{{Short description|Shamanism around the world}} <!-- This short description is INTENTIONALLY "none" - please see WP:SDNONE before you consider changing it! --> [[Shamanism]] is a religious practice present in various cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism takes on many different forms, which vary greatly by region and culture and are shaped by the distinct histories of its practitioners.
== Eurasia ==
=== China === {{Main|Wu (shaman)}} {{Further|Nuoism}}
'''Wuism''' ({{lang-zh|c=巫教|p=wū jiào|l=[[wu (shaman)|wu]] religion, [[shamanism]], [[witchcraft]]}}; alternatively {{lang|zh|巫觋宗教}} ''wū xí zōngjiào''), refers to the shamanic practices of China.{{sfn|Libbrecht|2007|p=43}} Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the [[Hongshan culture]].{{sfn|Nelson|Matson|Roberts|Rock|2006}} Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to [[Chinese folk religion]].{{sfn|Zhang|Hriskos|2003}}
Shamanism also persists among various ethnic minorities in China, such as the [[Manchu shamanism|Manchu]], [[Mongolian shamanism|Mongol]], [[bon|Tibetan]], Miao, [[Dongba|Naxi]] and [[Pumi people#Religion|Pumi]] peoples.
=== Hmong === {{Main|Hmong customs and culture#Shamanism}}
The [[Hmong people]] are an ethnic group of people originating from [[Central China]], who continue to maintain and practice [[Miao folk religion|Ua Neeb]]. Being a Hmong shaman is a [[vocation]]; their primary role is to bring harmony to the individual, their family, and their community within their environment by performing [[ritual]]s, usually through [[trance]].
The Hmong believe that all things on [[Earth]] have a [[soul]] (or multiple souls), each considered equal and possibly interchangeable. Animal sacrifice is central to these beliefs, where it is seen as a necessary request to borrow the animal's soul to heal a person's affliction or to save their soul from being captured by a wild spirit for a period of 12 months. During the [[Hmong customs and culture|Hmong New Year]], the shaman performs a special ritual to release the animal's soul to a spiritual dimension. As part of its service to mankind, the animal's soul is understood to be [[reincarnate]]d into a 'higher animal,' possibly becoming a member of a god's family (ua Fuab Tais Ntuj tus tub, tus ntxhais) to live a life of luxury, free of suffering as an animal. Hence, participating in this exchange by being sacrificed is one of the greatest honors for the animal.
[[Animal sacrifice]] has been part of the Hmong shamanic practice for the past 5,000 years. After the [[Vietnam War]], over 200,000 Hmong were resettled in the [[United States]] and shamanism is still part of the Hmong culture. Before the [[Rooster#Religion and spiritual belief systems|sacred cockfight]], The Hmong of south-east [[Guizhou]] cover a rooster with a piece of red cloth and then hold it up to worship and sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth.<ref>Southeast Guizhou Travel Tips – China Highlights, a division of CITS Guilin, a full-service China travel agency providing China Tours</ref> In a 2010 trial of a Hmong from [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin]] charged with staging a cockfight, it was stated that the [[Chicken|roosters]] were "kept for both food and religious purposes",<ref name="Midwest Communications Inc">{{cite web |url=http://whbl.com/news/articles/2010/apr/08/day-one-cockfighting-trial-books/ |title=Day One of Cockfighting Trial Concludes |author=Midwest Communications Inc. |work=whbl |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713032437/http://whbl.com/news/articles/2010/apr/08/day-one-cockfighting-trial-books/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the case ended in an [[acquittal]].<ref name="Midwest Communications Inc" />
In addition to the spiritual dimension, Hmong shamans attempt to treat many physical illnesses through the use of the text of sacred words (''khawv koob'').
=== Indonesia === {{Main|Dukun}}
=== Japan === {{Main|Miko}} {{Further|Shinto|Ainu religion|Ryukyuan religion}} Shamanism is part of the indigenous [[Ainu religion]] and the Japanese religion of [[Shinto]]. Since the [[Early Middle Ages|early middle-ages]] Shinto has been influenced by and [[syncretism|syncretized]] with [[Buddhism]] and other elements of continental [[East Asia|East Eurasia]]n culture. The book "''Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods''" by [[Percival Lowell]] delves further into researching Japanese shamanism or Shintoism.<ref>Percival Lowell, Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods, Inner Traditions International (April 1990), Rochester Vt</ref> The book ''Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto'' uncovers the extraordinary aspects of Japanese beliefs.<ref>Alan Mcfarlane, ''Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto'', Profile Books Ltd, Aug 2007, London England</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fb20071007a1.html|title=The Japan Times – News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More|work=The Japan Times|access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref>
=== Korea === {{main|Mu (shaman)|Korean shamanism}} Shamanism is still practiced in [[North Korea|North]] and [[South Korea]]. In the south, shaman women are known as ''[[Mu (shaman)|mudangs]]'', while male shamans are referred to as ''baksoo mudangs''. A person can become a shaman through either a hereditary title or natural ability. In contemporary society, shamans are consulted for financial and marital decisions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kim |first=Tae-kon |title=Korean Shamanism—Muism |publisher=Jimoondang Publishing Company |year=1998 |isbn=898809509X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Jung Young |title=Korean Shamanistic Rituals |publisher=Mouton De Gruyter |year=1981 |isbn=9027933782}}</ref>
=== Malaysia === {{main|Bobohizan|Bomoh|Pawang}} [[File:Bobohizans.jpeg|thumb|right|''[[Bobohizan]]'' of [[Sabah]], {{circa|1921}}.]] Shamanism is also practiced among the Malay community in [[Malay Peninsula]] and indigenous people in [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]]. People who practice shamanism in the country are generally called ''bomoh'', and analogously ''pawang'' on the Peninsula.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harvey|first1=Graham|last2=Wallis|first2=Robert J.|title=Historical Dictionary of Shamanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQOyAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA129|date=5 February 2007|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6459-7|page=129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Summers |first=Montague |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpaCCyGuMqwC&pg=PA221 |title=The Vampire: His Kith and Kin |publisher=K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. |year=1928 |location=London |page=221 |oclc=275334}}</ref> In Sabah, the ''[[Bobohizan]]'' is the main shaman among the [[Kadazan-Dusun]] indigenous community.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/1198/looking-at-origins-of-the-bobohizan/|title=Looking at origins of the Bobohizan|last=Luping|first=Herman|work=Daily Express|date=8 June 2013|access-date=26 April 2025|quote=But the legend of the ''Bobohizan'' or religious group started with the first Kadazandusun Murut "mother" known as Suminundu. She was the wife of Kingaan the first ancestor.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426112235/https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/1198/looking-at-origins-of-the-bobohizan/|archive-date=26 April 2025|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2016/06/08/bobohizans-the-shamans-of-sabah-teeter-between-old-and-new-worlds/1136825|title=Bobohizans: The shamans of Sabah teeter between old and new worlds|last=Chan|first=Julia|newspaper=The Malay Mail|date=8 June 2016|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512091335/https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2016/06/08/bobohizans-the-shamans-of-sabah-teeter-between-old-and-new-worlds/1136825|archive-date=12 May 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Mongolia === {{main|Black shamanism|Mongolian shamanism}} [[File:Mongol Darkhad Shaman just starting Shamanic ritual.jpg|alt=Mongolian Shaman performing fire rituals, 3rd March 2019. At Khovsogol lake worship|thumb|upright|''[[Mongolian shamanism|Mongolian Shaman]]'' performing rituals, 3 March 2019. At Khovsogol lake worship, during the "Blue Pearl" event in Mongolia]]
