Der Bär: Krafttier der Schamanen und Heiler

by Wolf-Dieter Storl

Überall, wo der Bär lebt, galt er als Krafttier. Er war kein gewöhnliches Tier, sondern eine Art "Waldmensch", unter dessen zotteligem Fell sich eine Menschen- oder gar Götterseele verbarg. Er konnte die Gedanken der Menschen verstehen und hatte Heilkräfte. Wolf-Dieter Storl, Kulturanthropologe und Ethnobotaniker, der selbst viele Jahre in Bärenbiotopen in den Rocky Mountains lebte, zeichnet in diesem Buch die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Bär auf. Die Reise führt von den Bärenhöhlen der Neandertaler zu den Bärenkulturen sibirischer Stämme der Gegenwart, vom Höhlenbär bis zum Teddybär und nicht zuletzt auch in die Bärenstadt Bern. Wir erfahren von der Bärengöttin Artemis und dem Medizinbären der indianischen Schamanen und finden zahlreiche Bärenmärchen und - geschichten aus aller Welt. Eine faszinierende Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Bär - in Kulturgeschichte, Mythologie, Heilkunde und Biologie.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, History, Mythology, Natural History

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Born in Saxony, Germany in 1942 with a green thumb and the gift of writing, and emigrating with his parents to the United States in 1954, cultural anthropologist and ethno-botanist Wolf Dieter Storl has had a special connection to nature since childhood. His specific area of research is shamanism and healing in traditional societies with a focus on the role of plants in all aspects of life, including sacred symbolism, magic, medicine, foods, and poisons. He has pursued this interest in many parts of the world.

After finishing his PhD in Anthropology (magna cum lauda) on a Fulbright scholarship in 1974 in Berne, Switzerland, he taught anthropology and sociology in Grants Pass, OR. During this time he also offered an organic gardening course that was extremely popular. He was one of the pioneers of the organic/biodynamic gardening movement. While preparing for his doctoral exams in Switzerland he also lived in an experimental community and helped tend a five-acre organic garden. There he had the good fortune to learn from master gardener, Manfred Stauffer who specialized in composting any organic matter.

Storl is also an avid traveler and has gathered much experience observing nature around the entire globe and spending time with people who are very connected to the nature that surrounds them. From1982 -83, he spent a year as an official visiting scholar at the Benares Hindu University, in Varanasi, India. After returning to the United States in 1984, he spent much time with traditional medicine persons of the Cheyenne and taught courses at Sheridan College in Sheridan, Wyoming. He has traveled and conducted research in South Asia, India, Mexico, the Canary Islands, South Africa, and much of Europe, pursuing ehtnobotanical and ethnomedicinal interests. He has written some twenty-five books and many articles in German and English, which have been translated into various languages, such as English, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Japanese, Danish, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Czech. Storl is a frequent guest on German, Swiss and Austrian television and has also appeared on BBC.

After another visit in India and Nepal in 1986, he and his wife moved to Germany where he began to write books as a freelance writer and offer freelance lectures. He lives with his family on an old estate in the foothills of the Alps where he has a large garden.

Storl’s books are unique in that he does not treat nature only with cold objectivism. He is able to delve into nature's depths and supports his experience with ancient lore from all over the world that has been, for the most part, left on the wayside in the wake of objective science. He theorizes that science is not always as objective as it claims to be. He invites his readers on a journey into a world of nature that is completely alive and has its own rhyme and reason. Myths and lore from many cultures also have a prominent place in his writings, as he claims that the images portrayed in this way often tell us more about the true nature of things than dry facts can do.
Credentials:
MA from Kent State University, instructor there from 1967 – 1969 in anthropology and sociology.
PhD in Anthropology (magna cum lauda) from University of Berne Switzerland, Fulbright scholarship, 1974.
Organic, biodynamic gardener since 1970. First book, Culture and Horticulture from organic gardening course notes of three years on request of students.
Since 1986 freelance author living in Germany with family.

