Prehistoric medicine is any use of medicine from before the invention of writing and the documented history of medicine. Because the timing of the invention of writing varies per culture and region, the term "prehistoric medicine" encompasses a wide range of time periods and dates.
Different diseases and ailments were more common in prehistory than today; there is evidence that many people suffered from osteoarthritis, probably caused by the lifting of heavy objects which would have been a daily and necessary task in their societies.[citation needed] For example, the transport of latte stones,
though this practice only started during the neolithic era which
involved hyper extension and torque of the lower back, while dragging
the stones, may have contributed to the development of micro fractures
in the spine and subsequent spondylolysis.
Things such as cuts, bruises, and breakages of bone, without
antiseptics, proper facilities, or knowledge of germs, would become very
serious if infected, as they did not have sufficient ways to treat
infection.[3][unreliable source?]
There is also evidence of rickets, bone deformity and bone wastage (Osteomalacia),[4] which is caused by a lack of Vitamin D.
The life expectancy in prehistoric times was low, 25–40 years,[5]
with men living longer than women; archaeological evidence of women and
babies found together suggests that many women would have died in
childbirth, perhaps accounting for the lower life expectancy in women
than men. Another possible explanation for the shorter life spans of
prehistoric humans may be malnutrition; also, men as hunters may have
sometimes received better food than the woman, who would consequently
have been less resistant to disease.[6]
Treatments for disease
Plant materials
Herbs such as rosemary may have been used for medicinal purposes by prehistoric peoples.[which?][7]
Plant materials (herbs and substances derived from natural sources)[10] were among the treatments for diseases in prehistoric cultures.[which?]
Since plant materials quickly rot under most conditions, historians are
unlikely to fully understand which species were used in prehistoric
medicine. A speculative view can be obtained by researching the climate
of the respective society and then checking which species continue to
grow in similar conditions today[11] and through anthropological studies of existing indigenous peoples.[12][13]
Unlike the ancient civilisations which could source plant materials
internationally, prehistoric societies would have been restricted to
localised areas, though nomadic tribes may have had a greater variety of plant materials at their disposal than more stationary societies.
The effects of different plant materials could have been found through trial and error. Gathering and dispensing of plant materials was in most cultures handled by women, who cared for the health of their family.[15] Plant materials were an important cure for diseases throughout history.[16] This fund of knowledge would have been passed down orally through the generations.
The birch polypore
fungus, commonly found in alpine environments, may have been used as a
laxative by prehistoric peoples living in Northern Europe, since it is
known to bring on short bouts of diarrhoea when ingested, and was found
among the possessions of a mummified man.[17]
The use of earth and clays
Earths and clays may have provided prehistoric peoples with some of their first medicines. This is related to geophagy,
which is extremely widespread among animals in the wild as well as
among domesticated animals. In particular, geophagy is widespread among
contemporary non-human primates.[18] Also, early humans could have learned about the use of various healing clays
by observing animal behaviour. Such clay is used both internally and
externally, such as for treating wounds, and after surgery (see below).[citation needed]
Geophagy, and the external use of clay are both still quite widespread
among aboriginal peoples around the world, as well as among
pre-industrial populations.
Surgery
Trepanning (sometimes Trephining) was a basic surgical operation carried out in prehistoric societies across the world,[19][20] although evidence shows a concentration of the practice in Peru.[16][19][21] Several theories question the reasoning behind trepanning; it could have been used to cure certain conditions such as headaches and epilepsy.[22][23].
There is evidence discovered of bone tissue surrounding the surgical
hole partially grown back, so therefore survival of the procedure did
occur at least on occasion.[16]
Many prehistoric peoples,[which?] where applicable (geographically and technologically), were able to set broken or fractured
bones using clay materials. An injured area was covered in clay, which
then set hard so that the bone could heal properly without interference.[1] Also, primarily in the Americas,
the pincers of certain ant species were used to close up wounds from
infection; the ant was held above the wound until it bit, where its head
would be removed allowing the pincers to remain and hold closed the
wound.[24]
Medicine men
(also witch-doctors, shamans) maintained the health of their tribe by
gathering and distributing herbs, performing minor surgical procedures,[26] providing medical advice, and supernatural treatments such as charms, spells, and amulets to ward off evil spirits.[27] In Apache
society, as would likely have been the case in many others, the
medicine men initiate a ceremony over the patient, which is attended by
family and friends. It consists of magic formulas, prayers, and
drumming. The medicine man then, from patients' recalling of their past
and possible offenses against their religion or tribal rules, reveals
the nature of the disease and how to treat it.
They were believed by the tribe to be able to contact spirits or
gods and use their supernatural powers to cure the patient, and, in the
process, remove evil spirits. If neither this method nor trepanning
worked, the spirit was considered too powerful to be driven out of the
person.[citation needed]
Medicine men would likely have been central figures in the tribal
system, because of their medical knowledge and because they could
seemingly contact the gods. Their religious and medical training were,
necessarily, passed down orally.[28]
Dentistry
Archaeologists in Mehrgarh in Balochistan province in the present day Pakistan discovered that the people of Indus Valley Civilization from the early Harappan periods (c. 3300 BC) had knowledge of medicine and dentistry. The physical anthropologist who carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri,
made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men.
Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been
drilled dating to 7,000 B.C.E.[29]
The problem of evidence
There
is no written evidence which can be used for investigation into the
prehistoric period of history by definition. Historians must use other
sources such as human remains
and anthropological studies of societies living under similar
conditions. A variety of problems arise when the aforementioned sources
are used.
Human remains from this period are rare and many have undoubtedly been destroyed by burial rituals or made useless by damage.[30][31] The most informative archaeological evidence are mummies, remains which have been preserved by either freezing or in peat bogs;[32][33] no evidence exists to suggest that prehistoric people mummified the dead for religious reasons, as Ancient Egyptians
did. These bodies can provide scientists with subjects' (at the time of
death): weight, illnesses, height, diet, age, and bone conditions,[34] which grant vital indications of how developed prehistoric medicine was.
Not technically classed as 'written evidence', prehistoric people
left many kinds of paintings, using paints made of minerals such as
lime, clay and charcoal, and brushes made from feathers, animal fur, or
twigs on the walls caves. Although many of these paintings are thought
to have a spiritual or religious purpose,[35]
there have been some, such as a man with antlers (thought to be a
medicine man), which have revealed some part of prehistoric medicine.
Many cave paintings of human hands have shown missing fingers (none have
been shown without thumbs), which suggests that these were cut off for
sacrificial or practical purposes, as is the case among the Pygmies and Khoikhoi.[36]
The writings of certain cultures (such as the Romans) can be used
as evidence in discovering how their contemporary prehistoric cultures
practiced medicine. People who live a similar nomadic existence today
have been used as a source of evidence too, but obviously there are
distinct differences in the environments in which nomadic people lived;
prehistoric people who once lived in Britain for example, cannot be effectively compared to aboriginal peoples in Australia, because of the geographical differences.
In
the future, everyone’s going to have a robot assistant. That’s the
story, at least. And as part of that long-running narrative, Facebook
just launched its virtual assistant. They’re calling it Moneypenny—the
secretary from the James Bond Films. Which means the symbol of our
march forward, once again, ends up being a nod back. In this case,
Moneypenny is a send-up to an age when Bond’s womanizing was a symbol of
manliness and many women were, no matter what they wanted to be doing,
secretaries.
Why
can’t people imagine a future without falling into the sexist past? Why
does the road ahead keep leading us back to a place that looks like the
Tomorrowland of the 1950s? Well, when it comes to Moneypenny, here’s a
relevant datapoint: More than two thirds of Facebook employees are men.
That’s a ratio reflected among another key group: futurists.
Both
the World Future Society and the Association of Professional Futurists
are headed by women right now. And both of those women talked to me
about their desire to bring more women to the field. Cindy Frewen, the
head of the Association of Professional Futurists,
estimates that about a third of their members are women. Amy Zalman,
the CEO of the World Future Society, says that 23 percent of her group’s
members identify as female. But most lists of “top futurists” perhaps
include one female name. Often, that woman is no longer working in the
field.
Somehow,
I’ve become a person who reports on futurists. I produce and host a
podcast about what might happen in the future called Meanwhile in the
Future. I write a column about people living cutting-edge lives for BBC
Future. And one thing I’ve noticed is how overwhelmingly male and white
they are.
It turns out that what makes someone a futurist, and
what makes something futurism, isn’t well defined. When you ask those
who are part of official futurist societies, like the APF and the WFS,
they often struggle to answer. There are some possible
credentials—namely: a degree in foresight, an emerging specialty
that often intersects with studies of technology and business. But the
discipline isn’t well established—there’s no foresight degree at Yale,
or Harvard. And there are plenty of people who practice futurology who
don’t have one.
Zalman
defines a futurist as a person who embraces a certain way of thinking.
“Being a futurist these days means that you take seriously a worldview
and a set of activities and the recognition that foresight, with a
capital F, isn’t just thinking about what are the top 10 things this
year, what are the trends unfolding.”
Frewen says that futurism
won’t ever be like architecture or medicine, in that “it’s never going
to be a licensed field.” But there are still things that many futurists
agree people in their field shouldn’t do. “We think of things now as
more systems-based and more uncertain, you don’t know what the future
is, and that’s a basic concept, so we try to avoid the people who think
they can always know this is going to get better.”
