Shamanism and Northern Ecology (Religion and Society Book 36)

The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems– both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series. Foreword 5 Introduction 11 Part I: Themes and concepts 39 A new look at the world pillar in Arctic and sub-Arctic religions 41 C. G. Jung’s appropriation of aspects of shamanism 61 Game and games, fortune and dualism in Siberian shamanism 71 Body and soul in ancient Greenlandic religion 77 Part II: Northern Europe 89 Freyja and Frigg – two aspects of the Great Goddess 91 The perception of the Saamis and their religion in Old Norse sources 107 Some aspects of the Christianization of Central Sweden 127 The wizards of Lapland and Saami shamanism 135 Rationality and mythological foundations of calendar symbols of the ancient Komi 145 Materials on Komi-Zyryan mythology: Notions of the soul 153 Part III: Ugric People 161 Khanty shamanism today: Reindeer sacrifice and its mythological background 163 Similarities and differences in Eastern Khanty shamanism 193 Ugric mithraism 209 Khanty and Mansi: the contemporary linguistic situation 217 Part IV: Central and East Asia 229 Some remarks on the myths of the Flower Contest 231 The concept of gods in Korean shamanism 245 Recent East Mongolian shamanistic traditions 259 Shamanistic elements in early Confucianism 269 Mythology as an areal problem in the Altai-Sayan area: the sacred holes and caves 277 Archaic rites in Nanaian shamanic ceremonies 289 Part V: North Western Pacific 301 Ainu worldview and bear hunting strategies 303 Some shamanistic features of Ainu religion 315 Salmon in myth and ritual in the Northern Pacific area 323 Part VI: Encounters between ethnic and 341 A dialogue between a shaman and a missionary in West Greenland in the 18th century: the sociology of a text 343 A Christian Dene Tha shaman? Aboriginal experiences among a missionized aboriginal people 359 The effect of the confessional factor on ethnicity 375 Christianization = Russification? On preserving the religious and ethnic identity of the Ob-Ugrians 383