The Discomfort of Shamanism

Abstract

Through a textual analysis of a shamanic healing session among the Aguaruna, the author shows how clients compete with the shaman in shaping the discursive contours of the session, blending political and medical themes and revealing the contradictions inherent in a belief system in which shamanism and witchcraft are inseparably intertwined. The shaman’s revelations transfer the disorder of the human body to the political entity.