101 - What is a Shaman, anyway?

Ravenari · **Joined:** Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:11 am **Posts:** 3125

Shamanism – what is it, anyway?

One of the questions I get asked frequently, is also one of the questions that is quite challenging to answer. It is, ‘what is a shaman?’ This is a question that anthropologists, linguists and shamanists themselves have struggled to answer in a complete way for a long time. There is still no agreed upon answer today! This is because the term ‘shaman’ has to encompass so much, in hundreds of different cultures.

The term ‘shaman’ originated as an Indigenous term that comes from the Tungus people in Siberia. In its original form, the term ‘saman’ can translate as ‘to know,’ ‘one who knows,’ or ‘one who is moved/raised.’ It indicated the wise and adept spiritual leaders, healers and custodians of cultural lore in Tungus society.

Anthropologists who studied the Tungus, and many other Indigenous societies throughout the world, came to use the term ‘shaman’ and the term ‘shamanism’ to indicate those Indigenous people who were spiritually connected, significant within their community, in close communion with the spirits and the land and possessed of powers of healing or cursing. The term ‘shamanic culture’ sprang up to describe almost any Indigenous culture that had spiritualities that had shamans, or spiritual leaders that weren’t priests, or chieftains. They were found worldwide, and had different names to describe these people in each culture. Not only that, but sometimes there were different types of shaman per culture; ones who focused more on art and creation, others on cursing or death (like the Kanaima of Guyana), others on healing and family matters, and so on.

The term shaman and shamanism was then appropriated by contemporary pagan communities. Things got confusing, as the term ‘shaman’ became a catchall term for people who were simply interested in animal totems, or who knew how to beat a drum around a fire. This usage, or misusage, offended many in Indigenous communities, and those who understood that the shaman, and the practice of shamanism, was a series of highly differing spiritual practices conducted with responsibility, humility and spiritual connection.

So what is a shaman? Well, I believe today the shaman is not as common as people think, many who claim to be a shaman, even if they are using shamanic techniques, are probably not ‘Shaman’ as they are understood to be in Indigenous communities, and even as they are understood in many contemporary shamanic communities.

A shaman is a spiritually capable and experienced person who practices a family of traditions that may differ in some aspects from culture to culture but also have some commonalities.

The commonalities are:

1. The ability to interact directly with the spirits and go to the ‘otherworlds’, ‘dreamtime’ or the lands where the spirits live, through the act of trance.
2. It includes the ability to interface with these spirits on behalf of the self, and often a community of people.
3. The ability to heal soul injury or create great soul injury (and therefore physical and emotional injuries) with the help of these spirits.

Those who practice shamanism sometimes experience painful initiations, depending on the culture; but this isn’t a requirement to walk the path of shamanism. ‘Shaman’ (or an equivalent term in Indigenous dialects) is also a status title in some cultures, and given to the Shaman on behalf of the community who recognises them.

Because ‘shaman’ is a complex term, it includes other things too, depending on the culture. For example, in contemporary shamanism, acts of drumming, working with animal totems, and even working in sweat-lodges (a controversial act, when one explores Indigenous reactions to this) are considered important parts of shamanism. And yet if you go to an Indigenous shamanic culture that doesn’t work with animal totems, the drum, or sweat-lodges; you can immediately see that these things aren’t a required part of shamanism.

So, what am I then? I don’t know if I’m a shaman, but I do know I’m a shamanist. Someone who practices shamanic techniques because I feel it is the right thing for me to be doing, both for myself, and for the spirits who choose to walk alongside me. I have been practicing as a shamanist for just under 10 years now, and still have so much to learn. I find my path very fulfilling and rewarding. I’m hoping that as these articles progress I can share with you some of the truths, knowledges, and joy that I have learnt upon this path.

References:

Hutton, R. (2001). Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination. London, Hambledon and London.
Wallis, R. (2003). Shamans/Neo-Shamans: ecstasy, alternative archaeologies and contemporary Pagans. New York, Routledge.
Walsh, R. (2007). The World of Shamanism: New Views of an Ancient Tradition. Minnesota, Llewellyn.
Whitehead, N. (2002). Dark Shamans: Kanaima and the Poetics of Violent Death. London, Duke University Press.

101 - What is a Shaman, anyway?

101 - What is a Shaman, anyway?

101 - What is a Shaman, anyway?

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