Year: 1982-1991
Author: Florinda Donner - Grau
English language
Format: PDF
Florinda Donner (originally Regine Margarita Thal) is an American author and anthropologist. She disappeared in 1998.
She was born February 15, 1944 in Amberg, Germany to German parents Rudolph Thal and Katarina Claussnitzer. In her childhood she emigrated with her parents to Venezuela where she probably lived as a school-aged child. Her personality and background are very controversial. She sometimes claimed she was born in 1954 in Venezuela and that her parents were both either German or Swedish. Sometimes she called her mother Carolina Claussnitzer, but in an official document from the marriage with Carlos Castaneda in 1993 her mother's name is Katarina Claussnitzer and her father's name is spelled Rudolf rather than Rudolph.
She was nicknamed "Hummingbird" because of her ceaseless energy. She was said to have similar intelligence and charisma as her later husband Carlos Castaneda. Florinda tells in her books that she was an apprentice of don Juan Matus. She was also called one of "the witches" in Castaneda's books. The type of shamanism that Castaneda and his followers practiced led the followers through a process known as recapitulation, which is a rehashing of one's entire life memories. This process "rebirthed" the sorcerers by causing them to erase their personal history.
In 1982 Florinda Donner published a best selling book, Shabono after the Yanomami word for shelter, with contradictory pseudo-anthropological stories in which she claims to have lived among the Yanomami Indians in the Amazon Rainforest. Among critics the book is called "anthropologically inspired fiction". She lived in Westwood Los Angeles and traveled often to her old hometown Caracas.
Being-in-Dreaming: An Initiation into the Sorcerers' World
Year of Publication: 1991
Number of Pages: 330
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN: 978-0062501929
The story of a young woman's journeys into Mexico and her initiation into a group of sorcerers - including the infamous Don Juan - whereby she is drawn into the world of being-in-dreaming. Her story fulfills the feminine dimension of the spirit world first introduced by Castaneda.
From the Back Cover
"A woman's gripping tale of self-discovery in present-day Mexico." OLIVER STONE "Donner's tale casts a spell; it is a magic theater of holy actors, a dancing world of fierce angels all sweating their prayers. Taste of vintage sorcery and feminine wisdom. "GABRIELLE ROTH, author of 'Maps of Ecstasy: Teachings of an Urban Shaman'" (Donner) challenges the world's most cherished social myths about reality, the nature of women, and the significance of dreams. "JUDITH PINTAR, author of 'Voices from the Earth', Florinda Donner, the longtime colleague and fellow dream-traveler of Carlos Castaneda, offers a riveting autobiographical account of her halting, sometimes unwilling, often bewildering initiation into the world of being-in- Dreaming. At turns spellbinding, mysterious, and humorous, 'Being-in-Dreaming' is ultimately an unforgettable spiritual adventure.
Florinda Donner is also the author of 'Shabono' and 'The Witch's Dream'.
The Witch's Dream: A Healer's Way of Knowledge
Year of Publication: 1985
Number of Pages: 241
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0-671-55198-1
A student of don Juan Matus, Florinda Donner-Grau entered the world of spiritual healing as an anthropologist, but her involvement soon deepened. This is the extraordinary account of Donner-Grau's experiences with dona Mercedes, an aged healer in the remote, Venezuelan town known for its spiritualists, sorcerers, and mediums. Working as dofia Mercedes's apprentice, Donner-Grau witnessed first hand the power and beauty of true healing. At the same time, she dona Mercedes for help. Interwoven with their haunting stories is Donner-Grau's own tale of self-discovery.
Shabono: Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rainforest
Year of Publication: 1982
Number of Pages: 204
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 9780440078289
This book follows the adventures of anthropoligst Florinda Donner as she experiences, firsthand, the wild mystery and slow destruction of an indigenous tribe in the endangered rainforest. Her rich images of daily life as she lives with the Yanomama in their shabonos, or palm-thatched dwellings, and the magic of ritual in this native village. Florinda Donner is the author of "Being in Dreaming" and "The Witch's Dream".
From the Back Cover
'Shabono' - the name of the hamlets of palm-thatched dwellings where the Yanomama Indians of Venezuela and southern Brazil live-recounts the vivid and unforgettable experience of anthropologist Florinda Donner's time with an indigenous tribe in the endangered rain forest. 'Shabono' dramatically documents the daily life and mysterious rituals of a disappearing people.
"A rare and beautiful book [that] illuminates the world of the Yanomama Indians of South America." She paints the breathtaking word of the pictures of the elusive jungle light, captures the moods and feelings, the sights GLORIA LEVITAS, 'department of anthropology, Queens College' "['Shabono''s] well-crafted images Of the rhythms of life among the "primitives" are indelible. "NEWSDAY" If Margaret Mead and Carlos Castaneda had collaborated, they might have something like ['Shabono'] ... It is crammed with adventure, atmosphere, and action. " CHATTANOOGA TIMES "Since everything Donner describes is rare - food, language, people - hyperbole is hard to resist." And, as Donner convincingly gives the lie to the myth of primitive savages, the Iticoteri themselves are hard to resist. "KIRKUS REVIEWS" An] unusua Lly beautiful book. "
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