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 Mongolian culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/shamanism.htm|title=Universiteit Leiden, Hanno E. Lecher|access-date=6 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321213135/http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/shamanism.htm|archive-date=21 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/bender4/eall131/EAHReadings/module03/local_beliefs.html |title=Local beliefs |access-date=2013-12-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106035207/http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/bender4/eall131/EAHReadings/module03/local_beliefs.html |archive-date=2012-11-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/5288|title=Aurélie Névot, Comme le sel, je suis le cours de l'eau: le chamanisme à écriture des Yi du Yunnan (Chine) (Like salt, I follow the current: The literate Shamanism of the Yi of Yunnan)|author=Gros, Stéphane|access-date=6 June 2015|date=2010-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yale.edu/seacrn/asia_members.htm|title=ACLS: Collaborative Research Network|access-date=6 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921092319/http://www.yale.edu/seacrn/asia_members.htm|archive-date=21 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hangartner|first1=judith|title=The resurgence of Darhad shamanism: Legitimisation Strategies of Rural Practitioners in mongolia|journal=Tsantsa|date=May 2006|volume=11|pages=111–14|url=http://www.tsantsa.ch/en/previous-issues/tsantsa/2015-10-20-15-49-38/content-11-2006/205-recherches/466-the-resurgence-of-darhad-shamanism.html}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hesse|first=Klaus|year=1987|title=On the History of Mongolian Shamanism in Anthropological Perspective|journal=Anthropos|volume=82|issue=4–6|pages=403–13|jstor=40463470}}</ref>
In the 1990s, a form of Mongolian neo-shamanism was created which has taken a modern approach to shamanism. Among the Buryat Mongols, who live in [[Mongolia]] and [[Russia]], the proliferation of shamans since 1990 is a core aspect of a larger struggle for the Buryats to reestablish their historical and genetic roots, as has been documented extensively by [[Ippei Shimamura]], an anthropologist at the [[University of Shiga Prefecture]] in Japan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shimamura|first1=Ippei |title=The Roots seekers: Shamanism and Ethnicity Among the Mongol Buryats |date=2014 |publisher=Shumpusha Publishing |location=Kanagawa, Japan |isbn=978-4-86110-397-1}}</ref> Some 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.<ref>Balogh, Matyas. "Contemporary Shamanisms in Mongolia." ''Asian Ethnicity'' 11.2 (2010): 229–38.</ref> Although the initial enthusiasm for the revival of Mongol shamanism in the post-communist/post-1990 era led to an openness to all interested visitors, the situation has changed among those Mongols seeking to protect the essential ethnic or national basis of their practices. In recent years many associations of Mongol shamans have become wary of Western "core" or "neo" or "New Age" shamans and have restricted access to only to Mongols and Western scholars<ref>{{cite web|last1=Noll|first1=Richard|title=Mongol shamans summer solstice fire ritual 21 June 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g1XTL8XbhY|website=You Tube|date=2 July 2017 |access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>
=== Philippines === {{Main|Babaylan|Anito|Dambana}} [[File:An Itneg shaman renewing an offering to the spirit shield (1922, Philippines).jpg|thumb|1922: a shaman of the [[Itneg people]] renewing an offering to the spirit (''[[anito]]'') of a warrior's ''[[kalasag]]'' shield]] [[File:Babaylan Festival in Bago City.jpg|thumb|A performer depicting a shaman in a recent Babaylan Festival of [[Bago, Negros Occidental]].]] [[Babaylan]]s (also balian or katalonan, among many other indigenous names) were [[shaman]]s of the various [[ethnic groups of the Philippines|ethnic groups]] of the [[History of the Philippines (900–1521)|pre-colonial]] [[Philippines|Philippine islands]]. These shamans specialized in harnessing the unlimited powers of nature<ref name=esquiremag>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-fall-of-the-babaylan-a2017-20190318|title = The Fall of the Babaylan}}</ref> and were almost always women or [[Bakla|feminized men]] (''asog'' or ''bayok''). They were believed to have [[spirit guide]]s, by which they could contact and interact with the spirits and deities (''[[anito]]'' or ''[[Anito|diwata]]'') and the [[Spirit world (Spiritualism)|spirit world]]. Their primary role were as [[mediumship|mediums]] during ''pag-anito'' [[séance]] rituals. There were also various subtypes of ''babaylan'' specializing in the arts of [[Traditional medicine|healing]] and [[herbalism]], [[divination]], and [[Witchcraft|sorcery]].<ref name="scott1992">{{cite book|author=William Henry Scott|title =Looking For The Prehispanic Filipino and Other Essays in Philippine History|publisher =New Day Publishers|year =1992|pages=124–127|isbn =978-9711005245|url =https://archive.org/stream/LookingForThePrehispanicFilipino/Looking%20for%20the%20Prehispanic%20Filipino#page/n67/mode/2up/search/babaylan|author-link=William Henry Scott (historian)}}</ref>
''Babaylan'' were highly respected members of the community, on par with the pre-colonial [[maginoo|noble class]].<ref name="Scott1994">{{cite book|author=William Henry Scott | author-link = William Henry Scott (historian) | url = https://archive.org/details/BarangaySixteenthCenturyPhilippineCultureAndSociety | title = Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society | publisher = Ateneo de Manila University Press | date = 1994 | location=Quezon City | isbn = 978-971-550-135-4 }}</ref><ref name="mallari">{{cite news |url=http://www.manilatimes.net/the-complementary-roles-of-the-mandirigma-and-the-babaylan/53493/|title=The complementary roles of the Mandirigma and the Babaylan |author=Perry Gil S. Mallari|date=16 November 2013 |newspaper=The Manila Times |access-date=5 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="mccoy">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVFiDwAAQBAJ&q=shaman+axis+mundi&pg=PT37 |title=Shaman-the Dawn's People|last=McCoy |first=V. R. |date=2018 |publisher=BookBaby |isbn=9781732187405 |language=en}}</ref> In the absence of the datu (head of the domain), the babaylan takes in the role of interim head of the domain.<ref name=esquiremag/>
They were powerful ritual specialists with the capability to influence the weather, and tap the various spirits in nature. Babaylans were held in such high esteem because of their ability to negate the dark magic of an evil datu or spirit and heal the sick or the wounded. Among the powers of the babaylan was to heal the sick, ensure a safe pregnancy and child birth, and lead rituals with offerings to the various divinities. The babaylans were well versed in herb lore, and was able to create remedies, antidotes, and potions from various roots and seeds. They used these to treat the sick or to aid an ally datu in bringing down an enemy, hence, the babaylans were also known for their specialization in medical and divine combat.<ref name=esquiremag/>
