> The shaman will always, and intentionally, be 'misunderstood' by the
> reasonable. It is not in his interest to be understood.... He uses
> 'secrets' after all. That the shaman is tolerated is the paucity of a
> culture, IMHO. Or at least the degree of toleration.
Anybody want to play the fool?
I think the value of having someone who *intentionally* hides his ideas
behind a cloak of mystery, "shamanism", or humour is very well
understood.
By *not* revealing his/her ideas directly, they are capable of saying
things that others are *scared* to say. The mystery is a profound cloak
for the truths no one wants to face. And yet they must.
Literary reference: King Lear.
http://www.gh.cs.su.oz.au/~matty/Shakespeare/Shakespeare.html
(you can find it from there)
Religious reference: Church of SubGenius.
http://www.subgenius.com/
(if SubGenii arn't shamans, who is?)
ERiC