Last Updated: Wednesday, September 01, 1999

Shamanism-An Overview

The following general overview of shamanism is not intended to

be the last word or the definitive work on this subject. Rather it is, as

its title implies, intended to provide the participant or reader with a set

of guidelines that will familiarize them with the general use of the terms

shamanism, shaman and shamanic in the trends, study and practice of

historic, traditional and contemporary shamanic experience.

The word 'shaman comes to English from the Tungus language

via Russian. Among the Tungus of Siberia it is both a noun and a

verb. While the Tungus have no word for shamanism, it has

come into usage by anthropologists, historians of religion and

others in contemporary society to designate the experience and the

practices of the shaman. Its usage has grown to include similar

experiences and practices in cultures outside of the original

Siberian cultures from which the term shaman originated. Thus

shamanism is not the name of a religion or group of religions.

Particular attention should be paid to the use of qualifying words

such as "may" or "usually". They indicate examples or tendencies and

are not, in any way, intended to represent rigid standards

Please send comments to deane@netcom.com (Dean Edwards).

 It is intended for the private non-commercial use.

It may not be sold or resold without the permission

of the author.

1. Terms used in this FAQ
2. What is shamanism?
3. What is Shamanic Ecstasy?
4. Becoming a shaman
5. The role of trauma in the development of a shaman
6. The relationship between shamanic traditions and culture
7. The role of Shamanic Ecstasy
8. The origin of the term "shamanism"
9. Roles of the shaman
10. Reasons for this FAQ
11. What recommended books are available on shamanism?
12. What useful books are available about Siberian, Central Asian, and Finno-Uralic shamanism?

Why were the terms used in this FAQ selected and do they have special

meanings. There is an extensive literature about shamanism that has been

compiled since the late Eighteenth Century. Like any field of study and

religious practice, shamanism has developed a specialized vocabulary.

Please note that some of the words used in the material that follows are

drawn from scholars who have a solid background in shamanic studies and

may have meanings that are specific and less general than is often the

case in popular usage. Consulting a good dictionary should clear up any

points of confusion.

Shamanism is classified by anthropologists as an archaic

magico-religious phenomenon in which the shaman is the great master

of ecstasy. Shamanism itself, was defined by the late Mircea Eliade

as a technique of ecstasy. A shaman may exhibit a particular magical

specialty (such as control over fire, wind or magical flight). When a

specialization is present the most common is as a healer. The

distinguishing characteristic of shamanism is its focus on an

ecstatic trance state in which the soul of the shaman is believed to

leave the body and ascend to the sky (heavens) or descend into the

earth (underworld). The shaman makes use of spirit helpers, with

whom he or she communicates, all the while retaining control over

his or her own consciousness. (Examples of possession occur, but

are the exception, rather than the rule.) It is also important to

note that while most shamans in traditional societies are men,

either women or men may and have become shamans.

(and how does it compare with other forms of ecstasy?)

From the Greek 'ekstasis', ecstasy literally means to be placed

outside, or to be placed. This is a state of exaltation in which a

person stands outside of or transcends his or herself. Ecstasy may

range from the seizure of the body by a spirit or the seizure of a

person by the divine, from the magical transformation or flight of

consciousness to psychiatric remedies of distress.

Three types of Ecstasy are specified in the literature on the subject:

a. Shamanic Ecstasy

b. Prophetic Ecstasy

c. Mystical Ecstasy

Shamanic ecstasy is provoked by the ascension of the soul of the

shaman into the heavens or its descent into the underworld. These

states of ecstatic exaltation are usually achieved after great and

strenuous training and initiation, often under distressing

circumstances. The resulting contact by the shaman with the

higher or lower regions and their inhabitants, and also with

nature spirits enables him or her to accomplish such tasks as

accompanying the soul of a deceased into its proper place in the

next world, affect the well-being of the sick and to convey the

story of their inner travels upon their return to the mundane

awareness.