Their influence waned when most of the ethnic groups of the Philippines were gradually converted to [[Islam]] or [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]. Under the [[Spanish Empire]], ''babaylan'' were often maligned and falsely accused as [[witch]]es and "priests of the devil" and were persecuted harshly by the Spanish clergy. The Spanish burned down everything they associated as connected to the native people's [[indigenous religion]] (including shrines such as the [[dambana]]), even forcefully ordering native children to defecate on their own god's idols.<ref name=esquiremag/> In modern Philippine society, their roles have largely been taken over by folk healers, which are now predominantly male, while some are still being falsely accused as 'witches', which has been inputted by Spanish colonialism.<ref name="blair1">{{cite book |editor=Emma Helen Blair |editor2=James Alexander Robertson |editor3=Edward Gaylord Bourne|title =The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803|volume =38 (1674–1683)|publisher =The Arthur H. Clark Company|year =1904|pages=114, 218|url =https://archive.org/stream/philippineisland38blai#page/n5/mode/2up/search/babaylan}}</ref><ref name="philcensus1903">{{cite book |author= |title =Census of the Philippine Islands, Taken Under the Director of the Philippine Commission in the Year 1903|volume =I: Geography, History, and Population |publisher =United States Bureau of the Census- United States Philippine Commission, 1900-1916 |year =1905 |page=328 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=POAXAAAAYAAJ |via=books.google.com}}</ref><ref name="liturgy">{{cite book |author=Agnes M. Brazal |author-link1=Agnes M. Brazal |editor =Jozef Lamberts |title =Liturgy and Inculturation: Introduction |chapter =Inculturation: An Interpretative Model |publisher =Peeters |series =Studies in Liturgy |volume=77 |year =1996 |isbn =9789068318371 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Chp1Jlqv1GQC |via=books.google.com}}</ref> In areas where the people have not been converted into Muslims or Christians, notably ancestral domains of indigenous peoples, the shamans and their cultural traits have continued to exist with their respective communities, although these shamans and their practices are being slowly diluted by Christian religions which continue to interfere with their life-ways.<ref name=esquiremag/>
=== Siberia and North Eurasia === {{Main|Black shamanism|shamanism in Siberia|shamanism in the Qing dynasty}} [[File:AinuBearSacrificeCirca1870.jpg|thumb|[[Iomante|Ainu bear sacrifice]]. Japanese scroll painting, circa 1870.]] [[File:Шаман Ташоол Бууевич Кунга - обряд приношения жертвы духам.jpg|thumb|Shaman in southern [[Siberia]], 2014]] [[File:Chuonnasuan, the last shaman of the Oroqen, in July 1994 (Photo by Richard Noll).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Oroqen people|Oroqen]] shaman, northern [[China]]]]
[[Siberia]] is regarded as the ''[[locus classicus]]'' of shamanism.<ref name=locclass>Hoppál 2005: 13</ref> The area is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, and many of its peoples observe shamanistic practices. Many classical ethnographic sources of "shamanism" were recorded among Siberian peoples.
[[Manchu people|Manchu]] Shamanism is one of very few Shamanist traditions which held 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 Shamanistic rituals. The ritual set-up is still preserved ''in situ'' today.<ref>{{citation|last=Rawski|first=Evelyn S.|year=1998|title=The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions|place=Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5iN5J9G76h0C|isbn=0-520-22837-5 |pages=30, 238, 460}}</ref>
Among the Siberian [[Chukchis]] peoples, a shaman is interpreted as someone who is [[Spirit possession|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''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://texts.00.gs/Shanar.htm|title=S^anar [Buryat]|access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref> 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 ([[Nganasan people|Nganasans]]).<ref name=ngan>Hoppál 2005: 92–93</ref> The last notable Nganasan shaman's seances could be recorded on film in the 1970s.<ref name="Hoppal">{{cite book |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |title=Sámánok, lelkek és jelképek |publisher=Helikon Kiadó |location= Budapest |year=1994 |isbn=978-963-208-298-1 |language=hu |page=62}}</ref><ref name=ngan/>
When the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949 and the border with Russian Siberia was formally sealed, many nomadic Tungus groups (including the Evenki) that practiced shamanism were confined in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. The last shaman of the Oroqen, Chuonnasuan (Meng Jinfu), died in October 2000.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Noll|first1=Richard|title=The Last Shaman of the Orqen of Northeast China|url=https://www.academia.edu/8520174|journal=Shaman: Journal of the International Society for Shamanistic Research|date=January 2009 }}</ref>
In many other cases, shamanism was in decline even at the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, among the [[Romani people|Roma]].<ref name="Hoppal_a">{{cite book |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |title=Sámánok Eurázsiában |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=2005 |isbn=978-963-05-8295-7 |language=hu |page=94}}</ref>
=== Central Eurasia ===
==== Geographic influences on Central Eurasian shamanism ==== Geographical factors heavily influence the character and development of the religion, myths, rituals and epics of Central Eurasia. 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|Central Eurasia]] 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.<ref>Julian Baldick, ''Animal and Shaman: Ancient Religions of Central Asia'' (New York: University Press, 2000), 3–35</ref> As a religion of nature, shamanism throughout Central Eurasia held particular reverence for the relations between sky, earth and water and believed in the mystical importance of trees and mountains. Shamanism in Central Eurasia 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 Eurasian 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.<ref>Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, ''Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia'' (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1990), 113</ref>
==== Shared practices and beliefs ====
Central Eurasian 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.<ref>Nora K. Chadwick, "Shamanism among the Tatars of Central Asia," ''The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 66, (Jan–Jun 1936): 97–99</ref>
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.<ref>Balzer, ''Shamanism'', 12–21</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Andrew Boyle | first=John | year=1972 | title=Turkish and Mongol Shamanism in the Middle Ages | journal=Folklore | volume=83 | issue=3 | pages=183–185 | doi=10.1080/0015587x.1972.9716468| pmid=11614483 }}</ref> 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 ====
The shamanic ceremony is both a religious ceremony and an artistic performance. The dramatic displays are not to draw attention or to create a spectacle, but to lead the tribe in a solemn ritualistic process. 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.<ref>Chadwick, ''Shamanism among the Tatars of Central Asia'': 93–101</ref>
==== Costume and accessories ====
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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRyCAgAAQBAJ&q=Costume+and+accessories+of+central+asian+shamanism&pg=PA43|title=The Archaeology of Shamanism|last=Price|first=Neil|date=2003-12-16|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-52769-4|language=en}}</ref>
The drum or tambourine is the essential means of communicating with spirits and enabling the shaman to reach altered 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.<ref>Chadwick, ''Shamanism among the Tatars of Central Asia'': 85–87</ref>
==== Tsarist and Soviet Russia ==== In Soviet Central Eurasia, 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 Eurasians 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 Eurasia. 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.<ref>Balzer, ''Shamanism'', 42–49</ref>
=== Vietnam === {{Main|Lên đồng}} {{Further|Đạo Mẫu|Thánh Trần worship|Nội Đạo Tràng}} [[File:Don Cuong Temple - P1380855.JPG|thumb|[[Lên đồng]] in Đông Cuông Temple, [[Vietnam]]. There are 12 times the đồng cốt (shaman) change clothing in a session of [[lên đồng]], which means 12 times he/she change the character inside.]] [[File:Vietnamese dancer with candles.jpg|150px|thumb|A đồng cốt is performing [[lên đồng]].]]
