The Shaman's « Calling » among the Sambia of New Guinea - article ; n°56 ; vol.33, pg 153-167

Gilbert H.Herdt

Description

Journal de la Société des océanistes - Année 1977 - Volume 33 - Numéro 56 - Pages 153-167
Cet article décrit la crise, le comportement et le rôle social du chamane sambia. Le rêve et d'autres expériences subjectives chez les enfants sont interprétés comme le signe d' « élection » du futur chamane. Par la suite, les hommes sont initiés au cours de cérémonies rattachées à un culte et les femmes vivent certains événements traumatiques qui précipitent la transe et la possession chamanique. Les rêves donnent lieu à des prophéties banales ou extraordinaires, en forme d'oracles, ayant une signification au niveau des individus et à celui de l'organisation sociale des hameaux. Enfin, le rêve est montré comme un facteur clé pour la validation du rôle du chamane dans la vie sociale de chaque jour.
15 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Informations

• Publié par: JOURNAL_DE_LA_SOCIETE_DES_OCEANISTES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1977
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Gilbert H. Herdt
The Shaman's « Calling » among the Sambia of New Guinea
In: Journal de la Société des océanistes. N°56-57, Tome 33, 1977. pp. 153-167.
Résumé
Cet article décrit la crise, le comportement et le rôle social du chamane sambia. Le rêve et d'autres expériences subjectives chez
les enfants sont interprétés comme le signe d' « élection » du futur chamane. Par la suite, les hommes sont initiés au cours de
cérémonies rattachées à un culte et les femmes vivent certains événements traumatiques qui précipitent la transe et la
possession chamanique. Les rêves donnent lieu à des prophéties banales ou extraordinaires, en forme d'oracles, ayant une
signification au niveau des individus et à celui de l'organisation sociale des hameaux. Enfin, le rêve est montré comme un facteur
clé pour la validation du rôle du chamane dans la vie sociale de chaque jour.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Herdt Gilbert H. The Shaman's « Calling » among the Sambia of New Guinea. In: Journal de la Société des océanistes. N°56-
57, Tome 33, 1977. pp. 153-167.
doi : 10.3406/jso.1977.2953
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jso_0300-953X_1977_num_33_56_2953Shaman's "Calling" among The
the Sambia of New Guinea*
by
Gilbert H. HERDT**
In his panoramic study of shamanism, Eliade chosis" (Langness 1965) has persisted among
(orig. 1951, 1964) introduces the sparse review New Guineasts (cf. the excellent review in Juillerat
of data for New Guinea with this severe assess 1975).
ment : In sum, no detailed account of shamanism as
defined by either Eliade (1964 : 3-6) or by Lewis " ... In Melanesia we observe, together with techniques (1971) and Firth (1965) has yet appeared for a whose archaism seems beyond doubt, the absence of a New Guinea people. Just why this is so — and properly shamanic tradition and initiation. Is the
what the paucity of ethnographic reports on shdisappearance [sic] of shamanic initiations to be attribut
amanism and trance-states means for New Guinea ed to the role played by secret societies based on initi
studies — remains an open question. ations? Possibly. However this may be, the essential
function of the Melanesian medicine men is restricted In this paper, I wish to convey a preliminary
to healing and divination (1964 : 362). description of a 'classical' (in Eliade's terms) sha-
manistic role complex occuring among the Sambia
Twenty years later, Lewis (1971) reinforced this of Papua New Guinea1. Among Sambia, an Anga
ethnographic assessment in his significant anthro (formerly Kukukuku) tribe of the most southerly
pological analysis of "ecstatic religions". Lewis part of the Eastern Highlands, the role of the
does not refer to shamanism in Melanesia ; and he kwooluku, or shaman, is of central importance in
religion and social organization. In childhood and only briefly touches upon possession phenomena
in New Guinea (Lewis 1971 : 38, 181). This adolescence, persons experience subjective events
situation is hardly surprising : it reflects a major which may be culturally interpreted as a "calling"2
ethnographic gap in the literature. Scattered to the role of the shaman. Male shamans are later
references to "shamans" (with the term usually initiated formally in cult ceremonies. Mature
left unexplained) occur in the literature (cf. shamans, during the state of a voluntarily-induced
Barth 1975 : 139-142 ; Bateson 1932 : 414-427 ; trance, are believed to ascend to the spiritual
world to 'retrieve' the souls of the sick which are Codrington 1891 : 198; and Oosterwal 1961)
but they are generally incidental and brief. The divined to have been "stolen" by ghosts. Con
recent description by Wagner (1972 : 139-144) trary to Eliade's view then, the role of the shaman
is an addition to the available data. By contrast, is institutionalized through cult ceremonies. Mor
interest in possession states or "hysterical eover, such ceremonies are related to, but distinct