The utterances of the shaman are in contrast with those of prophetic

and mystical ecstasy. The prophet literally speaks for God, while the

mystic reports an overwhelming divine presence. In mysticism, the

direct knowledge or experience of the divine ultimate reality, is

perceptible in two ways, emotional and intuitive. While these three

varieties of ecstatic experience are useful for the purposes of

analysis and discussion, it is not unusual for more than one form of

ecstasy to be present in an individual's experience.

However, it can be argued that, generally speaking, there are three

perceptive levels of ecstasy.

a) The physiological response, in which the mind becomes absorbed in

and focused on a dominant idea, the attention is withdrawn and the

nervous system itself is in part cut off from physical sensory input. The

body exhibits reflex inertia, involuntary nervous responses, frenzy.

b) Emotional perception of ecstasy refers to overwhelming feelings of awe,

anxiety, joy, sadness, fear, astonishment, passion, etc.

c) Intuitive perception communicates a direct experience and

understanding of the transpersonal experience of expanded states of

awareness or consciousness.

While the physiological response is always present, the emotional response

may or may not be significant when intuition is the principal means of

ecstatic perception. Some have argued that beyond the intuitive state there

is a fourth condition in which the holistic perception exceeds mental and

emotional limitations and understanding.

The ecstatic experience of the shaman goes beyond a feeling or perception of

the sacred, the demonic or of natural spirits. It involves the

shaman directly and actively in transcendent realities or lower realms of

being. These experiences may occur in either the dream state, the

awakened state, or both. Dreams, and in particular, lucid dreams, often

play a significant role in the life of a shaman or shamanic candidate.

Some have wondered if the experience of shamanic ecstasy or flight

makes a person a shaman. Generally speaking, most would say no.

A shaman is more than someone with an experience. First, he or she

is a trained initiate. Usually years of enculturalization and

training under a mentor precede becoming a functioning shaman.

Second, a shaman is not just an initiate who has received inner and

outer training, but is a master of shamanic journeying and techniques

(shamanic ecstasy). This is not a casual acquaintance with such

abilities, there is some degree of mastery of them. Finally, a

shaman is a link or bridge between this world and the next. This

is a sacred trust and a service to the community. Sometimes a

community that a shaman serves in is rather small. In other

instances it may be an entire nation. A lot of that depends on

social and cultural factors.

One becomes a shaman by one of three methods:

a) Hereditary transmission;

b) Spontaneous selection or "call" or "election";

c) personal choice and quest. (This latter method is less frequent

and traditionally such a shaman is considered less powerful than one

selected by one of the two preceding methods.) The shaman is not

recognized as legitimate without having undergone two types of

training:

a) Ecstatic (dreams, trances, etc.)

b) Traditional ("shamanic techniques, names and functions of

spirits, mythology and genealogy of the clan, secret language, etc.) The

two-fold course of instruction, given by the spirits and the old master

shamans is equivalent to an initiation." (Mircea Eliade, The Encyclopedia

of Religion, v. 13 , p. 202; Mcmillian, N.Y., 1987.) It is also possible

for the entire process to take place in the dream state or in ecstatic

experience.

Thus, there is more to becoming a shaman than a single experience.

It requires training, perseverance and service.

A common experience of the call to shamanism is a psychic or spiritual

crisis, which often accompanies a physical or even a medical crisis, and

is cured by the shaman him or herself. This is a common occurrence for

all three types of shamanic candidates described above. The shaman is

often marked by eccentric behavior such as periods of melancholy,

solitude, visions, singing in his or her sleep, etc. The inability of the

traditional remedies to cure the condition of the shamanic candidate and

the eventual self cure by the new shaman is a significant episode in

development of the shaman. The underlying significant aspect of this

experience, when it is present, is the ability of the shaman to manage

and resolve periods of distress.

Does the presence of an active shamanic tradition necessarily mean that

the society itself should be deemed "shamanic"?

The presence of shamanism in a nation or a community does

not mean that shamanism is central to the spiritual or religious life of

the community or region. Shamanism often exists alongside and even in

cooperation with the religious or healing practices of the community.

