Sacred Texts  Index  Previous  Next 

sacred-texts |  Web | Powered by Google


Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com


 
 
                          Shamanism (Internet) 
 
 Overview-Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
 
 Summary: This FAQ contains a general overview on shamanism.
   It should be read by anyone interested in understanding the what
   is meant by shamanism and what differentiates shamanism form
   other forms of ecstatic experience
 Keywords:  shaman, anthropology, ethnography, consciousness, spirit,
 oobe
 Organization: La Casa del Paese Lontano
 Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 02:37:55 GMT
 Lines: 227
 
 Archive-name: shamanism/overview
 Last-modified: 8 March 1994
 Version: 1.1
 
 NOTE: The following general overview of shamanism is not intended to
 be the last word or the definitive work on this subject. Rather it is,
 as its title implies, intended to provide the participant or reader with
 a set of guidelines that will familiarize them with the general use of
 the terms shamanism, shaman and shamanic in the trends, study and
 practice of historic, traditional and contemporary shamanic experience.
 The word 'shaman comes to English from the Tungus language via Russian.
 Among the Tungus of Siberia it is both a noun and a verb. While the
 Tungus have no word for shamanism, it has come into usage by anthropolo-
 gists, historians of religion and others in contemporary society to
 designate the experience and the practices of the shaman. Its usage has
 grown to include similar experiences and practices in cultures outside
 of the original Siberian cultures from which the term shaman originated.
 Thus shamanism is not the name of a religion or group of religions.
 Particular attention should be paid to the use of qualifying words
 such as "may" or "usually". They indicate examples or tendencies and
 are not, in any way, intended to represent rigid standards
 Please send comments to deane@netcom.com (Dean Edwards).
 
 Shamanism-General Overview-Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
 (c  November, 1993 by Dean Edwards)
 This FAQ shall be posted monthly and is maintained by Dean Edwards
 (deane@netcom.com). It is intended for the private non-commercial use
 of Usenet users. It may not be sold without the permission of the
 author.
 
 Table of Contents:
 
  1. Terms used in this FAQ
  2. What is shamanism?
  3. What is Shamanic Ecstasy?
  4. Becoming a shaman
  5. The role of trauma in the development of a shaman
  6. The relationship between shamanic traditions and culture
  7. The role of Shamanic Ecstasy
  8. The origin of the term "shamanism"
  9. Roles of the shaman
 10. Reasons for this FAQ
 
 ................................................................................
 2707
 
 1. Why were the terms used in this FAQ selected and do they have special
 meanings. There is an extensive literature about shamanism that has been
 compiled since the late Eighteenth Century. Like any field of study and
 religious practice, shamanism has developed a specialized vocabulary.
 Please note that some of the words used in the material that follows are
 drawn from scholars who have a solid background in shamanic studies and
 may have meanings that are specific and less general than is often the
 case in popular usage. Consulting a good dictionary should clear up any
 points of confusion.
 
 2. What is Shamanism?
 Shamanism is classified by anthropologists as an archaic
 magico-religious phenomenon in which the shaman is the great master
 of ecstasy. Shamanism itself, was defined by the late Mircea Eliade
 as a technique of ecstasy. A shaman may exhibit a particular magical
 specialty (such as control over fire, wind or magical flight). When a
 specialization is present the most common is as a healer. The
 distinguishing characteristic of  shamanism is its focus on an
 ecstatic trance state in which the soul of the shaman is believed to
 leave the body and ascend to the sky (heavens) or descend into the
 earth (underworld). The shaman makes use of spirit helpers, which
 he or she communicates with, all the while retaining control over
 his or her own consciousness. (Examples of possession occur, but
 are the exception, rather than the rule.) It is also important to
 note that while most shamans in traditional societies are men,
 either women or men may and have become shamans.
 
 3. What is Shamanic Ecstasy and how does it compare with other
 forms of ecstasy?
 
  From the Greek 'ekstasis', ecstasy literally means to be placed
 outside, or to be placed.This is a state of exaltation in which a
 person stands outside of or transcends his or herself. Ecstasy may
 range from the seizure of the body by a spirit or the seizure of a
 person by the divine, from the magical transformation or flight of
 consciousness to psychiatric remedies of distress.
 
 Three types of Ecstasy are specified in the literature on the subject:
 1. Shamanic Ecstasy
 2. Prophetic Ecstasy
 3. Mystical Ecstasy
 
 Shamanic ecstasy is provoked by the ascension of the soul of the
 shaman into the heavens or its descent into the underworld. These
 states of ecstatic exaltation are usually achieved after great and
 strenuous training and initiation, often under distressing
 circumstances. The resulting contact by the shaman with the
 higher or lower regions and their inhabitants, and also with
 nature spirits enables him or her to accomplish such tasks as
 accompanying the soul of a deceased into its proper place in the
 next world, affect the well-being of the sick and to convey the
 story of their inner travels upon their return to the mundane
 awareness.
 
 The utterances of the shaman are in contrast with those of prophetic
 and mystical ecstasy. The prophet literally speaks for God, while the
 mystic reports an overwhelming divine presence. In mysticism, the
 direct knowledge or experience of the divine ultimate reality, which is
 2708
 
 perceptible in two ways, emotional and intuitive. While these three
 varieties of ecstatic experience are useful for the purposes of
 analysis and discussion, it is not unusual for more than one form of
 ecstasy to be present in an individual's experience.
 
