View source for Philosophy:Soul dualism

{{short description|Range of beliefs that a person has two or more kinds of souls}}
'''Soul dualism''', also called '''dualistic pluralism''' or '''multiple souls''', is a range of beliefs that a person has two or more kinds of [[Philosophy:Soul|soul]]s. In many cases, one of the souls is associated with body functions ("body soul") and the other one can leave the body ("free soul" or "wandering soul").<ref name="jackson">{{cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Jackson|editor1-first=Peter|editor1-last=Jackson|title =Horizons of Shamanism|chapter =Preface|publisher =Stockholm University Press|year =2016|pages=xiv-xvii|isbn =978-91-7635-024-9|url =https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/32054/619233.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref><ref name=Hop-Nat>{{cite web |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |url=http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol4/hoppal.htm |title=Nature worship in Siberian shamanism}}</ref><ref name=EncBr-GrBas>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Great Basin Indian |year=2007 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=March 28, 2007 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-57681 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Hoppál|1975|p=225}}{{sfn|Hoppál|1994|p=13}}{{sfn|Diószegi|1962|p=27}} Sometimes the plethora of soul types can be even more complex.{{sfn|Merkur|1985}}<ref name=Kul-ConSl>{{cite web |url=http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol4/hing.htm |title=Conceptions of soul in old-Estonian religion |volume=4 |author=Kulmar, Tarmo}}</ref> Sometimes, a [[Unsolved:Shamanism|shaman]]'s "free soul" may be held to be able to undertake a spirit journey.

== Examples ==
===Austronesia===
The belief in soul dualism found throughout most Austronesian shamanistic traditions. The reconstructed [[Social:Proto-Austronesian language|Proto-Austronesian]] word for the "body soul" is ''*nawa'' ("breath", "life", or "vital spirit"). It is located somewhere in the abdominal cavity, often in the liver or the heart (Proto-Austronesian ''*qaCay'').<ref name="tan">{{cite book |first=Michael L. |last=Tan |title=Revisiting Usog, Pasma, Kulam |publisher=University of the Philippines Press |year=2008 |isbn=9789715425704 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EktzHrfup1UC}}</ref><ref name="sather2018">{{cite book |author=Clifford Sather |editor=James J. Fox |title=Expressions of Austronesian Thought and Emotions |chapter=A work of love: Awareness and expressions of emotion in a Borneo healing ritual |publisher=ANU Press |year =2018 |pages=57–63 |isbn=9781760461928 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wAxfDwAAQBAJ}}</ref> The "free soul" is located in the head. Its names are usually derived from Proto-Austronesian ''*qaNiCu'' ("ghost", "spirit [of the dead]"), which also apply to other non-human nature spirits. The "free soul" is also referred to in names that literally mean "twin" or "double", from Proto-Austronesian ''*duSa'' ("two").<ref name="yu2000">{{cite book |first=Jose Vidamor B. |last=Yu |title=Inculturation of Filipino-Chinese Culture Mentality |volume=3 |publisher=Editrice Pontifica Universita Gregoriana |series=Interreligious and Intercultural Investigations |year =2000 |pages=148–149 |isbn=9788876528484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4WqAOKb5c8C}}</ref><ref name="duSa">{{cite dictionary |author1=Robert Blust |author2=Stephen Trussel |dictionary=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary |entry=*du |url=http://www.trussel2.com/acd/acd-s_d.htm#30339 |access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref> A virtuous person is said to be one whose souls are in harmony with each other, while an evil person is one whose souls are in conflict.<ref name="mercado1991">{{cite journal |author=Leonardo N. Mercado |year=1991 |title=Soul and Spirit in Filipino Thought |journal=Philippine Studies |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=287–302 |jstor=42633258}}</ref>

The "free soul" is said to leave the body and journey to the [[Unsolved:Spirit world (Spiritualism)|spirit world]] during [[Unsolved:Trance|trance-like states]],  sleep, [[Medicine:Delirium|delirium]], death, and insanity. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://joynumber.com/twin-flame-marriage/ |title=Twin Flame Marriage - A Sacred Event Blessed By The Universe|author=Daley, Amy}}</ref> The duality is also seen in the healing traditions of Austronesian shamans, where illnesses are regarded as a "[[Religion:Soul loss|soul loss]]" and thus to heal the sick, one must "return" the "free soul" (which may have been stolen by an evil spirit or got lost in the spirit world) into the body. If the "free soul" can not be returned, the afflicted person dies or goes permanently insane.<ref name="salazar">{{cite journal |author=Zeus A. Salazar |year=2007 |title=Faith healing in the Philippines: An historical perspective |journal=Asian Studies |volume=43 |issue=2v |pages=1–15 |url=http://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-43-02-2007/Faith%20Healing%20in%20the%20Philippines%20Zeus%20Salazar.pdf}}</ref>

