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  • Essay / How and why music is used in shamanic rituals

    Music has been the basis of many cultures because of the effects it has in the form of song and dance. Many communities, including shamans and Native Americans, use music as a means of homage, prayer, healing and as a representation of feelings. When music is used in the form of dance, it is usually sacred and the dances are different in each tribe, but they are also different in their relevance to men and women. Many dances are performed as healing rituals and the people who perform these dances put their mind and soul into it. It is truly considered a physical, mental and spiritual healing experience. They integrate into the community and strengthen group solidarity allowing them to truly get in touch with the depths of their spirit while engaging in a truly holistic experience. Songs in shamanic healing rituals often feature shamanic drums which are the centerpiece of many rituals. Many people try to keep shamanic culture alive, even in our modern society. These healing techniques are applied in combination with more modern techniques. Musical healing is a very good technique to use and shamans are some of the best at using music to clear the mind of all thoughts. Music plays an important role in shamanism while also playing an important role in healing the mind and spirit of those who have faith in shamanic rituals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Many shamans and other cultures use song and dance as a healing technique when people face illnesses of supernatural origin, which has proven effective in their own countries. culture. Musical healing rituals are most often used when spirit possession occurs in an individual. Music is an integral part of the healing process as it contributes to the induction of trance. According to Dr. Joseph Moreno, “music facilitates the shaman's journeys into the spirit world to establish connections that will benefit the patient” (329). It allows shamans to interact with supernatural powers through repetitive music that modifies the patient's state of consciousness. When the patient's state of consciousness is more open, this allows the music to truly tap into the core of the patient's mind to rid the patient of any demons or possession that are occurring. Shamanic music differs from Western cultural music because rather than letting our minds wander among our thoughts, the goal is to let go of what we are thinking so that our minds create new conceptual boundaries. Music therapy is a treatment that shamans all over the world partake in, and it is only effective when the healer and patient are in sync and dedicated to the process. Patients must be willing to participate, otherwise the treatment will not be as effective because the patient is not fully dedicated to the task at hand. Music constitutes the healing power of the practitioner, which means that without music the practitioner has no healing power. The patient also has the power to block his mind, which does not allow him to be healed. Not only are the patient and healer directly correlated to make the process work, but the healer also acts as a guide for the patient to ensure that they achieve a state of deep relaxation while traveling into their unconscious and out into the world of thespirits. Moreno refers to the process also allowing the healer to distract the left hemisphere of his brain from "immediate temporal distractions, thereby freeing the right hemisphere to attend to the conceptualized world of spirits" (Moreno 330). It is a way of understanding that the healer and the patient can only work together when they are synchronized in their state of mind. They both need to be free from outside distractions in order to be able to concentrate, because this concentration on the process is one of the most important aspects of healing. Healers have extreme power given that the music they wish to use is what sends the patient on a journey through their mind to their deepest thoughts. One of the most important aspects of music therapy healing is the types of instruments used and the types of rituals performed in combination with those instruments. There are tons of variations in the music used as it all depends on the healers' process, some may prefer dancing or singing rituals over instruments. It is so open to interpretation that there is no one way to heal as long as the patient and healer are on the same page psychologically. The common instrument usually found in almost all shamanic healing rituals is the drum, which usually involves the shamanic drum being an essential part of the healing process. Shamanic drumming is the basis of musical healing that shamans use on their patients. It plays an important role in inducing trance and healers are usually experts using this percussion instrument. Siberian shamans described the role of music and healing by saying, “The shaman's drum is the horse that allows him to fly to the sky to meet the spirit world” (Moreno 329). This simply states the power that the drum alone propels the patient into a trance during the healing process. Music creates a bond between healer and patient, which can develop if the patient is willing to trust the process. This will allow them to grow at a better pace psychologically. They emphasize the importance of drumming and how this craft is an integral part of a patient's psychological healing. The sacred playing of the drum when used in repetition is what puts the patient into a trance allowing them to slowly open their mind. This should not be confused with a musical performance as it is not done for the leisure of the patient or healer. It is considered a sacred ritual that helps prevent or rid other shamans of illness. Even now, shamanic drumming is still used as a form of treatment that appears to be very effective for drug addiction treatments. According to DARTNA (Drug Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans), shamanic drumming has been an integral part of the drug addiction recovery process as recently as 2008. Drumming helps healers get in touch with the emotional and psychological side of the patient, which is more difficult to treat than any physical illness. Before treating patients, healers should inform them of the sacredness of the art of drumming, as it serves a very important purpose in treatment. According to Dr. Daniel Dickinson, the battery has similarities to cognitive behavioral therapy. It is known to help patients become more aware of their behavior. Drumming and singing are integrated into the treatment. Additionally, the twelve steps of the medication-assisted recovery process involve shamanic chanting and drumming to.