
One of the fastest growing religious movements in the Western world, neo-shamanism embraces notions and techniques borrowed from various tribal peoples and adapted to the life of contemporary urban dwellers. Until the twenty-first century, the neo-shamanism found in northern Europe differed little from neo-shamanism elsewhere in the Western world. In the new millennium, a Sámi and Nordic version of neo-shamanism came into being, along with a new focus on the uniqueness of the arctic north, expressed through New Age courses and events. The Norwegian New Age scene is increasingly overrun with Sámi and Nordic shamans, symbols, and traditions. Contemporary Shamanisms in Norway examines the construction of this Sámi neo-shamanistic movement and argues that it fits into the broader ethno-political search for a Sami identity. Drawing on ten years of ethnographic research, Trude Fonneland highlights the values important to neo-shamans' self-development and their marketing of shamanistic products and services. She explores Sáami and Nordic neo-shamans' promotion of Arctic nature, their negotiations of gender in neo-shamanism, and their ritual inventions. Focusing on contemporary shamanism in Norway and Nordic contexts, Fonneland argues that the spiritual quest in Nordic countries has developed surprising and innovative forms of spirituality that call for a reevaluation of the relationship between religion and the secular world.
This book investigates how the emergence of Sámi and Nordic neo-shamanism in Norway functions as a complex intersection of spiritual practice, ethnic identity construction, and commercial entrepreneurship. Trude Fonneland, a scholar specializing in religious studies, utilizes a decade of ethnographic fieldwork to analyze how contemporary practitioners adapt indigenous traditions to fit modern urban life. She argues that this movement is not merely a spiritual trend but a deliberate effort to navigate ethno-political identity and the commodification of Arctic heritage.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars in the field of religious studies recognize this work as a significant contribution to the understanding of how indigenous traditions are appropriated and transformed in modern secular societies. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the ethnographic data and the clarity with which the author connects spiritual trends to broader political and economic shifts.
Page Count:
244
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190699221
ISBN-13:
9780190699222
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