Peter Ammann Collection

(2002) What is it about the Bushpeople (San) that touches something deep in us? Setting off to South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, we discover, through their extraordinary rock paintings, the world of our ancestors, the hunters and gatherers. The Bushpeople, still alive today, share with us their myths and healing dance, restoring our links with a way of life we have lost. (80 Min.)

Mabi, a traditional Zulu healer, had a special connection with the Bushpeople (San). They belonged to his ancestors who appeared in his dreams, teaching him everything about healing. During the filming of Spirits of the Rocks in 2001, Mabi met the San for the first time in reality. Through a special ceremony, he honored these people held in contempt for so long.

(With Ian Player – Introduced by Laurens van der Post)
In the heart of Zululand's Umfolozi Game Reserve, a group of travelers embarks on a wilderness trail led by conservationist Ian Player. Beyond the encounter with wildlife and a magnificent countryside, the participants start to recount their dreams and the fruits of their meditations. From an outer adventure, the wilderness trail turns into an inner experience.

This film, made in 1972, by now considered a classic, is the only documentary in which Dora Kalff shows and explains her method of therapy developed in the late 1950’s, based on the psychological principles of C.G. Jung and the World Technique method of Margaret Lowenfeld. It can be used therapeutically as well as diagnostically, with both adults and children.

Marie-Louise von Franz, in this film made in 1982, gives insight into her encounter and collaboration with C.G. Jung and the development of her own work. She answers questions about the interpretation of dreams, creativity, synchronicity, alchemy, and the great oppressive problems of our time. Duration: 41 min. / Language: Deutsch / Subtitles: English / Voiceover: French, Italian, Spanish.

The Red Train and the Myth of William Tell is a visually striking, politically and psychologically resonant documentary that transforms a seemingly simple account of Italian migrant workers traveling from Switzerland to vote in Italy into a powerful reflection on democracy and belonging. Through a bold musical collage of voices, landscapes, and various William Tell performances, the film subtly exposes the contradictions beneath Switzerland’s national myth.

“Braccia sì—uomini no” (Arms yes—Humans no) is a documentary about the Swiss debate surrounding James Schwarzenbach’s 1970 initiative against “foreign infiltration,” produced before the vote of June 7, when the Swiss across the country engaged in heated discussions about foreign workers and “over-alienation.” This award-winning film bears witness to the beginning of an ongoing debate about the so-called Überfremdung, not only in Switzerland, but also in various forms as a worldwide ethnological phenomenon of social and cultural conflict. (English subtitles)

Peter's address to the IAAP Congress 2025 in Zurich.

This Bushpeople story tells how their deity Mantis creates the eland antelope, vital for satisfying the instinct of hunger. Cast out by his family, Mantis falls into anger and melancholy. At a turning point, he is drawn to create the Moon, bringing light to darkness, consciousness to the unconscious. Its reflected light becomes an expression of what Jung considers "the instinct of reflection," that is "the cultural instinct par excellence."

This lecture discusses Marsilio Ficino's Renaissance view on melancholy and his most recommended remedy: music. His intention is to temper the melancholic influence of the male deity Saturn through astrological songs addressed to the benign female planets: Sun, Jupiter, and Venus. His approach is related to Jung’s rehabilitation of the feeling function, and its relevance for us today highlighted.

This lecture explores Carl Jung's journey to Kenya and Uganda in 1925–26, placing it in a historical context and showing how his African experience was rooted in his earlier dreams and active imaginations. It testifies how Jung, the “White Man,” as a participant observer, allowed himself to be deeply affected and even transformed by encountering the “Indigenous Man” and his culture.

How Rock Paintings Reflect the Emergence of Humans as a Symbolic Species.

Rock art is the most important testimony of primal human imagination. Following Jung's hypothesis of the "reflective instinct," his concept of "the symbolic attitude," and African and Australian myths, this lecture explores how rock paintings reveal the emergence of humankind as a species that seeks consciousness through symbol-making and, as such, becomes what Jung calls "the second creator of the world."

About the Archetypal Roots of Jungian Psychology

Why can Jungian psychology be considered the closest one to African psychology? This lecture deals with the primordial indigenous roots of C.G. Jung's Analytical Psychology, particularly their African ones. It explores its connections with African Traditional Healing, highlighting that Jung's concepts are not theoretical constructs but grounded in how humans have experienced their psychic life across cultures since immemorial times.

From Personal Story to Mythical Event

When artists have a creative crisis, do they listen to their dreams? The famous Italian film director Federico Fellini, a great admirer of Jung, certainly did, especially during a creative crisis around 1966 while planning The Journey of Mastorna, which he had to abandon. His dreams guided him away from personal narratives toward more archetypal themes, resulting in his celebrated "Satyricon”.

A Journey through the Darkness of the Heart to the Mirror of the Belly

This 90th Birthday Lecture explores African power figures, connecting them with their political and cultural origins. It examines them as evidence of resistance against the appalling events of colonization. Additionally, it bridges the Jungian concept of intuition with the African notion of umbilini, which can be framed in the context of scientific brain research as the gut-brain, our second brain, responsible for gut decisions.

C.G. Jung 60th Memorial Lecture

This lecture recounts my 1956 visit with the 80-year-old C.G. Jung. It shares our conversations on many topics, including dreams and music. I realize that Jung is anything but a petrified monument; on the contrary he is very human, not pretending to know everything, and at times vulnerable and embittered by not being taken seriously. My visit ends with a surprising twist…

Jungian Analysts and African Traditional Healers in Dialog

At the XXI International Congress for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) 2019 in Vienna, Peter Ammann, Fred Borchardt, Nomfundo Mlisa, and Renee Ramsden presented the work of the dialogue group between South African Jungian Analysts and Traditional Health Practitioners. This group was founded with the aim of establishing an ongoing encounter between these two ways of healing.

85th Birthday Lecture

We need role models, especially when we are young, who, like signposts or lighthouses, enlighten our way and give us direction to follow. My personal homage to people whose imagination, intuition, spirituality, art, and courage have inspired me and many others: Jung, Churchill, Pablo Casals, Marie-Louise von Franz, Fellini, Vera Bührmann, Laurens van der Post, Nomfundo Mlisa...

Lecture 1

Laurens van der Post’s journey in search of the Bushpeople (San) formed the basis of his famous books The Lost World of the Kalahari and The Heart of the Hunter. In 1986, he gave three lectures at the C.G. Jung-Institute Zürich about his experiences with the Bushpeople, during which he interpreted many of their stories in his own inimitable way.

Jungian Analysts Encounter African Traditional Healers

At the XVII International Congress for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) 2007 in Cape Town, Jungian analysts and traditional healers explored the intersection of the African traditional belief system and Jungian Psychology during three workshops. They raised questions about similarities and differences, the role of ancestors, and the potential for ongoing dialogue between African healers and depth psychologists. These matters provoked vigorous debate.

Communication Between a White Healer and Her Black Counterparts

Vera Bührmann Interviewed by Mario Schiess.
Dr. Vera Bührmann, the first Jungian analyst in South Africa, explored African traditional healing practices, comparing them and framing them within the language of Analytical Psychology. Her book Living in Two Worlds remains a foundational text for understanding traditional healing from a Western clinical perspective. Mario Schiess interviewed Bührmann in 1992 about her work in this area.