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The term "shamanism" was first applied to the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighboring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. The word "shaman" originates from the Evenk language (Tungusic) of North Asia and was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552. Upon learning more about religious traditions across the world, western scholars also described similar magico-religious practices found within the indigenous religions of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas as shamanism. Various historians have argued that shamanism also played a role in many of the pre-Christian religions of Europe, and that shamanic elements may have survived in popular culture right through to the Early Modern period. Various archaeologists and historians of religion have also suggested that shamanism may have been a dominant pre-religious practice for humanity during the Palaeolithic.


Shamanic beliefs and practices have attracted the interest of scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, religious studies scholars and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanisms. In the 20th century, many westerners involved in the counter-cultural movement adopted magico-religious practices influenced by indigenous shamanisms from across the world, creating the Neoshamanic movement.



The word "shaman" originates from the Evenki word "šamán".[5] The Tungusic term was subsequently adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in Siberia. It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum.[6] The word was brought to Western Europe in 1692 by the Dutch traveler Nicolaes Witsen who reported his stay and journeys among the Tungusic- and Samoyedic-speaking indigenous peoples of Siberia in his book Noord en Oost Tataryen.[7] Adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck, published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China and a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word to English speakers.[8]

The etymology of the Evenki word is sometimes connected to a Tungus root ša- "to know".[9][10] Other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and would therefore be "the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language".[11]

However, it has been pointed out[12] that the Sanskrit word shramana, designating a wandering monk, has spread to many Central Asian languages with Buddhism, and could be the ultimate origin of the Tungusic word. (Compare the Wiktionary entry, which lists further sources for this derivation.)


The Oxford English Dictionary states that a book about African shamans, by Robert Montgomery Martin (1803(?)–1868) was the first reference of the term, "witch doctor."

There is no single agreed upon definition for the word "shamanism" among anthropologists. The English historian Ronald Hutton noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, there were four separate definitions of the term which appeared to be in use. The first of these uses the term to refer to "anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness." The second definition limits the term to refer to those who contact a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness at the behest of others. The third definition attempts to distinguish shamans from other magico-religious specialists who are believed to contact spirits, such as "mediums", "witch doctors", "spiritual healers" or "prophets", by claiming that they undertake a particular technique not used by the others. Problematically, scholars advocating this position have failed to agree on what this defining technique should be. The fourth definition identified by Hutton uses "shamanism" to refer to the indigenous religions of Siberia and neighbouring parts of Asia.[13] According to the Golomt Center for Shamanic Studies, the Evenk word 'shaman' would more accurately be translated as 'priest'.[14]

Russian postcard based on a photo taken in 1908 by S.I. Borisov, showing a female shaman, of probable Khakas ethnicity.[15]

Initiation and learning[edit]

Shamans are normally "called" by dreams or signs which require lengthy training. However, shamanic powers may be "inherited".


The wounded healer is an archetype for a shamanic trail and journey. This process is important to the young shaman. S/he undergoes a type of sickness that pushes her or him to the brink of death. This happens for two reasons:

  2. The shaman must become sick to understand sickness. When the shaman overcomes her or his own sickness s/he will hold the cure to heal all that suffer. This is the uncanny mark of the wounded healer.[18]


South Moluccan Shaman exorcising evil spirits occupying children, Buru. 1920.


Shamans act as mediators in their culture.[19][20] The shaman communicates with the spirits on behalf of the community, including the spirits of the deceased. The shaman communicates with both living and dead to alleviate unrest, unsettled issues, and to deliver gifts to the spirits. Shamans assist in soul retrieval. In shamanism it is believed that part of the human soul is free to leave the body. The soul is the axis mundi, the center of the shamanic healing arts. Shamans change their state of consciousness allowing their free soul to travel and retrieve ancient wisdom and lost power.[citation needed]

Because a portion of the soul is free to leave the body it will do so when dreaming, or it will leave the body to protect itself from potentially damaging situations, be they emotional or physical. In situations of trauma the soul piece may not return to the body on its own, and a shaman must intervene and return the soul essence.[citation needed]

Among the Selkups, the sea duck is a spirit animal because ducks fly in the air and dive in the water. Thus ducks belong to both the upper world and the world below.[21] Among other Siberian peoples these characteristics are attributed to water fowl in general.[22]

Shamans perform a variety of functions depending upon their respective cultures;[23] healing,[24][25] leading a sacrifice,[26] preserving the tradition by storytelling and songs,[27] fortune-telling,[28] and acting as a psychopomp (literal meaning, "guide of souls").[29] A single shaman may fulfill several of these functions.[23]


There are distinct types of shaman who perform more specialized functions. For example, among the Nani people, a distinct kind of shaman acts as a psychopomp.[30] Other specialized shamans may be distinguished according to the type of spirits, or realms of the spirit world, with which the shaman most commonly interacts. These roles vary among the Nenets, Enets, and Selkup shaman (paper;[31] online[32]). Among the Huichol,[33] there are two categories of shaman. This demonstrates the differences among shamans within a single tribe.


Boundaries between the shaman and laity are not always clearly defined. Among the Barasana of Brazil, there is no absolute difference between those men recognized as shamans and those who are not.[citation needed] At the lowest level, most adult men have abilities as shamans and will carry out the same functions as those men who have a widespread reputation for their powers and knowledge. The Barasana shaman knows more myths and understands their meaning better, nonetheless the majority of adult men also know many myths.[34]

Among Inuit peoples the laity have experiences which are commonly attributed to the shamans of those Inuit groups. Daydream, reverie, and trance are not restricted to shamans.[35] Control over / alliance with helping spirits is the primary characteristic attributed to shamans. The laity usually employ amulets, spells, formulas, songs.[35][36] Among the Greenland Inuit, the laity have greater capacity to relate with spiritual beings. These people are often apprentice shamans who failed to complete their initiations.[37]

The assistant of an Oroqen shaman (called jardalanin, or "second spirit") knows many things about the associated beliefs. He or she accompanies the rituals and interprets the behavior of the shaman.[38] Despite these functions, the jardalanin is not a shaman. For this interpretative assistant, it would be unwelcome to fall into trance.[39]

Ecological aspect[edit]

Resources for human consumption are easily depletable in tropical rainforests. Among the Tucano people, a sophisticated system exists for environmental resources management and for avoiding resource depletion through overhunting. This system is conceptualized mythologically and symbolically by the belief that breaking hunting restrictions may cause illness. As the primary teacher of tribal symbolism, the shaman may have a leading role in this ecological management, actively restricting hunting and fishing. The shaman is able to "release" game animals, or their souls, from their hidden abodes.[40][41] The Piaroa people have ecological concerns related to shamanism.[42] Among the Inuit, shamans fetch the souls of game from remote places,[43][44] or soul travel to ask for game from mythological beings like the Sea Woman.[45]


The way shamans get sustenance and take part in everyday life varies among cultures. In many Inuit groups, they provide services for the community and get a "due payment" (cultures[who?] believe the payment is given to the helping spirits[46]), but these goods are only "welcome addenda." They are not enough to enable shamanizing as a full-time activity. Shamans live like any other member of the group, as hunter or housewife.[37][46]


There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world, but several common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Common beliefs identified by Eliade (1972)[4] are the following:

  • The shaman can communicate with the spirit world.
  • Spirits can be benevolent or malevolent.
  • The shaman can treat sickness caused by malevolent spirits.
  • The shaman can employ trance inducing techniques to incite visionary ecstasy and go on vision quests.
  • The shaman can perform other varied forms of divination, scry, throw bones/runes, and sometimes foretell of future events.

Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of the living.[47] Although the causes of disease lie in the spiritual realm, inspired by malicious spirits, both spiritual and physical methods are used to heal. Commonly, a shaman "enters the body" of the patient to confront the spiritual infirmity and heals by banishing the infectious spirit.