Some people
think of science fiction authors as futurists, while others don’t. Some
members of the APF include singularity researchers, others don’t want
to. Some people lump transhumanists into a broader category of
futurists. Others don’t. Here are some of the people popularly known as
futurists: Aubrey de Gray, the chief researcher at the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence
Research Foundation; Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX; Sergey Brin, the
co-founder of Google; Ray Kurzweil, the director of engineering at
Google. They don’t necessarily belong to a particular society—they might
not even self-identify as futurists!—but they are driving the
conversation about the future—very often on stages, in public, backed by
profitable corporations or well-heeled investors.
Which
means the media ends up turning to Brin and Musk and de Gray and
Kurzweil to explain what is going to happen, why it matters, and
ultimately whether it’s all going to be okay. The thing is: The futures
that get imagined depend largely on the person or people doing the
imagining.
* * *
Why are there
so few women? Much of it comes down to the same reasons there are so few
women in science and technology, fields with direct links to futurism
(which has a better ring to it than “strategic foresight,” the term some
futurists prefer).
Zalman
says futurism has actually fought to present itself in a certain way.
When the field was founded in the 1960s, it came with a reputation that
still lingers a bit today, she says. “Like magicians, crystal ball
gazers, sort of flakey, that’s the reputation that followed the WFS for
awhile. Because the field itself had to struggle to be taken seriously,
that put more pressure on folks to demonstrate that they were
scientific. And it was coded masculine.” While futurism includes not
simply the future of gadgets, the field found itself pushing away some
of the perceived “softer” elements of foresight: social change, family
structures, cultural impacts—in favor of mathematical modeling and
technology.
Madeline Ashby,
a futurist with a degree in strategic foresight who has worked for
organizations like Intel Labs, the Institute for the Future, SciFutures,
and Nesta, says that another big part of the gender imbalance has to do
with optimism. “If you ask me, the one reason why futurism as a
discipline is so white and male, is because white males have the ability
to offer the most optimistic vision,” she says. They can get up on
stage and tell us that the world will be okay, that technology will fix
all our problems, that we’ll live forever. Mark Stevenson wrote a book
called An Optimist’s Tour of the Future. TED speakers always seem to end their talk, no matter how dire, on an upward-facing note.
Ashby
says that any time she speaks in front of a crowd, and offers a grim
view of the future, someone (almost always a man) invariably asks why
she can’t be more positive. “Why is this so depressing, why is this so
dystopian,” they ask. “Because when you talk about the future you don’t
get rape threats, that’s why,” she says. “For a long time the future has
belonged to people who have not had to struggle, and I think that will
still be true. But as more and more systems collapse, currency, energy,
the ability to get water, the ability to work, the future will
increasingly belong to those who know how to hustle, and those people
are not the people who are producing those purely optimistic futures.”
“I
don’t know if I kind of pick up on the optimism as I pick up on the
utter absurdity,” said Sarah Kember, a professor of technology at the
University of London who’s applied feminist theory to futurism
for years. “And that’s great for me in some ways, it’s been a
traditional feminist strategy to expose absurdity. It’s a key critique.”
She points out that as someone whose job it is to take a step back and
analyze things like futurism from an outside view, a lot of the
mainstream futurism starts to look pretty silly. “You’ve got smart bras
and vibrating pants and talking kitchen worktops and augmented-reality
bedroom mirrors that read the tags on your clothing and tell you what
not to wear, and there’s no reflection on any of this at all,” she says.
Both
Frewen of the APF and Zalman of the WFS told me that they were
concerned about the gender imbalance in their field, and that they are
hoping to help change it. But they also both reminded me that, compared
to a lot of fields, futurism is a tiny speciality. And it’s homogeneous
in other ways, too. The majority of the WFS members are white, and most
of them are 55 to 65 years old. “It is not okay for the WFS, although we
care about them, to have only men from North America between the ages
of 55 and 65,” Zalman says. “We need all those other voices because they
represent an experience.”
* * *
Any
time someone points out a gender or racial imbalance in a field (or,
most often, the combination of the two) a certain set of people ask: Who
cares? The future belongs to all of us—or, ultimately, none of us—why
does it matter if the vast majority of futurists are white men? It
matters for the same reasons diversity drives market growth:
because when only one type of person is engaged in asking key questions
about a specialty—envisioning the future or otherwise—they miss a
entire frameworks for identifying and solving problems. The relative
absence of women at Apple is why the Apple Health kit didn’t have period tracking until a few months ago, and why a revolutionary artificial heart can be deemed a success even when it doesn’t fit 80 percent of women.
Which
brings us back to Moneypenny, and all the other virtual assistants of
the future. There are all sorts of firms and companies working to build
robotic servants. Chrome butlers, chefs, and housekeepers. But the
fantasy of having an indentured servant is a peculiar one to some. “That
whole idea of creating robots that are in service to us has always
bothered me,” says Nnedi Okorafor,
a science fiction author. “I’ve always sided with the robots. That
whole idea of creating these creatures that are human-like and then have
them be in servitude to us, that is not my fantasy and I find it highly
problematic that it would be anyone’s.”
Or
take longevity, for example. The idea that people could, or even
should, push to lengthen lifespans as far as possible is popular. The
life-extension movement, with Aubrey de Gray as one (very bearded)
spokesman, has raised millions of dollars to investigate how to extend
the lifespan of humans. But this is arguably only an ideal future if
you’re in as a comfortable position as his. “Living forever only works
if you’re a rich vampire from an Anne Rice novel, which is to say that
you have compound interest,” jokes Ashby. “It really only works if you
have significant real-estate investments and fast money and slow money.”
(Time travel, as the comedian Louis C.K. has pointed out,
is another thing that is a distinctly white male preoccupation—going
back in time, for marginalized groups, means giving up more of their
rights.)
Beyond
the particular futures that get funded and developed, there’s also a
broader issue with the ways in which people think about what forces
actually shape the future. “We get some really ready-made easy ways of
thinking about the future by thinking that the future is shapeable by
tech development,” said Kember, the professor of technology at
University of London.
In
the 1980s, two futurists (a man and a woman) wrote a book that invited
key members of the futurist community to write essays on what they saw
coming. The book was called What Futurists Believe, and it
included profiles of 17 futurists, including Arthur C. Clarke and Peter
Schwartz. All seventeen people profiled were men. And in some ways, they
were very close to predicting the future. They seemed to grasp the
importance of the cell phone and the trajectory of the personal
computer. But they completely missed a huge set of other things. “What
they never got right was the social side, they never saw flattened
organizations, social media, the uprisings in the Middle East, ISIS
using Twitter,” says Frewen.
Terry Grim, a professor in the
Studies of the Future program at the University of Houston, recalls a
video she saw from the 1960s depicting the office of the future. “It had
everything pretty much right, they had envisioned the computer and fax
machine and forward-looking technology products.” But there was
something missing: “There were no women in the office,” she said.
Okorafor
says that she’s gotten so used to not seeing anybody like herself in
visions of the future that it’s not really surprising to her when it
happens. “I feel like more of a tourist when I experience these
imaginings, this isn’t even a place where I would exist in the first
place,” she says. “In the type of setting, the environment, and the way
everything is set up just doesn’t feel like it would be my future at
all, and this is something that I experience regularly when I read or
watch imagined futures, and this is part of what made me start writing
my own.”
This is also perhaps why futurists often don’t talk about
some of the issues and problems that many people face every
day—harassment, child care, work-life balance, water rights,
immigration, police brutality. “When you lose out on women’s voices you
lose out on the issues that they have to deal with,” Ashby says. She was
recently at a futures event where people presented on a global trends
report, and there was nothing in the slides on the future of law
enforcement. The questions that many people face about their futures are
lost in the futures being imagined.
* * *
In the 1970s, Alvin Toffler’s book Future Shock
argued that there are three types of futurism the world needed: a
science of futurism that could talk about the probability of things
happening, an art of futurism that could explore what is possible, and a
politics of futurism that could investigate what is preferable.
Futurism has done well to develop the first side, building devices and
technologies and frameworks through which to see technical advances. But
Zalman says that it’s fallen down a bit on the other two. “Arts and
humanities are given short shrift.”
In
some ways, the art and politics of futurism are the harder pieces of
the pie. Technology is often predictable. Humans, less so. “The solution
to make things better is a really messy policy solution that has to be
negotiated, it’s not pulling the sword from the stone or implanting the
alien saucers with your stupid Mac virus or killing the shark, it’s
getting people in a room with free coffee and doughnuts and getting them
to talk,” said Ashby.
In
order to understand what those who have never really felt welcome in
the field of futurism think, I called someone who writes and talks about
the future, but who doesn’t call themselves a futurist: Monica Byrne.
Byrne is a science-fiction author and opinion writer who often tackles
questions of how we see the future, and what kinds of futures we deem
preferable. But when she thinks about “futurism” as a field, she doesn’t
see herself. “I think the term futurist is itself is something I see
white men claiming for themselves, and isn’t something that would occur
to me to call myself even though I functionally am one,” she says.
Okorafor
says that she too has never really called herself a futurist, even
though much of what she does is use her writing to explore what’s
possible. “When you sent me your email and you mentioned futurism I
think that’s really the first time I started thinking about that label
for myself. And it fits. It feels comfortable.”
When Byrne thinks
about the term futurists, she thinks about a power struggle. “What I see
is a bid for control over what the future will look like. And it is a
future that is, that to me doesn’t look much different from Asimov science fiction covers. Which is not a future I’m interested in.”