 However, it can be argued that, generally speaking, there are three
 perceptive levels of ecstasy.
 1) The physiological response, in which the mind becomes absorbed in
 and focused on a dominant idea, the attention is withdrawn and the
 nervous system itself is in part cut off from physical sensory input.
 The body exhibits reflex inertia, involuntary nervous responses, frenzy.
 2) Emotional perception of ecstasy refers to overwhelming feelings of
 awe, anxiety, joy, sadness, fear, astonishment, passion, etc.
 3) Intuitive perception communicates a direct experience and
 understanding of the transpersonal experience of expanded states of
 awareness or consciousness.
 
 While the physiological response is always present, the emotional
 response may or may not be significant when intuition is the principal
 means of ecstatic perception. Some have argued that beyond the intuitive
 state there is a fourth condition in which the holistic perception
 exceeds mental and emotional limitations and understanding.
 
 The ecstatic experience of the shaman goes beyond a feeling or percep-
 tion of the sacred, the demonic or of natural spirits. It involves the
 shaman directly and actively in transcendent realities or lower realms
 of being.
 
 4. How does one become a shaman?
 
 Some have wondered if the experience of shamanic ecstasy or flight
 makes a person a shaman. Generally speaking, most would say no.
 A shaman is more than someone with an experience. First, he or she
 is a trained initiate. Usually years of trenculturalization and
 under a mentor precede becoming a functioning shaman. Second, a
 shaman is not just an initiate who has received inner and outer
 training, but is a master of shamanic journeying and techniques
 (shamanic ecstasy). This is not a casual acquaintance with such
 abilities, there is some degree of mastery of them. Finally, a
 shaman is a link or bridge between this world and the next. This
 is a sacred trust and a service to the community. Sometimes a
 community that a shaman serves in is rather small. In other
 instances it may be an entire nation. A lot of that depends on
 social and cultural factors.
 
 One becomes a shaman by one of three methods:
 a) Hereditary transmission;
 b) Spontaneous selection or "call" or "election";
 c) personal choice and quest. (This latter method is less frequent
 and traditionally such a shaman is considered less powerful than one
 selected by one of the two preceding methods.) The shaman is not
 recognized as legitimate without having undergone two types of
 training:
 1) Ecstatic (dreams, trances, etc.)
 2) Traditional ("shamanic techniques, names and functions of
 spirits,mythology and genealogy of the clan, secret language, etc.) The
 two-fold course of instruction, given by the spirits and the old master
 shamans is equivalent to an initiation." (Mircea Eliade, The Encyclo-
 2709
 
 pedia of Religion, v. 13 , p. 202; Mcmillian, N.Y., 1987.) It is also
 possible for the entire process to take place in the dream state or in
 ecstaticexperience.  Thus, there is more to becoming a shaman than a
 single experience.  It requires training, perseverance and service.
 
 5. What is the role of personal trauma or crisis in the selection or
 development of a shaman?
 A common experience of the call to shamanism is a psychic or spiritual
 crisis, which often accompanies a physical or even a medical crisis, and
 is cured by the shaman him or herself. This is a common occurrence for
 all three types of shamanic candidates described above. The shaman is
 often marked by eccentric behavior such as periods of melancholy,
 solitude, visions, singing in his or her sleep, etc. The inability of
 the traditional remedies to cure the condition of the shamanic candidate
 and the eventual self cure by the new shaman is a significant episode in
 development of the shaman. The underlying significant aspect of this
 experience, when it is present,is the ability of the shaman to manage
 and resolve periods of distress.
 
 6. Does the presence of an active shamanic tradition necessarily mean
 that the society itself should be deemed "shamanic"?
 No, not at all. The presence of shamanism in a nation or a community
 does not mean that shamanism is central to the spiritual or religious
 life of the community or region. Shamanism often exists alongside and
 even in cooperation with the religious or healing practices of the
 community.
 
 7. What is meant by shamanic ecstasy and what role does it actually play
 in shamanism?
 The ecstatic technique of shamanism does not involve itself in the broad
 range of ecstasy reported in the history of religion. It is specifically
 focused on the transpersonal movement of the consciousness of the
 shaman into higher or lower realms of consciousness and existence.
 Another aspect of shamanism is that compared to other spiritual
 traditions, it is a path that the individual walks alone. While much of
 the focus of shamanic studies has been on the shamanic complexes of
 north and central Asia, shamanism is a universal phenomenon, not
 confined to any particular region or culture.
 
 8. What is the origin of the word "shaman"?
 Shaman comes from the language of the Tungus of North-Central Asia. It
 came into use in English via Russian.
 
 9. What are the usual roles of a shaman?
 In contemporary, historical or traditional shamanic practice the shaman
 may at times fill the role of priest, magician, metaphysician or healer.
 Personal experience is the prime determinant of the status of a shaman.
 Knowledge of other realms of being and consciousness and the cosmology
 of those regions is the basis of the shamanic perspective and power.
 With this knowledge, the shaman is able to serve as a bridge between the
 mundane and the higher and lower states The shaman lives at the edge of
 reality as most people would recognize it and most commonly at the edge
 of society itself.  Few indeed have the stamina to adventure into these
 realms and endure the outer hardships and personal crises that have been
 reported by or observed of many shamans.
 
 10. Why was this FAQ written?
 This FAQ was originally written to support a new Usenet
 2710
 
 newsgroup, 'soc.religion.shamanism'. The purpose of this
 newsgroup is to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas,
 views and information about historic,traditional, tribal and
 contemporary shamanism. This FAQ is intended to provide a useful general
 overview of what 'shamanism' actually means and what it is in practice.
 ................................................................................
 2711
 


Next: Rite of Passage, Modern Female (Lady Shyra)