* This paper is based upon twenty-two months' fieldwork among Sambia (October 1974 — December 1975, and February
1976 — September 1976). I wish to thank both the Australian-American Education Foundation, and the Research School of
Pacific Studies of the Australian National University for their generous support of my research. I would also like to thank
Kirk Endicott and Yadram Mimica for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
** Australian National University.
1. Ivan C. Mbaginta'o has published his reminiscenses of matters related to the subject of this paper in an article entitl
ed " Les esprits guérisseurs chez les Dunkwi Anga " (Mbaginta'o 1972). The Dunkwi is a small phratry of Sambia speakers
closely related to the people with whom I lived. Mbaginta'o's paper contains some interesting information ; but his account
is also incorrect on several points. What he refers to as "medicine men" (1972 : 337) are, among Sambia, known as kwoo-
luku — what I here translate as 'shaman'. What he refers to as "deux sortes d'esprit", 1) kulye, I refer to as hwolyu, is
not a spirit, but rather the individual healing ceremony, or its techniques through which a shaman may induce trance and
possession by calling upon his spirit familiars ; and 2) amounyi — is a particular name by which the Dunkwi refer to their
ancestral forest spirits.
2. I follow Eliade's (1964 : 14) convention in using the term "calling" to cover the processes which condition the quest,
transmission of powers, cultural contexts, and the personal decision to become a shaman.
I use the male gender in referring to shamans because men vastly outnumber women shamans. 154 SOCIETE DES OCEANISTES
from, the more elaborate male initiatory cult and and the joint performance of initiation rituals,
I refer to them as a great clan. Initiated boys its secret rituals.
In this account, I briefly touch upon these issues and unmarried men reside in the men's house
but cannot explore them in depth. I do examine, (kwulangu) of the hamlet ; married men live in
however, one crucial dimension of Sambia shama their wive's houses (aambelangu). Residence is
nism : namely the relationship of dream experience patri-virilocal and does in fact predominantly
to the recruitment and performance of the role. conform to this pattern. Clansmen share garden
I point out that within 1) the behavioural deve land, riverine land, and hunting territories in the
lopment of children, 2) the later onset of trance high altitude (6,000 - 10,000') forest. Hamlets
are allied, and two or more of them share a dance- and possession states, and 3) in the secular and
ground in performing initiations. Several clan- ceremonial behavioural performances of adult
practioners, there is a continuity of dreams and hamlets, usually contiguous, claim descent from a
related subjective experiences. Dream experience common, putative named ancestor. In warfare,
is used to validate and rationalize the shaman's and ceremonial activity, they comprise a level of
grouping I refer to as a phratry. Inter-marriage performance. Finally, I suggest that the anthro
between allied hamlets is frequent. pological approach may be enriched by the study
of dream experience — which ethnographers have Men are initiated into an elaborate male cult
largely ignored — in their accounts of shamanism, at 6 — 10 years of age. Thereafter, they reside
possession, and trance states. in the men's house and participate in warriorhood
activities. Men are initiated into six distinct
ritual grades ; the associated ritual statuses cor
respond to four cultural categories of males which
cut across hamlet and phratry boundaries, as The Sambia are subsistence horticulturalists
regional age-sets. Rigid avoidance of women is who inhabit the lofty Southern Kratke mountains
enjoined of males until marriage. This pattern, of interior New Guinea. They occupy an area of
and others such as the rigid sexual division of approximately 250 square miles of rugged montane
labour, and a male ideology that women are pollutrainforest. Some 2,200 Sambia speaking people
dwell in valleys and drainage areas of these ing and depleting, forms the basis of the antagon
istic tenour of relationships between the sexes. mountains.
The geographic isolation of Sambia has thus far The subsistence agriculture of the Sambia ge
resulted in little westernization. Thus Sambia nerally tends to be of a relatively moderate intens
remains a tradition-oriented tribe. ity, with the staple crops being sweet potatoes,
Today, shamans are still very much at the taro, and yams. Pig husbandry is practiced, but
center of religious life and social organization. pigs are few in number and of little ceremonial
importance. Moreover, there still exists a strong Most clan-hamlets have in residence one or more
reliance upon hunting and trapping for meat members who, as shamans, are necessary for the
performance of curing ceremonies and magical protein. Possum, cuscus, and other indigenous
spells. In 1976, there were some twenty- five marsupials are the basis of ceremonial f