VISITING DEAD ANCESTORS - SHAMANS AS INTERPRETERS OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

Religious traditions enable ancestors to encourage proper social behav ior in their distant descendants. Although traditional myths and ritua ls can provide basic values, these values must be interpreted in light of the specific circumstances encountered by later generations. In tr ibal societies the task of interpreting religious traditions falls upo n religious leaders known as shamans. Shamans, perhaps universally, ar e claimed to obtain instructions from dead ancestors on how to deal wi th social disruptions. This paper argues that a focus on the more exot ic aspects of shamanism has kept previous studies from realizing the c rucial role of shamans as interpreters of religious traditions.