8.

“Shamans Are Impostors Who Claim They Consult the Devil—And Who Are Sometimes Close to the Mark”

DENIS DIDEROT AND COLLEAGUES

 

(1765)

 

 

French man of letters and philosopher Denis Diderot served as chief editor of the Encyclopédie, one of the main works of the Enlightenment. Its underlying philosophy was rationalism. Diderot was an exponent of materialist atheism, but his views on “shamans” and “jugglers” show that his conviction was flexible. Diderot was the first to try to define shamans. He successfully identified many of their facets. He also defined shamans and jugglers separately, because “shamans” came from Russia and “jugglers” was used to describe Americans.

 

 

SHAMANS, noun, masc. plural, is the name that the inhabitants of Siberia give to impostors who perform the functions of priests, jugglers, sorcerers, and doctors. These shamans claim they have an influence on the Devil, whom they consult to know the future, to cure illnesses, and to do tricks that seem supernatural to an ignorant and superstitious people: To do this they use drums which they beat with strength while dancing and spinning with surprising speed; once they have alienated themselves from these contortions and fatigue, they claim that the Devil manifests himself to them, if he is in a good mood. Sometimes the ceremony ends [when the shaman] pretends to stab himself with a knife, which increases the astonishment and respect of the imbecilic spectators. These contortions are usually preceded by the sacrifice of a dog or a horse, which they eat while drinking quantities of brandy. And the whole comedy ends [when the spectators] give money to the shaman, who does not pride himself on disinterestedness any more than other impostors of the same kind.

 

 

JUGGLERS (Divination), magicians or enchanters much renowned among the savage nations of America, and who make up the profession of medicine men among them.

According to Father Charlevoix, the jugglers profess that they only have commerce with what they call beneficial genies. They boast that, through these genies, they can know what is happening in the most distant countries, or what must occur in the most distant times; that they discover the source and nature of the most hidden illnesses, and that they have the secret to heal them; that they discern the course of action to take in the most complicated matters; that they can succeed with the most difficult negotiations; that they can make the gods favorable to warriors and hunters; that they can understand the language of birds, etc. . . .

One of their more common preparations to do their tricks consists of locking themselves into steamrooms to make themselves sweat. In this they differ in nothing from the Pythia as the poets represented them. One sees them enter into convulsions and enthusiasms and perform actions which seem beyond human forces. The language they speak in their invocations has nothing in common with any other savage tongue; and it is probable that it consists of only formless sounds, produced on the spot by a heated imagination, and that these charlatans have found a way to make it pass for a divine language; they take on tones of voice, sometimes they raise their voice, then they imitate a small frail voice, quite similar to the voice of our puppets, and people believe that it is the spirit talking to them. They contend that they suffer a lot during these occasions, and there are some who cannot be hired easily to give themselves to the spirit that agitates them, even if one pays them well. People have seen the stakes of these steamhouses bend down to the ground, while the juggler stayed quietly inside, without moving, without touching the stakes, while he was singing and predicting the future. This circumstance and several singular and detailed predictions that people have heard them make quite a long time before the event, which are fully justified by the event, make one think that the supernatural occasionally enters into their operations and that they do not always guess by chance.

Jugglers by profession can only establish a kind of pact with the genies and attain the people’s respect if they have previously developed their character through fasts, which they take very far, and during which they do nothing other than beat the drum, scream, yell, sing, and smoke. The presentation then turns into a kind of orgy, with ceremonies that are so extravagant and accompanied by so many furies that one would think the Devil takes possession of people. Strictly speaking, they are not the priests of the nation, because the heads of family perform that function, but they present themselves as interpreters of the gods. To do their tricks, they use the bones and skins of serpents, with which they also make headbands and belts. It is certain that they have the secret for charming serpents or, to speak more exactly, to make them drowsy; they take them alive, handle them, and put them on their breast without harming themselves. It is also up to the jugglers to explain dreams and omens and to press or stall the army’s advance during military expeditions, which they always accompany. They persuade the majority of people that they have ecstatic transports, in which the genies reveal the future and hidden things to them. This is how they persuade people of whatever they wish.

But the main occupation of jugglers, or at least the one which they gain most profit from, is Medicine. Although they generally exercise this art with principles based on knowledge of medicinal plants, experience, and conjecture, as one does everywhere, they usually mix in superstition and charlatanism.

For example, on some occasions they say that they will communicate the virtue of healing all kinds of wounds to the roots and plants, and even bring the dead back to life. They immediately set about singing, and one supposes that, during this concert, which they accompany with many grimaces, the medicinal virtue is spread to the drugs. Then the main juggler tests them; he starts by making his lips bleed. The blood that the impostor deftly sucks ceases to flow and people call it a miracle. After this, he takes a dead animal and allows those present to assure themselves that it is lifeless; then, he inserts a small tube under the tail and stirs it around, while blowing herbs into its mouth. Sometimes they pretend to bewitch several savages, who appear to expire; then, by putting a given powder on their lips, they bring them back to life. Often, when there are wounds, the juggler cuts the wound with his teeth and then shows a piece of wood, or something similar, that he had previously placed in his mouth; he makes the sick person believe that he has pulled it from his wound and that it was the charm that caused the danger of his illness.

If the sick person thinks his illness is due to an evil spell, then all attention is given to discovering it, and this is the duty of the juggler. He starts by making himself sweat; and when he is quite tired he screams, struggles, and invokes his genie; he attributes the cause of the illness to the first extraordinary thing that comes to mind. Several drink a special beverage before entering the steamroom; they say it is very important to receiving the celestial impression; and they claim that the presence of spirit manifests itself through an impetuous wind that suddenly picks up, or through a roaring that can be heard under the ground, or through the shaking and rattling of the steamroom. Then, full of his so-called divinity, and resembling more a man possessed by the Devil than a man inspired by heaven, he pronounces with an affirmative tone on the state of the patient and sometimes is quite close to the mark.