The
futurism that involves glass houses and 400-year-old men doesn’t
interest her. “When I think about the kind of future I want to build,
it’s very soft and human, it’s very erotic, and I feel like so much of
what I identify as futurism is very glossy, chrome painted science
fiction covers, they’re sterile.” She laughs. “Who cares about your
jetpack? How does technology enable us to keep loving each other?”
We want to hear what you think. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
This
animation shows molecular building blocks joining the tip of a growing
self-assembling nanowire. Each block consists of a diamondoid — the
smallest possible bit of diamond — attached to sulfur and copper atoms
(yellow and brown spheres). Like LEGO blocks, they only fit together in
certain ways that are determined by their size and shape. The copper and
sulfur atoms form a conductive wire in the middle, and the diamondoids
form an insulating outer shell. (credit: SLAC National Accelerator
Laboratory)
The new technique could potentially be used to build tiny wires for a
wide range of applications, including fabrics that generate
electricity, optoelectronic devices that employ both electricity and
light, and superconducting materials that conduct electricity without
any loss. The scientists reported their results last week in Nature Materials.
The researchers started with the smallest possible diamondoids
—interlocking cages of carbon and hydrogen — and attached a sulfur atom
to each. Floating in a solution, each sulfur atom bonded with a single
copper ion — creating a semiconducting combination of copper and sulfur
known as a chalcogenide.
A conventional insulated electrical copper wire (credit: Alibaba)
That created the basic nanowire building blocks, which then drifted toward each other, drawn by “unusually strong” van der Waals
attraction between the diamondoids, and attached themselves to the
growing tip of the nanowire. The attached diamondoids formed an
insulating shell — creating the nanoscale equivalent of a conventional
insulated electrical wire.
Although there are other ways to get materials to self-assemble, this
is the first one shown to make a nanowire with a solid, crystalline
core that has good electronic properties, said study co-author Nicholas
Melosh, an associate professor at SLAC and Stanford and investigator
with SIMES, the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences at
SLAC.
The team also included researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and
Justus-Liebig University in Germany. The work was funded by the DOE
Office of Science and the German Research Foundation.
* Found naturally in petroleum fluids, they are extracted and separated by size and geometry in a SLAC laboratory.
Abstract of Hybrid metal–organic chalcogenide nanowires with electrically conductive inorganic core through diamondoid-directed assembly
Controlling inorganic structure and dimensionality through
structure-directing agents is a versatile approach for new materials
synthesis that has been used extensively for metal–organic frameworks
and coordination polymers. However, the lack of ‘solid’ inorganic cores
requires charge transport through single-atom chains and/or organic
groups, limiting their electronic properties. Here, we report that
strongly interacting diamondoid structure-directing agents guide the
growth of hybrid metal–organic chalcogenide nanowires with solid
inorganic cores having three-atom cross-sections, representing the
smallest possible nanowires. The strong van der Waals attraction between
diamondoids overcomes steric repulsion leading to a cis configuration
at the active growth front, enabling face-on addition of precursors for
nanowire elongation. These nanowires have band-like electronic
properties, low effective carrier masses and three orders-of-magnitude
conductivity modulation by hole doping. This discovery highlights a
previously unexplored regime of structure-directing agents compared with
traditional surfactant, block copolymer or metal–organic framework
linkers.
Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness
in order to perceive and interact with what they believe to be a spirit
world and channel these transcendental energies into this world.
The term "shamanism" was first applied by Western anthropologists as outside observers of the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighbouring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking
peoples. Upon observing more religious traditions across the world,
some Western anthropologists began to also use the term in a very broad
sense. The term was used to describe unrelated magico-religious
practices found within the ethnic religions
of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and even completely
unrelated parts of the Americas, as they believed these practices to be
similar to one another.[4]
Mircea Eliade writes, "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = 'technique of religious ecstasy'."[5]
Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or
messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are
said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas
affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual
to balance and wholeness. The shaman also enters supernatural realms or dimensions
to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community. Shamans may
visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and
to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements.
The shaman operates primarily within the spiritual world, which in turn
affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the
elimination of the ailment.[5]
Beliefs and practices that have been categorised this way as
"shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a wide variety
of disciplines, including anthropologists, archaeologists, historians,
religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of
books and academic papers
on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic
journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century,
many Westerners involved in the counter-cultural movement have created
modern magico-religious practices influenced by their ideas of
indigenous religions from across the world, creating what has been
termed neoshamanism or the neoshamanic movement.[6] It has affected the development of many neopagan practices, as well as faced a backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation,[7] exploitation and misrepresentation when outside observers have tried to represent cultures they do not belong to.[8][9]
Terminology
Etymology
The earliest known depiction of a Siberian shaman, by the Dutch Nicolaes Witsen, 17th century. Witsen called him a "priest of the Devil" and drew clawed feet for the supposed demonic qualities.[10]
The word "shaman" probably originates from the Evenki word šamán, most likely from the southwestern dialect spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples.[11]
The Tungusic term was subsequently adopted by Russians interacting with
the indigenous peoples in Siberia. It is found in the memoirs of the
exiled Russian churchman Avvakum.[12]
The word was brought to Western Europe in the late 17th century by the Dutch traveler Nicolaes Witsen, who reported his stay and journeys among the Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking indigenous peoples of Siberia in his book Noord en Oost Tataryen (1692).[13]Adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck,
published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China; a
translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word shaman to English speakers.[14]
The etymology of the Evenki word is sometimes connected to a Tungus root ša- "to know".[15][16]
This has been questioned on linguistic grounds: "The possibility cannot
be completely rejected, but neither should it be accepted without
reservation since the assumed derivational relationship is
phonologically irregular (note especially the vowel quantities)."[17] Other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and as such would be the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language.[18]
However, Mircea Eliade noted that the Sanskrit word śramaṇa, designating a wandering monastic or holy figure, has spread to many Central Asian languages along with Buddhism and could be the ultimate origin of the Tungusic word.[19]
This proposal has been thoroughly critiqued since 1917. Ethnolinguist
Juha Janhunen regards it as an "anachronism" and an "impossibility" that
is nothing more than a "far-fetched etymology."[20]
21st-century anthropologist and archeologist Silvia Tomaskova argues that by the mid-1600s, many Europeans applied the Arabic term shaitan (meaning "devil") to the non-Christian practices and beliefs of indigenous peoples beyond the Ural Mountains.[21] She suggests that shaman may have entered the various Tungus dialects as a corruption of this term, and then been told to Christian missionaries, explorers, soldiers and colonial administrators with whom the people had increasing contact for centuries. Ethnolinguists
did not develop as a discipline nor achieve contact with these
communities until the late 19th century, and may have mistakenly "read
backward" in time for the origin of this word.
A shamaness (female shaman) is sometimes called a shamanka, which is not an actual indigenous term but simply shaman plus the Russian suffix-ka (for feminine nouns).[22]
There is no single agreed-upon definition for the word "shamanism" among anthropologists. The English historian Ronald Hutton
noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, there were four separate
definitions of the term which appeared to be in use. The first of these
uses the term to refer to "anybody who contacts a spirit world while in
an altered state of consciousness." The second definition limits the
term to refer to those who contact a spirit world while in an altered
state of consciousness at the behest of others. The third definition
attempts to distinguish shamans from other magico-religious specialists
who are believed to contact spirits, such as "mediums", "witch doctors",
"spiritual healers" or "prophets," by claiming that shamans undertake
some particular technique not used by the others. Problematically,
scholars advocating the third view have failed to agree on what the
defining technique should be. The fourth definition identified by Hutton
uses "shamanism" to refer to the indigenous religions of Siberia and
neighboring parts of Asia.[24] According to the Golomt Center for Shamanic Studies, a Mongolian organisation of shamans, the Evenk word shaman would more accurately be translated as "priest".[25]
Initiation and learning
Shamans
may be called through dreams or signs. However, shamanic powers may be
inherited. In traditional societies shamanic training varies in length,
but generally takes years.
Turner and colleagues[26] mention a phenomenon called shamanistic initiatory crisis, a rite of passage
for shamans-to-be, commonly involving physical illness and/or
psychological crisis. The significant role of initiatory illnesses in
the calling of a shaman can be found in the detailed case history of Chuonnasuan, who was the last master shaman among the Tungus peoples in Northeast China.[27]
The wounded healer is an archetype
for a shamanic trial and journey. This process is important to the
young shaman. They undergo a type of sickness that pushes them to the
brink of death. This happens for two reasons:
The shaman crosses over to the underworld. This happens so the
shaman can venture to its depths to bring back vital information for the
sick and the tribe.
The shaman must become sick to understand sickness. When the shaman
overcomes their own sickness, they will hold the cure to heal all that
suffer. This is the uncanny mark of the wounded healer.[28]
Shamans claim to gain knowledge and the power to heal by entering into the spiritual world or dimension. Most shamans have dreams or visions that convey certain messages. The shaman may have or acquire many spirit guides,
who often guide and direct the shaman in their travels in the spirit
world. These spirit guides are always present within the shaman,
although others encounter them only when the shaman is in a trance.
The spirit guide energizes the shaman, enabling them to enter the
spiritual dimension. The shaman heals within the spiritual dimension by
returning 'lost' parts of the human soul from wherever they have gone.
The shaman also cleanses excess negative energies, which confuse or
pollute the soul.
Shamans act as mediators in their culture.[29][30]
The shaman communicates with the spirits on behalf of the community,
including the spirits of the deceased. The shaman communicates with both
living and dead to alleviate unrest, unsettled issues, and to deliver
gifts to the spirits.
