Observations placeholder
David Lewis-Williams - Native American Indians - Flying
Identifier
011557
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Mind in the Cave – David Lewis-Williams
Supernatural flight is ubiquitous in North American shaman’s narratives. In the art, shamans are depicted wearing quail feather topknots. The quail was associated in a number of ways with shamans. For instance, the bowl used to prepare infusions of jimsonweed was called ‘quail’ and the Master of Animals, whom shamans visited, was clothed in a quail feather cape. Shamans are also depicted with birds’ feet. Sometimes quails and other birds were depicted often sitting on shaman’s heads.