In Vietnam, shamans conduct rituals in many of the religious traditions that co-mingle in the majority and minority populations. In their rituals, music, dance, special garments and offerings are part of the performance that surround the spirit journey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/vietnam/07_other/|title=Journeys to Other Worlds: The Rites of Shamans|publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602010747/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/vietnam/07_other/|archive-date=2008-06-02}}</ref>
Shamanism is a part of [[Vietnamese folk religion]], three branches of shamanism are known today as [[Đạo Mẫu]], [[Thánh Trần worship]] and [[Nội Đạo Tràng]] (of which the most famous is Đạo Mẫu). In Vietnam, this ritual practice is called [[lên đồng]] or also known as ''hầu bóng'', or ''hầu đồng'', sessions involve artistic elements such as music, singing, dance and the use of costumes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vietnam: journeys of body, mind, and spirit |author=Ngo Duc Thinh |editor1=Nguyen Van Huy |editor2=Laurel Kendall |chapter=Chapter 13: Len Dong: Spirits' Journeys |isbn=0-520-23871-0 |year=2003 |publisher= University of California Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BrjQ3sqf0foC}}</ref>
[[Chầu văn]], which is a traditional [[folk art]] of northern Vietnam, related to the [[Đạo Mẫu]]. The genre is famous for its use in rituals for deity mediumship. Chầu văn serves two purposes: to help hypnotize the medium for reception of the deities and to accompany the medium's actions with appropriate music.
===India and Nepal=== [[Theyyam]] or "theiyam" in [[Malayalam]] - a south Indian language - is the process by which a Priest invites a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god or goddess to use his or her body as a medium or channel and answer other devotees' questions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/videos/news/news-in-videos/devakoothu-the-lone-woman-theyyam-in-north-malabar-1.3468731|title='Devakoothu'; the lone woman Theyyam in North Malabar|website=Mathrubhumi |date=10 January 2019 }}</ref> The same is called "arulvaakku" or "arulvaak" in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], another south Indian language - [[Adhiparasakthi Siddhar Peetam]] is famous for arulvakku in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBs9DgAAQBAJ|title=Women's Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition |author=Nanette R. Spina |date=28 February 2017 |page=135 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-1375-8909-5}}</ref> The people in [[Coastal Karnataka]] and [[malenadu]] call the same, [[Buta Kola]], "paathri" or "darshin"; in other parts of Karnataka, it is known by various names such as, "prashnaavali", "vaagdaana", "asei", "aashirvachana" and so on.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Brückner|first=Heidrun|year=1987|title=Bhuta Worship in Coastal Karnataka: An Oral Tulu Myth and Festival Ritual of Jumadi|journal=Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik |volume=13/14|pages=17–37}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Brückner|first=Heidrun|year=1992|title=Dhumavati-Bhuta" An Oral Tulu-Text Collected in the 19th Century. Edition, Translation, and Analysis.|journal=Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik |volume=13/14|pages=13–63}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=Fürstliche Fest: Text und Rituale der Tuḷu-Volksreligion an der Westküste Südindiens.|last=Brückner|first=Heidrun|publisher=Harrassowitz|year=1995|location=Wiesbaden|pages=199–201}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book|title=On an Auspicious Day, at Dawn … Studies in Tulu Culture and Oral Literature|last=Brückner|first=Heidrun|publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009a|location=Wiesbaden}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title="Der Gesang von der Büffelgottheit" in Wenn Masken Tanzen – Rituelles Theater und Bronzekunst aus Südindien edited by Johannes Beltz|last=Brückner|first=Heidrun|publisher=Rietberg Museum|year=2009b|location=Zürich|pages=57–64}}</ref>
In [[Uttarakhand]], [[Sudurpashchim Province]] of western Nepal and [[Himachal Pradesh]] a similar Shamanic ritual happens in villages and Hindu temples during the night it is called "[[Jagar (ritual)|Jagar"]] in [[Uttarakhand]] <ref>{{Cite web |last=UK |date=2024-12-09 |title=Jagar: The Multipurpose Folk Song of Uttarakhand |url=https://www.uttarakhandi.com/jagar/ |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Uttarakhandi |language=en-US}}</ref> and "Gur" in [[Himachal Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Reserch Foundation |url=https://socialresearchfoundation.com/new/publish-journal.php?editID=1047 |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=socialresearchfoundation.com}}</ref>
In [[Nepal]] and [[Sikkim]], "dhaamee" or "[[Jhakri]]" are common names used for shamans. They exist in the [[Limbu people|Limbu]], [[Sunuwar]], [[Rai people|Rai]], [[Sherpa people|Sherpa]], [[Kami (caste)|Kami]], [[Tamang people|Tamang]], [[Gurung]], [[Magar people|Magar]] and [[Lepcha people|Lepcha]] communities. They are influenced by [[Hinduism]], [[Tibetan Buddhism]], [[Mun (religion)|Mun]] and [[Bon|Bön]] rites.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kuldip Singh |last=Gulia |year=2005 |title=Human Ecology of Sikkim – A Case Study of Upper Rangit Basin |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |place=Delhi, India |isbn=978-81-7835-325-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4aDVQ1KVZYC |pages=153–154, 168}}</ref>
In English, the closest translation for this position is "[[oracle]]." The [[Dalai Lama]], who lives in exile in [[North India|northern India]], still consults an oracle known as the ''[[Nechung Oracle]]'', which is considered the official state oracle of the government of [[Tibet]]. The Dalai Lama has, according to centuries-old custom, consulted the Nechung Oracle during the new year festivities of [[Losar]].<ref>Gyatso, Tenzin (1988). ''Freedom in Exile: the Autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet.'' Fully revised and updated. Lancaster Place, London, UK: Abacus Books (A Division of Little, Brown and Company UK). {{ISBN|0-349-11111-1}}. p.233</ref>
=== Other Eurasian traditions ===
Shamanism is still widely practiced in the [[Ryukyu Islands]] ([[Okinawa Prefecture|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://texts.00.gs/Miyako_Shamanism.htm|title=Miyako shamanism}}</ref>
Shamanist practices seem to have been preserved in the Catholic religious traditions of aborigines in [[Taiwan]].<ref>O. Lardenois, [http://www.erenlai.com/media/downloads/TheologicalShamanismLardenois.pdf Shamanism and Catholic Indigenous Communities in Taiwan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219163045/http://www.erenlai.com/media/downloads/TheologicalShamanismLardenois.pdf |date=2021-12-19 }}</ref>