Many shamans have expert knowledge of medicinal plants native to their area, and an herbal treatment is often prescribed. In many places shamans learn directly from the plants, harnessing their effects and healing properties, after obtaining permission from the indwelling or patron spirits. In the Peruvian Amazon Basin, shamans and curanderos use medicine songs called icaros to evoke spirits. Before a spirit can be summoned it must teach the shaman its song.[47] The use of totemic items such as rocks with special powers and an animating spirit is common.

Such practices are presumably very ancient. Plato wrote in his Phaedrus that the "first prophecies were the words of an oak", and that those who lived at that time found it rewarding enough to "listen to an oak or a stone, so long as it was telling the truth".

Belief in witchcraft and sorcery, known as brujería in Latin America, exists in many societies. Other societies assert all shamans have the power to both cure and kill. Shamanic knowledge usually enjoys great power and prestige in the community,[citation needed] but it may also be regarded suspiciously or fearfully as potentially harmful to others.

By engaging in their work, a shaman is exposed to significant personal risk, from the spirit world, from enemy shamans, or from the means employed to alter the shaman's state of consciousness. Shamanic plant materials can be toxic or fatal if misused. Failure to return from an out-of-body journey can lead to death.[citation needed] Spells are commonly used to protect against these dangers, and the use of more dangerous plants is often very highly ritualized.

Soul and spirit concepts[edit]

The variety of functions described above may seem like distinct tasks, but they may be united by underlying soul and spirit concepts.

This concept can generally explain more, seemingly unassociated phenomena in shamanism:[48][49][50]
This concept may be based closely on the soul concepts of the belief system of the people served by the shaman (online[24]). It may consist of retrieving the lost soul of the ill person.[51] See also the soul dualism concept.
Scarcity of hunted game
This problem can be solved by "releasing" the souls of the animals from their hidden abodes. Besides that, many taboos may prescribe the behavior of people towards game, so that the souls of the animals do not feel angry or hurt, or the pleased soul of the already killed prey can tell the other, still living animals, that they can allow themselves to be caught and killed.[52][53] For the ecological aspects of shamanistic practice, and related beliefs, see below.
Infertility of women
This problem can be cured by obtaining the soul of the expected child.
Beliefs related to spirits can explain many different phenomena.[54] For example, the importance of storytelling, or acting as a singer, can be understood better if we examine the whole belief system. A person who can memorize long texts or songs, and play an instrument, may be regarded as the beneficiary of contact with the spirits (e.g. Khanty people).[55]




A group of peyotes, in cultivation. Peyote has been used in ritual contexts for thousands of years.[56][57][58]

An entheogen ("generating the divine within")[59] is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context.[60] Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years; their religious significance is well established in anthropological and modern evidences. Examples of traditional entheogens include: peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, uncured tobacco, cannabis, ayahuasca, Salvia divinorum, Tabernanthe iboga, Ipomoea tricolor, and Amanita muscaria.

Shamans will often observe dietary or customary restrictions particular to their tradition. These restrictions are more than just cultural. For example, the diet followed by shamans and apprentices prior to participating in an ayahuasca ceremony includes foods rich in tryptophan (a biosynthetic precursor to serotonin) as well as avoiding foods rich in tyramine, which could induce hypertensive crisis if ingested with MAOIs such as are found in ayahuasca brews as well as abstinence from alcohol or sex.[47]

Music, songs[edit]

Just like shamanism itself,[9] music and songs related to it in various cultures are diverse, far from being alike. In several instances, songs related to shamanism are intended to imitate natural sounds, via onomatopoeia.[61]

Sound mimesis in various cultures may serve other functions not necessarily related to shamanism: practical goals as luring game in the hunt;[62] or entertainment (Inuit throat singing).[62][63]

Other practices[edit]


Shamans may have various kinds of paraphernalia in different cultures.

Goldes shaman priest in his regalia
  • Drum – The drum is used by shamans of several peoples in Siberia, the Inuit, and many other cultures all over the world,[64] although its usage for shamanistic seances may be lacking among the Inuit of Canada.[65] The beating of the drum allows the shaman to achieve an altered state of consciousness or to travel on a journey between the physical and spiritual worlds.[66] Much fascination surrounds the role that the acoustics of the drum play to the shaman. Shaman drums are generally constructed of an animal-skin stretched over a bent wooden hoop, with a handle across the hoop.
  • Feathers – In numerous North and South American cultures, as well as in Europe and Asia, birds are seen as messengers of the spirits. Feathers are often used in ceremonies and in individual healing rituals.
  • Rattle – Found mostly among South American[67] and African peoples. Also used in ceremonies among the Navajo and in traditional ways in their blessings and ceremonies.
  • Gong – Often found through South East Asia, Far Eastern peoples.
  • Pipe – Used for smoking various tobaccos and psychoactive herbs (e.g. tobacco in North and South America, cannabis in India).
  • Sword – In Hmong Shamanism, a holy sword will always be used in the practice to protect the shaman from wandering "evil" spirits as he travels to the spirit world.
  • Shake – Found mostly in Hmong Shamanism, the shaman begins his practice by rattling, which turns into a shake. It is the process of communicating with his shamanistic spirits to guide him to the spirit world.
  • Long Table – A flexible wooden table, approximately nine by two feet, is used in Hmong Shamanism; the table transforms into a "flying horse" in the spirit world.
  • Rooster – A rooster is often used in Hmong Shamanism. A shaman uses a rooster when he journeys to the unknown. It is said that the rooster shields the shaman from wandering "evil" spirits by making him invisible; thus, the evil spirits only see the rooster's useless spirit.

Academic study[edit]

Sami shaman with his drum

Cognitive, semiotic, hermeneutic approaches[edit]

As mentioned, a (debated) approach explains the etymology of word "shaman" as meaning "one who knows".[10][68] Really, the shaman is a person who is an expert in keeping together the multiple codes of the society. Accordingly, the society's codes are the manifestation of the society's underlying complex belief system. Thus to be effective, shamans maintain a comprehensive view in their mind which gives them certainty of knowledge.[9] The shaman uses (and the audience understands) multiple codes. Shamans express meanings in many ways: verbally, musically, artistically, and in dance. Meanings may be manifested in objects such as amulets.[68]

The shaman knows the culture of his or her community well,[20][69][70] and acts accordingly. Thus, their audience knows the used symbols and meanings—that is why shamanism can be efficient: people in the audience trust it.[70] For example, the shaman's drumming can appear to its members as certainty of knowledge—this explains the above described etymology for the word "shaman" as meaning "one who knows."[71]

There are semiotic theoretical approaches to shamanism,[72][73][74] ("ethnosemiotics"). The symbols on the shaman's costume and drum can refer to Power animals, or to the rank of the shaman.

There are also examples of "mutually opposing symbols", distinguishing a "white" shaman who contacts sky spirits for good aims by day, from a "black" shaman who contacts evil spirits for bad aims by night.[75] (Series of such opposing symbols referred to a world-view behind them. Analogously to the way grammar arranges words to express meanings and convey a world, also this formed a cognitive map?).[9][76] Shaman's lore is rooted in the folklore of the community, which provides a "mythological mental map".[77][78] Juha Pentikäinen uses the concept "grammar of mind".[78][79] Linking to a Sami example, Kathleen Osgood Dana writes:

Juha Pentikäinen, in his introduction to Shamanism and Northern Ecology, explains how the Sámi drum embodies Sámi worldviews. He considers shamanism to be a ‘grammar of mind’ (10), because shamans need to be experts in the folklore of their cultures (11).[80]

Armin Geertz coined and introduced the hermeneutics,[81] "ethnohermeneutics",[76] approaches to the practice of interpretation. Hoppál extended the term to include not only the interpretation of oral and written texts, but that of "visual texts as well (including motions, gestures and more complex ritual, and ceremonies performed for instance by shamans)".[82] It not only reveals the animistic views hiding behind shamanism, but also conveys their relevance for the contemporary world, where ecological problems have validated paradigms about balance and protection.[78]

Ecological approaches, systems theory[edit]

Other fieldworks use systems theory concepts and ecological considerations to understand the shaman's lore. Desana and Tucano Indians have developed a sophisticated symbolism and concepts of "energy" flowing between people and animals in cyclic paths. Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff relates these concepts to developments in the ways that modern science (systems theory, ecology, new approaches in anthropology and archeology) treats causality in a less linear fashion.[40] He also suggests a cooperation of modern science and indigenous lore (online[83]).

