The ancient peoples of Europe were more fond of masks and religious rituals than you are.
I would be suspicious if I saw Europeans today. The use of masks and shamanism were part
and plot daily life in the ancient Western European tradition, the researchers say.
Stories of African and North American tribal shamans abound, but not
Much is known about the involvement of ancient European peoples in ritual masking or
magic practice. That is why finding similarities between the ideas behind
masks from around the world and those originating from European soil, is a
discovery of intriguing and real beliefs.
The less obvious link of European societies with shamanism or religious ritual that
for example, Native North American Indian customs or magical activity in the past is
because of the more ‘sanitized’ way Europe has developed because of the church
interference in people’s lives. The rule of the church virtually eliminated any pagan
ritual.
It wasn’t until after 1960, when Americans experienced a revival of
interest in shamanism, that much has been known about the European version of
the practice of magic and the use of masks. There is more verifiable information about
the true roots of Western European civilization than was initially suspected.
“The spirit, if not the exact practice of shamanism, has been passed down through
generations of Europe,” believes one authority on the subject, Leigh Ann Hussey.
The first recordings of masked ceremonies were found in the caves of the
Trois Freres (Three Brothers) in France where paintings of a Paleolithic scene
representing European animism of the first order.
Ian Bracegirdle, a mask expert, describes the cave: A central figure stands wearing
the head and antlers of a deer. He is standing, like a shaman, surrounded by animals.
Animals that are important to the culture it represents. Some of the animals don’t
no longer exists in this area. Ibex, reindeer, bison, deer and horse. That’s why the shaman
it is what appears to be, stands tall, a human figure among the potential food.
The Paleolithic cave is believed to have served as an initiation site for hunters.
The sorcerer or shaman was a symbol of sympathetic magic. He wore ears and horns
of a deer, the eyes and beak of an owl, the bearded face of an old man, the tail of a
wolf, the paws of a bear and the legacy of a dancing shaman. She stood in front of
painted hunting murals. The shaman served as a mediator between humans and their
revered animal relatives.
This is practically the best evidence in tangible form that we have of our ancestors.
animistic beliefs. It is 10,000 years old and is accompanied by a large number of
myths and stories that show that our ancestors had many similar ideas. a close analogy
it exists in the stories of Kernunnos, god of the forest of the later Celts. The masks express
animism to some extent.
His information is confirmed by Mrs. Hussey, who went hunting in Europe.
shamanism and discovered when he examined ancient sources, that he did not need
borrowed from other traditions. “It is clear that tribal Europe had such a strong shamanic force
tradition like, for example, any of the American Indian tribes,” he said.
Summarizing the general symbolism that unites the masks from all over the world,
Bracegirdle says there are many striking similarities between ancient cultures.
from the Pacific West Coast of North America and the tribal traditions of Africa. symbols
shared by all these cultures are related to fertility, the hunted animal, ancestors,
initiation into rites, circumcision, real and symbolic cannibalism, healing and crossing
to the spirit world for guidance and healing powers or to appease the gods or
the ancestors are the ideas that accompany the skins.
Not much has been passed down from generation to generation in a long time.
recognizable shape or form, but among the most powerful links is seasonality
nature of many traditions that we still know. In the UK, the green man and the
Toy horses are two powerful examples. “For me there is a tremendous bond that is
linked to the very nature of the people we are and how we have developed. Our
formative roots live on in our societies now,” Bracegirdle believes.
Links to ancient beliefs can also be found in many European languages. When
we say in English that we are going crazy, we even refer directly to the shamanic
state of ecstasy. The adjective comes from the noun ‘berserker’, or ‘berserker’, the Old
Norse for ‘wild warriors’ or ‘champions’. ‘Ber’ refers to ‘bear’ and ‘serkr’ to ‘shirt’ or
‘Coat’.
These berserkers became frenzied in battle, howling like animals, foaming at the
mouth, and biting the edges of their iron shields as if acting in a Nike
commercial. Berserker is first recorded in English in the early 19th century, much later
these savage warriors ceased to exist. This is illustrative of how the tradition apparently
interrupted, still alive.
Similar stories of “Bear Doctors” have been found among the tribes of California. In some
cases, the Berserkr or Ulfserkr would even eat the heart of the bear or wolf to gain their
Energy. Another feast of hearts occurs in the seiðr trance, as described above.
Not much was known about Western shamanism until it came to the spotlight in the 1960s.
and the undoubted expert in the field is the late Mircea Eliade, a historian of religion
who taught at the Sorborme in Paris and later at the University of Chicago.
He described shamanism, or ‘witchcraft’ as it is also known, not as a religion but as
more like technique. Shamanism, he says, ‘is not strictly healers/women,
magicians or healers”. This is the conclusion of extensive studies on the phenomenon.
around the world in his book ‘Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy’.
Hears
believing that shamans are not the same as priests; may have lived with
priests or have even performed priestly functions as well as shamanic ones. a shaman
he was more of a mystic than a priest or minister.
A shaman was not “possessed,” as many people now believe, Eliade says. Neither
the shaman was a trance medium or channeler. “Shamans control spiritual beings
with whom they work, or at least do not surrender to them. as a medium or
channeler, a shaman may seem unconscious when working, but upon returning, the
shaman can know where he has gone,” he says.
The shaman is not the instrument of the spirits. Traditional shamans heal people
through their trances, accompany the souls of the dead to the Otherworld, and
communicate with the gods. “This small mystical elite not only runs the
the religious life of the community, but, so to speak, guards its ‘soul’.
Modern-day processions where ancient masks can still be seen include
processions in which giants and witches are exhibited. these and others
masquerades are among the most powerful tangible links we still have with ancient
witchcraft rite.
In well-known children’s stories and folklore, the links are also evident.
Dragons, for example, are examples of creatures that invade every alley you can imagine.
from ancient folklore and mythology, directly to the stories of modern times. descriptions of the
The beast’s benevolence ranges from the playful Puff (from the Peter Yarrow song) to the sinister
Smaug in “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien. Babylonian legends portray the Queen of
Darkness as a multi-headed dragon – Tiamat. Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty
features a battle between Prince Philip and the evil Maleficent over a curse that
it can only be broken by three fairies. Likewise, the Germanic myth “Die Nibelungen”
culminates in the battle between Siegfried and the giant Fafnir, who has been transformed
himself into a dragon in an effort to become more terrifying.
Our reaction to the physical characteristics of the dragon is another element that
we share and that connects us with our ancestors. All over the world the beasts are
typically depicted as huge lizards, larger than elephants on average. The long tusks are
generally accepted as twin horns of variable length. Western cultures in general
they include large bat-like wings that give the dragon the ability to fly. but oriental
dragons, usually wingless, use a more magical means of flight. eastern dragons too
it tends to be more snake-like in nature, albeit with front and back legs.