very rare English accounts of the spiritual practices of these remote tribes protected from Tsarist and Communist influences by their isolation in the Caucasus Mountains
very rare English accounts of the spiritual practices of these remote tribes protected from Tsarist and Communist influences by their isolation in the Caucasus Mountains
Cultural & social, Shamanism, Spirituality
Known as the 'land of the mountains,' Dagestan lies immediately north of the Caucasus Mountains, and stretches for approximately 250 miles along the west shore of the Caspian Sea. With its mountainous terrain making travel and communication difficult, Daghestan is still largely tribal.
Despite over a century of Tsarist control followed by seventy years of repressive Soviet rule, there are still 32 distinct ethnic groups in Daghestan, each with its own language, making it unquestionably the most complex of the Caucasian republics. Shamanic practices are still prevalent in this country, where one of the ten lost tribes of Israel can be found, and in which the stories of the elders provide the people with evidence of who their ancient ancestors were and where their roots lie. In Daghestan, as in the neighbouring countries of Georgia, Chechnya, and Azerbaijan, these roots lie in shamanism. This book, one of only a handful available in English on the country, contains the texts of some of these stories as well as commentaries on them.
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If you have enjoyed Michael Berman's articles in AVALON, then there is a treat in store in his new book. Shamanic Journeys through Daghestan is a delightful mix of folklore, factual commentary and shamanic explanation, all of which bring to life the rich tribal communities of this land of the mountains ~ Kate Gooch, Spring 2010
Dr Berman is an academic lecturer, well qualified to present this thesis that investigates folk tales from the tribal areas of Daghestan. ~ Wendy Stokes, Eternal Spirit
An excellent introduction to the ethnography of Daghestan. Michael Berman's commentary on the tales is scholarly and he writes with economy and insight. There are few books about Daghestan in English and this will provide scholars as well as interested readers with a valuable resource. ~ Mark A Newman, Light
... Michael Berman deserves credit for his journey towards the recognition of shamanism as a distinct genre in academia. He also deserves credit for bringing the unique and diverse, multi-ethnic cultural, and religious practices of Daghestan to a wider audience. At the same time, Berman shows the world that no matter how difficult life is in the Caucasus region, humanity prevails. In the words of Curtis (1911) who stated:
Daghestanis have long been noted as being a hospitable people, and whoever breaks bread or eats salt with them is protected and defended with their lives. No hungry man was ever sent from Tartar threshold (a hotel for travelers), the exercise of hospitality being the most important article in their creed. (cited in Berman, 2009, p. 7)
Reviewed by Navin Kumar Singh, Northern Arizona University
~Sunday, August 21, 2011"Shamanic Journeys through Daghestan"
In his book, Shamanic Journeys through Daghestan, gifted storyteller Michael Berman brings to life the shamanic traditions and folk tales of the tribal clans of Daghestan, an isolated mountainous region of Russia to the North of the Caucasus Mountains along the west shore of the Caspian Sea. These 32 distinct ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, customs, and arts, are now connected through Islam, but their ancient stories and oral traditions reveal their shamanic roots. Quests, journeys, spirit helpers and shape-shifting are common motifs within what Berman terms "shamanic stories." Berman argues for the introduction of a distinct genre in academia - shamanic story - that has either been based on or inspired by a shamanic journey, or one that contains a number of the elements typical of such a journey. Shamanic stories bring people directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers. Furthermore, through the use of narrative, shamans are able to provide their clients with a language, by means of which unexpressed, and otherwise inexpressible, trance states can be expressed.
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~By gathering and reproducing en bloc the various stories contained in this book, Michael Berman does a valuable service in that he reminds us of the rich and variegated religious-cultural heritage of the Daghestani peoples. For rendering otherwise dispersed source materials readily accessible in a single volume, this book is to be congratulated. ...I greatly enjoyed each of the stories contained in this book, just as I very much appreciated Michael Berman’s interpretation of them. I trust you will too. ~ Dr Andrew Dawson, Lancaster University, UK
An engrossing and enlightening journey into a fascinating country and genre. The stories are skillfully narrated and critiqued in a manner that retains their original vigour while making them accessible to a reader unacquainted with the tradition. This is storytelling at its most insightful and potent. ~ Wayne Rimmer PhD, teacher trainer & Director of Studies at International House in Moscow
Michael Berman draws upon his extensive experience as a storyteller to bring to life the fascinating shamanic traditions of the little-known Daghestani people. ~ Bob Trubshaw, author, photographer and Commissioning Editor of Heart of Albion Press
Michael Berman understands better than most the power of the stories that make our world. In this, his latest study of shamanic narratives, he takes his skill in elucidating the unity in diversity to the mountains of Daghestan - and comes back to everyday reality with some real treasures to share. ~ Julienne Ford PhD, formerly a lecturer at Middlesex University and the founder of the publishing company Superscript
In the shallowness of an unsettling time that equates myths with lies, and from a region, between the Black and Caspian Seas, where such a mixture of peoples hangs on to ancient traditions and the proud idiosyncracies of its own languages, Berman’s wide-reading and passion for the shamanic roots of stories (still being told) make for a disturbing vision of what the human race (in the grip of glib authoritarian pressures) no longer wants to face in itself. These stories have been hammered out of a harsh landscape, and break the bounds of all comfortable behaviour. They find their truth where reality stops; but they also expose, in the layers of their building, influences of folk-lore elsewhere. Berman is most interested in their shamanic echoes, but they are also a pared-down revelation of Daghestan itself, the rich residue of its history and culture, and a compliment to its hard-bitten, gnarled, but generous and perceptive grasp of the paradoxes of human nature. ~ R.G. Gregory, author and founder of Word in Action, a travelling theatre company that has performed all over the world
