"What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital" was interesting. I never thought that mentally ill people were caused by entities trying to merge with the body or soul. I do know about shamanism though because I am Hmong and a lot of elders practice it. I have shaman rituals or ceremonies done for me and my family here and there, so I have experience in "cleansing" or what not. All I knew was that the rituals held for my family were to bring good luck, clean away bad spirits or energies, and to bring back or strengthen our own spirits if lost or sick. I don't know if any of these are related to energies that try to merge with the human body, but there are some similarities. I think the reason why some places around the world don't believe in this is because of everyone putting up walls in their culture or people not exploring cultures. It's not a secret that Americans are superior. They know nothing of shamanism and because they are so high and mighty they don't believe in other cultures' beliefs of spirits and energies. The world grew up as shamanism and the like as things that are "not real". Although it has been disregarded in the world, little still practice spiritual healing or guidance. I believe that it really works and it should be of use to patients with mental illnesses. If people like the Dagaras are being helped by the shamanists, the world can slowly heal itself.
Q: Though shamanism evidently works, in the case of Alex, will it really cleanse away mentally ill people who are murderers, rapists, etc? Are there bad psychic energies or entities that latch on to them to turn them into these types of people or is it just how someone is born and how their mindset works?
References:
- Marohn, Stephanie (2016). What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital
- (Vietnamese Shamanist.). Retrieved from http://www.thanhniennews.com/arts-culture/vietnam-shamans-invoke-spirits-to-cure-all-that-ails-65751.html
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