=== Western Eurasia === [[File:Sami shamanic drum.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Noaidi|Sami shamanic drum]] in the [[Arktikum Science Museum]], in [[Rovaniemi]], Finland]]Some of the prehistoric peoples who once lived in Siberia and other parts of Central and Eastern Eurasia have dispersed and migrated into other regions, bringing aspects of their cultures with them. For example, many Uralic peoples live now outside Siberia; however, the original location of the [[Proto-Uralic language|Proto-Uralic]] peoples (and its extent) is debated. Combined [[Phytogeography|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]].<ref name=ancloc>Hajdú 1975: 35</ref> Newer studies suggest and origin in [[Northeast Asia|Northeast Eurasia]].<ref>Shi H, Qi X, Zhong H, Peng Y, Zhang X, et al. (2013) Genetic Evidence of an East Asian Origin and Paleolithic Northward Migration of Y-chromosome Haplogroup N. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66102. {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0066102|doi-access=free}}</ref> Proto-Uralic is suggested to be linked to the Chinese [[Liao civilization]].<ref>{{Cite report |last=Napolskikh |first=Vladimir |title=Earth-Diver Myth ( А 812) in northern Eurasia and North America |url=https://www.academia.edu/4918926 |language=en}}</ref> The ancestors of [[Hungarian people]] or Magyars have wandered from their ancestral proto-Uralic area to the [[Pannonian Basin]]. Shamanism has played an important role in Turko-Mongol mythology: [[Tengrism|Tengriism]]—the major ancient belief among [[Xiongnu]], Mongol and [[Turkic peoples]], [[Magyars]] and [[Bulgars]]—incorporates elements of shamanism.<ref>{{Citation| title = Turkish and Mongolian Shamanism| editor-last = Bonnefoy| editor-first = Yves| year = 1993| encyclopedia = Asian Mythologies| publisher = University of Chicago Press| location = Chicago| pages = 329–31| isbn = 978-0-226-06456-7}}</ref> Shamanism is no more a living practice among Hungarians, but remnants have been reserved as fragments of folklore, in folktales, customs.<ref>Diószegi 1998</ref>
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,<ref>[[#Gin83|Ginzburg 1983 [1966]]].</ref> the Hungarian [[Éva Pócs]], who identified them in the ''[[táltos]]'' tradition of Hungary,<ref>[[#Poc99|Pócs 1999]].</ref> and the Frenchman [[Claude Lecouteux]], who has argued that Medieval traditions regarding the soul are based on earlier shamanic ideas.<ref>[[#Lec03|Lecouteux 2003]].</ref> Ginzburg in particular has argued that some of these 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]].<ref>[[#Gin90|Ginzburg 1990]].</ref> Some of these Italian traditions survived into the 20th and early 21st centuries, allowing Italian-American sociologist Sabina Magliocco to make a brief study of them (2009).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/171083 |title=Italian Cunning Craft: Some Preliminary Observations |author=Sabina Magliocco |journal=Journal for the Academic Study of Magic 5 |year=2008}}</ref>
Slavic Shamanism was widely practiced across the Slavic Pagan Tribes of Eastern Europe but the only living type of Shamanism still practiced that is not reconstructed is that of the Molfars of the Hutsul People. There are active attempts to reconstruct the practice and the practice is widely practiced among [[Rodnover]] communities. There are three known shamans in the modern hierarchy of Rodnovery being volkhv, guszlar, and vedmak.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
* {{cite book |last1=Libbrecht |first1=Ulrich |title=Within the Four Seas--: Introduction to Comparative Philosophy |date=2007 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-429-1812-2 }} * {{cite book |last1=Nelson |first1=Sarah M. |last2=Matson |first2=Rachel A. |last3=Roberts |first3=Rachel M. |last4=Rock |first4=Chris |last5=Stencel |first5=Robert E. |year=2006 |title=Archaeoastronomical Evidence for Wuism at the Hongshan Site of Niuheliang |s2cid=6794721 |url=http://portfolio.du.edu/downloadItem/62721 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hong |last2=Hriskos |first2=Constantine |title=Contemporary Chinese Shamanism:The Reinvention of Tradition |journal=Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine |date=June 2003 |volume=27 |issue=2 |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/contemporary-chinese-shamanismthe-reinvention-tradition }}
===Celtic Shamanism=== While specific shamanistic practices have long died out due to the Christianization of the [[Celtic nations]], textual and literary evidence suggests that a kind of shamanism was common in early Celtic societies. ====Wales==== The introduction to [[Gwyneth Lewis]] and [[Rowan Williams]]'s translation of ''[[The Book of Taliesin]]'' suggests that Welsh writers came to see the early medieval poet [[Taliesin]] as a sort of shamanic figure. The poetry ascribed to him in this collection shows how this figure not only channel other mystical entities (such as the [[Awen]]), but that the authors of these poems can channel Taliesin as they both create and perform the poems that they ascribe to Taliesin's persona. [[Shapeshifting]] and journeys to the [[Celtic Otherworld]] are among the common shamanistic practices in these poems. <ref>{{cite book |last=Anonymous |first=trans. Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams |date=2019 |title=The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain |publisher=Penguin Classics |location=London |pages=xxiii and following}}</ref>
== Circumpolar shamanism ==
=== Inuit and Yupik cultures === [[File:Yupik shaman Nushagak.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Yup'ik]] shaman [[Exorcism|exorcising]] evil spirits from a sick boy, [[Nushagak, Alaska]], 1890s<ref>Fienup-Riordan, Ann. 1994: 206</ref>]] {{Main|Shamanism among Eskimo peoples}} [[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.<ref name=Mer-BecHalfHid>Merkur 1985</ref><ref name=Gab-KarEszk>Gabus, Jean: A karibu eszkimók. Gondolat Kiadó, Budapest, 1970. (Hungarian translation of the original: Vie et coutumes des Esquimaux Caribous, Libraire Payot Lausanne, 1944.)</ref>
The term "shamanism" can cover multiple characteristics of ''various'' different cultures.<ref name="cogmap">Hoppál 2005: 15</ref> Mediation is regarded often as an important aspect of shamanism in general.<ref name=med>Hoppál 2005: 45–50</ref> Also in most Eskimo groups, the role of mediator is known well:<ref name=menmed>Menovščikov 1996: 442</ref> the person filling it in is actually believed to be able to contact the beings who populate the belief system. The term "shaman" is used in several English-language publications also in relation to Eskimos.<ref name="Mer-BecHalfHid"/><ref name=KleiSon-Esk>Kleivan & Sonne 1985</ref><ref>Vitebsky 1996</ref><ref>Freuchen 1961: 32</ref> The word ''alignalghi'' ({{IPA|iu|aˈliɣnalʁi|IPA}}) of the Eurasian Eskimos is translated as "shaman" in the Russian<ref>Рубцова 1954: 203, 209</ref> and English<ref name=menmed/> literature.
