NR2003 05 Aleknaite 13..35
Baltic Paganism in Lithuanian Neoshamanic Communities Neoshamanic Interpretations of a Local Indo-European Religious Tradition EgleAleknait_ e_ ABSTRACT: In this paper, I aim to provide an analysis of various Lithuanian Neoshamanic groups’ relationships to a local Pagan tradition and to show the impact of socio-political context on the popularity of shamanic interpretations of Indo-European religious traditions and var- ious possibilities of expressions of interest in local Indo-European cus- toms. Building on 2009–2015 fieldwork data and analysis of published scholarly and Neoshamanic texts, I present the Lithuanian Neoshamanic milieu, discuss scholarly interpretations of shamanic elements in the Baltic religious tradition, examine interpretations of the local Pagan tradition relevant to Lithuanian Neoshamanic communities, consider Lithuanian Neopagan attitudes to shamanic interpretations of the Baltic tradition, and analyze the impact of Lithuanian socio-political context. KEYWORDS: Neoshamanism, Baltic Paganism, (Neo)paganism, Indo- European religious traditions, Lithuania, Balts, Neotoltecs, Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, Siberian Neoshamanism Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Volume 20, Issue 3, pages 13–35. ISSN 1092-6690 (print), 1541-8480. (electronic). © 2017 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Reprints and Permissions web page, http://www.ucpress.edu/journals.php?p=reprints.
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