A cool Siberian Shaman’s costume. Also, interesting stuff in the linked article:
In order to operate on this higher plane, the shaman must fully identify with the powers which he hopes to wield. Masks are one of the empowering mediums by which the shaman ‘becomes’ the spirit which he invites to possess him. Such possession is described as an ecstatic experience. Other tools which help bring about this transformation include ritual costume, weapons, drums, and perhaps psychotropic substances…
Shamanism in a nutshell (part 1) on the Barbelith site. When’s the O’Reilly book coming, I wonder? :)
Looking up Mircea Eliade, the Rumanian scholar who wrote much about Shamanism, I found both a literary biography, a philosophical essay and an online version of a reference work he compiled about non-western religions, From Primitives to Zen.
Shamanism links (from the gather-alot-of-links-to-read-later department):
Of course, the links I dug up about the Benandanti are also relevant here.
Speaking of Harry Potter, I already linked to the Harry Potter Lexicon, but there are also some good Hebrew sites by Israeli fans: Hogwarts Express, the Israeli Harry Potter lovers’ site and Harry Potter Net.
They don’t really extend the info in the Lexicon, but I can use help with the Hebrew spellings – although it would probably be best to get the books.
The movie opened this weekend, I wonder if it would be bearable to go see it (crowds-wise).