What is meant by shamanic ecstasy and what role does it actually play

in shamanism?

The ecstatic technique of shamanism does not involve itself in the broad

range of ecstasy reported in the history of religion. It is specifically

focused on the transpersonal movement of the consciousness of the

shaman into higher or lower realms of consciousness and existence.

Another aspect of shamanism is that compared to other spiritual

traditions, it is a path that the individual walks alone. While much of

the focus of shamanic studies has been on the shamanic complexes of north

and central Asia, shamanism is a universal phenomenon, not confined to any

particular region or culture.

Shaman comes from the language of the Tungus of North-Central Asia. It

came into use in English via Russian.

In contemporary, historical or traditional shamanic practice the shaman

may at times fill the role of priest, magician, metaphysician or healer.

Personal experience is the prime determinant of the status of a shaman.

Knowledge of other realms of being and consciousness and the cosmology of

those regions is the basis of the shamanic perspective and power. With this

knowledge, the shaman is able to serve as a bridge between the mundane and

the higher and lower states The shaman lives at the edge of reality as most

people would recognize it and most commonly at the edge of society itself.

Few indeed have the stamina to adventure into these realms and endure the

outer hardships and personal crises that have been reported by or

observed of many shamans.

This FAQ was originally written to support a new Usenet

newsgroup, 'soc.religion.shamanism'. The purpose of this

newsgroup is to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas,

views and information about historic, traditional, tribal and

contemporary shamanism. This FAQ is intended to provide a useful general

overview of what 'shamanism' actually means and what it is in practice.

In doing so, it has focused on shamanic ecstasy as being at the heart

of shamanic experience and practice. Many other aspects of shamanic

experience are encountered in the journey toward that center. Likewise,

much is also experienced in the journey out from that core experience.

(Items denoted by * are currently in print.)

*1. 91-55334: Arrien, Angeles 1940- The four-fold way : walking

the paths of the warrior, teacher, healer, and visionary.1st ed. [San

Francisco] : HarperSanFrancisco, c1993. xviii, 203 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

*2. Christman, Brian. Music & Trance in the Shamanic Universe. (Orig.)

Redwood Seed. 1993. 44p. pap.

3. 75-901516: Crookall, Robert, 1890- Ecstasy: the release of the

soul from the body. 1st ed. Moradabad: Darshana International,

1973. 163 p. ; 25 cm.

*4. 87-32233: Doore, Gary, compiled & edited by. Shaman's path:

healing, personal growth & empowerment. 1st ed. Boston:

Shambhala: Distributed in the U.S.A. by Random House, 1988.

xii, 236 p. ; 23 cm.

5. 81-15771: Drury, Nevill, 1947- The shaman and the magician:

journeys between the worlds. London ; Boston: Routledge & Kegan

Paul, 1982. xii, 129 p.: ill.; 22 cm.

*6. 91-115619: Eliade, Mircea, 1907- Shamanism : archaic

techniques of ecstasy. London, England: Arkana, 1989. xxiii, 610 p.;

22 cm.

*7. 91-21073: Flaherty, Gloria, 1938- Shamanism and the

eighteenth century. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University

Press, c1992. xv, 320 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

8. 89-45567: Goodman, Felicitas D. Where the spirits ride the wind:

trance journeys and other ecstatic experiences. Bloomington: Indiana

University Press, c1990. xii, 242 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

*9. 82-132245: Grim, John. Reflections on shamanism: the tribal

healer and the technological trance. Chambersburg, PA: Published

for the American Teilhard Association for the Future of Man by;

Anima Books, c1981. 16 p. 23 cm.

*10. 92-53905: Halifax, Joan. The fruitful darkness: reconnecting with

the body of the earth.1st ed. [San Francisco] : HarperSanFrancisco,

c1993. xxxi, 240 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

*11. 81-67705: Halifax, Joan. Shaman, the wounded healer. New York:

Crossroad, c1982. 96 p.: ill. (some col.); 28 cm.

