Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism : The Tradition of Segnature, Indigenous and Trans-cultural Shamanic Traditions in Italy

Shamanism is thriving as an exotic import and a hidden native tradition in Italy today. This ethnographical work uncovers two faces of Italian shamanism. The first is trans-cultural shamans who creatively adapt rituals and beliefs from indigenous cultures worldwide. Second, extensive fieldwork shows how regional folk magic practices of segnatoriand segnatrici constitute a little-known but enduring form of native Italian shamanism. By documenting these parallel worlds, contemporary magic workers appear to be the heirs of ancient local healing traditions. Offering rare insights into vernacular religion, this book vividly portrays shamans' past and present on the Italian peninsula. Front Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 10 Chapter 1 The Starting Point and the Behind the Scenes 12 1 The Journey to Investigating Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism 19 2 Outline of the Book 22 Chapter 2 How to Define Shamanism: Deixis and Discourse Analysis 24 1 Defining Shamanism 24 2 Can Westerners Be Shamans? 30 3 Misinterpretations of Shamanism 35 Chapter 3 Contextualising Shamanism in Italy 37 1 Contextualising (Trans-cultural) Shamanism in Italy 37 2 Relation between Shamanism and the ‘New Age’ Movement 42 3 The Interaction between Paganism and Trans-cultural Shamanism 48 Chapter 4 Trans-cultural Shamanism 66 1 Differences between Trans-cultural and Indigenous Shamanism 68 1.1 The Lingering Heredity of Carlos Castaneda 72 2 Core Shamanism, as Manifested in Italy 74 2.1 The Teachers of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies in Italy: Three Approaches to the Tradition 75 2.2 Lorenza Menegoni, Anthropologist and Michael Harner’s Pupil 76 2.3 Nello Ceccon, from Engineer to Shaman 77 2.4 Sara Tenaglia, Enriching Core Shamanism with Vernacular Healing Traditions 81 2.5 Drawing a Portrait of Core Shamanism in Contemporary Italy 84 3 Other Forms of Trans-cultural Shamanism 85 3.1 Castaneda-Inspired Groups 87 3.2 Psychological Shamanisms 88 3.2.1 Biotransenergetica (BTE) 89 3.2.2 Self I-Dentity through Ho’oponopono 91 3.2.3 Shamanistic Paganism 93 3.3 Indigenous Reinterpretations (Siberian, Andean, Nordic Shamanism) 97 4 Trans-cultural Cosmology and Shamanic Journeying 100 5 Are Trans-cultural Traditions Authentic Forms of Shamanism? 105 Chapter 5 The Tradition of Segnature: the Indigenous Shamanism of Italy? 109 1 The Tradition of Segnature 109 2 The Role of Labels in Heterogenous Contemporary Traditions 110 3 The Meaning of Segnature 113 4 The Generational Gap 115 5 Types of Rituals and Initiations 117 6 The Survival of Magic: Embedding Illness into Myth 119 7 A Re-evaluation of Superstition? 124 8 Can an Italian Tradition Be Indigenous? 128 8.1 Indigenous Peoples versus Indigenous Religions 128 8.2 Conceptualising Indigenous Religions 130 9 Is the Tradition of Segnature the Indigenous Shamanism of Italy? 136 Chapter 6 Relations and Contrasts with Catholicism 146 1 Case Study: Pan-Amazonian Synod and the Rejection of the Pachamama 154 2 Catholicism versus the Tradition of Segnature 160 Chapter 7 Italian Shamanism and Contemporary Syncretism 164 1 The ‘Italian Shamanism’ of Michela Chiarelli 164 1.1 Michela, ‘the Last Italian Shaman of a Hereditary Tradition’ 165 1.2 Italian Shamanism and the Use of Segnature 170 1.3 Italian Shamanism and the Role of Magic 174 1.4 The Conceptualisation of Syncretism 176 1.5 The Teachings of Michela 178 2 Maria Capasso on the Indigenous Healing Tradition in Sardinia 181 2.1 Types of Healers in Sardinia 183 2.2 Maria’s Definition of Shaman and Shamanism 185 2.3 Rituals and Belief System 189 2.4 Ethics in Maria’s Lineage 192 3 Michela’s and Maria’s Shamanisms in Relation to Folk Magic and Trans-cultural Shamanism 193 Chapter 8 Conclusion 197 1 Review of the Book 197 2 Classifying Shamanisms Based on the Italian Case 198 3 Research Impact and Further Research 202 References 204 Index 220 Back Cover 222 "Shamanism is thriving as an exotic import and a hidden native tradition in Italy today. This ethnographical work uncovers two faces of Italian shamanism. The first is transcultural shamans who creatively adapt rituals and beliefs from indigenous cultures worldwide. Second, extensive fieldwork shows how regional folk magic practices of segnatori and segnatrici constitute a little-known but enduring form of native Italian shamanism"-- Provided by publisher