Hypotheses on origins[edit]

Shamanic practices may originate as early as the Paleolithic, predating all organized religions,[84][85] and certainly as early as the Neolithic period.[85] Early anthropologist studies theorise that shamanism developed as a magic practice to ensure a successful hunt or gathering of food. Evidence in caves and drawings on walls support indications that shamanism started during the Paleolithic era. One such picture featured a half-animal, with the face and legs of a man, with antlers and a tail of a stag.[86]

Archaeological evidence exists for Mesolithic shamanism. The oldest known Shaman grave in the world is located in the Czech Republic at Dolni Vestonice (National Geographic No 174 October 1988). This grave site was evidence of a female shaman.

In November 2008, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 12,000-year-old site in Israel that is perceived as one of the earliest known shaman burials. The elderly woman had been arranged on her side, with her legs apart and folded inward at the knee. Ten large stones were placed on the head, pelvis and arms. Among her unusual grave goods were 50 complete tortoise shells, a human foot, and certain body parts from animals such as a cow tail and eagle wings. Other animal remains came from a boar, leopard, and two martens. "It seems that the woman … was perceived as being in a close relationship with these animal spirits", researchers noted. The grave was one of at least 28 graves at the site, located in a cave in lower Galilee and belonging to the Natufian culture, but is said to be unlike any other among the Epipaleolithic Natufians or in the Paleolithic period.[87]

Robert Sapolsky has theorized that shamanism is practiced by schizotypal individuals.[88]

Clinical trial 2007[edit]

The Kaiser Permanente Center For Health Research in Portland, Oregon conducted a phase I study into the effectiveness of shamanic healing as a treatment for chronic face and jaw pain. Twenty-three women who were diagnosed with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMDs) participated in the study. At the end of treatment only four were clinically diagnosed with the TMDs present at the beginning of the study.[89]

Historical-Anthropological School of Folkloristics[edit]

Folklorists have evaluated the presence of remnants of shamanism and shamanic practice in folktales from around the world. Michael Berman identified the genre of the shamanic story, examples of which are only produced by folk groups with shamanic cosmology or a shamanic world view. Kultkrantz points out that, “in areas where shamanism has long been a thing of the past, many tales contain only vague, piecemeal or inaccurate recollections of shamans and their like.”[90] The presence of distinctive characteristics and features of shamanic stories help folklorists and anthropologists reconstruct a culture’s practice of shamanism.[91]

Decline and revitalization / tradition-preserving movements[edit]

Shamanism is believed to be declining around the world, possibly due to other organised religious influences, like Christianity, that want people who practice shamanism to convert to their own system and doctrine. Another reason is western views of shamanism as 'primitive', 'superstitious', backward and outdated. Whalers who frequently interact with Inuit tribes are one source of this decline in that region.[92]

A recent photograph: shaman doctor of Kyzyl, 2005. (Details missing). Attempts are being made to preserve and revitalize Tuvan shamanism:[93] former authentic shamans have begun to practice again, and young apprentices are being educated in an organized way.[94]

In many areas, former shamans ceased to fulfill the functions in the community they used to, as they felt mocked by their own community,[95] or regarded their own past as deprecated and are unwilling to talk about it to an ethnographer.[96]

Moreover, besides personal communications of former shamans, folklore texts may narrate directly about a deterioration process. For example, a Buryat epic text details the wonderful deeds of the ancient "first shaman" Kara-Gürgän:[97] he could even compete with God, create life, steal back the soul of the sick from God without his consent. A subsequent text laments that shamans of older times were stronger, possessing capabilities like omnividence,[98] fortune-telling even for decades in the future, moving as fast as a bullet; the texts contrast them to the recent heartless, unknowing, greedy shamans.[99]

In most affected areas, shamanic practices ceased to exist, with authentic shamans dying and their personal experiences dying with them. The loss of memories is not always lessened by the fact the shaman is not always the only person in a community who knows the beliefs and motives related to the local shaman-hood (laics know myths as well, among Barasana, even though less;[34] there are former shaman apprentices unable to complete the learning among Greenlandic Inuit peoples,[37] moreover, even laics can have trance-like experiences among the Inuit;[35] the assistant of a shaman can be extremely knowledgeable among Dagara[38][39]). Although the shaman is often believed and trusted precisely because s/he "accommodates" to the "grammar" of the beliefs of the community,[70] several parts of the knowledge related to the local shamanhood consist of personal experiences of the shaman (illness), or root in his/her family life (the interpretation of the symbolics of his/her drum),[100] thus, those are lost with his/her death. Besides that, in many cultures, the entire traditional belief system has become endangered (often together with a partial or total language shift), the other people of the community remembering the associated beliefs and practices (or the language at all) grew old or died, many folklore memories (songs, texts) were forgotten - which may threaten even such peoples who could preserve their isolation until the middle of the 20th century, like the Nganasan.[101]

Some areas could enjoy a prolonged resistance due to their remoteness.

  • Variants of shamanism among Inuit peoples were once a widespread (and very diverse) phenomenon, but today are rarely practiced, and they were already in decline among many groups, even during the first major ethnological research was done,[102] e.g. among Polar Inuit, at the end of 19th century, Sagloq, the last shaman who was believed to be able to travel to the sky and under the sea died—and many other former shamanic capacities were lost during that time as well, like ventriloquism and sleight-of-hand.[103]
  • The isolated location of Nganasan people allowed shamanism to be a living phenomenon among them even at the beginning of 20th century,[104] the last notable Nganasan shaman's ceremonies could be recorded on film in the 1970s.[105]

After exemplifying the general decline even in the most remote areas, it should be noted that there are revitalization or tradition-preserving efforts as a response. Besides collecting the memories,[106] there are also tradition-preserving[107] and even revitalization efforts,[108] led by authentic former shamans (for example among Sakha people[109] and Tuvans[94]). However, according to Richard L. Allen, Research & Policy Analyst for the Cherokee Nation, they are overwhelmed with fraudulent shaman, also known as plastic medicine people.[110] "One may assume that anyone claiming to be a Cherokee 'shaman, spiritual healer, or pipe-carrier', is equivalent to a modern day medicine show and snake-oil vendor."[111] One indicator of a plastic shaman might be someone who discusses "Native American spirituality" but does not mention any specific Native American tribe. The "New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans" website discusses potentially plastic shamans.[112]

Besides tradition-preserving efforts, there are also neoshamanistic movements, these may differ from many traditional shamanistic practice and beliefs in several points.[113] Admittedly,[according to whom?] several traditional beliefs systems indeed have ecological considerations (for example, many Eskimo peoples), and among Tukano people, the shaman indeed has direct resource-protecting roles, see details in section Ecological aspect.


Regional variations[edit]


Here are some of the countries in Asia in which Shamanists live.


