Sorcery and Shamanism: Curanderos and Clients in Northern Peru

Rating:
Summary: Important new depth and diversity
Review: This is an overall outstanding addition to the English-language book-based (i.e., non-magazine, journal, etc.) literature on Northern Coastal Peruvian curanderismo, and shamanism in general. If you have no exposure to these topics however, things may be a bit too complex or involved. This is not a drawback however-- the book is clearly not meant for the neophyte as much as it is meant for the serious student (or at least, for the voraciously interested), and thus provides a richness and diversity not previously seen or collected all in one place.

While (obviously) not as thorough as Sharon's prior landmark research (Wizard of the Four Winds, about Calderon), the strength in this work is in the numbers. A full dozen healers are at least adequately (and often completely) described and expounded upon. The authors (Sharon, Joralemon, and the more recently doctor-ed Skillman) used their considerable connections and anthropological contacts extremely well.

On the other hand, the interpretation of the collected data is sometimes weak. This is not the fault of the authors, per se, but a certain lack of first-hand experience in traditions of other regions of Peru is discernible. Though perhaps too great a task to ask for, comparison to and ethnohistoric research in other Andean shamanic traditions would be an invaluable next step in taking the immediate findings and raw data of the authors to a larger and more fertile platform. Especially investigating the relations of coastal traditions to their highland and jungle counterparts (which are certainly all inter-connected, both historically and today) would bring a broader understanding to the subject matter.

But, in the end the authors are anthropologists, so I cannot criticize them for remaining within the bounds of their expertise. At the same time, as a more general criticism of and commentary on the state of affairs in this kind of culturally- and spiritually-sensitive anthropology, I do note a tendency to dilute the importance of certain spiritual concepts in favor of highlighting cultural origins and causes. As a participant and student of these traditions myself, I understand the spiritual as being primordial and primary, managing later to adapt itself to the specific cultural necessities of a given time and space. A notable and gratefully received exception to my critique is the well-documented and well-argued discussion of the Tinkuy concept (whose only flaw is is in forgetting Richard Burger's understanding of ancient U-shaped pyramid complexes as manifestations of the same Tinkuy cosmology). More of that kind of analysis can (and Will, I hope) take Sharon to the true elite of a field in which he continues to innovate and intrigue.