Shamanism
The Modern English word shamanism derives from the Russian word shamán, which itself comes from a Tungusic language. This root likely originates from the southwestern dialect of the Evenki spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples or perhaps from the Manchu language. Some scholars connect this to the Tungus root meaning "to know". Finnish ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen questions this connection on linguistic grounds. He notes that the assumed derivational relationship is phonologically irregular regarding vowel quantities.
Mircea Eliade noted that the Sanskrit word sramana designating a wandering monastic figure has spread to many Central Asian languages along with Buddhism. The word appears in Gandhari as śrama, in Tocharian A as śrāma, and in Chinese as 薩滿。The term was adopted by Russians interacting with indigenous peoples in Siberia. It appears in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum written before 1676 and first printed in 1861.
Dutch statesman Nicolaes Witsen brought the concept to Western Europe twenty years later. His book Noord en Oost Tataryen published in 1692 reported his stay among Tungusic- and Samoyedic-speaking Indigenous peoples. Adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck, introduced the word shaman to English speakers in 1698 through a translation of his account of a Russian embassy to China.
Anthropologist Silvia Tomášková argued that by the mid-1600s many Europeans applied the Arabic term shaitan meaning "devil" to non-Christian practices beyond the Ural Mountains. She suggests shaman may have entered various Tungus dialects as a corruption of this term. Christian missionaries, explorers, soldiers and colonial administrators then heard the word during centuries of increasing contact.
There is no single agreed-upon definition for the word shamanism among anthropologists. Anthropologist Manvir Singh argues that the most justifiable definition includes three basic features: entering non-ordinary states, engaging with unseen realities, and providing services like healing and divination. The English historian Ronald Hutton noted that by the dawn of the 21st century four separate definitions appeared to be in use.
One definition refers to anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness. Another describes those who do so at the behest of others. A third attempt distinguishes shamans from other magico-religious specialists such as mediums or witch doctors by suggesting they undertake some particular technique not used by others. Scholars advocating this view have failed to agree on what the defining technique should be.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a shaman as someone regarded as having access to and influence in the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits. They typically enter into a trance state during a ritual and practice divination and healing. The word probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. Juha Janhunen stated the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms such as Negidal, Lamut, Udehe/Orochi, Nanai, Ilcha, Orok, Manchu and Ulcha.
Anthropologist Alice Kehoe criticizes the term shaman in her book Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking. Part of this criticism involves the notion of cultural appropriation including New Age and modern Western forms that misrepresent Indigenous practices. Billy-Ray Belcourt argues that using language with the intention of simplifying diverse culture works to conceal social and political violence experienced by settlers.
Some scholars suggest shamanic practices may originate as early as the Paleolithic predating all organized religions. The earliest burial interpreted by some researchers as that of a shaman dates back to the early Upper Paleolithic era around 30,000 BP in what is now the Czech Republic. In November 2008 researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 12,000-year-old site in Israel perceived as one of the earliest-known shaman burials.
The elderly woman had been arranged on her side with legs apart and folded inward at the knee. Ten large stones were placed on her head pelvis and arms. Among her unusual grave goods were 50 complete tortoise shells a human foot and certain body parts from animals such as a cow tail and eagle wings. Other animal remains came from a boar leopard and two martens.
Michael Witzel proposed an influential but debated theory suggesting all world mythologies and shaman concepts can be traced to migrations of two prehistoric populations. These include the Gondwana type circa 65,000 years ago and the Laurasian type circa 40,000 years ago. The grave was one of at least 28 graves at the site located in a cave in lower Galilee belonging to the Natufian culture.
Anthropologist Michael Winkelman proposed the neurotheological theory explaining how shamanism develops reliably in human societies. According to Winkelman trance states induced by dancing hallucinogens and other triggers have an integrative effect on cognition. This allows communication among mental systems specializing in theory of mind social intelligence and natural history. With this cognitive integration the shaman can better predict animal movement resolve group conflicts plan migrations and provide useful services.
The neurotheological theory contrasts with the by-product or subjective model developed by anthropologist Manvir Singh. According to Singh shamanism is a cultural technology that adapts to psychological biases to convince us that a specialist can influence important but uncontrollable outcomes. Humans search for ways of influencing uncertain events such as healing illness controlling rain or attracting animals. As specialists compete to help their clients control these outcomes they drive the evolution of psychologically compelling magic producing traditions adapted to people's cognitive biases.