The belief system assumes specific links between the living people, the souls of hunted animals, and those of dead people.<ref>Both death of a person and successfully hunted game require that cutting, sewing etc. be tabooed, so that the invisible soul does not get hurt accidentally (Kleivan & Sonne, pp. 18–21). In Greenland, the transgression of death tabu could turn the soul of the dead into a ''tupilak'', a restless ghost which scared game away (Kleivan & Sonne 1985, p. 23). Animals fled from hunter in case of taboo breaches, e.g. birth taboo, death taboo (Kleivan & Sonne, pp. 12–13)</ref> The soul concepts of several groups are specific examples of [[soul dualism]] (showing variability in details in the various cultures).
Unlike the majority of shamans the careers of most Eskimo shamans lack the motivation of ''force'': becoming a shaman is usually seen as a result of deliberate consideration, not a necessity forced by the spirits.<ref name="failed-shaman">{{cite book |last=Kleivan |first=Inge |author2=B. Sonne |title=Eskimos: Greenland and Canada |year=1985 |publisher=Institute of Religious Iconography • State University Groningen. E.J. Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |series=Iconography of religions, section VIII, "Arctic Peoples", fascicle 2 |isbn=978-90-04-07160-5 |page=24}}</ref>
=== Diversity === There are similarities in the cultures of the Eskimo groups<ref>Kleivan 1985: 8</ref><ref>Rasmussen 1965: 366 (ch. XXIII)</ref><ref>Rasmussen 1965: 166 (ch. XIII)</ref><ref name=padlgreen>Rasmussen 1965: 110 (ch. VIII)</ref><ref name=Mau-Mor>Mauss 1979</ref> together with diversity, far from homogeneity.<ref>Kleivan 1985: 26</ref>
The Russian linguist Menovshikov (Меновщиков), an expert of [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]] and [[Sirenik Eskimo language|Sireniki Eskimo languages]] (while admitting that he is not a specialist in ethnology)<ref>Menovščikov 1996 [1968]: 433</ref> mentions, that the shamanistic seances of those [[Siberian Yupik]] and [[Sirenik Eskimos|Sireniki]] groups he has seen have many similarities to those of Greenland Inuit groups described by [[Fridtjof Nansen]],<ref>Menovščikov 1996 [1968]: 442</ref> although a large distance separates Siberia and Greenland. There may be certain similarities also in Eurasiatic groups with North American ones.<ref>Vitebsky 1996: 42 (ch. ''North America'')</ref> Also the usage of a specific shaman's language is documented among several Eskimo groups, used mostly for talking to spirits.<ref>Merkur 1985:7</ref><ref>Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 14</ref> Also the Ungazighmiit (belonging to [[Siberian Yupik]]s) had a special [[Allegory|allegoric]] usage of some expressions.<ref>Rubcova 1954: 128</ref>
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 [[Sedna (mythology)|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.<ref>Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 27</ref> 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.<ref>Kleivan & Sonne 1985: 30–31</ref>
== Americas ==
=== North America === {{Main|Medicine man|Native American religion}} {{tone|section|date=February 2022}} [[File:White indian conjuror.jpg|thumb|[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] "conjuror" in a 1590 colonial engraving]] Although many [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] cultures have traditional healers, singers, [[Mysticism|mystics]], lore-keepers and [[Medicine man|medicine people]], none of them ever used, or use, the term "shaman" to describe these religious leaders. Rather, like other [[Indigenous peoples]], their spiritual functionaries are described by words in their own languages.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
Many of these Indigenous religions have been misrepresented by outside observers and anthropologists. Often these accounts suffer from "[[noble savage]]"-type romanticism and racism, meaning that popular understanding of their practices is often inaccurate.<ref>Jones, Peter N. 2008 Shamans and Shamanism: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Term's Use in North America. Boulder, Colorado: Bauu Press.</ref> 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 suppressed in favor of Christianity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beneath the Underdog: Race, Religion, and the Trail of Tears |website=www.us-data.org |url=http://www.us-data.org/us/minges/underdog.html |quote=The missionaries, and especially those of the American Board, established a basic position of neutrality "between two fires" and as the Bible did not explicitly condemn slavery, they accepted "all to our communion who give evidence that they love the Lord Jesus Christ."}}</ref> From the colonial era, up until the passage of the [[American Indian Religious Freedom Act]] in 1978, it was illegal for Indigenous people to practice traditional religion and sacred ceremonies. In most communities, the traditions were not completely eradicated, but rather went underground and were practiced secretly until the prohibitive laws were repealed, or were syncretized with Christianity, retaining some aspects of traditional beliefs and practices and combining them with Christian ones .<ref>{{cite book|title=Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School|page=104|author=Celia Haig-Brown|quote=we were all talking Shuswap. ... She said to us, 'You're never to get caught talking your language ... You'll get whipped;you'll really get punished' ... So we were careful after that not to be caught speaking. ... When we were way out there, we'd talk together in our language.}}</ref> Up until and during the last hundred years, thousands of Native American and First Nations children from different communities were sent into the [[Canadian Indian residential school system]] and [[Indian boarding school]]s in an effort to eradicate tribal languages, cultures and beliefs. This led to further decline in the number of Indigenous people practicing traditional religion and medicine. Canadian laws enacted in 1982, and henceforth, have attempted to reverse previous attempts at extinguishing Native culture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure Developments |url=http://caid.ca/assimilation_policy.html |website=caid.ca}}</ref>
=== Mesoamerica === {{Further|Maya religion}}
====Otomi==== {{Main|Otomi}} In Otomi Culture, the ritual specialist is called Badi.