Wolf D. Storl also writes in German as Wolf-Dieter Storl

Reviews

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is about the myths people have told about bears. while a lot of the things storl writes about are interesting, i would put a big old [citation needed] on anything from this book before i used it. (on some things i can tell his perspective is skewed: he talks up thor's connection to bears a lot, even though the only actual link he gives is thor being sometimes called "bjorn," or bear, as a nickname. i've done prior reading on norse mythology and that supposed connection felt off to me, and googling didn't turn up anything else, or anyone else claiming it as an important connection. it's very likely that on other things, about mythologies i know less of, he's even more wrong.)

the author comes off as scornful of modern society and repeatedly wishes for a return to a time when men and bears lived in harmony and respected one another (and Sorry But [citation needed]). he mourns "the technological monstrosities that this unnatural [20th] century has produced," a breath after discussing "jet planes and computers."

he uses the afterword (which opens with a poem by the author(!)) to talk about a great experience he had with a "medicine society" whose google results are mostly about how they're a scam.

it's academically unrigorous. there's a point where the author mentions a myth with some real backing and uses it to claim that another, unrelated myth, must also be true. he doesn't let the stories he relates speak for themself. he pushes his points at every opportunity.

it falls into basically every possible white man anthropologist trap. there's a breathtaking amount of casual racism and sexism. this guy is weird about every single indigenous person he talks about, both peoples he's read about and individual people he's talked to. one chapter opens with what he is unable to cite more specifically than as a "native american proverb" (and which, turning once again to my best friend google, i can find no source for other than this book).

like, if you want a basic overview of people who told or tell myths about bears to use as a jumping-off point for further research, then this book is fine, but i wouldn't trust it any further than that.

[Sarah Furger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Storl has worked hard to integrate many different ways of knowing into this history of the bear in human life, and I really appreciated the many different points of view presented here. This book is fast-paced and reads like a series of conversations over a fire or a cup of coffee with a beloved mentor; I felt like I was absorbing knowledge without working hard for it! I have always been partial to bears and knowing more about them and the relationship bears have had with humans only increased my affection for them. I highly recommend this BUT: if you are expecting a western/scientific history of bears, this is not the book for you!

[Ben]

Not what I expected at all. I knew it was going to be more about mythology and anthropology and the bear as an iconic symbol. I wasn't expecting science. But in just the first few pages the author states that all plants and minerals have souls. That pets and other animals will deflect bad things away from people even taking on illnesses to protect the humans nearby.

I do like nature books that are science based but I'm as open minded as anyone and also enjoy stories of mythology. Being open minded doesn't mean I'm willing to accept the utter bollocks this author was spouting though. I've left it with no rating as clearly this book wasn't meant for me.

[Terry Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you goodreads for the free book . I love winning!

I've under the weather so review will have to wait. Just know I was enthralled. So much I didn't know about bears from rituals, bear plants ( think Bear Garlic) mythology, history, fairytales...Winnie the Pooh and Smokey the Bear...oh my, and so much more. A plethora of bear related fact.

I need to keep this copy for future reference.

Mr. Storl has given us what would be for me a lifetime's work.

I rounded down to 3.5 stars.

[Michael]

While I was reading this book. I started noticing bears all over the place. I enjoyed reading "Bear," and it opened my eyes. In fact, this evening, I was watching Sunday night football, and the band had some people dressed up in colorful bear costumes. the TV sports announcer called them the dancing bears. I couldn't help wondering if the individuals wearing the bear costumes knew how the dancing bears were trained to dance.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t get past the first chapter, tried to be open minded but it seems like a lot of what is written isn’t based in science. Like, anthropology is a science and it starts off with talking about “animals telepathic communication with people”. No source, just what the author believes. So, I was like well how much of this book is really gonna be credible then?

[Samuel Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A startling blend of history, mythology, and botany, this book is a shocking reminder of what has been and the ways man has bonded itself to nature.

[Patricia Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both an interesting and extremely educational book. Great research! He really gets to the roots of beliefs.