Among the Selkups, the sea duck
is a spirit animal. Ducks fly in the air and dive in the water. Thus
ducks are believed to belong to both the upper world and the world
below.[31] Among other Siberian peoples, these characteristics are attributed to water fowl in general.[32]
The upper world is the afterlife primarily associated with deceased
humans and is believed to be accessed by soul journeying through a
portal in the sky. The lower world or "world below" is the afterlife
primarily associated with animals and is believed to be accessed by soul
journeying through a portal in the earth.[33] In shamanic cultures many animals are regarded as spirit animals.
The functions of a shaman may include either guiding to their
proper abode the souls of the dead (which may be guided either
one-at-a-time or in a cumulative group, depending on culture), and/or
curing (healing) of ailments. The ailments may be either purely physical
afflictions—such as disease, which may be cured by gifting, flattering,
threatening, or wrestling the disease-spirit (sometimes trying all
these, sequentially), and which may be completed by displaying a
supposedly extracted token of the disease-spirit (displaying this, even
if "fraudulent", is supposed to impress the disease-spirit that it has
been, or is in the process of being, defeated, so that it will retreat
and stay out of the patient's body), or else mental (including
psychosomatic) afflictions—such as persistent terror (on account of a
frightening experience), which may be likewise cured by similar methods.
In most languages a different term other than the one translated
"shaman" is usually applied to a religious official leading sacrificial
rites ("priest"), or to a raconteur ("sage") of traditional lore; there
may be more of an overlap in functions (with that of a shaman), however,
in the case of an interpreter of omens or of dreams.
There are distinct types of shaman who perform more specialized functions. For example, among the Nani people, a distinct kind of shaman acts as a psychopomp.[41]
Other specialized shamans may be distinguished according to the type of
spirits, or realms of the spirit world, with which the shaman most
commonly interacts. These roles vary among the Nenets, Enets, and Selkup shaman.[42][43]
The assistant of an Oroqen shaman (called jardalanin,
or "second spirit") knows many things about the associated beliefs. He
or she accompanies the rituals and interprets the behavior of the
shaman.[44] Despite these functions, the jardalanin is not a shaman. For this interpretative assistant, it would be unwelcome to fall into trance.[45]
Ecological aspect
Among the Tucano people, a sophisticated system exists for environmental resources management
and for avoiding resource depletion through overhunting. This system is
conceptualized mythologically and symbolically by the belief that
breaking hunting restrictions may cause illness. As the primary teacher
of tribal symbolism, the shaman may have a leading role in this ecological
management, actively restricting hunting and fishing. The shaman is
able to "release" game animals, or their souls, from their hidden
abodes.[46][47] The Piaroa people have ecological concerns related to shamanism.[48] Among the Inuit, shamans fetch the souls of game from remote places,[49][50] or soul travel to ask for game from mythological beings like the Sea Woman.[51]
Economics
The
way shamans get sustenance and take part in everyday life varies across
cultures. In many Inuit groups, they provide services for the community
and get a "due payment" (cultures),[who?] believe the payment is given to the helping spirits[52]
but these goods are only "welcome addenda." They are not enough to
enable shamanizing as a full-time activity. Shamans live like any other
member of the group, as a hunter or housewife. Due to the popularity of ayahuasca tourism in South America, there are practitioners in areas frequented by backpackers who make a living from leading ceremonies.[53][52]
Beliefs
There
are many variations of shamanism throughout the world, but several
common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Common beliefs
identified by Eliade (1972)[5] are the following:
Spirits exist and they play important roles both in individual lives and in human society.
The shaman can communicate with the spirit world.
Spirits can be benevolent or malevolent.
The shaman can treat sickness caused by malevolent spirits.
The shaman can employ trance inducing techniques to incite visionary ecstasy and go on vision quests.
The shaman's spirit can leave the body to enter the supernatural world to search for answers.
The shaman evokes animal images as spirit guides, omens, and message-bearers.
The shaman can perform other varied forms of divination, scry, throw bones/runes, and sometimes foretell of future events.
Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded
by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of the living.[54]
Although the causes of disease lie in the spiritual realm, inspired by
malicious spirits, both spiritual and physical methods are used to heal.
Commonly, a shaman "enters the body" of the patient to confront the
spiritual infirmity and heals by banishing the infectious spirit.
Many shamans have expert knowledge of medicinal plants native to
their area, and an herbal treatment is often prescribed. In many places
shamans learn directly from the plants, harnessing their effects and
healing properties, after obtaining permission from the indwelling or
patron spirits. 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.[54] The use of totemic items such as rocks with special powers and an animating spirit is common.
Such practices are presumably very ancient. Plato wrote in his Phaedrus
that the "first prophecies were the words of an oak", and that those
who lived at that time found it rewarding enough to "listen to an oak or
a stone, so long as it was telling the truth".
Belief in witchcraft and sorcery, known as brujería
in Latin America, exists in many societies. Other societies assert all
shamans have the power to both cure and kill. Those with shamanic
knowledge usually enjoy great power and prestige in the community, but
they may also be regarded suspiciously or fearfully as potentially
harmful to others.[55]
By engaging in their work, a shaman is exposed to significant
personal risk, from the spirit world, from enemy shamans, or from the
means employed to alter the shaman's state of consciousness. Shamanic plant materials can be toxic or fatal if misused. Spells are commonly used to protect against these dangers, and the use of more dangerous plants is often very highly ritualized.
Soul and spirit concepts
The variety of functions described above may seem like distinct
tasks, but they may be united by underlying soul and spirit concepts.
This concept may be based closely on the soul concepts of the belief system of the people served by the shaman.[35] It may consist of retrieving the lost soul of the ill person.[59] See also the soul dualism concept.
This problem can be solved by "releasing" the souls of the animals from their hidden abodes. Besides that, many taboos
may prescribe the behavior of people towards game, so that the souls of
the animals do not feel angry or hurt, or the pleased soul of the
already killed prey can tell the other, still living animals, that they
can allow themselves to be caught and killed.[60][61] For the ecological aspects of shamanistic practice, and related beliefs, see below.
Beliefs related to spirits can explain many different phenomena.[62] For example, the importance of storytelling,
or acting as a singer, can be understood better if we examine the whole
belief system. A person who can memorize long texts or songs, and play
an instrument, may be regarded as the beneficiary of contact with the
spirits (e.g. Khanty people).[63]
Practice
Generally, the shaman traverses the axis mundi and enters the spirit world by effecting a transition of consciousness, entering into an ecstatictrance, either autohypnotically or through the use of entheogens. The methods employed are diverse, and are often used together.
Entheogens
Flowering San Pedro, an entheogenic cactus that has been used for over 3,000 years.[64] Today the vast majority of extracted mescaline is from columnar cacti, not vulnerable peyote.[65]
Some shamans observe dietary or customary restrictions particular
to their tradition. These restrictions are more than just cultural.
For example, the diet followed by shamans and apprentices prior to
participating in an ayahuasca ceremony includes foods rich in tryptophan (a biosynthetic precursor to serotonin) as well as avoiding foods rich in tyramine, which could induce hypertensive crisis if ingested with MAOIs such as are found in ayahuasca brews as well as abstinence from alcohol or sex.[54]
Music and songs
Just like shamanism itself,[15]
music and songs related to it in various cultures are diverse, far from
being alike. In several instances, songs related to shamanism are
intended to imitate natural sounds, via onomatopoeia.[75]
Drum – The drum is used by shamans of several peoples in Siberia, and many other cultures all over the world,[78][79]
The beating of the drum allows the shaman to achieve an altered state
of consciousness or to travel on a journey between the physical and
spiritual worlds. Much fascination surrounds the role that the acoustics
of the drum play to the shaman. Shaman drums are generally constructed
of an animal-skin stretched over a bent wooden hoop, with a handle
across the hoop.
A debated etymology of the word "shaman" is "one who knows",[16][80] implying, among other things, that the shaman is an expert in keeping together the multiple codes
of the society, and that to be effective, shamans must maintain a
comprehensive view in their mind which gives them certainty of knowledge.[15] According to this view, the shaman uses (and the audience understands) multiple codes,
expressing meanings in many ways: verbally, musically, artistically,
and in dance. Meanings may be manifested in objects such as amulets.[80] If the shaman knows the culture of his or her community well,[30][81][82] and acts accordingly, their audience will know the used symbols and meanings and therefore trust the shamanic worker.[82][83]
There are also semiotic, theoretical approaches to shamanism,[84][85][86]
and examples of "mutually opposing symbols" in academic studies of
Siberian lore, distinguishing a "white" shaman who contacts sky spirits
for good aims by day, from a "black" shaman who contacts evil spirits
for bad aims by night.[87]
(Series of such opposing symbols referred to a world-view behind them. Analogously to the way grammar arranges words to express meanings and
convey a world, also this formed a cognitive map).[15][88] Shaman's lore is rooted in the folklore of the community, which provides a "mythological mental map".[89][90]Juha Pentikäinen uses the concept "grammar of mind".[90][91]
Armin Geertz coined and introduced the hermeneutics,[92] or "ethnohermeneutics",[88]
interpretation. Hoppál extended the term to include not only the
interpretation of oral and written texts, but that of "visual texts as
well (including motions, gestures and more complex ritual, and
ceremonies performed for instance by shamans)".[93] Revealing the animistic
views in shamanism, but also their relevance to the contemporary world,
where ecological problems have validated paradigms of balance and
protection.[90]
Ecological approaches, systems theory
Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff
relates these concepts to developments in the ways that modern science
(systems theory, ecology, new approaches in anthropology and archeology)
treats causality in a less linear fashion.[46] He also suggests a cooperation of modern science and indigenous lore.[94]
Hypotheses on origins
Shamanic practices may originate as early as the Paleolithic, predating all organized religions,[95][96] and certainly as early as the Neolithic period.[96]
The earliest known undisputed burial of a shaman (and by extension the
earliest undisputed evidence of shamans and shamanic practices) dates
back to the early Upper Paleolithic era (c. 30,000 BP) in what is now the Czech Republic.[97]
Sanskrit scholar and comparative mythologist Michael Witzel
proposes that all of the world's mythologies, and also the concepts and
practices of shamans, can be traced to the migrations of two
prehistoric populations: the "Gondwana" type (of circa 65,000 years ago) and the "Laurasian" type (of circa 40,000 years ago).[98]
Early anthropological studies theorize that shamanism developed
as a magic practice to ensure a successful hunt or gathering of food.
