Shamanic elements in “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze five themes of the trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman in the light of their similarity to shamanic motifs. Firstly, I focus on the idea of daemons as similar to the shamanic concept of the helpful spirits that have the form of animals. Secondly, I describe Pullman’s idea of Dust as a kind of spiritual concept and I present Lyra as the mediator who communicates with Dust by means of her alethiometer which resembles a shamanic drum. Thirdly, I show the character of John Parry, the only shaman in the novels, and some other characters who have similar skills. Fourthly, I analyze Lyra’s dream in a cave as an initiation rite and the introduction to the motif of the descent to the underworld. This descent is the last motif I focus on, and the most similar to the shamanic ones. In conclusion, I try to explain why the shamanic motifs are used in the trilogy and why they are still vivid in modern culture.