DEPRIVATION AND OVERSTIMULATION

Rhythmicdancing, monotonous singing,chantinganddrumming, prolonged fasting, hyperventilation, flagellation and other forms of pain, and light deprivation all mark ways in which shamans may deprive or stimulate the senses in order to inducealtered states of consciousness. Such practices are not universal to shamanisms, but they are a consistent feature since such practices facilitatealtered styles of communication— enabling intimate relationships withother-than-human persons.