TAUSSIG, MICHAEL

Professor of anthropology at Columbia University. Taussig’s bookShamanism, Colonialism, and the WildMan:A Study of Terror and Healing(1987) provides the foremost consideration of the work ofAmazonianshamans confronted by and confronting the devastation of colonialism. It not only discusseshealing, performance, andsorcerybut also considers shamans’politicaland cultural leadership (even when they may be marginal,ambiguous, and even feared members of their communities). Taussig also documents the widespread suspicion that European colonialism itself is a form of sorcery or “magia” that shamans, some usingayahuasca(yagé), can attempt tocombat. Similar accusations against those who succeed or become rich are significant aspects ofwitchcraftdiscourse not only in Amazonia but also inAfricaand elsewhere. All of this contributes to an understanding of the resilience of indigenous cultures, especially as they incorporate elements of originally discrete cultural practices and knowledge. Taussig’s work is an important challenge to romantic views of shamans as heroic and exceptional characters. His earthy, bawdy, and matter-of-fact confrontation with the devastating facts of colonial life roots his books in a more gritty reality, albeit sometimes in atrickster-like manner.