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Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castenada 1962
Born	December 25, 1925(1925-12-25) Cajamarca, Perú
Died	April 27, 1998 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Anthropologist, Author
Nationality	American
Writing period	20th-century
Subjects	Shamanism

Carlos Castaneda (25 December 1925 – 27 April 1998) was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages. The books and Castaneda, who rarely spoke in public about his work, have been controversial for many years. Supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy and descriptions of practices which enable an increased awareness. Critics have tended to claim that the books are works of fiction, citing what they see as their internal contradictions and Castaneda's description of a peyote culture that, to them, did not exist.

In his books, Castaneda narrated in first person what he claimed were his experiences under the tutelage of a Yaqui shaman named don Juan Matus whom he met in 1960. Castaneda wrote that he was identified by don Juan Matus as having the energetic configuration of a "nagual", who, if the spirit chose, could become a leader of a party of seers. He also used the term "nagual" to signify that part of perception which is in the realm of the unknown yet still reachable by man, implying that, for his party of seers, don Juan was in some way a connection to that unknown. Castaneda often referred to this unknown realm as nonordinary reality, which indicated that this realm was indeed a reality, but radically different from the ordinary reality experienced by human beings who are well engaged in everyday activities as part of their social conditioning.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Controversy 2.1 Criticism 3 Bibliography 4 Other creative works 5 Related authors 6 Popular Culture 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Biography

Immigration records for Carlos Cesar Arana Castaneda indicate that he was born on 25 December 1925 in Juqueri, Mairiporã , Brazil.^[1] Records show that his surname was given by his mother Susana Castañeda Navoa. His father was Cesar Arana Burungaray. His surname appears with the ñ in many Hispanic dictionaries, even though his famous published works display an anglicised version. He moved to the United States in the early 1950s and became a naturalized citizen in 1957. In 1960 he was married to Margaret Runyan in Tijuana, Mexico. They lived together for only six months, but their divorce was not finalized until 1973. He was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (B.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1973).^[2]

Castaneda’s first three books, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan, were written while Castaneda was an anthropology student at UCLA. He wrote these books as if they were his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional "Man of Knowledge" identified as don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian from northern Mexico. Castaneda was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees based on the work described in these books.

In March 1973 Castaneda was the subject of a cover article in Time cover article 5 March 1973 (Vol. 101 No. 10). The article described him as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a tortilla." Following that interview until the 1990s Castaneda disappeared from public view.

In 1974 his fourth book, "Tales of Power", was published. This book ended with Castaneda leaping from a cliff into an abyss, and signaled the end of his apprenticeship under the tutelage of don Juan. In all twelve books by Castaneda were published, two of them posthumously.

In the 1990s Castaneda once again began appearing in public to promote Tensegrity, a group of movements that he said had been passed down by 25 generations of Toltec shamans.

Castaneda died on April 27, 1998 in Los Angeles due to complications from liver cancer.^[3] There was no public service, Castaneda was cremated and the ashes were sent to Mexico. It wasn't until nearly two months later, on June 19, 1998, that an obituary entitled A Hushed Death for Mystic Author Carlos Castaneda by staff writer J.R. Moehringer appeared in the Los Angeles Times.^[4]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Criticism

While Castaneda's actual writings in Toltec mysticism, the discovery of the assemblage point, and "stalking the self", have never been questioned or analyzed in any fashion, Castaneda's early anthropological writings have been criticized by a number of academics. They were early on seen by some as highly suspect in terms of anthropological fieldwork, particularly in relation to the extent to which his critics claim Castaneda expropriates the research of Barbara Myerhoff without attribution, fictionalizing on the basis of her field research.^[5] However, since Myerhoff's writings were published in 1974, six years after Castaneda published The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, such a criticism is invalid. Indeed, most of Castaneda's current critics settle for the idea that the stories are fictitious or that they are part of Castaneda's effort to erase his own personal history in accordance with the precepts he learned from the old nagual, don Juan Matus, who had embarked on a similar procedure when he was young, studying under a Nagual named Julian.

One genuinely conflicting aspect of his work is the description of the use of psychotropic plants to induce altered states of awareness. In Castaneda's first two books, he describes the "Yaqui way of knowledge" using for assistance the use of powerful indigenous plants, such as peyote and datura. In his third book, Journey to Ixtlan, he makes clear that the use of psychotropic plants ("power plants") or substances was not necessary to achieve heightened awareness, although his teacher advised their use was beneficial in helping to free the stubborn mind of some persons. He says that don Juan used them on him to demonstrate that experiences outside those known in day-to-day life are real and tangible.

