The shaman's overt employment of theatricals and subterfuges have, in the past, led scholars to dismiss him a quack—an opportunistic trickster whose magical activities and reputation are founded on elaborate falsehoods. The reality, however, is more subtle. The shaman sees no contradiction between the employment of theatricality and deception and the genuine performance of effective magic; in other words, deception is seen as an integral part of an effective ritual, whether it is intended to help or to harm. That this can indeed be the case is supported by the fact that psychologists have observed that many of the shaman's subterfuges inspire a strong placebo response, in both clients and observers. Knud Rasmussen claimed that 'It is difficult indeed for the ordinary civilized mentality to appreciate the complexity of the native mind in its relations with the supernatural; a "wizard" may resort to the most transparent ' trickwork and yet be thoroughly in earnest.' The Alaskan Inuit shaman, Najagneq, 'frequently employed deceptions to protect himself from his neighbors by playing on their superstitions, and he was not afraid to admit that he had made an art of pulling their legs'. When he was asked, however, whether he really believed in any of the powers to which he pretended, he returned an unequivocal 'yes'. As a result of meeting shamans like Najagneq, Rasmussen drew up a model of shamanic thinking which effectively articulates the complexities and contradictions integral to the shamanic vocation. The model is comprised of four levels, listed here in ascending order:
4. The exploitative level, concerning those spooks and powers deliberately invented by the shaman to impress and intimidate the uninitiated.
3. The socio-historical level, concerning the 'mythological image of the shaman' created by his own theatricals and 'sleight of hand' illusionism.
2. The psychological level, concerning those 'personal guardians, helpers, and familiars who capture and bind the imagination'. Also associated with the acquisition of occult powers. Although coloured by cultural and personal elements, it can open up to the metaphysical level.
1. The metaphysical level, concerning profound transcultural and transpersonal realizations.
Rasmussen claimed that shamans can operate on all four levels of shamanic thinking at the same time.
Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic, by Emma Wilby, page 208
