ALIEN ABDUCTION

Alien abduction: translation

Stories of supposed survivors ofspace alienabductions have some similarities with shamans’initiationnarratives in which powerfulother-than-human personsorspiritsabduct,dismember, and reassemble shamanic initiates, especially when they are said to insert powerful artifacts into the abductee’s body. They also have parallels in shamanichealingnarratives, again particularly those in whichillnessesare caused by the insertion of artifacts into people’s bodies or by the abduction of theirsouls. Earlier versions of comparable narratives include abduction or kidnapping by fairies, Indians, gypsies, and devil worshippers. Debate about the implications of these parallels is complicated by their entanglement with commitments to the truth or falsity of claims made.