A note on oceanic shamanism

Abstract

This note shows how Mircea Eliade's classic study of shamanism as "a technique of ecstasy" has been effectively marginalised by developments in shamanistic studies since the 1980s, allowing for wider definitions. It traces the evolution of my ideas on Oceanic shamanism particularly in relation to shamanic survivals in Tongan religion, the origin of the Tu'i Tonga, and the shamanistic underlay in Polynesian religions which surfaced in times of crisis. Show more