Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner, known as a shaman, who acts as an intermediary between the human world and the spirit world. The word “shaman” comes from the Tungus tribe in Siberia and means “one who knows.”
Shamans believe they can interact with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, usually induced by repetitive drumming or the ingestion of psychotropic plants. During these trance states, the shaman’s spirit is said to leave the body and enter the supernatural realm to gain knowledge, power and to help others.
Shamans are believed to have the ability to heal the sick, guide the dead to the afterlife, divine the future, control the weather and interact with spirits. They often wear ritual costumes and perform ceremonies to incite trance states. Shamanism is an ancient practice found in cultures all over the world. Some characteristics and beliefs found in shamanism include:
Interaction with Spirit World
Central to shamanism is the belief that the visible world is pervaded by invisible spirits, ancestors, gods, demons, animals or plant spirits. The shaman can access and interact with the spirit world for good, evil or neutral purposes. He or she acts as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural realms.
Spirit Flight
During ceremonial rituals or trance states, shamans are said to enter mystical realms. Their spirit leaves their body and is transported to the spirit world. This is known as “spirit flight” and they may fly up to celestial realms or down into the underworld. Their spirit can shapeshift into animals or interact with spirits.
Healing & Divination
One of the main roles of the shaman is to heal members of their community. They enter mystical states to identify the source of illness, remove evil spirits or retrieve lost souls. Shamans also divine future events through visions or communicating with spirits. They provide guidance for hunting, warfare and other matters of importance.
Altered States of Consciousness
Shamans use trance-inducing techniques to achieve altered states of consciousness and interact with the spirit world. Methods include meditation, fasting, sleep deprivation, psychoactive plant medicines like peyote or ayahuasca, drumming, dancing, chanting, sensory deprivation or overstimulation. This allows their soul to commune with spirits.
Spirit Guides & Power Animals
Shamans call upon and work closely with their spirit guides and power animals. These are benevolent spirits who assist the shaman with accessing mystical realms, contacting ancestor spirits, carrying messages or providing protection on spiritual journeys. Power animals are entities that provide the shaman with wisdom and power.
Death & Rebirth Process
In some cultures, initiates undergo a symbolic death and rebirth process to become a shaman. They experience a supernatural crisis, such as a life-threatening illness or psychological disorder, representing the death of their old self. After overcoming this, they are symbolically reborn as a shaman with new knowledge and powers.
Ceremonies & Rituals
Shamans conduct elaborate ceremonies, rituals and dances to invoke spirits. These often involve drumming, chanting, singing, dancing, costuming, purification, offerings, reaching an ecstatic trance state and sacramental ingestion of sacred plants. Rituals serve community needs of healing, divination and contacting spirits.
Magic & Sorcery
In some cultures, shamans not only heal but also practice sorcery and magic, usually “black” magic used to harm others. Though sorcery is often part of shamanism, it is not an essential element of shamanic beliefs or practices. Good shamans provide community guidance, while evil sorcerers may be feared for malicious magic.
Ecstatic Experiences
Shamanism often relies on ecstatic personal religious experiences. Shamans experience high levels of excitability and arousal to enter trance states. Their mystical revelations are highly personal and subjective experiences, not part of an organized religion. Visions may be induced naturally or with psychedelics.
Animism & Ancestor Worship
Shamanism is deeply intertwined with animism, the oldest spiritual worldview on Earth. Animists believe that all things possess a spirit – animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, stars, the moon. Shamans build relationships with these spiritual beings. Ancestor worship is also key; shamans communicate with deceased ancestors who offer guidance from beyond the grave.
Shamanic Sickness & Initiation
In some cultures, a shamanic candidate undergoes an initiatory illness, also called shamanic sickness. This may manifest as psychosis, seizures, coma or other debilitating symptoms. It represents the death of the old self and a spiritual rebirth as a shaman. The initiate gains knowledge from spirits to overcome their malady and graduate as a healer.
Liminality
Shamans are liminal figures who exist on the threshold between worlds. They live partially in the supernatural domain and act as intermediaries between natural and spiritual realms. Shamans traverse the axis mundi, or World Tree, which connects the upper, lower and middle worlds. Their liminal nature affords them magical abilities.
Ecological Knowledge
Shamans’ intricate knowledge of plants, animals, the weather, mountains, rivers and forests is key. Their wisdom comes from prolonged time in nature. They understand ecosystem flows and cycles and can gather sustenance from the wilderness. Shamans help their community live in harmony with nature.
Reverence for Nature
Shamanic cultures have reverence for the land, animals and plants. The natural world is sacred. By honoring nature spirits through offerings, prayers or song, shamans maintain the balance between the material and spiritual realms. Their intercession prevents calamities.
Psychopomps
Shamans often act as psychopomps – guides who lead the dead to the afterlife. They assist the dying to detach from this world and help their souls safely transition and not get lost. Shamans ensure the dead arrive at their proper final destination, whether it is ascending to heaven, reincarnation or a shadowy underworld.
Soul Retrieval
Shamans perform soul retrieval, also called soul catching. This ritual restores lost soul essence that has fled due to trauma or illness. Soul loss is believed to produce illness, adversity and generalized unluckiness. Shamans journey to supernatural realms to locate and restore missing soul-parts and recover vitality.
Communal Visionaries
Shamans provide visionary guidance, cohesion and balance for the community. They ensure that relationships with spirits, ancestors and environment are harmonious. Their wisdom advises all aspects of communal living, from hunting to fertility to farming practices. Shamans help align human communities with ecological and spiritual forces.
Hierarchy & Roles
There is often a hierarchy in shamanism, with different levels denoting the shaman’s power and mastery. An initiate begins as an apprentice, then becomes a fully fledged shaman, and the most powerful become revered elders. Different shamans may take on specific roles like healer, psychopomp, sorcerer, trance dancer, ritual officiant, teacher or oracle.
Worldwide Distribution
Shamanic practices have been documented the world over, from Siberia to the Amazon, Indonesia to northern Europe. Shamanism survives primarily among indigenous or rural populations. Urban shamans sometimes adapt traditional beliefs to modern culture. According to some estimates, there are up to 500 million practitioners of shamanism worldwide.
Persecution & Oppression
In many regions of the world, indigenous shamans were persecuted and oppressed. Christian missionaries, industrialists and colonial governments exterminated and oppressed shamanic cultures. The onslaught of modernization and westernization has pushed traditional shamanism toward extinction. Its knowledge systems are endangered.
Revival & Renewal
In recent decades, there has been a renewed interest in shamanism and its ritual practices. Westerners have adapted indigenous shamanic traditions from cultures around the world into new practices like soul retrieval, vision quests, energy healing, drum circles, sweat lodges, pilgrimages and more. The New Age movement has appropriated shamanism.
Continuing Traditions
While shamanism has declined sharply, it continues today in small pockets, especially in Latin America, Indonesia, Mongolia, Siberia and parts of Africa. Traditions like the healing Icaros songs of Peruvian vegetalista shamans and the Sundance ceremony of the Plains Indians survive. Indigenous communities still depend on shamans as spiritual leaders.
In summary, shamanism is humanity’s oldest spiritual tradition, predating organized religion. It is centered on the shaman as mystic, healer, diviner and conduit between worlds. Through altered states, the shaman communes with nature spirits, deities, and ancestors for the benefit of individuals and communities. Although endangered and transformed, shamanism persists around the globe, retaining an aura of fascination and mystery.
