Paper short abstract:

This paper intends to reflect on the reciprocal influence between indigenous 'traditional' shamans and the so-called neoshamans, involving contradictions but also exchanges, in an ongoing competition for power and visibility in the global market of spiritual healing.

Paper long abstract:

This paper intends to reflect on the reciprocal influence between 'traditional' shamans of indigenous communities and the so-called neoshamans. The study bases mainly on the observation of shamanic practices diffused in Europe. Strong interconnections between these realities clearly emerge, involving contradictions and hybridizations, but also exchanges and collaborations, in an ongoing competition for power and visibility in the global market of spiritual healing. The effects of this interconnection are on both sides. Many traditional shamans worldwide have been achieving legitimacy outside their communities, losing partly the link with their territory in favour of gaining ground at a global scale. On the other side, European transcultural neoshamans, in order to obtain legitimacy within their own communities, point at the traditional shamans as models exactly because of their territorial link. International gatherings with hundreds of worldwide shamans confirm the success of Eliadian shamanism. And, if on one hand indigenous people seem rather to look for western medicine and goods, on the other western 'mestizos' are becoming the most motivated followers of traditional shamanism. The empowerment of traditional shamans is causing for example a growing success of shamanic tourism and training in Latin America as well as an increasing presence of Latin American shamans working in Europe. While the Foundation for Shamanic Studies fully embraces Eliadian shamanism up to the point of developing a program for indigenous shamanic assistance, at the same time traditional shamans have strong reasons to converge towards this universal model. But which are the consequences of this success?