In some ethnic groups, there can also be more than two souls. Among the Tagbanwa, a person is said to have six souls - the "free soul" (which is regarded as the "true" soul) and five secondary souls with various functions.<ref name="tan"/>

=== China ===
[[File: 性命圭旨 魂魄圖.png|thumb|The ''Hun'' and ''Po'' Souls 魂魄圖, 1615 ''[[Unsolved:Xingming guizhi|Xingming guizhi]]'']]
Traditional Chinese culture differentiates two [[Philosophy:Hun and po|''hun'' and ''po'']] spirits or souls, which correlate with [[Yin and yang|''yang'' and ''yin'']] respectively. Within this soul dualism, every human has both an [[Philosophy:Non-physical entity|ethereal]] ''hun'' 魂 "spiritual soul; spirit; mood" that leaves the body after death and a substantive ''po'' 魄 "physical soul; spirit; vigor" that remains with the corpse. Chinese traditions differ over the number of ''hun'' and ''po'' souls in a person, for example, [[Philosophy:Taoism|Taoism]] has the ''sanhunqipo'' 三魂七魄 "three ''hun'' and seven ''po''".

=== Inuit ===
Several Inuit groups believe that a person has more than one type of soul. One is associated with respiration, the other can accompany the body as a shadow. Soul concepts of different Inuit groups are diverse; they are not alike.{{sfn|Kleivan|Sonne|1985|pp=17–18}} In some cases, it is connected to shamanistic beliefs among the various Inuit groups.{{sfn|Merkur|1985|pp=61, 222–223, 226, 240}} Also Caribou Inuit groups believed in several types of souls.{{sfn|Gabus|1970|p=211}}

=== Kongo ===
In traditional [[Religion:Kongo religion|Bakongo religion]], every Kongo person has a "dual soul-mind," called ''mwèla-ngindu'' that allows them to exist in the physical world (''Nseke'') and the spiritual world of the ancestors (''Mpémba'').<ref name=":0">Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama (2009). ''Encyclopedia of African Religion''. SAGE Publications. pp. 120–124, 165–166, 361. {{ISBN|978-1-4129-3636-1}}</ref> The rotation of the sun marks the different seasons of a Kongo person's life as they transition between the four moments of life: conception (''musoni''), birth (''kala''), maturity (''tukula''), and death (''luvemba'').<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Luyaluka, Kiatezua Lubanzadio (2017). "The Spiral as the Basic Semiotic of the Kongo Religion, the Bukongo". ''Journal of Black Studies''. '''48''' (1): 91–112. {{doi|10.1177/0021934716678984}}. {{ISSN|0021-9347}} {{JSTOR|26174215}} {{S2CID|152037988}}.</ref> The right side of the body is also believed to be male, while the left side is believed to be female, creating an additional layer to the dual identity of Kongo people.<ref name=":1" />

=== Ural ===
The concept of more kinds of souls can be found also in Finnish paganism.{{sfn|Hoppál|1975|p=225}}{{sfn|Fodor|2005|p=16–17}} See notion of shadow-soul (being able to depart freely the body), e.g. {{ill|íz|hu|Íz (mitológia)}} in Hungarian folk beliefs.{{sfn|Fodor|2005|p=16–17}}{{sfn|Dienes|1975|p=83}} The concept of a dualistic shadow-soul called ''itse'', related to the Hungarian conception, is also part of Finnish and general Baltic-Finnic folklore. The Estonian soul concept has been approached by several authors, some of them using rather complex frameworks.<ref name=Kul-ConSl/>

