Historical dictionary of shamanism

DISMEMBERMENT

Dismemberment: translation

A common feature of many stories ofinitiations, especially of shamans. Powerfulother-than-human persons, ancestors, orspiritstake the prospective initiate (often against their will) and tear or cut them apart, often killing them and/or eating them. Sometimes this happens after the initiate has been taken away from their everyday surroundings, perhaps into anunderworldorother world. It is usually followed by the insertion of sources of power, help, or ability into their bodies. For example, there are accounts of the initiation ofAboriginal Australian“clever people” that include the insertion of crystals either as empowering substances or as magical weapons.There are also accounts ofillnessesbeing inserted intoSiberianshamans to enable them tohealtheir community of these illnesses. Shamans initiated in this way speak not only of the pain of the process but also of their fearful uncertainty that they would survive it. However, survival entailed being reassembled or literally re-membered and sent home to learn how to use their new abilities properly.
Dismemberment and reassembly is not only about the acquisition of new powers and abilities. It indicates that shamans are made or remade differently from other people. For example, the DaurMongols(discussed byCaroline HumphreyandUrgunge Onon) understand that people’s bones come from their fathers and their flesh andbloodfrom their mothers; the word for the “bone joint,”uye, is the same as that for “patrilineal generation.” So when initiates are dismembered, they are torn out of their people’s kinship system and turned into a different kind of being, at least partially an other-than-human person or a spirit. At the same time, the newyadgans(Daur shamans), having already experienced death and doing so again each time they shamanize, are unlikeelders, who are still approaching death and thus have a different relationship and ceremonial engagement withancestors.

  1. dismemberment—мед.сущ. рассечение расчленение Англорусский медицинский словарь....Англо-русский медицинский словарь
  2. dismemberment—Being cut to pieces The removal of limbs...Crosswordopener
  3. dismemberment—[dsmembmnt]расчленение разделение на части...Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь
  4. dismemberment—n исключение лишение членства разделение на части расчленение...Англо-русский словарь Лингвистика-98
  5. dismemberment—dismemberment [dsmembmnt] nu расчленение разделение на части...Англо-русский словарь Мюллера
  6. dismemberment—сущ. расчленение разделение на части Syn partition...Англо-русский словарь общей лексики
  7. dismemberment—n расчленение разделение на части лишение членства исключение из организации и т.п....Англо-русский словарь политической терминологии
  8. dismemberment—n. расчленение разделение на части...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  9. dismemberment—расчленение...Англо-русский технический словарь
  10. dismemberment—сущ. общ. увечье тяжкое телесное повреждение в виде потери какойл. части тела конечности или утраты функций поврежденной части телаem dismemberment benefit dismemberment ...Англо-русский экономический словарь
  11. dismemberment—расчленение...Англо-русский юридический словарь
  12. dismemberment—nрозчленування розподл на частини...Англо-украинский словарь
  13. dismemberment—розчленування в т. ч. трупа тощо...Англо-украинский юридический словарь
  14. dismemberment—n of a State розчленування держави...Англо-український дипломатичний словник
  15. dismemberment—розчленування...Англо-український словник
  16. dismemberment—n розчленування подл на частини виключення позбавлення членства....Англо-український словник Балла М.І.
  17. dismemberment—розчленування в т. ч. трупа тощо...Англо-український юридичний словник
  18. dismemberment—[dsmembmnt] n. расчленение разделение на части. редк. исключение лишение членства...Новый большой англо-русский словарь
  19. dismemberment—dismemberment [dsmembmnt] ni . расчленение разделение на части . редк. iисключение лишение членства...Новый большой англо-русский словарь II
  20. dismemberment—dsmembmnt n . расчленение разделение на части . редк. emисключение лишение членства...Новый большой англо-русский словарь под общим руководством акад. Ю.Д. Апресяна