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EveryJaadu

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 AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreOjibwe religion The traditional spiritual practices of the Ojibwe people of North AmericaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading 🇮🇳 IndiaBhuta KolaBhūta Kōla A Tulu folk dance and ritual where spirits are channelled into human performersTradition · 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 🇯🇵 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 🇬🇷 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 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOvooовоо A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism) A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean shamanism무속 A Korean folk religion centered on ritual specialists who mediate between humans and spiritsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived 🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniỌdịnanị The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 5 moreKava culture A shared ritual across Oceania where a root brew marks ceremony, respect, and social gathering.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreQuyllurit'iQoyllur Rit'i A syncretic Andean pilgrimage celebrating the Pleiades and the Lord of Star SnowTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿 Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing 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 🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing 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 🇲🇳 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 States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity 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 🇩🇿 AlgeriaMawsimموسم Annual Maghrebi festival blending Sufi veneration with social and economic gatheringTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

Photo credits on this page

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

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.