London: Thames & Hudson, 1982, 1987.

*12. Harner, Michael J. Hallucinogens & Shamanism. Oxford University

Press, 1973.. xv, 200 p. illus. 22 cm.

*13. 89-46444: Harner, Michael J. The way of the shaman; 10th

anniversary ed., 1st Harper & Row pbk. ed., San Francisco: Harper

& Row, 1990. xxiv, 171 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

*14. 90-44703: Heinze, Ruth-Inge. Shamans of the 20th century; with

contributions by Charlotte Berney [et al.]. New York: Irvington,

1991. xx, 259 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

15. 90-175691: Hoppal, Mihaly and Sadovszky, Otto von, edited by.

Shamanism: past and present. Budapest: Ethnographic Institute,

Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Los Angeles: International Society

for Trans-Oceanic Research, 1989. 2 v.: ill.; 24 cm.

*16. 94-144219: Hughes-Calero, Heather. Circle of power / Sedona, Ariz. :

Higher Consciousness Books, 1993 137 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

*17. 91-73187: Hughes-Calero, Heather. The flight of Winged Wolf:

1st ed. Carmel, Calif. : Higher Consciousness Books, 1991. 159 p.: ill.;

23 cm.

*18. Hughes-Calero, Heather. The Shamanic Journey of Living as Soul.

1st ed.; Carmel, Calif.: Higher Consciousness Books,1994. 144 p.:

ill.; 23 cm.

30. 89-82151: Hughes-Calero, Heather. Woman between the wind.

1st ed. Carmel, Calif.: Higher Consciousness Books,1990. 156 p.:

ill. ; 23 cm.

*19. 90-56447: Ingerman, Sandra. Soul retrieval: mending the

fragmented self.1st ed. San Francisco, Calif.: HarperSanFrancisco,

c1991. xii, 221 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

*20. 93-4429: Ingerman, Sandra. Welcome home : following your soul's

journey home. 1st ed. [San Francisco, Calif.]: HarperSanFrancisco,.

c1993, 187 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

*21. 94-2722: International Conference on the Study of Shamanism and

Alternate Modes of Healing (10th : 1993: San Rafael, Calif.)

Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on the Study of

Shamanism & Alternate Modes of Healing: held at the St. Sabina

Center, San Rafael, California, September 4 to 6, 1993; Berkeley:

Independent Scholars .of Asia, 1994. p. cm.

*22. 92-47429: International Conference on the Study of Shamanism and

Alternate Modes of Healing (9th : 1992: San Rafael, Calif.) Proceedings

of the Ninth International Conference on the Study of Shamanism and

Alternate Modes of Healing: held at the St. Sabina Center, San Rafael,

California, September 5 to 7, 1992 / Berkeley, Calif. : Independent

Scholars of Asia, 1992. ix, 323 p. ; 23 cm.

*23. 92-6776: International Conference on the Study of Shamanism

and Alternate Modes of Healing (8th : 1991: San Rafael, Calif.)

Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on the Study

of Shamanism and Alternate Modes of Healing: held at the St.

Sabina Center, San Rafael, California, August 31 to September 2,

1991. [Berkeley] : Independent Scholars of Asia, c1991. vii,

354 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

24. 86-28856: Jamal, Michele. Shape shifters : shaman women in contemporary

society / New York : Arkana, 1987. xx, 204 p. : ports. ; 20 cm.

LC CALL NUMBER: BL458 .J36 1987

*25. 92-50127: Kalweit, Holger. Shamans, healers, and medicine men.

1st ed. Boston : Shambhala, 1992. x, 299 p., [8] p. of plates: ill.;

23 cm.

*26. 87-28842: Kalweit, Holger. Dreamtime & inner space: the world of the

shaman / 1st ed. Boston : Shambhala Publications ; [New York, N.Y.] :

Random House [Distributor], 1988. xvi, 297 p. ; 23 cm.