Mongolian classics, such as The Secret History of the Mongols, provide details about male and female shamans serving as exorcists, healers, rainmakers, oneiromancers, soothsayers, and officials. Shamanic practices continue in present day Mongolia culture.[114][115][116][117]

The spiritual hierarchy in clan-based Mongolian society was complex. The highest group consisted of 99 tngri (55 of them benevolent or "white" and 44 terrifying or "black"), 77 natigai or "earth-mothers", besides others. The tngri were called upon only by leaders and great shamans and were common to all the clans. After these, three groups of ancestral spirits dominated. The "Lord-Spirits" were the souls of clan leaders to whom any member of a clan could appeal for physical or spiritual help. The "Protector-Spirits" included the souls of great shamans (ĵigari) and shamanesses (abĵiya). The "Guardian-Spirits" were made up of the souls of smaller shamans (böge) and shamanesses (idugan) and were associated with a specific locality (including mountains, rivers, etc.) in the clan's territory.[118]

In the 1990s, a form of Mongolian neo-shamanism was created which has given a more modern approach to shamanism. Mongolian shamans are now making a business out of their profession and even have offices in the larger towns. At these businesses, a shaman generally heads the organization and performs services such as healing, fortunetelling, and solving all kinds of problems.[119]

Hmong shamanism[edit]

The Hmong people,[120] as an ancient people of China with a 5,000-year history, continue to maintain and practice its form of shamanism known as "Ua Neeb" in mainland Asia. At the end of the Vietnam War, some 300,000 Hmong have been settled across the globe. They have continued to practice Ua Neeb in various countries in North and South America, Europe and Australia. In the U.S., the Hmong shaman practitioner is known as "Txiv Neeb" has been licensed by many hospitals in California as being part of the medical health team to treat patients in hospital. This revival of Ua Neeb in the West has been brought great success and has been hailed in the media as "Doctor for the disease, shaman for the soul".

Being a Hmong shaman represents a true vocation, chosen by the shaman God "Sivyis".[121] A shaman's main job is to bring harmony to the individual, his family and his community within his environment by performing various rituals (trance).

Animal sacrifice has been part of the Hmong shamanic practice for the past 5,000 years. Contrary to the belief of many Westerners, the Hmong practice of using animal in shamanic practice has been done with great respect. After the Vietnam War, over 200,000 Hmong were resettled in the United States and shamanism is still part of the Hmong culture. But due the colluding of culture and the law, as Professor Alison Dundes Renteln, a political science professor at the University of Southern California and author of The Cultural Defense, a book that examines the influence of such cases on U.S. courts, once said, "We say that as a society we welcome diversity, and in fact that we embrace it...In practice, it's not that easy.".[122]

The Hmong believe that all things on Earth have a soul(s) and those souls are treated as equal and can be considered interchangeable. When a person is sick due to his soul being loss or captured by wild spirit, it is necessary to ask and get permission of that animal, whether it is a chicken, pig, dog, goat or any other animals required, to use its soul for an exchange with that person's soul for a period of 12 months. At the end of that period, during the Hmong New Year, the shaman performed a special ritual to release the soul of that animal and send it off to the world beyond. As part of his service to mankind, the animal soul is sent off to be re-incarnated into a higher form of animal or even to become a member of a god's family (ua Fuab Tais Ntuj tus tub, tus ntxhais) to live a life of luxury, free of the suffering as an animal. Hence, being asked to perform this duty (what Westerner called "animal sacrifice") is one of the a greatest honors for that animal to be able to serve mankind. The Hmong of Southeast Guizhou will cover the cock with a piece of red cloth and then hold it up to worship and sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth before the Sacred cockfight.[123] In a 2010 trial of a Sheboygan Wisconsin Hmong that was charged with staging a cockfight, it was stated that the roosters were “kept for both food and religious purposes”[124] followed by an acquittal.[125]

In addition to the spiritual dimension, Hmong shaman can treat many physical illnesses by using text of sacred words (khawv koob).


Shamanism is still practiced in North and South Korea. In the south the role of a shaman is most frequently taken by women known as mudangs, while male shamans (rare) are called baksoo mudangs. Korean shamans are considered to be from a low class.



Shamanism is part of the native Japanese religion of Shinto, although Shinto is distinct in that it is shamanism for an agricultural society. Since the early middle-ages Shinto has been influenced by and syncretized with Buddhism and other elements of continental East Asian culture. The book "Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods" by Percival Lowell delves further into researching Japanese shamanism or Shintoism.[126] The book Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto uncovers the extraordinary aspects of Japanese beliefs.[127][128]

Siberia and North Asia[edit]

Ainu bear sacrifice. Japanese scroll painting, circa 1870.

Siberia is regarded as the locus classicus of shamanism.[129] It is inhabited by many different ethnic groups. Many of its peoples observe shamanistic practices even in modern times. Many classical ethnographic sources of "shamanism" were recorded among Siberian peoples.

Manchu Shamanism is one of very few Shamanist traditions which had official status into the modern era, by becoming one of the imperial cults of the Qing Dynasty of China (alongside Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Heaven worship. The Palace of Earthly Tranquility, one of the principal halls of the Forbidden City in Beijing, was partly dedicated to Shamanist rituals. The ritual set-up is still preserved in situ today.

Among the Siberian Chukchis peoples, a shaman is interpreted as someone who is possessed by a spirit who demands that someone assume the shamanic role for their people. Among the Buryat, there is a ritual known as "shanar"[130] whereby a candidate is consecrated as shaman by another, already-established shaman.

Among several Samoyedic peoples shamanism was a living tradition also in modern times, especially at groups living in isolation until recent times (Nganasans).[131] The last notable Nganasan shaman's seances could be recorded on film in the 1970s.[105][131]

When the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949 and the border with Russian Siberia was formally sealed, many nomadic Tungus groups that practiced shamanism were confined in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. These include the Evenki. The last shaman of the Oroqen, Chuonnasuan (Meng Jin Fu), died in October 2000.

In many other cases, shamanism was in decline even at the beginning of 20th century (Gypsies).[21]

Central Asia[edit]

Geographic influences on Central Asian shamanism[edit]

Geographical factors heavily influence the character and development of the religion, myths, rituals and epics of Central Asia. While in other parts of the world, religious rituals are primarily used to promote agricultural prosperity, here they were used to ensure success in hunting and breeding livestock. Animals are one of the most important elements of indigenous religion in Central Asia because of the role they play in the survival of the nomadic civilizations of the steppes as well as sedentary populations living on land not conducive to agriculture. Shamans wore animal skins and feathers and underwent transformations into animals during spiritual journeys. In addition, animals served as humans' guides, rescuers, ancestors, totems and sacrificial victims.[132] As a religion of nature, shamanism throughout Central Asia held particular reverence for the relations between sky, earth and water and believed in the mystical importance of trees and mountains. Shamanism in Central Asia also places a strong emphasis on the opposition between summer and winter, corresponding to the huge differences in temperature common in the region. The harsh conditions and poverty caused by the extreme temperatures drove Central Asian nomads throughout history to pursue militaristic goals against their sedentary neighbors. This military background can be seen in the reverence for horses and warriors within many indigenous religions.[133]

Common shamanic practices and beliefs shared among Central Asians[edit]

Central Asian shamans served as sacred intermediaries between the human and spirit world. In this role they took on tasks such as healing, divination, appealing to ancestors, manipulating the elements, leading lost souls and officiating public religious rituals. The shamanic séance served as a public display of the shaman's journey to the spirit world and usually involved intense trances, drumming, dancing, chanting, elaborate costumes, miraculous displays of physical strength, and audience involvement. The goal of these séances ranged from recovering the lost soul of a sick patient and divining the future to controlling the weather and finding a lost person or thing. The use of sleight-of-hand tricks, ventriloquism, and hypnosis were common in these rituals but did not explain the more impressive feats and actual cures accomplished by shamans.[134]

Shamans perform in a "state of ecstasy" deliberately induced by an effort of will. Reaching this altered state of consciousness required great mental exertion, concentration and strict self-discipline. Mental and physical preparation included long periods of silent meditation, fasting, and smoking. In this state, skilled shamans employ capabilities that the human organism cannot accomplish in the ordinary state. Shamans in ecstasy displayed unusual physical strength, the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, the bearing of stabbing and cutting without pain, and the heightened receptivity of the sense organs. Shamans made use of intoxicating substances and hallucinogens, especially mukhomor mushrooms and alcohol, as a means of hastening the attainment of ecstasy.[135]

The use of purification by fire is an important element of the shamanic tradition dating back as early as the 6th century. People and things connected with the dead had to be purified by passing between fires. These purifications were complex exorcisms while others simply involved the act of literally walking between two fires while being blessed by the Shaman. Shamans in literature and practice were also responsible for using special stones to manipulate weather. Rituals are performed with these stones to attract rain or repel snow, cold or wind. This "rain-stone" was used for many occasions including bringing an end to drought as well as producing hailstorms as a means of warfare.[136] Despite distinctions between various types of shamans and specific traditions, there is a uniformity throughout the region manifested in the personal beliefs, objectives, rituals, symbols and the appearance of shamans.

