Stories from various cultures and periods of time can be identified
which deal with a concept of soul loss that is essentially shamanic. In
shamanism, soul loss is the term used to describe the way parts of the
psyche become detached when we are faced with traumatic situations. In
shamanic terms, these split-off parts can be found in non-ordinary
reality and are only accessible to those familiar with its topography.
Case studies are presented to show how the way soul loss is dealt with
by indigenous shamans differs from the way it is treated by neo-shamanic
practitioners. Stories have traditionally been classified as epics,
myths, sagas, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, parables and fables.
However, the definitions of the terms have a tendency to overlap, making
it difficult to classify and categorize material. For this reason, a
case can be made for the introduction of a new genre, termed the
shamanic story-a story that has either been based on or inspired by a
shamanic journey (a numinous experience in non-ordinary reality) or one
that contains a number of the elements typical of such a journey. Within
this new genre it is proposed that there exists a sub-genre, shamanic
stories that deal specifically with soul-loss, and examples are
presented and analysed to support this hypothesis.