*27. 93-48357: Keeney, Bradford P. Shaking out the spirits : a

psychotherapist's entry into the healing mysteries of global

shamanism. Barrytown, N.Y. : Station Hill Press, c1994. vi, 179 p.:

ill. ; 23 cm.

*28. Larsen, Stephen. The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to

Power & Myth.. Barrytown, N.Y.: Station Hill Press, 1988. xii, 258 p.:

ill. ; 24 cm.

*29. 92-195879: Meadows, Kenneth. Earth medicine: a shamanic way

to self discovery. Shaftesbury, Dorset ; Rockport, Mass.: Element, 1991.

xi, 333 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

0*30. 92-194584: Meadows, Kenneth. The medicine way: a shamanic path to

self mastery. Shaftesbury, Dorset ; Rockport, Mass.: Element,1991. xx,

228 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

*31. 91-37142: Meadows, Kenneth. Shamanic experience : a

practical guide to contemporary shamanism. Shaftesbury,

Dorset; Rockport, Mass. : Element, 1991. 196 p.: ill. ; 24 cm.

*32. 92-56408: Mindell, Arnold, 1940- The shaman's body : a new

shamanism for transforming health, relationships, and community.

1st HarperCollins pbk. ed. [San Francisco, CA]: HarperSanFrancisco,

1993. xvi, 236 p.; 21 cm.

*33. 86-40405: Nicholson, Shirley; compiled by. Shamanism: an

expanded view of reality edited by 1st ed. Wheaton, Ill., U.S.A.:

Theosophical Pub. House, 1987. xxiii, 295 p.; 21 cm.

*34. 92-5415: Ripinsky-Naxon, Michael, 1944- The nature of

shamanism: substance and function of a religious metaphor.

Abany, N.Y. : State University of New York Press, c1993. xi, 289 p.:

ill. ; 24 cm.

*35. 92-46586: Sansonese, J. Nigro. The body of myth: mythology,

shamanic trance, and the sacred geography of the body. Rochester,

Vt.: Inner Traditions; [s.l.]: Distributed to the book trade in the

U.S. by International Distribution Corp., c1994. p. cm.

*36. 90-29017: Scott, Gini Graham. Shamanism & personal mastery:

using symbols, rituals, and talismans to activate the powers within

you.1st ed. New York : Paragon House, 1991. xiii, 284 p. ; 23 cm.

*37 Siikala, Anna-Leena. Studies on shamanism.

Helsinki Finish Anthropological Society ; Budapest : Akademiai

Kiado (HU) Humanities, 1992. 252 p.: ill.; 24 cm.

Budapest : Akademiai Kiado ; Helsinki :

Finnish Literature Society, 1992. xv, 252 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

*38. 93-246913: Thorpe, S. A. Shamans, medicine men and traditional

healers.: a comparative study of shamanism in Siberian Asia,

Southern Africa and North America 1st ed. Pretoria : University

of South Africa, 1993. 146 p. ; 22 cm.

*39. 86-31810: Villoldo, Alberto. Healing states. New York: Simon &

Schuster, 1987. xvi, 207 p., [8] p. of plates: ill.; 21 cm.

*40. 89-48642: Walsh, Roger N. The spirit of shamanism; Los Angeles:

J.P. Tarcher, 1990. p. cm.

*41. 94-30646: Warter, Carlos, 1947- Recovery of the sacred : lessons

in soul awareness; Deerfield Beach, Fla.: Health Communications, Inc.,

c1994. p. cm.

*42. 90-55404: Whitaker, Kay Cordell. The reluctant shaman : a

woman's first encounters with the unseen spirits of the earth.

1st ed. [San Francisco, Calif.]: HarperSanFrancisco, c1991.

viii, 296 p. ; 22 cm.

*43. 87-10643: Wilbert, Johannes. Tobacco and shamanism in South

America. New Haven: Yale University Press, c1987. xix, 294 p.:

ill. ; 25 cm.

1. 78-313734: Backman, Louise, 1926- Studies in Lapp shamanism.

Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1978. 128 p.: ill.;

24 cm.