Evidence in caves and drawings on walls support indications that
shamanism started during the Paleolithic era. One such picture featured a
half-animal, with the face and legs of a man, with antlers and a tail
of a stag.[99]
In November 2008, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 12,000-year-old site in Israel
that is perceived as one of the earliest known shaman burials. The
elderly woman had been arranged on her side, with her legs apart and
folded inward at the knee. Ten large stones were placed on the 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. "It seems that the woman …
was perceived as being in a close relationship with these animal
spirits", researchers noted. The grave was one of at least 28 graves at
the site, located in a cave in lower Galilee and belonging to the Natufian culture, but is said to be unlike any other among the Epipaleolithic Natufians or in the Paleolithic period.[100]
Decline and revitalization / tradition-preserving movements
Shamanism
is believed to be declining around the world, possibly due to other
organised religious influences, like Christianity, that want people who
practice shamanism to convert to their own system and doctrine. Another
reason is western views of shamanism as 'primitive', 'superstitious',
backward and outdated. Whalers who frequently interact with Inuit tribes
are one source of this decline in that region.[101]
A shaman doctor of Kyzyl, 2005. Attempts are being made to preserve and revitalize Tuvan shamanism:[102] former authentic shamans have begun to practice again, and young apprentices are being educated in an organized way.[103]
In many areas, former shamans ceased to fulfill the functions in the
community they used to, as they felt mocked by their own community,[104] or regarded their own past as deprecated and are unwilling to talk about it to an ethnographer.[105]
Moreover, besides personal communications of former shamans,
folklore texts may narrate directly about a deterioration process. For
example, a Buryat epic text details the wonderful deeds of the ancient "first shaman" Kara-Gürgän:[106]
he could even compete with God, create life, steal back the soul of the
sick from God without his consent. A subsequent text laments that
shamans of older times were stronger, possessing capabilities like omnividence,[107] fortune-telling even for decades in the future, moving as fast as a bullet.[108]
In most affected areas, shamanic practices ceased to exist, with
authentic shamans dying and their personal experiences dying with them.
The loss of memories is not always lessened by the fact the shaman is
not always the only person in a community who knows the beliefs and
motives related to the local shaman-hood (laics know myths as well,
among Barasana, even though less;[109] there are former shaman apprentices unable to complete the learning among Greenlandic Inuit peoples,[53] moreover, even laics can have trance-like experiences among the Inuit;[110] the assistant of a shaman can be extremely knowledgeable among Dagara).[44][45]
Although the shaman is often believed and trusted precisely because
s/he "accommodates" to the "grammar" of the beliefs of the community,[82]
several parts of the knowledge related to the local shamanhood consist
of personal experiences of the shaman (illness), or root in his/her
family life (the interpretation of the symbolics of his/her drum),[111]
thus, those are lost with his/her death. Besides that, in many
cultures, the entire traditional belief system has become endangered
(often together with a partial or total language shift),
the other people of the community remembering the associated beliefs
and practices (or the language at all) grew old or died, many folklore
memories (songs, texts) were forgotten – which may threaten even such
peoples who could preserve their isolation until the middle of the 20th
century, like the Nganasan.[112]
Some areas could enjoy a prolonged resistance due to their remoteness.
Variants of shamanism among Inuit peoples
were once a widespread (and very diverse) phenomenon, but today are
rarely practiced, as well as already having been in decline among many
groups, even while the first major ethnological research was being done,[113] e.g. among Polar Inuit, at the end of the 19th century, Sagloq,
the last shaman who was believed to be able to travel to the sky and
under the sea died—and many other former shamanic capacities were lost
during that time as well, like ventriloquism and sleight-of-hand.[114]
The isolated location of Nganasan people allowed shamanism to be a living phenomenon among them even at the beginning of the 20th century,[115] the last notable Nganasan shaman's ceremonies could be recorded on film in the 1970s.[116]
After exemplifying the general decline even in the most remote areas,
it should be noted that there are revitalization or
tradition-preserving efforts as a response. Besides collecting the
memories,[117] there are also tradition-preserving[118] and even revitalization efforts,[119] led by authentic former shamans (for example among Sakha people[120] and Tuvans).[103] However, according to Richard L. Allen, research & policy analyst for the Cherokee Nation, they are overwhelmed with fraudulent shamans ("plastic medicine people").[121]
"One may assume that anyone claiming to be a Cherokee 'shaman,
spiritual healer, or pipe-carrier', is equivalent to a modern day
medicine show and snake-oil vendor."[122]
One indicator of a plastic shaman might be someone who discusses
"Native American spirituality" but does not mention any specific Native American tribe. The "New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans" website discusses potentially plastic shamans.[123]
Besides tradition-preserving efforts, there are also neoshamanistic movements, these may differ from many traditional shamanistic practice and beliefs in several points.[124] Admittedly,[according to whom?] several traditional beliefs systems indeed have ecological considerations (for example, many Inuit peoples), and among Tukano people, the shaman indeed has direct resource-protecting roles, see details in section Ecological aspect.
Today, shamanism survives primarily among indigenous peoples. Shamanic practices continue today in the tundras, jungles, deserts, and other rural areas, and even in cities, towns, suburbs, and shantytowns all over the world. This is especially true for Africa and South America, where "mestizo shamanism" is widespread.
Regional variations
Asia
Hmong shamanism
The Hmong people, as an ancient people of China with a 5,000-year history, continue to maintain and practice its form of shamanism known as Ua Neeb in mainland Asia. At the end of the Vietnam War,
some 300,000 Hmong have been settled across the globe. They have
continued to practice Ua Neeb in various countries in North and South
America, Europe and Australia. In the U.S., the Hmong shaman
practitioner is known as Txiv Neeb has been licensed by many
hospitals in California as being part of the medical health team to
treat patients in hospital. This revival of Ua Neeb in the West has been
brought great success and has been hailed in the media as "doctor for
the disease, shaman for the soul".
Being a Hmong shaman represents a true vocation, chosen by the shaman God, Sivyis.[125]
The shaman's main job is to bring harmony to the individual, their
family, and their community within their environment by performing
various rituals (usually through trance).
Animal sacrifice
has been part of the Hmong shamanic practice for the past 5,000 years.
Contrary to the belief of many Westerners, the Hmong practice of using
animals in shamanic practice is performed with great respect. After the
Vietnam War, over 200,000 Hmong were resettled in the United States and
shamanism is still part of the Hmong culture. Due the colliding of
culture and the law, as Professor Alison Dundes Renteln, a political
science professor at the University of Southern California and author of
The Cultural Defense, a book that examines the influence of such
cases on U.S. courts, once said, "We say that as a society we welcome
diversity, and in fact that we embrace it ... In practice, it's not that
easy".[126]
The Hmong believe that all things on Earth have a soul (or
multiple souls), and those souls are treated as equal and can be
considered interchangeable. When a person is sick due to his soul being
lost, or captured by wild spirit, it is necessary to ask for and receive
permission of that animal, whether it is a chicken, pig, dog, goat or
any other animals required, to use its soul for an exchange with the
afflicted person's soul for a period of 12 months. At the end of that
period, during the Hmong New Year,
the shaman would perform a special ritual to release the soul of that
animal and send it off to the world beyond. As part of his service to
mankind, the animal soul is sent off to be reincarnated into a higher
form of animal, or even to become a member of a god's family (ua Fuab
Tais Ntuj tus tub, tus ntxhais) to live a life of luxury, free of the
suffering as an animal. Hence, being asked to perform this duty (what is
known in the West as "animal sacrifice") is one of the greatest honors
for that animal, to be able to serve mankind. The Hmong of southeast Guizhou
will cover the rooster with a piece of red cloth and then hold it up to
worship and sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth before the Sacred cockfight.[127]
In a 2010 trial of a Sheboygan Wisconsin Hmong who was charged with
staging a cockfight, it was stated that the roosters were "kept for both
food and religious purposes",[128] and the case was followed by an acquittal.[128]
In addition to the spiritual dimension, Hmong shaman attempt to
treat many physical illnesses through use of the text of sacred words
(khawv koob).
Throughout the villages and towns of Indonesia, local healers known as dukun practice diverse activities from massage, bonesetting, midwivery, herbal medicine, spirit mediumship and divination.
