SHAMANISM. – From the Tungus *shaman*, a word perhaps borrowed from the Pali *samana*, shamanism is a magical-religious phenomenon currently observable in its classical form among the peoples of Central and Northern Asia and variously diffused across all continents among peoples of differing cultural levels. Shamanism may be considered a technique that places the practitioner in a state of ecstasy and communion with supernatural powers (generally spirits of the dead, demons, or nature spirits), enabling him to avail himself of their power without, however, becoming their instrument. Only exceptionally are shamans possessed by spirits.
Shamans, by virtue of the intensity of their religious experience, stand out distinctly from the other members of the community to which they belong. The shaman’s power is acquired chiefly in two ways. The first consists in the hereditary transmission of the power itself, which may occur either from father to son (e.g., among some populations of California), from grandfather to grandson (e.g., in Manchuria, where the son who is bound to provide for his father’s needs cannot himself become a shaman), or from uncle to nephew (in matriarchal societies). The second way consists in spontaneous vocation or election by the deity. For example, among the Eastern Ostyaks, shamanism is a gift from heaven received at birth. It may also happen that individuals become shamans spontaneously (e.g., among the Atlantic peoples) or by the father’s will (among the Tungus and other peoples). In this last case, however, the shamans are less powerful. The acquisition of the title of shaman is achieved after a preparatory period during which the novice, under the guidance of one or more elder shamans, learns the mystical techniques and tribal religious traditions. This period generally ends with ceremonies called “initiation of the shaman,” during which the initiate undergoes various trials to demonstrate that he has truly acquired the special powers inherent in his new status. These trials may consist in walking on fire, communicating with spirits, demonstrating that he is under the protection of a guardian spirit, making an ascent to heaven (by means of a rainbow, a rope, a tree, a ladder, or simply by flying), making a journey to the afterlife, and so forth. During the preparatory period, the novice also learns, for the most part, a secret language that he must use in sessions to communicate with the supernatural beings he evokes (e.g., among the Eskimos, the peoples of ancient and subarctic Asia, the Semang, the Mentawai, the Caribs, the Salish, etc.).
The powers of the shaman are varied. He is a healer (often designated by the term “medicine man”), but his activity pertains above all to the soul. He diagnoses and cures the soul of the patient when it attempts to escape from the body; he finds it and restores it to its owner. In his role as conductor of souls, the shaman also has the function of guiding the dead to the underworld. The deceased whom he guides are usually those who do not wish to leave this world.
Shamanic healing may also consist in expelling the “evil” spirit that has intruded into the sick person—an act that he often performs with the aid of auxiliary spirits, threats, noises, and so forth. The struggle against evil spirits is often dangerous and exhausting for the shaman. For example, among the Eskimos, the cause of misfortunes is frequently held to be the violation of some taboo that angers the Mother of Marine Mammals; the shaman then makes a journey into the depths of the sea to placate the irate deity. Sometimes it is believed that the cause of the illness is the introduction into the victim’s body, by a shaman or spirits, of malevolent objects; it is the task of the healing shaman to extract the object. The most common method of extraction is by suction. However, not always in his role as healer does the shaman resort to magical powers: he also knows and uses the medicinal virtues of plants and animals, practices massage, and so on.
It is also the shaman’s duty to safeguard the community from collective as well as individual evils and dangers: to discover, that is, the mystical causes of epidemics, famines, and so forth; to indicate remedies to heal them and ways to avoid them. In the community’s interest, the shaman also exercises other powers, such as stopping storms (Eskimos), bringing about or ending rains (Northern America).
By virtue of the power of clairvoyance—which is part of their mystical techniques—shamans can search for lost men, animals, and objects, identify thieves and wrongdoers, and finally become guides of their people, prophets, like Wovoka, and founders of religious and political anti-Western movements in North America. Among the extraordinary powers of the shaman are also remembered levitation, mastery of fire (in addition to walking on burning coals, as mentioned, putting burning coals in the mouth, touching red-hot irons, etc.), and allowing any part of the body to be pierced by edged weapons or bullets without suffering injury, and so forth.