connections. Some imputs have helped me understand better. Thank you.
Thank you very much Susanna for your comment. We at Siing is committed every day to disseminate and build bridges and connections so that singing can be a tool of beauty and growth.