that could also be applied to ayahuasqueros, curanderos, and yes, even new age weekend workshops. who cares what the north asians did. i'm sure what they were doing a few centuries ago differed greatly from what was being practices 5 thousand to possibly 10, 15, or 30 thousand years prior. i think they may have even found evidence that neanderthals practiced shamanism. neanderthals. does that make the tungas the true shaman, or neanderthals? or did the tungas practice the exact same thing for all those thousands of years?
The problem is, when you say 'shaman' to refer to an Ayahuasquero, you are conflating two, completely distinct cultural icons and kind of out yourself as someone who doesn't know a whole lot about either. If that sounds pedantic to you, that's probably because you're not a member of either community - given the degree to which Indigenous cultures all over the world have been exploited, colonized, and abused by Western powers, I would say that basic compassion dictates that we as Westerners (or other members of the developed world), the least we can do is work within the cultural frameworks that they've laid down.
I'm less interested in the terminology of a bunch of old white academic men and more interested in how Indigenous cultures speak about themselves.
JDSalinger said:
I don't think teachings, especially spiritual ones should be made culturally exclusive. Maybe the real issue is an appropriate integration of teachings within the framework of specific culture? IMO spiritual teachings transcend time and culture, I see them as inclusive, sadly 'we' have been great at projecting spiritual elitism. I might be taking your paraphrasing out of context though and in no way do I profess that the Dalai Lama practices spiritual elitism…
It's not at all about elitism, it's about working where you are with the people around you. If my goal is to help an elder person in the United States who is suffering from End of Life anxiety, it makes the most sense, and is most respectful to them, to work within the framework that they know and are comfortable with.
If our hypothetical elder is Christian, it would be rude for me to sit them down and say: "yes, I know your time is short and you are suffering, but instead of talking about Jesus and God and other things that you find comforting and familiar, instead, I'm going to induce a whole bunch of Tibetan terminology that you have no understanding of or context for and just trust me because I'm 'spiritual.'
That's not compassionate help, that's masturbation .
You should center the needs of the people you're trying to help in your practice, it's not about you and what you find beautiful or interesting, it's about them.
Don't steal culture from colonized Indigenous peoples so you can sell it (or force it down the throats) of Westerners who won't really get it. Figure out what the Westerners WILL get and start incorporating psychedelic wisdom from there.
Blessings
~ND