SHAMANISM. - From the Tungusic shaman, a word perhaps imported from the Pali "samana," shamanism is a magico-religious phenomenon, currently observable, in its classical form, among the populations of central and northern Asia, and variously diffused across all continents, among peoples of different cultural levels. Shamanism may be considered a technique which places the one who practices it in a state of ecstasy and communion with supernatural powers (generally spirits of the dead, demons, spirits of nature), so that he may avail himself of their own power, without, however, becoming their instrument. Only exceptionally are shamans possessed by spirits.
Shamans, by the intensity of their religious experience, are clearly distinguished from the individuals of the community to which they belong. The power of shaman is acquired principally in two ways. The first consists in the hereditary transmission of that power itself, which may occur either from father to son (e.g., among certain populations of California), or from grandfather to grandson (e.g., in Manchuria, where the son, whose duty it is to provide for the needs of the father, cannot himself become a shaman), or from uncle to nephew (in matriarchal societies). The second consists in spontaneous vocation or in election by the divinity. For example, among the eastern Ostyaks, shamanism is a gift of heaven that one receives at birth. It may also happen that individuals from 1927. He was a doctor honoris causa of the Universities of Paris, Strasbourg, Prague, Turin and Cairo.
His genius allowed him to engage in the most diverse fields. A jurist, he was a distinguished master in the historical disciplines as in current law, participated in codification works in Italy and abroad, founded and directed the Bullettino dell'Istituto di diritto romano dell'Università di become shamans spontaneously (e.g., among the Altaic peoples), or by the will of the father (among the Tungus and other peoples). In this last case, however, the shamans are less powerful. The acquisition of the title of shaman is obtained after a preparatory period during which the novice, under the guidance of one or more elder shamans, learns the mystical techniques and the tribal religious traditions. This period generally ends with ceremonies called "initiation of the shaman," during which the initiate is subjected to various tests to demonstrate that he has really acquired the particular powers inherent in his new position. Such tests may consist in walking on fire, entering into communication with the spirits, demonstrating that he is under the protection of a guardian spirit, performing an ascension to heaven (through the rainbow, by means of a rope, a tree, a ladder or, simply, in flight), performing a journey into the beyond, etc. During the preparatory period the novice also learns, for the most part, a secret language which he must use in the séances to communicate with the supernatural beings he evokes (e.g., among the Eskimos, the populations of arctic and subarctic Asia, the Semang, the Mentawei, the Caribs, the Salish, etc.).
The powers of the shaman are various. He is a healer (he is often found designated by the term medicine man), but his activity refers above all to the soul. He diagnoses and treats the soul of the patient when it attempts to flee from the body; he tracks it down and leads it back to its owner. In the capacity of conductor of souls the shaman also has the function of accompanying the dead to the underworld. The deceased whom he guides are, as a rule, those who do not wish to leave this world.
The shamanistic cure may also consist in expelling the "evil" spirit that has intruded into the sick person: an act which he performs, often, with the help of auxiliary spirits, with threats, noises, etc. The struggle against evil spirits is often dangerous and tires the shaman. For example, among the Eskimos, the cause of misfortunes is frequently held to be the infringement of some taboo, which irritates the Mother of the sea mammals: the shaman then performs a journey into the depths of the sea to placate that divinity. At times it is believed that the cause of the illness is the introduction into the body of the victim, by a shaman or by spirits, of harmful objects: the task of the healing shaman is to extract the object. The most common system of extraction is that by suction. Not always, however, in his function as healer does the shaman resort to magical powers: he also knows and uses the medicinal virtues of plants and animals, practices massages, etc.
The shaman also has the duty of safeguarding the community from collective as well as individual evils and dangers: that is, of discovering the mystical causes of epidemics, famines, etc.; of indicating the remedies to cure them, the way to avoid them. In favor of the community the shaman also exercises other powers, such as that of stopping the storm (Eskimos), of causing or ending the rains (North America).
By virtue of the power of clairvoyance - which is part of their mystical techniques - shamans can search for lost men, animals and objects, point out thieves and malefactors, and finally become guides of their people, prophets, like Wovoka and those who made themselves initiators of anti-Western religious and political movements in North America. Among the extraordinary powers of the shaman are also remembered levitation, mastery of fire (besides walking on burning coals, as mentioned, putting burning coal in the mouth, touching red-hot irons, etc.), having any part of the body pierced by cutting weapons or projectiles from firearms, without suffering injury, etc.
Bibliography5 works
933-55; 23 (1928), pp. 538-60, 567-86; W. Z. Park, Shamanism in Western North America. A study of cultural relationship, North Western University, Evanston-Chicago 1938; A. Ohlmakers, Studien zum Problem des Schamanismus, Lund-Copenhagen 1939; K. N. Chadwick, Poetry and Prophecy, Cambridge 1942; A. Metraux, Le shamanisme chez les indiens de l'Amérique du Sud tropicale, in Acta Americana, 2 (1944), pp. 197-219, 320-41; S. F. Nadel, A study of shamanism in the Nuba Mountains, in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 76 (1946), pp. 25-37; E. De Martino, Il mondo magico, prolegamenti ad una storia del magismo, Turin 1947; M. Bouteiller, Don shamanistique et adaptation à la vie chez les indiens de l'Amérique du Nord, in Journal de la Soc. des Américanistes, new series, 39 (1950), pp. 1-14; id., Chamanisme et guérison magique, Paris 1950, p. 377; E. Mirces, Le shamanisme et les techniques archaïques de l'extase, Paris 1951, pp. 1-447.
Tullio Tentori