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

🇵🇭 PhilippinesWitchcraft in the Philippinespangkukulam Indigenous beliefs about sorcery and malevolent magic in the PhilippinesTradition · Cursing and harm · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm 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

🇺🇸 United StatesHawaiian religion The traditional spiritual practices of the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, centered on deities and ancestral guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇺🇸 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text · Healing · Protection Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

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

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekersTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇫🇮 FinlandVäki A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical

🇷🇺 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

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing 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 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇲🇽 MexicoVelada A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · 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

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical

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

🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading 🇳🇵 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 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇵🇪 PeruChakapa A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreSanni Yakumaසන්නි යකුම A traditional Sinhalese exorcism ritual featuring eighteen masked dances to banish illness-causing demons.Rite · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaCleverman A traditional Aboriginal healer and cultural keeper in Australia with varied magical abilities.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm 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

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

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living

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

🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority 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

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
Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
Asian witchcraft: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Public domain, source
Reindeer in Siberian shamanism: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source
Tsentsak: Veton PICQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source