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Surely R C Nesbit?
It was ok, but I found it strangely disappointing, having always been a fan. I think he's gone a bit Simon Ralli with all the shamanistic bollocks TBH. I also got the feeling that some of the natives were doing stuff especially for the camera crews.
I'm looking forward to the Greenland episode next week though. Hopefully it'll pick up.
with all the shamanistic bollocks
I agree, dd. I was disappointed with the Siberia episode and thought Parry was looking for something that wasn't there.
I watched the Greenland episode earlier and it was much, much better and coincidentally had no mention of shamen. (shamans??) Seal's eyeball juice anybody?
Btw with all the discussion of survival experts above, Parry never comes across as a survivalist imo, just somebody who wants to learn about other cultures. Seal's eyeball juice anybody??
I'm still here but not posting much as I am not biking right now. iPlayer does not work in Brazil so I can't watch this which is a shame as I would have liked to.
I have a friend Lucy who is an accomplished jews harpist, as are her father and two uncles. One of her uncles arranges school exchanges between students in a part of Siberia called Yakultia which is one of the main regions for the jews harp.
I was lucky enough to have met Spiridon, one of the world's most accomplished players, and who is also a Siberian shaman when he was invited to the UK by Lucy's family a few years ago. Shamanism there is alive and well, but as is always the case, is often not well represented on television.
I am a fan of Bruce Parry but obviously the television series are highly edited affairs designed for mass viewing, and not necessarily able to really offer anything other than a superficial treatment of shamanic use of natural plant hallucinogens.
My dissertation for my masters degree was on ayahuasca, of which Parry took in Peru, but again this episode was only covered in one part of one of the Amazon episodes.
Obviously I know that most of you have no experience of these, in terms of gong through the shamanic initiations that apprentice shaman have to go through when they are learning the mysteries of these medicines, but what I was trying to do with my dissertation, and also the book I have written but is yet to find a publisher, is to really start to document the progression of experiences in an academically acceptable manner, and also to really ground the phenomenology in deeper quantum theory, which for me involves noting just how "shamanic" the quantum physics and framework of wholeness of the late David Bohm is.
I am also hoping to present at an up and coming conference at Kent University on psychedelics, but until then we only really have Bruce Parry who is trying to offer an honest picture of tribes and indigenous cultures around the world, and I for one, despite the limitations, feel he is doing a pretty good job of it 🙂
Been to a few of his lectures. Came across very enthusiastic, humble and with a real concern and respect for the places he visits. Is even shorter than he looks on TV, mind.
I'd definitely go to one of his talks.
I have heard good things about his book Tribe which was him talking and describing all the things about the documentary that were sometimes deemed not suitable for television. A friend read it and said he provides some really interesting commentaries on various episodes. I missed much of the series, maybe as I was in Gibraltar or something, so may well get the DVD and book some time.
I've just bought the original TRIBE series DVD. One thing that reminded/reinforced how he lived/lives for what he does is the begining part of 'Cannibals & Crampons' where he described how he and his friend have basically lived for the wanderlust of travelling/exhibitions (bumming it on friends floors/scraping by) since leaving the army when they could have just had 'proper jobs' in the city.
Shows how bloody genuine the bloke is doesn't it and not a plastic tv presenter parachuted into a programme!
A review of the book says one of the trials was having his knob pushed back inside his body. I think even I would stop short of volunteering for that one! 😯