Shamanic rituals as artistic performance[edit]

The shamanic ceremony is both a religious ceremony and an artistic performance. The fundamental purpose of the dramatic displays seen during shamanic ceremonies is not to draw attention or to create a spectacle for the audience as many Westerners have come to believe, but to lead the tribe in a solemn ritualistic process.

In general, all performances consist of four elements: dance, music, poetry and dramatic or mimetic action. The use of these elements serves the purpose of outwardly expressing his mystical communion with nature and the spirits for the rest of the tribe. The true shaman can make the journey to the spirit world at any time and any place, but shamanic ceremonies provide a way for the rest of the tribe to share in this religious experience. The shaman changes his voice mimetically to represent different persons, gods, and animals while his music and dance change to show his progress in the spirit world and his different spiritual interactions. Many shamans practice ventriloquism and make use of their ability to accurately imitate the sounds of animals, nature, humans and other noises in order to provide the audience with the ambiance of the journey. Elaborate dances and recitations of songs and poetry are used to make the shamans spiritual adventures into a matter of living reality to his audience.[137]

Costume and accessories[edit]

The shaman's attire varies throughout the region but his chief accessories are his coat, cap, and tambourine or drum. The transformation into an animal is an important aspect of the journey into the spirit world undertaken during shamanic rituals so the coat is often decorated with birds feathers and representations of animals, coloured handkerchiefs, bells and metal ornaments. The cap is usually made from the skin of a bird with the feathers and sometimes head, still attached.

The drum or tambourine is the essential means of communicating with spirits and enabling the shaman to reach altred states of consciousness on his journey. The drum, representing the universe in epitome, is often divided into equal halves to represent the earth and lower realms. Symbols and natural objects are added to the drum representing natural forces and heavenly bodies.[138]

Shamanism in Tsarist and Soviet Russia[edit]

In Soviet Central Asia, the Soviet government persecuted and denounced shamans as practitioners of fraudulent medicine and perpetuators of outdated religious beliefs in the new age of science and logic. The radical transformations occurring after the October Socialist Revolution led to a sharp decrease in the activity of shamans. Shamans represented an important component in the traditional culture of Central Asians and because of their important role in society, Soviet organizations and campaigns targeted shamans in their attempt to eradicate traditional influences in the lives of the indigenous peoples. Along with persecution under the tsarist and Soviet regimes, the spread of Christianity and Islam had a role in the disintegration of native faith throughout central Asia. Poverty, political instability and foreign influence are also detrimental to a religion that requires publicity and patronage to flourish. By the 1980s most shamans were discredited in the eyes of their people by Soviet officials and physicians.[139]

Other Asian traditions[edit]


Kipchak stone statues of Pontic steppes. The nomadic Kipchaks followed a Shamanist religion.

In Tibet, the Nyingma schools in particular, had a Tantric tradition that had married "priests" known as Ngakpas or Ngakmas/mos (fem.). The Ngakpas were often employed or commissioned to rid the villages of demons or disease, creations of protective amulets, the carrying out of religious rites etc. The Ngakpas should however, have been grounded in Buddhist philosophy and not simply another form of shaman, but sadly,[citation needed] this was most often not the case. There have always been, however, highly realised and accomplished ngakpas. They were in their own right great lamas who were of equal status as lamas with monastic backgrounds. The monasteries, as in many conventional religious institutions, wished to preserve their own traditions. The monasteries depended upon the excesses of patrons for support. This situation often led to a clash between the more grassroots and shamanic character of the travelling Chödpa and Ngakpa culture and the more conservative religious monastic system.[140][not in citation given]

"Jhakri" is the common name used for shamans in Sikkim, India. They exist in the Limbu, Sunuwar, Rai, Sherpa, Kami, Tamang, Gurung and Lepcha communities.[141] They are inflluenced by Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, Mun and Bön rites.[142]

Shamanism is still widely practiced in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa, Japan), where shamans are known as 'Noro' (all women) and 'Yuta'. 'Noro' generally administer public or communal ceremonies while 'Yuta' focus on civil and private matters. Shamanism is also practiced in a few rural areas in Japan proper. It is commonly believed that the Shinto religion is the result of the transformation of a shamanistic tradition into a religion. Forms of practice vary somewhat in the several Ryukyu islands, so that there is, for example, a distinct Miyako shamanism.

Shamanism practices seem to have been preserved in the Catholic religious traditions of aborigines in Taiwan.[143]



While shamanism had a strong tradition in Europe before the rise of monotheism, shamanism remains a traditional, organized religion in northern Eurasia, including Mari-El and Udmurtia, two semi-autonomous provinces of Russia with large minority populations. Shamanism in Scandinavia may be represented in rock art dating to the Neolithic era[145] and was practiced throughout the Iron Age by the various Teutonic tribes and the Baltic-Finnic peoples.[146] People which used to live in Siberia, have wandered to their present locations since then. For example, many Uralic peoples live now outside Siberia, however the original location of the Proto-Uralic peoples (and its extent) is debated. Combined phytogeographical and linguistic considerations (distribution of various tree species and the presence of their names in various Uralic languages) suggest that this area was north of Central Ural Mountains and on lower and middle parts of Ob River.[147] The ancestors of Hungarian people or Magyars have wandered from their ancestral proto-Uralic area to the Pannonian Basin. Shamanism played an important role in Turko-Mongol mythology. Tengriism, the major belief among Xiongnu or Mongol and Turkic peoples, Magyars and Bulgars in ancient times incorporates elements of shamanism. Shamanism is no more a living practice among Hungarians, but remnants have been reserved as fragments of folklore, in folktales, customs.[148]

Some historians of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period have argued that traces of shamanistic traditions can be seen in the popular folk belief of this period. Most prominent among these was the Italian Carlo Ginzburg, who claimed shamanistic elements in the benandanti custom of 16th century Italy,[149] the Hungarian Éva Pócs, who identified them in the táltos tradition of Hungary,[150] and the Frenchman Claude Lecouteux, who has argued that Medieval traditions regarding the soul are based on earlier shamanic ideas.[151] Ginzburg in particular has argued that some of these shamanistic traditions influenced the conception of witchcraft in Christendom, in particular ideas regarding the witches' sabbath, leading to the events of the witch trials in the Early Modern period.[152]

Cunning folk is an English language term which, like "shaman," is found as a broad generalization in academia, to cover both practitioners of beneficial folk magic as well as witches who did harm. However, the term was not generally used in the period being discussed. Christian sanctioned Laws were enacted across England, Scotland and Wales that often condemned witches.

