A guide to worldwide shamanism and shamanistic practices, emphasizing historical and current cultural adaptations. This two-volume reference is the first international survey of shamanistic beliefs from prehistory to the present day. In nearly 200 detailed, readable entries, leading ethnographers, psychologists, archaeologists, historians, and scholars of religion and folk literature explain the general principles of shamanism as well as the details of widely varied practices. What is it like to be a shaman? Entries describe, region by region, the traits, such as sicknesses and dreams, that mark a person as a shaman, as well as the training undertaken by initiates. They detail the costumes, music, rituals, artifacts, and drugs that shamans use to achieve altered states of consciousness, communicate with spirits, travel in the spirit world, and retrieve souls. Unlike most Western books on shamanism, which focus narrowly on the individual's experience of healing and trance, Shamanism also examines the function of shamanism in society from social, political, and historical perspectives and identifies the ancient, continuous thread that connects shamanistic beliefs and rituals across cultures and millennia.

Shamanism in the Contemporary Novel examines how shamanism is used as a significant trope in a selection of novels. Özlem Öğüt Yazıcıoğlu contends that the shamanic figures and societies featured in these works have been subjected to marginalization, dislocation, and dispossession through imperialist, colonialist, and capitalist encroachments in different historical contexts.

Shamanism can be defined as the practice of initiated shamans who are distinguished by their mastery of a range of altered states of consciousness. Shamanism arises from the actions the shaman takes in non-ordinary reality and the results of those actions in ordinary reality. It is not a religion, yet it demands spiritual discipline and personal sacrifice from the mature shaman who seeks the highest stages of mystical development.

Led by a UCLA-trained health psychologist, a team of experts describes non-traditional treatments that are quickly becoming more common in Western society, documenting cultural variations in health and sickness practices to underscore the diversity among human society. This unique two-volume set describes the variety of cultural approaches to health practiced by people of varying cultural heritages and places them in stark context with traditional Western approaches to health care and medicine. Examining health practices such as Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine that focuses on the body, the sense organs, the mind, and the soul; and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the author examines why these different approaches can explain some of the cultural variations in health behaviors, differences in why people get sick, and how they cope with illness. Traditional health care providers of all kinds—including clinicians, counselors, doctors, nurses, and social workers—will all greatly benefit by learning about vastly different approaches to health, while general readers and scholars alike will gain insight into the rich diversity of world culture and find the material fascinating.

This reference offers reliable knowledge about women's diverse faith practices throughout history and prehistory, and across cultures. Across the span of human history, women have participated in world-building and life-sustaining cultural creativity, making enormous contributions to religion and spirituality. In the contemporary period, women have achieved greater equality, with more educational opportunities, female role models in public life, and opportunities for religious expression than ever before. Contemporaneously with this increased visibility, women are actively and energetically engaging with religion for themselves and for their communities. Drawing on the expertise of a range of scholars, this reference chronicles the religious experiences of women across time and cultures. The book includes sections on major religions as well as on spirituality, African religions, prehistoric religions, and other broad topics. Each section begins with an introduction, followed by reference entries on specialized subjects along with excerpts from primary source documents. The entries provide numerous suggestions for further reading, and the book closes with a detailed bibliography.

This one-stop reference is a perfect resource for anyone interested in the North and South Poles, whether their interest relates to history, wildlife, or the geography of these regions in the news today. Global warming, a hot topic among scholars of geography and science, has led to increased interest in studying the earth's polar ice caps, which seem to be melting at an alarming rate. This accessible, two-volume encyclopedia lays a foundation for understanding global warming and other issues related to the North and South Poles. Approximately 350 alphabetically arranged, user-friendly entries treat key terms and topics, important expeditions, major figures, territorial disputes, and much more. Readers will find information on the explorations of Cook, Scott, Amundsen, and Peary; articles on humpback whales, penguins, and polar bears; and explanations of natural phenomena like the Aurora Australis and the polar night. Expedition tourism is covered, as is climate change. Ideal for high school and undergraduate students studying geography, social studies, history, and earth science, the encyclopedia will provide a better understanding of these remote and unfamiliar lands and their place in today's world.

Blizzard Entertainment and Dark Horse Books are thrilled to present the next installment of the wildly popular World of Warcraft Chronicle series. Volume 2 will reveal more sought-after details about the game universe's history and mythology. Showcasing lush, all-new artwork from fan favorites such as Peter Lee, Joseph Lacroix, and Alex Horley, this tome is sure to please all fans--casual and collector alike.

This volume is a fully annotated translation of an early nineteenth-century encyclopedia, the Kyuhap ch’ongsŏ (The Encyclopedia of Daily Life). Written by Lady Yi (1759–1824) as a household management aid for her daughters and daughters-in-law, the work is a treasure trove of information on how women of higher status in the late Chosŏn (1392–1910) ran their households and conducted their daily lives. The encyclopedia opens with lengthy sections on making beverages and brewing a wide array of liquors (as well as remedies for the overconsumption of alcohol) and contains dozens of recipes for dishes ranging from numerous types of kimch’i to confections and rice cakes. The second part of the translation concerns prenatal care, childbirth, childrearing, and first aid for a large number of afflictions and medical conditions. An extensive introduction will help readers understand the times in which Lady Yi wrote her encyclopedia and the influences that fostered her love of scholarship. The work demonstrates the full sweep of her authority in the domestic sphere and the many aspects of day-to-day life that women needed to prepare for and manage. Her mastery of East Asian cosmology comes across clearly in her use of this knowledge to account for the workings of the world, the processes required to take care of one’s body, and interactions between humans and the natural world. The Encyclopedia of Daily Life will be an important reference for those studying medicine, botany, and the preparation of foodstuffs in premodern East Asian societies. It will also be a valuable linguistic reference to the Korean language during the late Chosŏn.

The final volume in Park Joong-Ki's lavishly illustrated Shaman Warrior saga brings Yaki face to face with the forces of Kugai, now led by Yuda — the Death Lord who executed her father. Yaki is also reunited with Nejo, a fellow orphan who stole her heart when they were being raised in the brutal Butcher Camps. Fickle fate's placed Nejo in the middle of a violent misunderstanding, however, and his strength and resolve will be further tested after a horrible accident separates him from Yaki once again. Heartbreak, horror, and hope — amazingly enough, this volume has it all! After she inherits her father's shaman powers, the beast inside Yaki is unleashed, and she fights to avenge her father, protect her endangered, mystical shaman bloodline, and find her place in a war-torn country.