====Nahua==== {{Main|Nahua}} Among Nahua people, there used to be over 48 Ritual specialists, the most popular are called Graniceros (also Tiemperos, Tlamatini, Teciuhtlazque, Quiacazcli) who are usually stuck by lightning and take the role of asking for rain or taking the hail away from the crops. They also can perform healing.
[[File:Mayan priest performing healing.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Maya priesthood|Maya priest]] performing a healing ritual at [[Tikal]]]]
==== Maya ==== {{Main|Maya priesthood}}
==== Aztec ==== {{Further|Aztec astrology|Aztec religion}}
=== South America === [[File:Body of Maroon child brought before medicine man, 1955.jpg|thumb|upright|Body of Ndyuka [[Maroon (people)|Maroon]] child brought before a [[medicine man]], [[Suriname River]], [[Suriname]], South America]]
* The [[Urarina]] of the [[Peruvian Amazon]] have an elaborate cosmological system predicated on the ritual consumption of [[ayahuasca]], which is a key feature of their society.<ref name="upf.com">{{cite book |url=http://www.upf.com/book.asp?id=DEANXS07 |author=Dean, Bartholomew |date=2004 |title=Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia |location=Gainesville |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-3378-5}}</ref> * [[Santo Daime]] and [[União do Vegetal]] ( abbreviated to [[UDV]]) are syncretic religions with which use an [[entheogen]] called ayahuasca in an attempt to connect with the spirit realm and receive divine guidance.<ref name="Peru">{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html |title=Hell and Back |last=Salak |first=Kira |publisher=National Geographic Adventure }}</ref>
==== Amazonia ==== [[File:Chaman Amazonie 5 06.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A [[Shuara]] shaman in Ecuador [[Amazonian forest]], 2006]] [[File:Urarina shaman B Dean.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Urarina]] shaman, 1988]]
In the Peruvian [[Amazon basin]] and north coastal regions of the country, the healers are known as [[curandero]]s. ''Ayahuasqueros'' are Peruvians who specialize in the use of [[ayahuasca]].<ref name="upf.com"/> ''Ayahuasqueros'' have become popular among Western spiritual seekers, who claim that the ''ayauasqueros'' and their ayahuasca brews have cured them of everything from depression to addiction to cancer.<ref name="Peru" />
In addition to ''curanderos'' use of ayahuasca and their ritualized ingestion of [[mescaline]]-bearing San Pedro cactuses (''[[Echinopsis pachanoi]]'') for the [[divination]] and diagnosis of [[Maleficium (sorcery)|sorcery]], north-coastal shamans are famous throughout the region for their intricately complex and symbolically dense healing altars called mesas (tables).<ref>{{cite thesis|type=PhD|last1=VanWagenen|first1=Bradford Carr|title=The shaman's mesa: a model of individuation|date=20 May 2011|publisher=Pacifica Graduate Institute|quote=Some of these mesas, like those of the [[Q'ero]] shamans, contain a dozen sacred objects; others, typical of the north-coastal shamans of Peru, contain over one hundred objects.}}</ref> [[Douglas Sharon|Sharon]] (1993) has argued that the mesas symbolize the dualistic ideology underpinning the practice and experience of north-coastal shamanism.<ref>Joralemen, D. and [[Douglas Sharon|D. Sharon]] 1993 Sorcery and Shamanism: Curanderos and Clients in Northern Peru. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.</ref> For Sharon, the mesas are the, "physical embodiment of the supernatural opposition between benevolent and malevolent energies" (Dean 1998: 61).<ref>Dean, Bartholomew 1998 "Review of Sorcery and Shamanism: Curanderos and Clients in Northern Peru" American Ethnologist. 25(1): 61–62.</ref>
In several tribes living in the [[Amazon rainforest]], the spiritual leaders also act as managers of scarce ecological resources<ref name=eco>Reichel-Dolmatoff 1997</ref><ref name=ecopia>Boglár 2001: 26</ref><ref name=coop>{{cite web |author=Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff |author-link=Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff |url=http://www.theecologist.info/page9.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041027152526/http://www.theecologist.info/page9.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-10-27 |title=A View from the Headwaters |work=The Ecologist, Vol. 29 No. 4, July 1999}}</ref> The rich symbolism in [[Tukano people|Tukano]] culture has been documented in [[field work]]s<ref name="eco"/><ref name=Hug-FrMilkRiv>Christine Hugh-Jones 1980</ref><ref name=Hug-PalmPlei>Stephen Hugh-Jones 1980</ref> even in the last decades of the 20th century.
The ''yaskomo'' of the [[Wai-Wai people|Waiwai]] is believed to be able to perform a [[soul travel|soul flight]]. The soul flight can serve several functions: * 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 * flying to the cave of ''peccaries' mountains'' to ask the ''father of peccaries'' for abundance of game * flying deep down in a river, to achieve the help of other beings. Thus, a yaskomo is believed to be able to reach sky, earth, and water.<ref name="yaskomo soul flight">Fock 1963: 16</ref>
==== Mapuche ==== Among the [[Mapuche]] people of Chile, a ''[[Machi (shaman)|machi]]'' is usually a woman who 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.
==== Aymara ==== 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]].
