Literatura nativo-americana a representação do xamanismo em the Woman who Owned the Shadows, de Paula Gunn Allen

Abstract

This paper explores the complex and intrinsic relationship between literature and spirituality, focusing on the intersection between shamanism and Native American Literature. The main objective is to understand the role of indigenous cosmology, that is, shamanism in Native American literature and to examine how shamanic elements are portrayed in Paula Gunn Allen's novel, The Woman who Owned the Shadows (1983). Through bibliographical research and literary analysis based on the fundamental concepts of theoliterature (BOAS, 2011), this research analyzes how shamanism interacts with both the content and the form of the novel. The results reveal that shamanism permeates the entire work, shaping its narrative structure and thematic content and contributing to the novel's density as a tool for survival, transmission, and cultural preservation. By delving into the representation of shamanistic elements in The Woman who Owned the Shadows (1983), this study sheds light on the importance of indigenous perspectives, contributing to the discussion about Native American Literature in the Brazilian academic scenario.