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SHAMANISMOriginally, The term Shamanism was used to classify certain religions of Arctic and Central Asian peoples. Thus, it was based on the religions of the people of Northern Asia and Mongolia like Tengriism. But since many principles reoccur in other analogous, nature based religions the term is applied more generally. Some texts about Shamanism can be read at Sacred Texts. A Shaman is a person who uses magic to cure the sick, divine the unknown, or control events. Both men and women can be shamans. As medicine man and priest, the shaman cures illnesses, directs communal sacrifices, and escorts the souls of the dead to the other world. He operates by using techniques of ecstasy, the power to leave his body at will during a trance like state. In cultures where shamanism occurs, sickness is usually thought of as soul loss; it is thus the shaman's task to enter the spirit world, capture the soul, and reintegrate it in the body. A person becomes a shaman either by inheritance or by self-election. | |||||||||
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