In Scandinavia the klok gumma ("wise woman") or klok gubbe ("wise man"), and collectively De kloka ("The Wise ones"), as they were known in Swedish, were usually elder members of the community who acted as naturopathic doctors and midwives as well as using folk magic such as magic rhymes.[citation needed] In Denmark they were called klog mand ("wise man") and klog kone ("wise woman") and collectively as kloge folk ("wise folk").[citation needed]

The names used for cunning-folk in Italy vary from region to region, although such names include praticos (wise people), guaritori (healers), fattucchiere (fixers), donne che aiutano (women who help) and mago, maga or maghiardzha (sorcerers).[citation needed] At times, they were sometimes called streghe (witches), although usually only "behind their backs or by those who either are sceptical of their powers or believe they deal in black magic."[citation needed] The cunning profession akin to Shamanism survived the 20th century and into the early 21st, allowing Italian-American sociologist Sabina Magliocco to make a brief study of them (2009).[citation needed]

Circumpolar shamanism[edit]

Inuit and Yupik cultures[edit]

Yup'ik shaman exorcising evil spirits from a sick boy, Nushagak, Alaska, 1890s.[153] Nushagak, located on Nushagak Bay of the Bering Sea in southwest Alaska, is part of the territory of the Yup'ik, speakers of the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language

Eskimo groups inhabit a huge area stretching from Eastern Siberia through Alaska and Northern Canada (including Labrador Peninsula) to Greenland. Shamanistic practice and beliefs have been recorded at several parts of this vast area crosscutting continental borders.[35][53][154]

When speaking of "shamanism" in various Eskimo groups, we must remember that (as mentioned above) the term "shamanism" can cover certain characteristics of various different cultures.[9] Mediation is regarded often as an important aspect of shamanism in general.[155] Also in most Eskimo groups, the role of mediator is known well:[156] the person filling it in is actually believed to be able to contact the beings who populate the belief system. Term "shaman" is used in several English-language publications also in relation to Eskimos.[35][154][157][158] Also the alignalghi (IPA: [aˈliɣnalʁi]) of the Asian Eskimos is translated as "shaman" in the Russian[159] and English[156] literature.

The belief system assumes specific links between the living people, the souls of hunted animals, and those of dead people.[160] The soul concepts of several groups are specific examples of soul dualism (showing variability in details in the various cultures).

Unlike the majority of shamanisms the careers of most Eskimo shamans lack the motivation of force: becoming a shaman is usually a result of deliberate consideration, not a necessity forced by the spirits.[37]

Diversity, with similarities[edit]


There are similarities in the cultures of the Eskimo groups[162][163][164][165][166] together with diversity, far from homogeneity.[167]

The Russian linguist Menovshikov (Меновщиков), an expert of Siberian Yupik and Sireniki Eskimo languages (while admitting that he is not a specialist in ethnology[168]) mentions, that the shamanistic seances of those Siberian Yupik and Sireniki groups he has seen have many similarities to those of Greenland Inuit groups described by Fridtjof Nansen,[169] although a large distance separates Siberia and Greenland. There may be certain similarities also in Asiatic groups with North American ones.[170] Also the usage of a specific shaman's language is documented among several Eskimo groups, used mostly for talking to spirits.[171][172] Also the Ungazighmiit (belonging to Siberian Yupiks) had a special allegoric usage of some expressions.[173]

The local cultures showed great diversity. The myths concerning the role of shaman had several variants, and also the name of their protagonists varied from culture to culture. For example, a mythological figure, usually referred to in the literature by the collective term Sea Woman, has factually many local names: Nerrivik "meat dish" among Polar Inuit, Nuliayuk "lubricous" among Netsilingmiut, Sedna "the nether one" among Baffin Land Inuit.[174] Also the soul conceptions, e.g. the details of the soul dualism showed great variability, ranging from guardianship to a kind of reincarnation. Conceptions of spirits or other beings had also many variants (see e.g. the tupilaq concept).[175]


Sangoma/Inyanga performing a traditional baptism on a baby in order to protect the spirit of the baby, Johannesburg, South Africa

In central Mali, Dogon sorcerers (both male and female) claim to have communication with a head deity named Amma, who advises them on healing and divination practices.


Contemporary ethnology records that the San, or their ancestors distributed throughout Southern Africa before the 20th century, practiced shamanism. In the semi-desert Northern Cape region, the shamans of the |Xam people were known by the compound word '!gi:ten', where '!gi' is 'power' and 'ten' indicated possession. The word is phonetically identical to the Xhosa word for 'doctor'. In areas in Eastern Free State and Lesotho, where they co-existed with the early Sotho tribes, local folklore describes them to have lived in caves where they drew pictures on cave walls during a trance and were also reputed to be good rainmakers.

The classical meaning of shaman as a person who, after recovering from a mental illness (or insanity) takes up the professional calling of socially recognized religious practitioner, is exemplified among the Sisala (of northern Gold Coast) : "the fairies "seized" him and made him insane for several months. Eventually, though, he learned to control their power, which he now uses to divine."[176]

The term sangoma, as employed in Zulu and congeneric languages, is effectively equivalent to shaman. Sangomas are highly revered and respected in their society, where illness is thought to be caused by witchcraft,[177] pollution (contact with impure objects or occurrences) or by the ancestors themselves,[178] either malevolently, or through neglect if they are not respected, or to show an individual her calling to become a sangoma (thwasa).[179] For harmony between the living and the dead, vital for a trouble-free life, the ancestors must be shown respect through ritual and animal sacrifice.[180]

The term inyanga also employed by the Nguni cultures is equivalent to 'herbalist' as used by the Zulu people and a variation used by the Karanga,[181] among whom remedies (locally known as muti) for ailments are discovered by the inyanga being informed in a dream, of the herb able to effect the cure and also of where that herb is to be found. The majority of the herbal knowledge base is passed down from one inyanga to the next, often within a particular family circle in any one village.

Shamanism is known among the Nuba of Kordofan in Sudan.[182][183]


North America[edit]

Native American "conjuror" in a 1590 engraving
Hamatsa ritualist, 1914

Native American and First Nations cultures have diverse religious beliefs and there was never one universal Native American religion or spiritual system. Although many Native American cultures have traditional healers, ritualists, singers, mystics, lore-keepers and Medicine people, none of them ever used, or use, the term "shaman" to describe these religious leaders. Rather, like other indigenous cultures the world over, their spiritual functionaries are described by words in their own languages, and in many cases are not taught to outsiders.


Not all Indigenous communities have roles for specific individuals who mediate with the spirit world on behalf of the community. Among those that do have this sort of religious structure, spiritual methods and beliefs may have some commonalities, though many of these commonalities are due to some nations being closely related, from the same region, or through post-Colonial governmental policies leading to the combining of formerly independent nations on reservations. This can sometimes lead to the impression that there is more unity among belief systems than there was in antiquity.

With the arrival of European settlers and colonial administration, the practice of Native American traditional beliefs was discouraged and Christianity was imposed[185] upon the indigenous people. In most communities, the traditions were not completely eradicated, but rather went underground, and were practiced secretly until the prohibitive laws were repealed.[186]

Up until and during the last hundred years, thousands of Native American and First Nations children from many different communities were sent into the Canadian Indian residential school system, and Indian boarding schools in an effort to destroy tribal languages, cultures and beliefs. The Trail of Tears, in the US, forced Native Americans to relocate from their traditional homes. Canadian laws enacted in 1982, and henceforth, have attempted to reverse previous attempts at extinguishing Native culture.[187]


Maya priest performing a healing ritual at Tikal.

The Maya people of Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico practice a highly sophisticated form of shamanism based upon astrology and a form of divination known as "the blood speaking", in which the shaman is guided in divination and healing by pulses in the veins of his arms and legs.


In contemporary Nahuatl, shamanism is known as cualli ohtli ("the good path") leading during dreaming by "friends of the night" to Tlalocán.

