One of the ways that white people prove that we’re just freaking idiots, is how everyone wants to be a shaman. I mean, as soon as Carlos Castaneda came out, however long ago that was, everybody started wanting to be a shaman. I know a white gal over in Colorado who’s self-declared herself as a shaman.
Like really! People! Shamans? Really?
I would like to invite you all to do a little YouTube searching and find a fellow called Tink Tinker who is a brilliant Native American philosopher. He talks about how Native societies, naturally, a long time ago, were not hierarchical. People had different things to do, but nobody was better than anybody else or knew some secrets that other people didn’t know. There was nothing special about being a shaman; a shaman was just someone who, knew particular prayers and might lead with the prayers. But it wasn’t a special privileged gig. The person who went out and dug up tubers for something to eat was just as important. Healing was good, but so was everything else.
And we know how white people roll. Right? If you really thought that being a shaman wasn’t some sort of glamorous important job, a special person who knew secrets to be revealed, you wouldn’t care about it. If you didn’t think that it was something special, you wouldn’t care to be it.
As a matter of fact, maybe you would have a little respect for another culture, a culture that’s here just living amongst us, a culture that has been very, very repressed and needs some time to come back. Maybe you would have some respect.
So instead of stealing some sort of importance from the people around us, let’s give some space. Stand back and wait. Maybe others will then come and tell us what it’s about instead of us going there to suck up the glory.
Maybe if we had a little respect, gave a little time, and listened.
If you’re trying to be a shaman, you’re not listening.
Try listening.