Japan
Shamanism is part of the indigenous Ainu religion and Japanese religion of Shinto,
although Shinto is distinct in that it is shamanism for an agricultural
society. Since the early middle-ages Shinto has been influenced by and syncretized with Buddhism and other elements of continental East Asian culture. The book "Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods" by Percival Lowell delves further into researching Japanese shamanism or Shintoism.[129] The book Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto uncovers the extraordinary aspects of Japanese beliefs.[130][131]
Korea
Shamanism is still practiced in North and South Korea. In the south, shaman women are known as mudangs, while male shamans are referred to as baksoo mudangs.
A person can become a shaman through hereditary title or through
natural ability. Shamans are consulted in contemporary society for
financial and marital decisions.
Shamanism were also practiced among the Malay community in Malay Peninsula and indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak. People who practice shamanism in the country are generally called as bomoh or pawang in the Peninsula.[132][133] In Sabah, the Bobohizan is the main shaman among the Kadazan-Dusun indigenous community.[134]
Mongolia
Mongolian classics, such as The Secret History of the Mongols,
provide details about male and female shamans serving as exorcists,
healers, rainmakers, oneiromancers, soothsayers, and officials. Shamanic
practices continue in present-day Mongolian culture.
The spiritual hierarchy in clan-based Mongolian society was complex. The highest group consisted of 99 tngri (55 of them benevolent or "white" and 44 terrifying or "black"), 77 natigai or "earth-mothers", besides others. The tngri
were called upon only by leaders and great shamans and were common to
all the clans. After these, three groups of ancestral spirits dominated.
The "Lord-Spirits" were the souls of clan leaders to whom any member of
a clan could appeal for physical or spiritual help. The
"Protector-Spirits" included the souls of great shamans (ĵigari) and shamanesses (abĵiya). The "Guardian-Spirits" were made up of the souls of smaller shamans (böge) and shamanesses (idugan) and were associated with a specific locality (including mountains, rivers, etc.) in the clan's territory.[140]
In the 1990s, a form of Mongolian neo-shamanism was created which
has given a more modern approach to shamanism. Among the Buryat
Mongols, who live in Mongolia and Russia, the proliferation of shamans
since 1990 is a core aspect of a larger struggle for the Buryats to
reestablish their historical and genetic roots, as has been documented
extensively by Ippei Shimamura, an anthropologist at the University of Shiga Prefecture in Japan.[141]
Some Mongolian shamans are now making a business out of their
profession and even have offices in the larger towns. At these
businesses, a shaman generally heads the organization and performs
services such as healing, fortunetelling, and solving all kinds of
problems.[142]
Although the initial enthusiasm for the revival of Mongol shamanism in
the post-communist/post-1990 era led to an openness to all interested
visitors, the situation has changed among those Mongols seeking to
protect the essential ethnic or national basis of their practices. In
recent years many associations of Mongol shamans have become wary of
Western "core" or "neo" or "New Age" shamans and have restricted access
to only to Mongols and Western scholars. One such event, organized by
Jargalsaichan, the head of the Corporate Union of Mongolian Shamans, was
the 21 June 2017 Ulaan Tergel (summer solstice) celebration held near
midnight on the steppes about 20 km outside Ulaanbaatar. Although a
private event, two Western psychologist scholars of shamanism, Richard Noll and Leonard George were allowed to observe, photograph and post video of the event to YouTube.[143]
Philippines
1922: a shaman of the Itneg people renewing an offering to the spirit (anito) of a warrior's kalasag shield
Shamans were highly respected members of the community in the ancient animistic religions of the Philippines. They were generally known as babaylan or baylan. In most Filipino ethnic groups, the shamans were almost always women. The few men who gain shaman status were usually asog or bayok,
men who dressed as women and lived as women. They usually acquire their
role either by inheriting it from an older shaman or after surviving a
serious illness or a bout of insanity. Regardless of the method,
full-fledged shamans are those who have acquired spirit familiars who serve as their guides into the spirit world.[144][145]
The main role of shamans were as spirit mediums. Through the use of their familiars and various rituals, they allow their bodies to be possessed by spirits (anito),
thus facilitating communication between the spirit world and the
material world. There were different ranks and specializations of
shamans among different Filipino ethnic groups. Some specialized in
healing, others in prophecy, others in creating charms and spells, and
so on. The most powerful were usually believed to be sorcerers capable
of controlling elemental spirits.[144][145]
Shamanistic practices in the Philippines were largely abandoned
when the islands were converted to Christianity and Islam. Though there
are still traces of it among modern folk healers and in isolated tribes.[144][145]
Siberia is regarded as the locus classicus of shamanism.[146]
The area is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, and many of its
peoples observe shamanistic practices, even in modern times. Many
classical ethnographic sources of "shamanism" were recorded among
Siberian peoples.
Manchu
Shamanism is one of very few Shamanist traditions which held official
status into the modern era, by becoming one of the imperial cults of the
Qing dynasty of China (alongside Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Heaven worship). The Palace of Earthly Tranquility, one of the principal halls of the Forbidden City in Beijing, was partly dedicated to Shamanistic rituals. The ritual set-up is still preserved in situ today.
Among the Siberian Chukchis peoples, a shaman is interpreted as someone who is possessed by a spirit, who demands that someone assume the shamanic role for their people. Among the Buryat, there is a ritual known as shanar[147] whereby a candidate is consecrated as shaman by another, already-established shaman.
Among several Samoyedic peoples, shamanism was a living tradition also in modern times, especially at groups living in isolation, until recent times (Nganasans).[148] The last notable Nganasan shaman's seances could be recorded on film in the 1970s.[116][148]
When the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949 and the
border with Russian Siberia was formally sealed, many nomadic Tungus
groups (including the Evenki) that practiced shamanism were confined in
Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. The last shaman of the Oroqen, Chuonnasuan
(Meng Jinfu), died in October 2000.[149]
In many other cases, shamanism was in decline even at the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, among the Roma.[31]
Central Asia
Geographic influences on Central Asian shamanism
Geographical
factors heavily influence the character and development of the
religion, myths, rituals and epics of Central Asia. While in other parts
of the world, religious rituals are primarily used to promote
agricultural prosperity, here they were used to ensure success in
hunting and breeding livestock. Animals are one of the most important
elements of indigenous religion in Central Asia because of the role they
play in the survival of the nomadic civilizations of the steppes as
well as sedentary populations living on land not conducive to
agriculture. Shamans wore animal skins and feathers and underwent
transformations into animals during spiritual journeys. In addition,
animals served as humans' guides, rescuers, ancestors, totems and
sacrificial victims.[150]
As a religion of nature, shamanism throughout Central Asia held
particular reverence for the relations between sky, earth and water and
believed in the mystical importance of trees and mountains. Shamanism
in Central Asia also places a strong emphasis on the opposition between
summer and winter, corresponding to the huge differences in temperature
common in the region. The harsh conditions and poverty caused by the
extreme temperatures drove Central Asian nomads throughout history to
pursue militaristic goals against their sedentary neighbors. This
military background can be seen in the reverence for horses and warriors
within many indigenous religions.[151]
Common shamanic practices and beliefs shared among Central Asians
Central
Asian shamans served as sacred intermediaries between the human and
spirit world. In this role they took on tasks such as healing,
divination, appealing to ancestors, manipulating the elements, leading
lost souls and officiating public religious rituals. The shamanic
séance served as a public display of the shaman's journey to the spirit
world and usually involved intense trances, drumming, dancing, chanting,
elaborate costumes, miraculous displays of physical strength, and
audience involvement. The goal of these séances ranged from recovering
the lost soul of a sick patient and divining the future to controlling
the weather and finding a lost person or thing. The use of
sleight-of-hand tricks, ventriloquism, and hypnosis were common in these
rituals but did not explain the more impressive feats and actual cures
accomplished by shamans.[152]
Shamans perform in a "state of ecstasy" deliberately induced by
an effort of will. Reaching this altered state of consciousness required
great mental exertion, concentration and strict self-discipline. Mental
and physical preparation included long periods of silent meditation,
fasting, and smoking. In this state, skilled shamans employ capabilities
that the human organism cannot accomplish in the ordinary state.
Shamans in ecstasy displayed unusual physical strength, the ability to
withstand extreme temperatures, the bearing of stabbing and cutting
without pain, and the heightened receptivity of the sense organs.
Shamans made use of intoxicating substances and hallucinogens,
especially mukhomor mushrooms and alcohol, as a means of hastening the
attainment of ecstasy.[153]
The use of purification by fire is an important element of the
shamanic tradition dating back as early as the 6th century. People and
things connected with the dead had to be purified by passing between
fires. These purifications were complex exorcisms while others simply
involved the act of literally walking between two fires while being
blessed by the shaman. Shamans in literature and practice were also
responsible for using special stones to manipulate weather. Rituals are
performed with these stones to attract rain or repel snow, cold or wind.
This "rain-stone" was used for many occasions including bringing an end
to drought as well as producing hailstorms as a means of warfare.[154]
Despite distinctions between various types of shamans and specific
traditions, there is a uniformity throughout the region manifested in
the personal beliefs, objectives, rituals, symbols and the appearance of
shamans.
Shamanic rituals as artistic performance
The
shamanic ceremony is both a religious ceremony and an artistic
performance. The fundamental purpose of the dramatic displays seen
during shamanic ceremonies is not to draw attention or to create a
spectacle for the audience as many Westerners have come to believe, but
to lead the tribe in a solemn ritualistic process.
