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

🇺🇸 United StatesChepi A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreKromanti dance A sacred Jamaican Maroon ceremony rooted in Asante traditions and ancestral possessionRite · Healing · Protection Living

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaTunggal panaluan A carved magic staff of the Batak shamans in North SumatraCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇳 MongoliaBlack shamanismХар бөө A Mongolian shamanic tradition working with lower spirits and ancestral power.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Revived 🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaMaibi Jagoi A shamanic ritual dance performed by Maibis during the Lai Haraoba ceremony in Manipur.Rite · 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

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreTsentsak Invisible darts used by Amazonian shamans for healing and sorcerySubstance · Cursing and harm · Protection Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaTjurunga Sacred objects of the Arrernte people, embodying ancestral power and clan identity.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTigmamanukan A pre-colonial Tagalog omen bird believed to guide journeys and aid creationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇰🇪 KenyaFingo A protective talisman of the Mijikenda people in KenyaCharm · Protection Living 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical

🇰🇷 South KoreaMengdu멩두 Brass ritual instruments central to Jeju Island shamanismCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Fading

🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading

🇮🇳 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

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇺🇦 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

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTagalog religion The pre-colonial spiritual system of the Tagalog people in the Philippines.Tradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan and 2 moreKumalakқұмалақ A Central Asian shamanic divination using stones or dung sorted on a gridOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOngon Ancestor spirits in Mongolian shamanism, represented by consecrated idols and talismansBeing · 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 🇳🇵 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 🇨🇦 CanadaPinga An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇿🇦 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

🇪🇸 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇵 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada López de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Ongon: Vyacheslav Kirillin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banjhakri and Banjhakrini: RajashreeTalukdar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kiratism: TheDreamSky ( talk ), CC BY 3.0, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Maibi Jagoi: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
Tjurunga: No machine-readable author provided. Sepu~commonswiki assumed (based o, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Tigmamanukan: Illustrator and uploader Dragonbite ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source
Tunggal panaluan: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tsentsak: Veton PICQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mengdu: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source