Dust-Covered Idols: A Study of Shamanistic Concepts

Author: Yuan Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-08-01
Features: Shamanism is the core and essential element in its religious system. Shamanism expresses its belief concepts through concrete imagery, material objects of faith, rituals, taboos, myths, and stories. This book specifically analyzes the meanings of various symbolic forms and their conceptual systems in three aspects: the soul, deities, and divinity. It examines major belief objects such as animal gods, natural gods, and fertility gods. Based on the development of production lifestyles and social-political systems of various ethnic groups, it elaborates on the developmental threads of these concepts and the evolutionary patterns of the shamanic belief system.