Influential cognitive scientists such as Pascal Boyer and Nicholas Humphrey have endorsed Singh's approach although other researchers criticized his dismissal of individual- and group-level benefits. Shamanism represents the culmination of this cultural evolutionary process, a psychologically appealing method for controlling uncertainty. Practitioners use trance and dramatic initiations to seemingly become entities distinct from normal humans thus more capable of interacting with invisible forces.
Shamans traverse the axis mundi and enter the spirit world by effecting a transition of consciousness into an ecstatic trance. Methods employed are diverse often used together including autohypnosis entheogens or ritual performances. The drum is used by shamans of several peoples in Siberia. The beating allows the shaman to achieve an altered state of consciousness or travel between physical and spiritual worlds. Shaman drums generally consist of animal-skin stretched over a bent wooden hoop with a handle across the hoop.
In the Peruvian Amazon Basin shamans and curanderos use medicine songs called icaros to evoke spirits. Before a spirit can be summoned it must teach the shaman its song. Among the Inuit the angakkuq fetches souls of game from remote places or soul travels to ask for game from mythological beings like the Sea Woman. The Piaroa people maintain ecological concerns related to shamanism through sophisticated systems for environmental resources management.
Among the Tucano people a system exists for avoiding resource depletion through overhunting conceptualized mythologically as causing illness if restrictions are broken. In many Inuit groups they provide services for the community and receive due payment believed given to helping spirits. These goods serve only as welcome addenda since shamans live like any other member of the group as hunter or housewife.
Traditional Indigenous shamanism is believed to be declining around the world. Whalers who frequently interacted with Inuit groups represent one source of this decline in that region. In many areas former shamans ceased fulfilling functions as they felt mocked by their own community or regarded their past as deprecated. Vine DeLoria noted Whites would call them derogatory jugglers asserting they were fakers even when unable to comprehend how work could possibly have been faked.
In most affected areas shamanic practices ceased to exist with authentic shamans dying and personal experiences dying with them. The isolated location of Nganasan people allowed shamanism to remain a living phenomenon until the beginning of the 20th century. Last notable Nganasan shaman ceremonies were recorded on film in the 1970s. Variants among Inuit were once widespread but today rarely practiced as Sagloq the last angakkuq died at the end of the 19th century.
Revitalizations and tradition-preserving efforts respond to general decline. Authentic former shamans lead these movements among Sakha people and Tuvans. Native Americans in the United States do not call traditional spiritual ways shamanism yet are regularly overwhelmed by inquiries about fraudulent plastic medicine people. Richard L. Allen research analyst for Cherokee Nation states anyone claiming to be a Cherokee shaman is equivalent to a modern day snake-oil vendor.
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Common questions
What is the origin of the word shamanism?
The Modern English word shamanism derives from the Russian word shamán, which itself comes from a Tungusic language. This root likely originates from the southwestern dialect of the Evenki spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples or perhaps from the Manchu language.
When did the term shaman enter Western Europe and English usage?
Dutch statesman Nicolaes Witsen brought the concept to Western Europe twenty years after 1672 in his book Noord en Oost Tataryen published in 1692. Adam Brand introduced the word shaman to English speakers in 1698 through a translation of his account of a Russian embassy to China.
Who are some scholars who have defined the meaning of shamanism?
Anthropologist Manvir Singh argues that the most justifiable definition includes three basic features: entering non-ordinary states, engaging with unseen realities, and providing services like healing and divination. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a shaman as someone regarded as having access to and influence in the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits.
Where was one of the earliest known shaman burials discovered?
In November 2008 researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 12,000-year-old site in Israel perceived as one of the earliest-known shaman burials. This grave contained an elderly woman arranged on her side with legs apart and folded inward at the knee surrounded by stones and animal remains.
How do shamans enter altered states of consciousness according to neurotheological theory?
According to Michael Winkelman trance states induced by dancing hallucinogens and other triggers have an integrative effect on cognition. Methods employed include autohypnosis entheogens or ritual performances such as using a drum made of animal-skin stretched over a bent wooden hoop with a handle across the hoop.