Ancient Egyptian religion and shamanism

[David19]

This was in a couple of sites and books i've looked at, which said that the Kemetic religion had shamanistic elements and also may have been based (or had) on shamans. Does anyone know if this is true, like did they have shamans, and was it shamanistic. Also if it is true, are there any Kemetic shamans today (or shamanic practicioners).

Thanks.

[Zephyrstorm]

well... I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

I will say that there has been at times a tendency to see Shamans in every religion's roots, whether they've been there or not.

I personally don't know if Kemet had Shamans, but it strikes me as unlikely.
On the other hand, all religions start somewhere, and many religious roots are back far enough that we simply don't honestly know.

Someone else may (in fact, I'm sure - does) know more. Maybe they'll speak up here.
Senebty!

[David19]

I found this book on Amazon, it's called Shamanic wisdom in the pyramid texts (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892817550/qid=1144793950/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0778611-8152026?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), has anyone heard of it before? if you have, is it good.

Apparantly, it's about how the ancient Kemetic religion originated with shamanic aspects, and how the journey when you die is very shamanic.

[indigo rain]

I found this book on Amazon, it's called Shamanic wisdom in the pyramid texts (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892817550/qid=1144793950/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0778611-8152026?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), has anyone heard of it before? if you have, is it good.


i have this book, and it's very interesting. not only does it suggest that the journey to the afterlife is very shamanic, it suggests that perhaps the journey was sometimes taken by a living person, much like a shamanic journey into the underworld. so the book of going forth by day was not only a guide for the dead, it could also have been a guide for shamanic practitioners to make the journey, and could be used as such today. it's an interesting theory.

[NefertSatSekhmet]

Em hotep,

Shaman originally referred to the traditional healers of Turkic-Mongol areas such as Northern Asia (Siberia) and Mongolia, a "shaman" being the Turkic-Tungus word for such a practitioner and literally meaning "he (or she) who knows". Objections to the use of shaman as a generic term have been raised by both academics and anthropologists (and even traditional healers themselves), given that the word comes from a specific place, people, and set of practices. Part of this criticism involves the notion of cultural appropriation and the way in which New Age and modern Western ideas of "shamanism" may misrepresent or 'dilute' genuine indigenous practices.

So bearing this in mind, I don't think Kemet had 'shamans' or was 'shamanistic' as such. Kemet had its own culture and religious ideas, I think calling it shamanistic is just superimposing our modern ideas on their authentic practices.

Senebty.