Crisis and Continuity in the Personality of a Shaman

As another form of longitudinal study we present two Rorschach protocols of an Apache woman taken at moments of crisis in the establishment of her career as a shaman.¹ The critical experiences and intrapsychic conflicts of “Dawnlight,” an Apache woman, at the time she assumed her shamanic status have been described elsewhere (Boyer, Boyer, and De Vos 1982).² Herein we again examine her life history at a later point, with its problems and successes, within the context of the socialization patterns and social structure of her group.³ A Rorschach protocol was obtained from Dawnlight two days following her first public