*2. 89-77158: Balzer, Marjorie M., ed. Shamanism: Soviet Studies

of Traditional Religion in Siberia & Central Asia. Armonk, N.Y.:

M.E. Sharpe, c1990. xviii, 197 p.: ill. ; 24 cm.

3. 15-13480: Czaplicka, Marie Antoinette, d. 1921. Aboriginal

Siberia, a study in social anthropology, Oxford, Clarendon press,

1914. xiv p., 1 l., 374, [2] p. 16 pl., 2 fold. maps. 24 cm.

4. Dioszegi, Vilmos. Popular beliefs and folklore tradition in

Siberia. Edited by V. Dioszegi. English translation rev. by

Stephen P. Dunn.. Bloomington, Indiana University, c1968.

(Series title: Uralic and Altaic series ; v. 57).

5. 79-300802: Dioszegi and M. Hoppal., editors. Shamanism in

Siberia. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1978. 531 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

6. 70-398375: Dioszegi, Vilmos. Tracing Shamans in Siberia. The

story of an ethnographical research expedition. [Oosterhout]

Anthropological Publications [1968] 328 p., 24 p. of photos. 20 cm.

*7. 83-47834: Grim, John. The shaman: patterns of Siberian and

Ojibway healing / Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, c1983.

:xiv, 258 p. ill.; 22 cm.

8. 70-864890: Hatto, A. T. (Arthur Thomas) Shamanism and epic

poetry in Northern Asia, London, University of London (School of

Oriental and African Studies), 1970. [2], 19 p. 25 cm.

*9. 93-215323: Hoppal, M. & Pentikainen, J., eds. Northern religions

and shamanism; Budapest : Akademiai Kiado ; Helsinki : Finnish

Literature Society, 1992. xv, 214 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

10. 85-672605: Hoppal, Mihaly, editor. Shamanism in Eurasia.

Gottingen: Edition Herodot,. c1984. 2 v. (xxi, 475 p.): ill. ; 24 cm.

11. 79-322371: Siikala, Anna-Leena. The rite technique of the

Siberian shaman. Helsinki: Suomalainen tiedeakatemia: Akateeminen

kitjakauppa [jakaja], 1978. 385 p.; 24 cm.

*12. 92-169420: Symposium on the Saami Shaman Drum (1988:

Turku, Finland) The Saami Shaman Drum: based on papers read at the

Symposium on the Saami Shaman Drum held at Abo, Finland, on the

19th-20th of August 1988. Abo, Finland : Donner Institute for Research

in Religious and Cultural History; Stockholm, Sweden : Distributed by

Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1991. 182 p.: ill.; 25 cm.

*1. 92-53909: Cowan, Thomas Dale. Fire in the head: shamanism

and the Celtic spirit / 1st ed. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco,;

c1993. 222 p. 24 cm.

2. 88-132275: Naddair, Kaledon. Keltic folk & faerie tales: their

hidden meaning explored. London : Century, c1987. 269 p.: ill.;

25 cm.

*3. 94-33811: Matthews, Caitlin, 1952- Encyclopedia of Celtic wisdom :

the Celtic shaman's sourcebook; Shaftsbury, Dorset ; Rockport, Mass.:

Element, 1994. p. cm.

*4. 94-22046: Matthews, John, 1948- The Celtic shaman's pack:

exploring the inner worlds; Shaftesbury, Dorset ; Rockport, Mass.:

Element, 1994. p. cm.

*5. 91-46470: Stewart, R. J., 1949- Earth light : the ancient path

to transformation: rediscovering the wisdom of Celtic and faery lore.

Rockport, MA : Element, 1992. p. cm.

*6. 92-32310: Stewart, R. J., 1949- Power within the land: the

roots of Celtic and underworld traditions, awakening the sleepers,

and regenerating the earth. Shaftesbury, Dorset ; Rockport, MA:

Element, 1992. xxiii, 163 p. : ill.; 23 cm.

Dean Edwards deane@netcom.com

Last-modified: 28 October 1994

Version: 1.2

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