In Journey to Ixtlan, the third book in the series, he wrote: "My perception of the world through the effects of those psychotropics had been so bizarre and impressive that I was forced to assume that such states were the only avenue to communicating and learning what don Juan was attempting to teach me . . . That assumption was erroneous."

According to Robert J. Wallis, in his 2003 book Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Contested Ecstasies, Alternative Archaeologies, and Contemporary Pagans: "At first, and with the backing of academic qualifications and the UCLA anthropological department, Castaneda’s work was critically acclaimed. Notable old-school American anthropologists like Edward Spicer (1969) and Edmund Leach (1969) praised Castaneda, alongside more alternative and young anthropologists such as Peter Furst, Barbara Myerhoff and Michael Harner. The authenticity of don Juan was accepted for six years, until Richard De Mille and Daniel Noel both published their critical exposés of the don Juan books in 1976. Most anthropologists had been convinced of Castaneda’s authenticity until then; indeed, they had had little reason to question it."

Nevertheless, though De Mille and Noel cannot prove beyond a doubt that Castaneda made everything up--as they clearly believe that he did--at the very least, the efforts of both men do suggest that the peyote culture Castaneda encountered was one that was not known to western science. Castaneda never claimed that don Juan Matus and his cohorts were part of any organized Native American peyote religion or part of one whose roots were in northern Mexico. He only reported what he had encountered. Castaneda's main mystical writings themselves, prominent in his later books where the use of psychotropic plants are not discussed, have yet to be dismissed authoritatively. Thus, while Castaneda's day-to-day accounts in his early books may be inaccurate (or purposefully evasive), Castaneda's discovery of a thriving Toltec mystical culture in Sonora, Mexico has no equal in literature--anthropological or otherwise. Only the recent writings of Miguel Ruiz offer a similar window into that culture. Castaneda's popularity remains high throughout the world.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Other creative works

• "Winds of Nagual" - A piece for Wind Ensemble by composer Michael Colgrass
• Sorcerer - A concept album of ambient music by Michael Stearns and Ron Sunsinger inspired by the late Castaneda

[edit] Related authors

• Two other authors, Taisha Abelar (born Maryann Simko) and Florinda Donner-Grau (born Regine Thal), wrote books in which they claimed to be from don Juan Matus' party of Toltec warriors. Both Abelar and Donner-Grau were endorsed by Castaneda as being legitimate students of don Juan Matus, whereas he dismissed all other writers as pretenders. The two women were part of Castaneda's inner circle, which he referred to as "The Brujas", and both assumed different names as part of their dedication to their new beliefs. They were originally both graduate students in anthropology at UCLA.^[6]
• Donald Barthelme parodied Castaneda's books in his The Teachings of Don B.: A Yankee Way of Knowledge, in which he substitutes "brujo" with "brillo."
• Victor Sanchez claims to have received similar teachings from the Wirrarika people in Mexico.^[7] Although he says he has met Castaneda, and that Castaneda's books were an inspiration for him, he emphasizes that Castaneda did not endorse his work.^[8]
• Miguel Ángel Ruiz is known for bestselling book The Four Agreements.

[edit] Popular Culture

• In Lost (TV Series), Series 5 Episode 10 entitled "He's Our You" a young Ben Linus hands Sayid a copy of Carlos Castaneda's "A Separate Reality".

[edit] See also

• Lucid dream
• Amalia Marquez
• Plastic Shaman
• Cultural appropriation
• Noble savage
• Cultural imperialism
• Neoshamanism
• New Age
• Recapitulation (Castaneda)
• Toltec
• Toltec (Castaneda)
• Xenocentrism

[edit] References

Border Crossings: A Psychological Perspective on Carlos Castaneda's Path of Knowledge By Donald Williams. Inner City Books, 1981. Digitized by Google Jan 10, 2008 from the University of Texas. 153 pages.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Carlos Castaneda

• Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan's Teachings, a 117,500 word book compiled from Carlos Castaneda's ten books
• Carlos Castaneda's Tensegrity, site maintained by ClearGreen Inc., the direct apprentices of Carlos Castaneda, who also inherited his estate and currently conduct Tensegrity seminars and classes
• Nagualism, collection of information, interviews and forum discussion on Carlos Castaneda, Nagualism, and Shamanism
• Sustained Action, a website devoted to analysis and discussion of evidence and controversy about Carlos Castaneda

Persondata
NAME	Castaneda, Carlos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Castañeda, Carlos
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Latin American writer
DATE OF BIRTH	December 25, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sao Paolo Brazil
DATE OF DEATH	April 27, 1998
PLACE OF DEATH	Los Angeles, California