Week 4 Presentation

Natalie Lortz, Kenrick Chang, Vivianne Lee, Yufei Liu

ASA 189B

Professor Valverde

April 22, 2019

Princess Mononoke is a film that showcases the issues between humans and nature. The film is essentially a clash between the developing world along with the natural world. Characters such as San hold special meanings to them and embody different ideas. For instance, San holds the idea that the natural world is not to be altered or destroyed because the forest is a symbol of life. Meanwhile, Eboshi holds the idea that technological advances are important and destroying nature will help progress human evolution/development. The film also holds a central idea around the Great Spirit of the Forest in which holds significant powers that can help cure anything and anyone. However, through the advancement of humans, we are able to see that there is a rise of “demons” and the idea of demons that often show up in the movie as a symbol of hatred. With the conflict between humans and the forest, we see more hatred stirring essentially creating more of these demons.

The film discusses ideas of animism and spirits in the sense that they hold significant meaning to the story. Even though they are not necessarily “main characters,” they drive the story to have a deeper meaning to what it presents on the surface level. We see spirits and demons throughout the film. Spirits holding a more positive role in the sense that they can heal or represent life. Meanwhile, demons take on the role of hatred and conflict. For instance, in the film, we see the first encounter of a demon and it is depicted as a rampaging monster that possesses living beings to only fill them with hatred. Meanwhile, if we look at the Great Spirit of the Forest, the music and scenery are always mysterious or even whimsical. The spirit is rather shown as something powerful and full of life. Animism is seen through the animals of the forest because they are given personalities and emotions, similar to a human. Animism is important in this film because of how it holds these small, yet significant meanings because of how important the role of spirits and demons are in this film.

Len dong is a spirit possession ritual with connections to the religion “Tu Phu”, which translates to “Four Palaces”. Besides a shaman, the practice generally requires certain costumes, an orchestra, or at the very least a recording of ceremonial music, and gifts to offer the spirits and mother goddess. The most important aspect of these is the spiritual offerings. Gifts, costumes, and alters can vary on a wide range, depending on size, colors, quality, and intricacy of detail. In the same vein, American temples sit on a large spectrum and the inclusion of temples within Vietnam augment that spectrum exponentially.  These differences have sparked competition over the tired notion of “authenticity”, quality control, and level of “spiritual devotion”.

Practitioners of len dong believe that it can bring financial opportunities, as well as increased spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health. Rather than being based on faith such as religions like Christianity or Hinduism are, many believers of len dong are convinced by personal experiences. For example, Phan was possessed by the spirit on the Young Prince (a.k.a Cau Be) and faced depression and flu-like symptoms. She reclaims her physical health by agreeing to honor his spirit with yearly ceremonies (Fjelstad, 97). For Phan, ceremonies are not an option because her health is on the line. Not only does len dong appease the minds of those who make agreements with spirits, it also provides “health and mental health care resources, a foundation for social support, the formation of mutual assistance associations, and a vehicle for developing and maintaining ethnic identity” (Fjelstad, 99).

The reading of “We Are Not Alone” The Shamans Of The World Tell Us describes the importance of incorporating Shamanic practices in the Western educational curriculum. Although Shamanism has no connections to Science, it heals and complements people in a different and unique way. Shamans of the world pushes for the Western culture to expand their vision to seek non-scientific alternatives to make a difference. New Zealand is one of the few countries that are open to the idea of connecting with spirits and their ancestors. While most of the Western culture faces the future with the past behind, “traditionally for New Zealand Maori it is the future that is behind them” (3, Collective Evolution). They stand facing the past and their ancestors, who are a living presence in spirit. It is the vision of the ancestors that guides the present generation into the unseen future, with one clear and overriding purpose: to prosper the generations yet to be born.

The major role of a Shaman is to work to maintain or restore harmonious balance between humans and the rest of nature through powerful connections with spirit helpers (5). Rhythmic movement or repetitive sound is incorporated during the practice of Shamans. During the Shamanic journey, individuals experience flying or enter the Earth, where they ask an animals or guardian spirits to aid in finding answers. While the Western culture sees disease as an illness, the Shamans view disease as a result from losing connection to the spirits of nature and loss of soul. Although Shamans can be fun and theatrical by wearing dramatic costumes and display colourful talismans, their work has a serious purpose which is the “evocation of powerful spiritual forces.”

With Western medicine taking control and limiting other paths to knowledge, it is important to embrace and acknowledge Shamanism, who dispel the illusion that “all is fixed and orderly and controllable” (11). The Shamans are the one that make life possible and gives it meaning. Unlike the Western culture that discriminates and judges people of illness, Shamans treat all humans the same way. They believe humanity is essentially one spirit formed from billions of spirits.

Whether people believe in animism, shamanism, or spirits at all, it is undeniable that today’s science and technology still cannot prove their existence or prove them wrong either. Movies like Princess Mononoke and practices like len dong showcase various different beliefs around the world. One thing worth notice is that among many cultures, they all share the belief of a spiritual world of some sort. Many also believe that with certain practices, we can communicate with that world, including ghosts and our ancestors. Some people like me are born into a somewhat traditional Asian family. Growing up we listened to our parents’ superstitious teaching and learned to burn paper for the dead, open the door on Lunar New Year’s Eve to invite our ancestors, and pray for evil spirits to leave us alone and good spirits to guide us to success. Some people even went through mental and physical illnesses to become a Shaman and help connect the two worlds together. Even with the rise of technological advances, animism should still be taken into consideration as a cultural identity that differs us from the Western mainstream beliefs.

Works Cited

Cardenas, Lauren, "The Substance and Style of Len Dong: Healing, Transformation, and        Aesthetic in Spirit Possession Rituals of Hue" (2011). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1061.

Hoskins, Janet. "Possessed By The Spirits: Mediumship In Contemporary Vietnamese Communities, Karen Fjelstad And Nguyen Thi Hien , Eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 2006. Pp. 186. $16.00 (Paper), $32.00 (Cloth).". Journal Of Vietnamese Studies, vol 2, no. 2, 2007, pp. 308-311. University Of California Press, doi:10.1525/vs.2007.2.2.308.

Princess Mononoke. ​Director Hayao Miyazaki. 1997.

Scientific & Medical Network. “‘We Are Not Alone’ The Shamans of the World Tell Us.” Collective Evolution, 16 May 2018, www.collective-evolution.com/2018/05/16/we-are-not-alone-the-shamans-of-the-world-tells-us/.