The Chrisma Of Shamanism And The Local Cultural Change

Shamanic healing spreading in mainland China has attracted scholars around the world, with the purpose of solving the mystery of the magic treatment which has been perceived to be irrational in the contemporary modern world where science and rationality are prevailing. It tends to highlight the lives of ordinary Chinese people as the continuum of tradition and modernity when analyzing shamanic healing by searching for the answer in the rural area. The author adopted anthropological methods to conduct her fieldwork in Xishantou village in Zhejiang province. The thesis combines ethnographic observations with the concept of chrisma from Max Weber’s theory, to elaborate the mechanisms behind the sustainment of the local shamanism in order to understand the change of local culture.The thesis follows the both facets of chrisma using characteristics and rountinization when discussing the interaction among the village structure and order and the local shamanic healers, arguing that these healers were the guardians of local order and were shaped by the village structure. The local religion created vivo sphere in which the shamanic healers were presented as faith summoners. The local belief in shamanic treatments made people emotionally dependent on the healers and their practice. The healers based their patient selection on their social network, and these personal relationships and shared cultural background made the treatment process more effective. The healers tried to avoid any economic profit, which helped to maintain their local authority in ceremonies and the village life. All of these aspects of shamanic healing and practice in Xishantou confirm with the characteristics of Max Weber’s chrisma. The local shamanism is maintained and reinforced through routinization which includes the chosen identification, interpersonal appointment, chrisma leader’s recognition, consanguineous inheritance, ritualized legitimization. Additionally, under the revival of the local religion resulting in the emergence of a new philosophy in the village life which intertwined science with local belief, local healers regained their local authority and legitimacy as medical practitioners.In conclusion, the author argues that the historical contents of this chrisma and the old compromise the orient religious elites made with religious masses in witchcraft enforce this unique healing phenomenon. This is the foundation in which shamanic healers selected cultural tools that helped them cope with their changing social environment and enabled themselves to maintain their importance in the contemporary village.