Part of the healing power attributed to shamanic practices depends on the use of plant alkaloids taken during the therapeutic sessions.<ref>"Trance and Shamanic Cure on the South American Continent: Psychopharmalogical and Neurobiological Interpretations", ''Anthropology of Consciousness'', Vol. 21, Issue 1, pp. 83-105, {{ISSN|1053-4202}}, 2010)</ref>
==== Fuegians ==== {{IPA notice}} Although [[Fuegians]] (the indigenous peoples of [[Tierra del Fuego]]) were all [[hunter-gatherer]]s,<ref>Gusinde 1966, pp. 6–7</ref> 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.<ref name=Ser-Hun>Service, Elman: The Hunter. Prentice-Hall, 1966.</ref><ref name=ExtAnc>{{cite web |url=http://www.trivia-library.com/c/extinct-ancient-societies-tierra-del-fuegians.htm |title=Extinct Ancient Societies Tierra del Fuegians |website=www.trivia-library.com}}</ref>
Both [[Selkʼnam people|Selkʼnam]] and [[Yaghan people|Yámana]] had persons filling in shaman-like roles. The Selkʼnams believed their {{IPA|/xon/}}s to have supernatural capabilities, e.g. to control weather.<ref>Gusinde 1966: 175</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victory-cruises.com/ona_indian.html |title=Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego, cruising; The Yagan and Ona Indians |website=www.victory-cruises.com |access-date=6 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614050250/http://www.victory-cruises.com/ona_indian.html |archive-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> The figure of {{IPA|/xon/}} appeared in myths, too.<ref>Gusinde 1966: 15</ref> The Yámana {{IPA|/jekamuʃ/}}<ref>Gusinde 1966: 156</ref> corresponds to the Selknam {{IPA|/xon/}}.<ref>Gusinde 1966: 186</ref>
== Oceania == {{See also|Umbarra|Tunggal panaluan}} 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.<ref name=FourCorners_Amazon_entry>{{cite book |title=Amazon.com listing for the "Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea" |isbn = 978-0-7922-7417-9 |last1 = Salak|first1 = Kira |year = 2004}}</ref><ref name=FourCornersWeb>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/FourCorners.html |title=Kira Salak's official webpage on "Four Corners" |website=www.kirasalak.com |last=Salak |first=Kira }}</ref> Shamans also perform [[rainmaking]] ceremonies and can allegedly improve a hunter's ability to catch animals.<ref name=MakingRain>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/MakingRain.html |title=Making Rain – from Four Corners |website=www.kirasalak.com |last=Salak |first=Kira }}</ref>
In Australia various aboriginal groups refer to their shamans as "clever men" and "clever women" also as ''kadji''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022|reason=No source for this term.}} 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 "[[Curse|hex]]" to death one who breaks a social taboo by singing a song only known to the "clever men".{{Citation needed|date=July 2022|reason=No source.}}
== Africa == {{See also|African traditional religion|Traditional healers of South Africa|Witch doctor|Sangoma}} [[File:Sangoma performing a Baptism.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Traditional Healers of South Africa|Sangoma/Inyanga]] performing a traditional baptism on a baby in order to protect the spirit of the baby, Johannesburg, South Africa]]
In [[Mali]], [[Dogon people|Dogon]] sorcerers (both male and female) communicate with a spirit named Amma, who advises them on healing and divination practices.
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."<ref>Eugene L. Mendonsa : ''The Politics of Divination : a Processual View of Reactions to Illness and Deviance among the Sisala''. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1982. p. 112</ref>
The term ''[[sangoma]]'', as employed in [[Zulu people|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]],<ref>David M Cumes "Africa in my bones" p. 14</ref> pollution (contact with impure objects or occurrences), bad spirits, or the ancestors themselves,<ref>Susan Schuster Campbell "Called to Heal" p. 38</ref> either malevolently, or through neglect if they are not respected, or to show an individual her calling to become a sangoma (''thwasa'').<ref>Susan Schuster Campbell "Called to Heal" p. 79</ref> 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.<ref>David M Cumes "Africa in my bones" p. 10</ref>
The term ''[[inyanga]]'' also employed by the [[Nguni people|Nguni]] cultures is equivalent to 'herbalist' as used by the Zulu people and a variation used by the [[Shona people|Karanga]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://texts.00.gs/Karanga_shamanism.htm |title=Karanga mythology [Zimbabwe] |website=texts.00.gs}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Nadel | first1 = S.F. | year = 1941 | title = A Shaman Cult in the Nuba Mountains | journal = Sudan Notes and Records | volume = 24 | issue = 1| pages = 85–112 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Nadel | first1 = S.F. | year = 1946 | title = A Study of Shamanism in the Nuba Mountains | journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute | volume = 76 | issue = 1| pages = 25–37 | doi=10.2307/2844307| jstor = 2844307 }}</ref>
== Neoshamanism == {{Main|Neoshamanism}} There is an endeavor in some contemporary [[occultism|occult]] and [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] circles to reinvent shamanism in a modern form, often drawing from [[core shamanism]] — a set of beliefs and practices synthesized by [[Michael Harner]] — centered on the use of ritual drumming and dance and Harner's interpretations of various indigenous religions. Harner has faced criticism for taking pieces of diverse religions out of their cultural contexts in an attempt to create "universal" shamanistic practices. Some neoshamans focus on the ritual use of [[entheogens]],<ref>{{Citation | last = Hanegraaff | first = Wouter J. | chapter = Entheogenic Esotericism | editor-last1 = Asprem | editor-first1 = Egil | editor-last2 = Granholm | editor-first2 = Kennet | title = Contemporary Esotericism | publisher = Routledge | place = London | date = 2014 | isbn = 978-1-908049-32-2 | quote = ...what is now known as neoshamanism emerged during the 1960s as a movement dominatedby enthusiasm for natural psychoactives...}}</ref> and also embrace the philosophies of [[chaos magic]]{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}} while others (such as Jan Fries)<ref>Visual Magic:A Manual of Freestyle Shamanism:Jan Fries {{ISBN|1-869928-57-1}}</ref> have created their own forms of shamanism.
Eurasian-based neoshamanic traditions are focused upon the researched or imagined traditions of ancient Eurasia, 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 Eurasian traditions—they work within such as ''[[völva]]'' or ''seidkona'' ([[seiðr|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]]. When taking ayahuasca, participants frequently report meeting spirits, and receiving divine revelations.<ref name="Peru" /> Shamanistic techniques have also been used in [[New Age]] therapies which use enactment and association with other realities as an intervention.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ull.es/congresos/conmirel/YORK.html |title=ULL – Universidad de La Laguna: YORK |website=www.ull.es |language=es |access-date=2019-11-29 |archive-date=2012-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120013711/http://www.ull.es/congresos/conmirel/YORK.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nlpuniversitypress.com/html/CaCom08.html |title=Ca-Com |website=nlpuniversitypress.com |access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
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[[Category:Anthropology of religion]] [[Category:Shamanism]] [[Category:Supernatural healing]]