In general, all performances consist of four elements: dance,
music, poetry and dramatic or mimetic action. The use of these elements
serves the purpose of outwardly expressing his mystical communion with
nature and the spirits for the rest of the tribe. The true shaman can
make the journey to the spirit world at any time and any place, but
shamanic ceremonies provide a way for the rest of the tribe to share in
this religious experience. The shaman changes his voice mimetically to
represent different persons, gods, and animals while his music and dance
change to show his progress in the spirit world and his different
spiritual interactions. Many shamans practice ventriloquism and make use
of their ability to accurately imitate the sounds of animals, nature,
humans and other noises in order to provide the audience with the
ambiance of the journey. Elaborate dances and recitations of songs and
poetry are used to make the shamans spiritual adventures into a matter
of living reality to his audience.[155]
Costume and accessories
The
shaman's attire varies throughout the region but his chief accessories
are his coat, cap, and tambourine or drum. The transformation into an
animal is an important aspect of the journey into the spirit world
undertaken during shamanic rituals so the coat is often decorated with
birds feathers and representations of animals, coloured handkerchiefs,
bells and metal ornaments. The cap is usually made from the skin of a
bird with the feathers and sometimes head, still attached.[156]
The drum or tambourine is the essential means of communicating
with spirits and enabling the shaman to reach altred states of
consciousness on his journey. The drum, representing the universe in
epitome, is often divided into equal halves to represent the earth and
lower realms. Symbols and natural objects are added to the drum
representing natural forces and heavenly bodies.[157]
Shamanism in Tsarist and Soviet Russia
In
Soviet Central Asia, the Soviet government persecuted and denounced
shamans as practitioners of fraudulent medicine and perpetuators of
outdated religious beliefs in the new age of science and logic. The
radical transformations occurring after the October Socialist Revolution
led to a sharp decrease in the activity of shamans. Shamans represented
an important component in the traditional culture of Central Asians and
because of their important role in society, Soviet organizations and
campaigns targeted shamans in their attempt to eradicate traditional
influences in the lives of the indigenous peoples. Along with
persecution under the tsarist and Soviet regimes, the spread of
Christianity and Islam had a role in the disintegration of native faith
throughout central Asia. Poverty, political instability and foreign
influence are also detrimental to a religion that requires publicity and
patronage to flourish.
By the 1980s most shamans were discredited in the eyes of their people
by Soviet officials and physicians.[158]
Shamanism is still widely practiced in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa, Japan),
where shamans are known as 'Noro' (all women) and 'Yuta'. 'Noro'
generally administer public or communal ceremonies while 'Yuta' focus on
civil and private matters. Shamanism is also practiced in a few rural
areas in Japan proper. It is commonly believed that the Shinto religion is the result of the transformation of a shamanistic tradition into a religion.
Forms of practice vary somewhat in the several Ryukyu islands, so that there is, for example, a distinct Miyako shamanism.[161]
Shamanism practices seem to have been preserved in the Catholic religious traditions of aborigines in Taiwan.[162]
In Vietnam,
shamans conduct rituals in many of the religious traditions that
co-mingle in the majority and minority populations. In their rituals,
music, dance, special garments and offerings are part of the performance
that surround the spirit journey.[163]
Some of the prehistoric peoples who once lived in Siberia have
dispersed and migrated into other regions, bringing aspects of their
cultures with them. For example, many Uralic peoples live now outside
Siberia, however the original location of the Proto-Uralic peoples (and its extent) is debated. Combined phytogeographical
and linguistic considerations (distribution of various tree species and
the presence of their names in various Uralic languages) suggest that
this area was north of Central Ural Mountains and on lower and middle parts of Ob River.[164] The ancestors of Hungarian people or Magyars have wandered from their ancestral proto-Uralic area to the Pannonian Basin. Shamanism has played an important role in Turko-Mongol mythology: Tengriism - the major ancient belief among Xiongnu, Mongol and Turkic peoples, Magyars and Bulgars - incorporates elements of shamanism.[165]
Shamanism is no more a living practice among Hungarians, but remnants
have been reserved as fragments of folklore, in folktales, customs.[166]
Some historians of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period
have argued that traces of shamanistic traditions can be seen in the
popular folk belief of this period. Most prominent among these was the
Italian Carlo Ginzburg, who claimed shamanistic elements in the benandanti custom of 16th century Italy,[167] the Hungarian Éva Pócs, who identified them in the táltos tradition of Hungary,[168] and the Frenchman Claude Lecouteux, who has argued that Medieval traditions regarding the soul are based on earlier shamanic ideas.[169] Ginzburg in particular has argued that some of these traditions influenced the conception of witchcraft in Christendom, in particular ideas regarding the witches' sabbath, leading to the events of the witch trials in the Early Modern period.[170]
Some of these Italian traditions survived into the 20th and early 21st
centuries, allowing Italian-American sociologist Sabina Magliocco to
make a brief study of them (2009).[171]
Eskimo groups inhabit a huge area stretching from Eastern Siberia through Alaska and Northern Canada (including Labrador Peninsula) to Greenland. Shamanistic practice and beliefs have been recorded at several parts of this vast area crosscutting continental borders.
When speaking of "shamanism" in various Eskimo groups, we must
remember that (as mentioned above) the term "shamanism" can cover
certain characteristics of various different cultures.[15]Mediation is regarded often as an important aspect of shamanism in general.[174] Also in most Eskimo groups, the role of mediator is known well:[175]
the person filling it in is actually believed to be able to contact the
beings who populate the belief system. Term "shaman" is used in several
English-language publications also in relation to Eskimos.[110][173][176][177] Also the alignalghi (IPA: [aˈliɣnalʁi]) of the Asian Eskimos is translated as "shaman" in the Russian[178] and English[175] literature.
The belief system assumes specific links between the living people, the souls of hunted animals, and those of dead people.[179] The soul concepts of several groups are specific examples of soul dualism (showing variability in details in the various cultures).
Unlike the majority of shamanisms the careers of most Eskimo shamans lack the motivation of force: becoming a shaman is usually a result of deliberate consideration, not a necessity forced by the spirits.[53]
Diversity, with similarities
Another
possible concern: do the belief systems of various Eskimo groups have
such common features at all, that would justify any mentioning them
together? There was no political structure above the groups, their
languages were relative, but differed more or less, often forming language continuums.[180]
There are similarities in the cultures of the Eskimo groups[181][182][183][184][185] together with diversity, far from homogeneity.[186]
The Russian linguist Menovshikov (Меновщиков), an expert of Siberian Yupik and Sireniki Eskimo languages (while admitting that he is not a specialist in ethnology)[187] mentions, that the shamanistic seances of those Siberian Yupik and Sireniki groups he has seen have many similarities to those of Greenland Inuit groups described by Fridtjof Nansen,[188]
although a large distance separates Siberia and Greenland. There may be
certain similarities also in Asiatic groups with North American ones.[189] Also the usage of a specific shaman's language is documented among several Eskimo groups, used mostly for talking to spirits.[190][191] Also the Ungazighmiit (belonging to Siberian Yupiks) had a special allegoric usage of some expressions.[192]
The local cultures showed great diversity. The myths concerning
the role of shaman had several variants, and also the name of their
protagonists varied from culture to culture. For example, a mythological
figure, usually referred to in the literature by the collective term Sea Woman, has factually many local names: Nerrivik "meat dish" among Polar Inuit, Nuliayuk "lubricous" among Netsilingmiut, Sedna "the nether one" among Baffin Land Inuit.[193] Also the soul conceptions, e.g. the details of the soul dualism showed great variability, ranging from guardianship to a kind of reincarnation. Conceptions of spirits or other beings had also many variants (see e.g. the tupilaq concept).[194]
Native American and First Nations
cultures have diverse religious beliefs and there was never one
universal Native American religion or spiritual system. Although many
Native American cultures have traditional healers, ritualists, singers, mystics, lore-keepers and Medicine people,
none of them ever used, or use, the term "shaman" to describe these
religious leaders. Rather, like other indigenous cultures the world
over, their spiritual functionaries are described by words in their own
languages, and in many cases are not taught to outsiders.
Many of these indigenous religions have been grossly
misrepresented by outside observers and anthropologists, even to the
extent of superficial or seriously mistaken anthropological accounts
being taken as more authentic than the accounts of actual members of the
cultures and religions in question. Often these accounts suffer from "Noble Savage"-type romanticism and racism.
Some contribute to the fallacy that Native American cultures and
religions are something that only existed in the past, and which can be
mined for data despite the opinions of Native communities.[195]
Not all Indigenous communities have roles for specific
individuals who mediate with the spirit world on behalf of the
community. Among those that do have this sort of religious structure,
spiritual methods and beliefs may have some commonalities, though many
of these commonalities are due to some nations being closely related,
from the same region, or through post-Colonial governmental policies
leading to the combining of formerly independent nations on
reservations. This can sometimes lead to the impression that there is
more unity among belief systems than there was in antiquity.
