Title: Shamanic Journeys Through the Caucasus
Author: Michael Berman
Review: 2010 Bryn C
Author Website: O-Books
I have very mixed feelings about this book. Some of the content was brilliant, some I had problems with.
Berman explores the folklore of the Caucasus looking for signs of a now lost Shamanic culture. There is some fascinating information about the region, its people, traditions and culture. It really drew me into a landscape I had previously known little about.
Berman draws heavily on the writing of Frazer and Elaide. I’m no academic, but I get the impression that neither figure is considered entirely academically sound these days, so I wasn’t sure how far I could trust the material taken from them. Furthermore, because the possibly shamanic culture of the Caucasus has gone, Berman has to figure out what it might have involved by looking at other cultures and assuming similarities. I’m not certain about this as a method, although I appreciate that to tackle the subject at all, there aren’t a great many ways open. At times it seemed a little circular – the idea that there was a shamanic culture informing the interpretation of stories as inherently shamanic.
My final gripe, is that certain quoted paragraphs explaining various ideas, come up repeatedly. This really got on my nerves, I’d rather be referred back to the page that first carried the content, or have the author trust that I can remember what I’ve already been told.
There are a number of different regions and countries in the Caucasus, and Berman explores them chapter by chapter, explaining local custom, social structure, geography history and so forth. The writing is focused and engaging. In each chapter he then offers a traditional tale from the region. The stories are excellent reading. There are similarities with the folklore I’m more familiar with (Western Europe) but there are many entities and ways of telling that are wholly different. The book is definitely worth having for the selection of stories it offers. Berman analyses each tale, considering its implications for shamanism. It will be down to individual readers to decide how useful they find these interpretations, but there’s plenty of scope for forming your own opinion.
Berman made me consider the relationship between stories and healing, to contemplate the spiritual significance of storytelling, and to reconsider my own work as a consequence. For me, that was a very powerful experience. Other writers and story tellers may find the ideas in this book equally affecting and inspiring.
On the whole, this is a flawed work, but the strengths most certainly outweigh the weaknesses. I enjoyed reading it, and there is much of value in the content.
Bryn Colvin