Vision quest
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For the film, see Vision Quest.
A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures.
[edit] Inuit examples
At many Inuit groups, the vision quest may be a part of shamanism, more exactly, the learning and initiation process of the apprentice for achieving the ability for shamanizing, mostly under the guidance of an older shaman.
The vision quest may be said to make the initiand establish a contact with a spirit or force. Psychologically, it may have effected hallucinations. See a complex emic and etic approach to Eskimo shamanism in [1].
The technique may be similar to sensory deprivation methods. It may include long walking on uninhabited, monotonous areas (tundra, inland, mountain); fasting; sleep deprivation; being closed in a small room (e.g. igloo).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Merkur, Daniel: Becoming Half Hidden / Shamanism and Initiation among the Inuit. (Series: Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis / Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion). Almqvist & Wiksell, Stockholm, 1985.
