Shamans

Specialists who travel to or call the spirit world on behalf of a community.

A shaman is a specialist who is believed to travel to, call or negotiate with the spirit world on behalf of a community. The word comes from the Evenki language of Siberia, and scholars now apply it to Mongolian, Korean, Sami, Amazonian and many other traditions. Many communities use their own words and dislike the general label. This page covers how shamans are chosen, who may be one, and how the term has been used and misused.

Calling and training

A shaman is usually described as chosen, often through illness, dreams or visions, and then trained by a senior. In Korea, the mudang may undergo a spirit illness called sinbyeong before initiation. In the Amazon, long apprenticeship and dietary rules are reported. In Mongolia and Siberia, the drum, costume and songs are inherited and taught. Many communities say a person who refuses the call risks suffering. The drum, rattle, mirror and costume are tools of the trade, and the songs they sing are often learned from earlier shamans or received in dreams.

Gender and standing

Gender patterns differ. Korean shamans are mostly women, while Siberian traditions include both men and women, and some, as with the Sami noaidi, were mostly men. Status also varies: a shaman may be honoured, feared or looked down on. In Korea, mudang have long been low in social rank while hired for the most important family rites. Shamans often have an ordinary life as hunters, farmers or herders, and are called on only when a community needs them.

Suppression and revival

Shamanism has been persecuted. Soviet authorities imprisoned and killed Siberian shamans, Chinese and Japanese governments restricted shamanic rites in modern times, and Christian missions banned them. Since the 1990s there has been revival in Mongolia, Tuva and Buryatia. In Korea, shaman rites are now listed as intangible cultural heritage, even as Protestant groups criticise them. Soviet campaigns treated shamans as enemies of progress, and some were killed as class enemies in the 1930s.

Appropriation and scholarship

Mircea Eliade's 1951 book on shamanism made the word global, and critics say it flattened very different practices. Neo-shamanism and paid workshops in the West sell techniques without community authority, which many Indigenous leaders oppose. Some ceremonies and knowledge are closed to outsiders, and a visitor should ask before attending or recording anything. Scholars also note that shamanism is a Western category, and critics suggest it has been stretched over practices that have little in common.

Shamans on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSan religion Traditional beliefs of the San peoples of Southern Africa, centered on trance and rock artTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore) A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living

🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreAinu religion The animist spiritual beliefs and ritual practices of the Ainu people of Japan and RussiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreApu Sacred mountain spirits in Andean tradition that protect communities and control natural resourcesBeing · Protection · Healing Living

🇻🇺 VanuatuLand divingnanggol A ritual jump from a wooden tower using vines to ensure a good harvestRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAsian witchcraft A broad overview of magical practices and persecution across Asian culturesTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Living

🇷🇺 RussiaReindeer in Siberian shamanism The role of reindeer as spirit helpers, ritual tools, and burial vehicles in the shamanic traditions of Northern AsiaTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRegional forms of shamanism A global overview of indigenous spirit-interaction practices across Asia and the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreNuo folk religion傩 (Nuó) A Chinese exorcistic tradition using wooden masks and ancestor worship to drive away malevolent forcesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living 🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 IndiaMaibi Jagoi A shamanic ritual dance performed by Maibis during the Lai Haraoba ceremony in Manipur.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇵🇪 PeruChakapa A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreKromanti dance A sacred Jamaican Maroon ceremony rooted in Asante traditions and ancestral possessionRite · Healing · Protection Living 🇲🇽 MexicoVelada A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaCleverman A traditional Aboriginal healer and cultural keeper in Australia with varied magical abilities.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 Traditional Korean shamanistic music performed during gut rituals to induce tranceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreKiratism The indigenous animist and shamanic religion of the Kirati peoples in Nepal and IndiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇵 Nepal and 3 moreGurung ShamanismTamu Cho The ancient shamanic beliefs and rituals of the Gurung people in NepalTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreBanjhakri and Banjhakrini Forest shamans of the Kirati people in Nepal and eastern IndiaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOngon Ancestor spirits in Mongolian shamanism, represented by consecrated idols and talismansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ) A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreTsentsak Invisible darts used by Amazonian shamans for healing and sorcerySubstance · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreBullroarer A wooden slat on a string that produces a roaring sound for ritual and communication.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreImitation of sounds in shamanism Shamanic vocal and musical mimicry of nature to invoke spirits or transform identityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇰🇪 KenyaFingo A protective talisman of the Mijikenda people in KenyaCharm · Protection Living

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Chakapa: Mario Martín /Archivo Centro Takiwasi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Ongon: Vyacheslav Kirillin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banjhakri and Banjhakrini: RajashreeTalukdar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Kiratism: TheDreamSky ( talk ), CC BY 3.0, source
Nuo folk religion: Wikiwikiyarou, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Barong: Skha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Palo Santo: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
Maibi Jagoi: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
Asian witchcraft: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Public domain, source
Reindeer in Siberian shamanism: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Land diving: Paul Stein, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Apu: Cecilia Sacsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ainu religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
Tsentsak: Veton PICQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source