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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印 A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyLiver of Piacenza A bronze sheep's liver inscribed with Etruscan deity names, used for divination.Substance · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical

🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreSámi drumgoavddis A ceremonial instrument used by Sámi noaidi for trance and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiBois Caïman The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesBabaylan Spiritual leaders of pre-colonial Philippines who mediated with the unseen world.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇸 SpainSorginak Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 FinlandVäki A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇰🇷 South KoreaDongti동티 Divine punishment in Korean mythology, often manifesting as sudden illness or death.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇳🇿 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 🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇭 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 🇨🇦 CanadaPinga An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreYellow shamanismШар бөө A Mongolian and Siberian shamanic tradition blended with Buddhist ritualsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Historical 🇺🇸 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

🇪🇸 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

🇮🇪 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

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

🇦🇺 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

🇨🇳 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

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

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreNekyiaνέκυια An ancient Greek rite for summoning and questioning the deadRite · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaTunggal panaluan A carved magic staff of the Batak shamans in North SumatraCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical

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
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, 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
Liver of Piacenza: Piacenza_Bronzeleber.jpg : Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nekyia: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Tunggal panaluan: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Babaylan: Hptina24, CC BY-SA 4.0, source