== See also ==
* [[Philosophy:Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul|Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul]], divided into five or more parts
* [[Social:Body swap|Body swap]]
* [[Astronomy:Dualism in cosmology|Dualism in cosmology]]
* History of the location of the soul
* [[Philosophy:Mind–body dualism|Mind–body dualism]]
* [[Unsolved:Soulcatcher|Soulcatcher]]
* [[Religion:Soul loss|Soul loss]]
* Tripartite (theology)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Dienes |first=István |editor=Hajdú, Péter |title=Uráli népek / Nyelvrokonaink kultúrája és hagyományai |year=1975 |publisher=Corvina Kiadó |location=Budapest |language=hu |isbn=963-13-0900-2 |pages=77–108 |chapter=A honfoglaló magyarok és ősi hiedelmeik |trans-title=book title means “Uralic peoples / Culture and traditions of our linguistic relatives”; the chapter means “The Hungarians at the time of entering the Carpathian Basin, and their ancient beliefs”}}
* {{cite book |last=Diószegi |first=Vilmos |title=Samanizmus |publisher=Gondolat |series=Élet és Tudomány Kiskönyvtár |location=Budapest |year=1962 |url=http://mek.oszk.hu/01600/01639}}
* {{cite book |last=Fodor |first=István |chapter=Az ősi magyar vallásról |pages=11–34 |editor=Molnár, Ádám |title=Csodaszarvas. Őstörténet, vallás és néphagyomány. Vol. I |publisher=Molnár Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=2005 |isbn=963-218-200-6 |language=hu |trans-title=The chapter title means: “About the ancient Hungarian religion”; the book title means: “Miracle deer. Ancient history, religion and folklore tradition”}}
* {{cite book |last=Gabus |first=Jean |title=A karibu eszkimók |publisher=Gondolat Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=1970 |language=hu}} Translation of the original: {{cite book |last=Gabus |first=Jean |title=Vie et coutumes des Esquimaux Caribous |publisher=Libraire Payot Lausanne |year=1944}} It describes the life of Caribou Eskimo and Padlermiut groups.
* {{cite book |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |editor=Hajdú, Péter |title=Uráli népek. Nyelvrokonaink kultúrája és hagyományai |year=1975 |publisher=Corvina Kiadó |location=Budapest |language=hu |isbn=963-13-0900-2 |pages=211–233 |chapter=Az uráli népek hiedelemvilága és a samanizmus |trans-title=The book title means: “Uralic peoples / Culture and traditions of our linguistic relatives”; the chapter title means “The belief system of Uralic peoples and the shamanism”}}
* {{cite book |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |title=Sámánok. Lelkek és jelképek |publisher=Helikon Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=1994 |isbn=963-208-298-2 |trans-title=“Shamans / Souls and symbols”}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kleivan |first1=Inge |last2=Sonne |first2=B. |title=Eskimos. Greenland and Canada |series=Iconography of religions |chapter=Arctic peoples |at=section&nbsp;VIII, fascicle&nbsp;2 |department=Institute of Religious Iconography |publisher=State University Groningen, via E.J. Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherland) |year=1985 |isbn=90-04-07160-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Merkur |first=Daniel |title=Becoming Half Hidden / Shamanism and Initiation among the Inuit |series=Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis / Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |location=Stockholm |year=1985 |isbn=91-22-00752-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Johansen |first=Ulla |chapter=Sámánfilozófia: változó lélekképzetek Tuvában |pages=135–156 |editor=Molnár, Ádám |title=Csodaszarvas. Őstörténet, vallás és néphagyomány |volume=I |publisher=Molnár Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=2005 |isbn=963-218-200-6 |language=hu |trans-title=The chapter title means: “Shamanic philosophy: soul concepts in Tuva, changing in time”; the book title means: “Miracle deer. Ancient history, religion and folklore tradition”}}
* {{cite book |last=Oosten |first=Jarich G. |chapter=Cosmological Cycles and the Constituents of the Person |pages=85–101 |editor=S. A. Mousalimas |title=Arctic Ecology and Identity |series=ISTOR Books 8 |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |department=International Society for Trans-Oceanic Research |location=Budapest, HU; Los Angeles, CA |year=1997 |isbn=963-05-6629-X}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol4/hing.htm |title=Conceptions of soul in old-Estonian religion |volume=4 |author=Kulmar, Tarmo}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |entry=Great Basin Indian |year=2007 |encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=March 28, 2007 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-57681 |df=dmy-all}}

[[Category:Cultural anthropology]]
[[Category:Dualism (philosophy of mind)]]
[[Category:Shamanism]]

{{Sourceattribution|Soul dualism}}