The Woman in the Shaman`s Body, Tedlock, Barbara Phd

Shamanism was not only humankinds first spiritual and healing practice, it was originally the domain of women. This is the claim of Barbara Tedlocks provocative and myth-shattering book. Reinterpreting generations of scholarship, Tedlock-herself an expert in dreamwork, divination, and healing-explains how and why the role of women in shamanism was misinterpreted and suppressed, and offers a dazzling array of evidence, from prehistoric African rock art to modern Mongolian ceremonies, for womens shamanic powers.

Tedlock combines firsthand accounts of her own training among the Maya of Guatemala with the rich record of women warriors and hunters, spiritual guides, and prophets from many cultures and times. Probing the practices that distinguish female shamanism from the much better known male traditions, she reveals:

- The key role of body wisdom and womens eroticism in shamanic trance and ecstasy

- The female forms of dream witnessing, vision questing, and use of hallucinogenic drugs

- Shamanic midwifery and the spiritual powers released in childbirth and monthly female cycles

- Shamanic symbolism in weaving and other feminine arts

- Gender shifting and male-female partnership in shamanic practice