South America[edit]

  • Shamanic healing is found among the indigenous Kuna people of Panama, who rely on sacred talismans. As such, they enjoy a popular position among local peoples.
  • Among the Brazilian Tapirapé people shamans are called to serve in their dreams.
  • The Shuar people, seeking the power to defend their family against enemies, would apprentice themselves to become shamans.
  • Santo Daime and União do Vegetal ( abbreviated to UDV) are syncretic religions with elements of shamanism. They use an entheogen called ayahuasca to connect with the spirit realm and receive divine guidance.[47]
Shaman from the shuara culture in Ecuador Amazonian forest, June 2006

In the Peruvian Amazon Basin and north coastal regions of the country, the healer shamans are known as curanderos. Ayahuasqueros are Peruvian shamans, such as among the Urarina people, who specialize in the use of ayahuasca, a psychedelic herbal potion used for physical and psychological healing, divine revelation, and for the very reproduction of society itself.[188] Ayahuasqueros have become popular among Western spiritual seekers, who claim that the shamans and their ayahuasca brews have cured them of everything from depression to addiction to cancer.[47]

In addition to curanderos use of ayahuasca and their ritualized ingestion of mescaline-bearing San Pedro cactuses (Trichocereus pachanoi) for the divination and diagnosis of sorcery, north-coastal shamans are famous throughout the region for their intricately complex and symbolically dense healing altars called mesas (tables). Sharon (1993) has argued that the mesas symbolize the dualistic ideology underpinning the practice and experience of north-coastal shamanism.[189] For Sharon, the mesas are the, "physical embodiment of the supernatural opposition between benevolent and malevolent energies" (Dean 1998: 61).[190]

In the Amazon rainforest, at several Indian groups the shaman acts also as a manager of scarce ecological resources (paper;[40][42] online[83]). The rich symbolism behind Tukano shamanism has been documented in some in-depth field works[40][191][192] even in the last decades of the 20th century.


  • healing
  • flying to the sky to consult cosmological beings (the moon or the brother of the moon) to get a name for a newborn baby




Among the Mapuche people of Chile, the community shaman, usually a woman, is known as the Machi, and serves the community by performing ceremonies to cure diseases, ward off evil, influence the weather and harvest, and by practicing other forms of healing such as herbalism.


For the Aymara people of South America the Yatiri is a healer who heals the body and the soul, they serve the community and do the rituals for Pachamama.


Although Fuegians (the indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego) were all hunter-gatherers,[194] they did not share a common culture. The material culture was not homogenous, either: the big island and the archipelago made two different adaptations possible. Some of the cultures were coast-dwelling, others were land-oriented.[195][196]

Both Selk'nam and Yámana had persons filling in shaman-like roles. The Selk'nams believed their /xon/s to have supernatural capabilities, e.g. to control weather.[197][198] The figure of /xon/ appeared in myths, too.[199] The Yámana /jekamuʃ/[200] corresponds to the Selknam /xon/.[201]


On the island of Papua New Guinea, indigenous tribes believe that illness and calamity are caused by dark spirits, or masalai, which cling to a person's body and poison them. Shamans are summoned in order to purge the unwholesome spirits from a person.[202][203] Shamans also perform rainmaking ceremonies and can allegedly improve a hunter's ability to catch animals.[204]

In Australia various aboriginal groups refer to their shamans as "clever men" and "clever women" also as kadji. These aboriginal shamans use maban or mabain, the material that is believed to give them their purported magical powers. Besides healing, contact with spiritual beings, involvement in initiation and other secret ceremonies, they are also enforcers of tribal laws, keepers of special knowledge and may "hex" to death one who breaks a social taboo by singing a song only known to the "clever men".

Contemporary Western shamanism[edit]


European-based neoshamanic traditions are focused upon the researched or imagined traditions of ancient Europe, where many mystical practices and belief systems were suppressed by the Christian church. Some of these practitioners express a desire to practice a system that is based upon their own ancestral traditions. Some anthropologists and practitioners have discussed the impact of such neoshamanism as "giving extra pay" (Harvey, 1997 and elsewhere) to indigenous American traditions, particularly as many pagan or heathen shamanic practitioners do not call themselves shamans, but instead use specific names derived from the European traditions—they work within such as völva or seidkona (seid-woman) of the sagas (see Blain 2002, Wallis 2003).

Many spiritual seekers travel to Peru to work with ayahuasqueros, shamans who engage in the ritual use of ayahuasca, a psychedelic tea which has been documented to cure everything from depression to addiction. When taking ayahuasca, participants frequently report meeting spirits, sometimes called machine elves, and receiving divine revelations.[47] Shamanistic techniques have also been used in New Age therapies which use enactment and association with other realities as an intervention.[206][207]

Criticism of the term[edit]


Certain anthropologists, most notably Alice Kehoe in her book Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking, are highly critical of the term "shaman". Part of this criticism involves the notion of cultural appropriation.[citation needed] This includes criticism of New Age and modern Western forms of shamanism, which, according to Kehoe, misrepresent or dilute indigenous practices. Alice Kehoe also believes that the term reinforces racist ideas such as the Noble Savage.

Kehoe is highly critical of Mircea Eliade's work on shamanism as an invention synthesized from various sources unsupported by more direct research. To Kehoe, what some scholars of shamanism treat as being definitive of shamanism (most notably drumming, trance, chanting, entheogens and hallucinogens, spirit communication and healing) are practices that exist outside of what is defined as shamanism and play similar roles even in non-shamanic cultures (such as the role of chanting in Judeo-Christian and Islamic rituals) and that in their expression are unique to each culture that uses them and cannot be generalized easily, accurately or usefully into a global religion of shamanism. Because of this, Kehoe is also highly critical of the notion that shamanism is an ancient, unchanged, and surviving religion from the Paleolithic period.