With the arrival of European settlers and colonial
administration, the practice of Native American traditional beliefs was
discouraged and Christianity was imposed[196]
upon the indigenous people. In most communities, the traditions were
not completely eradicated, but rather went underground, and were
practiced secretly until the prohibitive laws were repealed.[197]
Up until and during the last hundred years, thousands of Native American and First Nations children from many different communities were sent into the Canadian Indian residential school system, and Indian boarding schools in an effort to destroy tribal languages, cultures and beliefs. The Trail of Tears,
in the US, forced Native Americans to relocate from their traditional
homes. Canadian laws enacted in 1982, and henceforth, have attempted to
reverse previous attempts at extinguishing Native culture.[198]
The Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon have an elaborate cosmological system predicated on the ritual consumption of ayahuasca, which is a key feature of their society.[199]
Santo Daime and União do Vegetal ( abbreviated to UDV) are syncretic religions with which use an entheogen called ayahuasca in an attempt to connect with the spirit realm and receive divine guidance.[54]
In the Peruvian Amazon basin and north coastal regions of the country, the healers are known as curanderos. Ayahuasqueros are Peruvians who specialize in the use of ayahuasca.[199]Ayahuasqueros have become popular among Western spiritual seekers, who claim that the ayauasqueros and their ayahuasca brews have cured them of everything from depression to addiction to cancer.[54]
In addition to curanderos use of ayahuasca and their ritualized ingestion of mescaline-bearing San Pedro cactuses (Trichocereus pachanoi) for the divination and diagnosis of sorcery, north-coastal shamans are famous throughout the region for their intricately complex and symbolically dense healing altars called mesas (tables).[200]Sharon
(1993) has argued that the mesas symbolize the dualistic ideology
underpinning the practice and experience of north-coastal shamanism.[201]
For Sharon, the mesas are the, "physical embodiment of the supernatural
opposition between benevolent and malevolent energies" (Dean 1998: 61).[202]
In several tribes living in the Amazon rainforest, the spiritual leaders also act as managers of scarce ecological resources[46][48][94] The rich symbolism in Tukano culture has been documented in field works[46][203][204] even in the last decades of the 20th century.
The yaskomo of the Waiwai is believed to be able to perform a soul flight. The soul flight can serve several functions:
healing
flying to the sky to consult cosmological beings (the moon or the brother of the moon) to get a name for a newborn baby
flying to the cave of peccaries' mountains to ask the father of peccaries for abundance of game
flying deep down in a river, to achieve the help of other beings.
Thus, a yaskomo is believed to be able to reach sky, earth, and water.[205]
Mapuche
Among the Mapuche people of Chile, Machi
is usually a woman who serves the community by performing ceremonies to
cure diseases, ward off evil, influence the weather and harvest, and by
practicing other forms of healing such as herbalism.
Aymara
For the Aymara people of South America the Yatiri is a healer who heals the body and the soul, they serve the community and do the rituals for Pachamama.
Part of the healing power attributed to shamanic practices
depends of the use of plant alkaloids taken during the therapeutic
sessions.
Although Fuegians (the indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego) were all hunter-gatherers,[206]
they did not share a common culture. The material culture was not
homogenous, either: the big island and the archipelago made two
different adaptations possible. Some of the cultures were
coast-dwelling, others were land-oriented.[207][208]
Both Selk'nam and Yámana had persons filling in shaman-like roles.
The Selk'nams believed their /xon/s to have supernatural capabilities, e.g. to control weather.[209][210] The figure of /xon/ appeared in myths, too.[211] The Yámana /jekamuʃ/[212] corresponds to the Selknam /xon/.[213]
Oceania
On the island of Papua New Guinea, indigenous tribes believe that illness and calamity are caused by dark spirits, or masalai, which cling to a person's body and poison them. Shamans are summoned in order to purge the unwholesome spirits from a person.[214][215] Shamans also perform rainmaking ceremonies and can allegedly improve a hunter's ability to catch animals.[216]
In Australia various aboriginal groups refer to their shamans as "clever men" and "clever women" also as kadji. These aboriginal shamans use maban or mabain,
the material that is believed to give them their purported magical
powers. Besides healing, contact with spiritual beings, involvement in
initiation and other secret ceremonies, they are also enforcers of
tribal laws, keepers of special knowledge and may "hex" to death one who breaks a social taboo by singing a song only known to the "clever men".
Africa
Sangoma/Inyanga performing a traditional baptism on a baby in order to protect the spirit of the baby, Johannesburg, South Africa
In Mali, Dogon sorcerers (both male and female) communicate with a spirit named Amma, who advises them on healing and divination practices.
The classical meaning of shaman as a person who, after recovering
from a mental illness (or insanity) takes up the professional calling
of socially recognized religious practitioner, is exemplified among the Sisala
(of northern Gold Coast) : "the fairies "seized" him and made him
insane for several months. Eventually, though, he learned to control
their power, which he now uses to divine."[217]
The term sangoma, as employed in Zulu
and congeneric languages, is effectively equivalent to shaman. Sangomas
are highly revered and respected in their society, where illness is
thought to be caused by witchcraft,[218] pollution (contact with impure objects or occurrences), bad spirits, or the ancestors themselves,[219] either malevolently, or through neglect if they are not respected, or to show an individual her calling to become a sangoma (thwasa).[220]
For harmony between the living and the dead, vital for a trouble-free
life, the ancestors must be shown respect through ritual and animal
sacrifice.[221]
The term inyanga also employed by the Nguni cultures is equivalent to 'herbalist' as used by the Zulu people and a variation used by the Karanga,[222] among whom remedies (locally known as muti)
for ailments are discovered by the inyanga being informed in a dream,
of the herb able to effect the cure and also of where that herb is to be
found. The majority of the herbal knowledge base is passed down from
one inyanga to the next, often within a particular family circle in any one village.
Shamanism is known among the Nuba of Kordofan in Sudan.[223][224]
Contemporary Western shamanism
There is an endeavor in some contemporary occult and esoteric circles to reinvent shamanism in a modern form, often drawing from core shamanism—a set of beliefs and practices synthesized by Michael Harner—centered
on the use of ritual drumming and dance, and Harner's interpretations
of various indigenous religions. Harner has faced criticism for taking
pieces of diverse religions out of their cultural contexts and
synthesising a set of universal shamanic techniques. Some neoshamans
focus on the ritual use of entheogens, [225] and also embrace the philosophies of chaos magic[citation needed] while others (such as Jan Fries)[226] have created their own forms of shamanism.
European-based neoshamanic traditions are focused upon the researched or imagined traditions of ancient Europe, where many mystical
practices and belief systems were suppressed by the Christian church.
Some of these practitioners express a desire to practice a system that
is based upon their own ancestral traditions. Some anthropologists and
practitioners have discussed the impact of such neoshamanism as "giving
extra pay" (Harvey, 1997 and elsewhere) to indigenous American
traditions, particularly as many pagan or heathen shamanic practitioners
do not call themselves shamans, but instead use specific names derived
from the European traditions—they work within such as völva or seidkona (seid-woman) of the sagas (see Blain 2002, Wallis 2003).
Many spiritual seekers travel to Peru to work with ayahuasqueros, shamans who engage in the ritual use of ayahuasca,
a psychedelic tea which has been documented to cure everything from
depression to addiction. When taking ayahuasca, participants frequently
report meeting spirits, and receiving divine revelations.[54]
Shamanistic techniques have also been used in New Age therapies which
use enactment and association with other realities as an intervention.[227][228]
Criticism of the term
A
tableau presenting figures of various cultures filling in mediator-like
roles, often being termed as "shaman" in the literature. The tableau
presents the diversity of this concept.
The 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.[7] This includes criticism of New Age
and modern Western forms of shamanism, which, according to Kehoe,
misrepresent or dilute indigenous practices. Alice Kehoe also believes
that the term reinforces racist ideas such as the Noble Savage.
Kehoe is highly critical of Mircea Eliade's
work on shamanism as an invention synthesized from various sources
unsupported by more direct research. To Kehoe, citing that ritualistic
practices (most notably drumming, trance, chanting, entheogens and
hallucinogens, spirit communication and healing) as being definitive of
shamanism is poor practice. Such citations ignore the fact that those
practices exist outside of what is defined as shamanism and play similar
roles even in non-shamanic cultures (such as the role of chanting in Judeo-Christian
and Islamic rituals) and that in their expression are unique to each
culture that uses them. Such practices cannot be generalized easily,
accurately, or usefully into a global religion of shamanism. Because of
this, Kehoe is also highly critical of the hypothesis that shamanism is
an ancient, unchanged, and surviving religion from the Paleolithic period.[7]
Anthropologist Mihály Hoppál
also discusses whether the term "shamanism" is appropriate. He notes
that for many readers, "-ism" implies a particular dogma, like Buddhism
or Judaism. He recommends using the term "shamanhood"[229] or "shamanship"[230] (a term used in old Russian and German ethnographic
reports at the beginning of the 20th century) for stressing the
diversity and the specific features of the discussed cultures. He
believes that this places more stress on the local variations[15] and emphasizes that shamanism is not a religion of sacred dogmas, but linked to the everyday life in a practical way.[231] Following similar thoughts, he also conjectures a contemporary paradigm shift.[229]Piers Vitebsky
also mentions that, despite really astonishing similarities, there is
no unity in shamanism. The various, fragmented shamanistic practices and
beliefs coexist with other beliefs everywhere. There is no record of
pure shamanistic societies (although, as for the past, their existence
is not impossible).[232]
Norwegian social anthropologist Hakan Rydving has likewise argued for
the abandonment of the terms "shaman" and "shamanism" as "scientific
illusions."[233]
Dulam Bumochir has affirmed the above critiques of "shamanism" as
a Western construct created for comparative purposes and, in an
extensive article, has documented the role of Mongols themselves,
particularly "the partnership of scholars and shamans in the
reconstruction of shamanism" in post-1990/post-communist Mongolia.[234]
This process has also been documented by Swiss anthropologist Judith
Hangartner in her landmark study of Darhad shamans in Mongolia.[235] Historian Karena Kollmar-Polenz argues that the social construction and
reification of shamanism as a religious "other" actually began with the
18th century writings of Tibetan Buddhist monks in Mongolia and later
"probably influenced the formation of European discourse on Shamanism".
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