Shamanism

There are many traditions of shamanism throughout the word, which have been shaped by the people who live in unique cultures and religious communities. Mostly though a shaman is a person who allows themselves to enter a different consciousness in order to have a spiritual experience. As Stutley says, shamans “are found throughout the vast regions of Central Asia and Siberia, and to a lesser extent in Europe and other countries especially North and South America” . Some traditions focus on the eating of ritual plants or drinks, and other focus on the magic element of dance or trance states. The traditions of the shamans are influenced by the natural world where the shamans are living. For example, shamans living in the mountains might have a…

Korean shamanism is a religion which includes many communal and private magic rituals. The rituals rely on the shaman’s individual experience as well as her abilities to contact the spirit world where the shamanistic gods live. By communicating and placating the gods, the shaman can predict and change the future. For over 40,000 years, people have believed that there is another world where all the spirits live. It is this idea that Shamanism is based on. The roots of this religion in Korea…

1. Shamanism is an ancient religious behavior that is the basis of the neo-shamanism, the western version of the religion, the two however similar do have differences. One distinct difference between the two is that shamanism is a technique while neo-shamanism is a religion. Both have a shaman, a religious specialist who has the ability to enter a trance state to communicate with the spirits or spiritual world. The difference between the two is that in neo-shamanism they believe that shamic…

Religious experiences have often been associated with a specific, culturally-set location and particular types of music. Anglican or Lutheran Christianity, for example, takes place in the church and is accompanied by organ music (see for example Evans 2006). Contemporary shamanism, as a form of spiritual practice, differs from these types of associations, as the shamanic practitioner can move the sacred space easily from one location to the next. Music and sounds are essential parts of this…

In some societies, religious rituals are performed by the members of the community. In some rituals, members would hire a religious specialist to cure someone who carries an illness. A shaman is classified as one of the following religion specialists. The term “shaman” has been used in different ways by different people. According to Rebecca L. Stein & Philip L. Stein, “the term shaman actually comes from the Tungus language of Central Siberia” (Stein & Stein, P. 120). “It refers to the…

Religious expressions have appeared in all societies throughout history. One of the earliest belief systems was Shamanism. Shamanism if the belief to communicate or mediate between the world of spirits and the world of humans. These practices were believed to have been used to ward off misfortunes, such as poor harvests or disease. Animism, similar to Shamanism, was widespread among many societies in Africa and in the Pacific Islands of Polynesia. This belief was that gods and goddesses…

the Otomíes and surrounding indigenous groups. The television and radio emphasize the use of Spanish as the primary language and replace traditional values with modern ones. They also encourage the village groups to move to the cities. Due to the social changes that have taken place over the last hundred years, the function and importance of masks in many communities has faded away. Young people do not see any value or necessity in becoming a mask maker today, so in manly villages mask making as…

The Inuit tribe also was known as “Artic People” or “Eskimos” were the first settlers in the northern hemisphere of the earth, they settled in extremely cold climates located in Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Greenland. They were some of the first native people of North America and were forced to settled in these cold climates due to hostile Indians and the south having no good land available. Being able to adapt easily the Inuit people have been able to sustain life for their tribe for thousands…

When cultures go through changes and start adapting to a new modern world, aspects of their traditions and way of life change. They went from hunting and gathering to becoming more agricultural or domesticated. While these technological advances can bring prosperity, there are also many long term consequences that can see today. One big aspect of traditional cultures was the idea of interconnectedness. This means that all of their aspects of life such as religion and politics and the economy…

Shamanism in its general sense, is a system of techniques and practices which allow the practitioner (shaman), to move beyond the ordinary world. The reasons for ancient shamans “moving to the beyond” included finding information about the weather, migration patterns of animals for hunting, which plants were edible or had healing properties, methods of healing, inspiration and instruction for making practical or sacred objects, and generally finding out how the Universe worked. The word “shaman”…