Mihály Hoppál also discusses whether the term "shamanism" is appropriate. He recommends using the term "shamanhood"[208] or "shamanship"[209] (a term used in old Russian and German ethnographic reports at the beginning of the 20th century) for stressing the diversity and the specific features of the discussed cultures. He believes that this places more stress on the local variations[9] and emphasizes that shamanism is not a religion of sacred dogmas, but linked to the everyday life in a practical way.[210] Following similar thoughts, he also conjectures a contemporary paradigm shift.[208] Piers Vitebsky also mentions that, despite really astonishing similarities, there is no unity in shamanism. The various, fragmented shamanistic practices and beliefs coexist with other beliefs everywhere. There is no record of pure shamanistic societies (although, as for the past, their existence is not impossible).[211]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Hutton 2001. p. 32.
  2. ^ Hoppál 1987. p. 76.
  3. ^ Oxford Dictionary Online.
  4. ^ a b c Mircea Eliade, Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Bollingen Series LXXVI, Princeton University Press 1972, pp. 3–7.
  5. ^ Eliade 2004 [1951]. p. 4.
  6. ^ Written before 1676, first printed in 1861; see Hutton 2001. p. vii.
  7. ^ Hutton 2001, p. 32.
  8. ^ Adam Brand, Driejaarige Reize naar China, Amsterdam 1698; transl. A Journal of an Ambassy, London 1698; see Laufer B., Origin of the Word Shaman, American Anthropologist, 19 (1917): 361–71 and Bremmer J., Travelling souls? Greek shamanism reconsidered, in Bremmer J.N. (ed.), The Rise and Fall of the Afterlife, London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 7–40. [1]
  9. ^ a b c d e f Hoppál 2005: 15
  10. ^ a b Diószegi 1962: 13
  11. ^ Crossley, Pamela Kyle (1996). The Manchus. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1557865604. 
  12. ^ Eliade, Mircea (1989). Shamanism. Arkana Books. p. 495. 
  13. ^ Hutton 2001. pp. vii–viii.
  14. ^ "Circle of Tengerism". 
  15. ^ Hoppál, Mihály (2005). Sámánok Eurázsiában (in Hungarian). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-8295-3.  pp. 77, 287; Znamensky, Andrei A. (2005). "Az ősiség szépsége: altáji török sámánok a szibériai regionális gondolkodásban (1860–1920)". In Molnár, Ádám. Csodaszarvas. Őstörténet, vallás és néphagyomány. Vol. I (in Hungarian). Budapest: Molnár Kiadó. pp. 117–134. ISBN 963-218-200-6. , p. 128
  16. ^ Turner et al., p. 440
  17. ^ Noll & Shi 2004 (see online)
  18. ^ Halifax, Joan (1982). Shaman: The Wounded Healer. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500810293. OCLC 8800269. 
  19. ^ Hoppál 2005: 45
  20. ^ a b Boglár 2001: 24
  21. ^ a b Hoppál 2005: 94
  22. ^ Vitebsky 1996: 46
  23. ^ a b Hoppál 2005: 25
  24. ^ a b Sem, Tatyana. "Shamanic Healing Rituals". Russian Museum of Ethnography. 
  25. ^ Hoppál 2005: 27–28
  26. ^ Hoppál 2005: 28–33
  27. ^ Hoppál 2005: 37
  28. ^ Hoppál 2005: 34–35
  29. ^ Hoppál 2005: 36
  30. ^ Hoppál 2005:36164
  31. ^ Hoppál 2005: 87–95
  32. ^ Czaplicka 1914
  33. ^ Salak, Kira. "Lost souls of the Peyote Trail". National Geographic Adventure. 
  34. ^ a b Stephen Hugh-Jones 1980: 32
  35. ^ a b c d e Merkur 1985
  36. ^ Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 8–10
  37. ^ a b c d Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 24
  38. ^ a b Noll & Shi 2004: 10, footnote 10 (see online)
  39. ^ a b Noll & Shi 2004: 8–9 (see online)
  40. ^ a b c d Reichel-Dolmatoff 1997
  41. ^ Vitebsky 1996: 107
  42. ^ a b Boglár 2001: 26
  43. ^ Merkur 1985: 5
  44. ^ Vitebsky 1996: 108
  45. ^ Kleivan & Sonne: 27–28
  46. ^ a b Merkur 1985: 3
  47. ^ a b c d e f g Salak, Kira. "Hell and Back". National Geographic Adventure. 
  48. ^ Merkur 1985: 4
  49. ^ Vitebsky 1996: 11, 12–14, 107
  50. ^ Hoppál 2005: 27, 30, 36
  51. ^ Hoppál 2005: 27
  52. ^ Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 7, 19–21
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  • Barüske, Heinz (1969). Eskimo Märchen. Die Märchen der Weltliteratur (in German). Düsseldorf • Köln: Eugen Diederichs Verlag.  The title means: "Eskimo tales", the series means: "The tales of world literature".
  • Boglár, Lajos (2001). A kultúra arcai. Mozaikok a kulturális antropológia köreiből. TÁRStudomány (in Hungarian). Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó. ISBN 963-9082-94-5.  The title means "The faces of culture. Mosaics fom the area of cultural anthropology".
  • Bolin, Hans (2000). "Animal Magic: The mythological significance of elks, boats and humans in north Swedish rock art". Journal of Material Culture. 5(2): 153–176. 
  • Czaplicka, M.A. (1914). "Types of shaman". Shamanism in Siberia. Aboriginal Siberia. A study in social anthropology. preface by Marett, R.R. Sommerville College, University of Oxford, Clarendon Press. ISBN 1-60506-060-7. 
  • Dana, Kathleen Osgood (2004 summer). "Áillohaš and his image drum: the native poet as shaman" (PDF). Nordlit (Faculty of Humanities, University of Tromsø) 15. 
  • Diószegi, Vilmos (1962). Samanizmus. Élet és Tudomány Kiskönyvtár (in Hungarian). Budapest: Gondolat.  The title means: "Shamanism".
  • Diószegi, Vilmos (1998) [1958]. A sámánhit emlékei a magyar népi műveltségben (in Hungarian) (first reprint ed.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-7542-6.  The title means: "Remnants of shamanistic beliefs in Hungarian folklore".
  • Fienup-Riordan, Ann (1994). Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup'ik Eskimo Oral Tradition. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-585-12190-7. 
  • Freuchen, Peter (1961). Book of the Eskimos. Cleveland • New York: The World Publishing Company. ISBN 0-449-30802-2. 
  • Gulia, Kuldip Singh (2005). Human Ecology of Sikkim - A Case Study of Upper Rangit Basin. Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publications. ISBN 81-7835-325-3. 
  • Hajdú, Péter (1975). "A rokonság nyelvi háttere". In Hajdú, Péter. Uráli népek. Nyelvrokonaink kultúrája és hagyományai (in Hungarian). Budapest: Corvina Kiadó. ISBN 963-13-0900-2.  The title means: "Uralic peoples. Culture and traditions of our linguistic relatives"; the chapter means "Linguistical background of the relationship".
  • Hoppál, Mihály (1994). Sámánok, lelkek és jelképek (in Hungarian). Budapest: Helikon Kiadó. ISBN 963-208-298-2.  The title means "Shamans, souls and symbols".
  • Hoppál, Mihály (1998). "A honfoglalók hitvilága és a magyar samanizmus". Folklór és közösség (in Hungarian). Budapest: Széphalom Könyvműhely. pp. 40–45. ISBN 963-9028-14-2.  The title means "The belief system of Hungarians when they entered the Pannonian Basin, and their shamanism".
  • Hoppál, Mihály (2005). Sámánok Eurázsiában (in Hungarian). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-8295-3.  The title means "Shamans in Eurasia", the book is published also in German, Estonian and Finnish. Site of publisher with short description on the book (in Hungarian).
  • Hoppál, Mihály (2006a). "Sámánok, kultúrák és kutatók az ezredfordulón". In Hoppál, Mihály & Szathmári, Botond & Takács, András. Sámánok és kultúrák. Budapest: Gondolat. pp. 9–25. ISBN 963-9450-28-6.  The chapter title means "Shamans, cultures and researchers in the millenary", the book title means "Shamans and cultures".
  • Hoppál, Mihály (2007b). "Is Shamanism a Folk Religion?". Shamans and Traditions (Vol 13). Bibliotheca Shamanistica. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. pp. 11–16. ISBN 978-963-05-8521-7. 
  • Hoppál, Mihály (2007c). "Eco-Animism of Siberian Shamanhood". Shamans and Traditions (Vol 13). Bibliotheca Shamanistica. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. pp. 17–26. ISBN 978-963-05-8521-7. 
  • Hugh-Jones, Christine (1980). From the Milk River: Spatial and Temporal Processes in Northwest Amazonia. Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22544-2. 
  • Hugh-Jones, Stephen (1980). The Palm and the Pleiades. Initiation and Cosmology in Northwest Amazonia. Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-21952-3. 
  • Lupa. New Paths to Animal Totems. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012. ISBN 978-0-7387-3337-1.
  • Nagy, Beáta Boglárka (1998). "Az északi szamojédok". In Csepregi, Márta. Finnugor kalauz. Panoráma (in Hungarian). Budapest: Medicina Könyvkiadó. pp. 221–234. ISBN 963-243-813-2.  The chapter means "Northern Samoyedic peoples", the title means Finno-Ugric guide.
  • Noll, Richard; Shi, Kun (2004). "Chuonnasuan (Meng Jin Fu), The Last Shaman of the Oroqen of Northeast China" (PDF). 韓國宗敎硏究 (Journal of Korean Religions) 6 (Seoul KR: 西江大學校. 宗教硏究所 (Sŏgang Taehakkyo. Chonggyo Yŏnʾguso.)). pp. 135–162. Retrieved 2008-07-30. . It describes the life of Chuonnasuan, the last shaman of the Oroqen of Northeast China.
  • Reinhard, Johan (1976) "Shamanism and Spirit Possession: The Definition Problem." In Spirit Possession in the Nepal Himalayas, J. Hitchcock & R. Jones (eds.), New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, pp. 12–20.
  • Voigt, Miklós (2000). "Sámán – a szó és értelme". Világnak kezdetétől fogva. Történeti folklorisztikai tanulmányok (in Hungarian). Budapest: Universitas Könyvkiadó. pp. 41–45. ISBN 963-9104-39-6.  The chapter discusses the etymology and meaning of word "shaman".

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]