CHAPTER ONE

ABOUT SHAMANISM

 

Shamanism or whatever name it has been called is probably the oldest healing practice known to the human race. Archaeological evidence demonstrates shamanism is at least 40,000 years old. And even here, there is some debate. Some experts in the field of antiquity believe shamanic practices go back at least 100,000 years. Whatever its date, it has been around a long time. At outset, I want to point out that the words shamanism and shaman do not come from Native Americans. Each tribe has its own words for healer and healing; for example, nepiteget (ne-pe-tiget) in MiqMaq means healer. Nor do the original inhabitants of South America or Africa call their healers, shamans. So, then, where does the word shaman come from?

The word shaman is pronounced either as SHAY-man or SHA-man and like the time frame suggested for the existence of shamanism, it is subject to debate. Some scholars claim the words shaman and shamanism are so indiscriminately used; they no longer have meaning. They are like the word pretty. For example, who knows the meaning of pretty? It’s a pretty day, or it’s a pretty dress, or it's pretty nice, or it’s pretty tough going, or it’s pretty awful. Some claim a complete definition of shamanism is impossible.

The first reference to the word shaman comes to us in the late 1600s. Peter the Great of Russia had sent emissaries to China. Among those who went along were two Dutch diplomats. They, in writing back to Holland, used the word shaman and are credited for bringing the word into Western thought.

In 1875, the Encyclopedia Britannica published an article by A. H. Sayee in which he used the word shaman.

Scholarly opinion, however, indicates that the word shaman comes from Tungas and specifically from the Manchu-tangu dialect of Siberia. Yet, that has its challenge. Some ethnolinguists claim the word derives from the Chinese, scha-man and still others claim it’s Pali, a Middle Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent and others say it is from the Hindu Sanskrit.

Shaman and shamanism have now become popular terms in Western Culture and refer to a man or woman who fills several roles. Specifically, two aspects of shamanic healing have gained popularity: physical and psychological healing.

One of the major challenges of shamanism is the view held by some academics that it is a religion. The basis for this claim is the shaman’s reliance upon the world of the spirits and she or he does so because they adhere to the belief that there is a direct connection between healing and the world of spirits. I suppose because a shaman calls upon the spirit world it would cause some to believe shamanism was a religion. However, unlike some of the world’s religions, there is no indication that early shamanic practices included praying to various saints or deities besides the Directions. Additionally, there is no set dogma followed by all shamans nor is there a holy book, temples, mosques, cathedrals, or churches, nor were there schools to train young men or women to become healers. In Chapter Fourteen I’ll discuss how one becomes a shaman, a healer.

Another claim is shamanism is a cult. It is not. Admittedly, some have linked themselves in a cult-like fashion to some of the fundamental healing practices of some Native Americans. The use of the sweat-lodge, going on a Vision Quest, and the use of hallucinogenics appear to be a drawing card for some and create the impression that shamanism is a cult. A few years ago, tragedy struck within a sweat lodge in Arizona. I will have more to say about Vision Quests and hallucinogens later in another chapter.

Unfortunately, some contemporary dictionaries define a shaman as one who uses magic to cure illnesses and control spiritual forces. A shaman does not use magic and despite some contemporary religious groups, shamanism is not evil. If one is a healer; one doesn’t commit evil acts. The claim that a shaman controls spiritual forces is without merit.

Shamans may be divided into five types. As with some of the other aspects of shamanism, I have mentioned there are those who claim that distinguishing four types of shamans is splitting hairs. There is a simple reason for my making these distinctions, and that is to bring about an understanding of the various roles a shaman may be asked to fill. All traditional shamans have two things in common—they all journey or travel to other realms, and they all seek help and guidance from those that inhabit the spirit world.

The first type of shaman is the healer and as such will receive major emphasis throughout this course. The healer may travel to one or all three “realms”: the Upper, Middle or Lower Realm to help heal a patient. Do not equate these realms with the religious concepts of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. Second, the healer will use various remedies based on natural plants. She or he will create salves, poultices, ointments, and teas from plants and berries. In days gone by, the healer would place certain plants around and directly on the patient but today because of potential allergic reactions I urge caution.

The second type of shaman is the soul retriever. The Soul Retriever travels to one of the three realms to gather up the soul or parts of a soul and return it to its human body. During this retrieval, the shaman may have a helper, a spirit guide, or a spirit animal. I will have more to say about this shamanic role in another module.

The third type of shaman is the spiritual healer. In today’s world psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, ministers, priests, rabbis, or imams deal with the emotional aspects of a person’s life. The Spiritual Healer does much the same thing. He or she deals with the anger, frustration, jealousy, hate, prejudice, or self-defamation of a patient. Herbs, as well as sounds, become part of the treatment. The Spiritual Healer may place the patient in a hypnotic state, go into a trance to help the patient resolve her or his emotional-spiritual issues.

The fourth type of shaman is the Messenger. The Messenger brings information from the non-ordinary world to the real world. This information, in days gone by, may have dealt with immediate events, or those to come. Such things as the hunt, crop growth, a tribal move, or a tribal war may have been the focus of a message. The message may deal with all humanity. At any given time, shamans may fill all of these roles.

The fifth type of shaman is the Raconteur. At the outset, a Raconteur may not be a shaman. He or she is the keeper of the tribal wisdom, a provider of advice on issues of governance, marriage, child-bearing, and rearing. The raconteur, sometimes called the singer, is the storyteller. She or he recounts in word, song, or dance, the history of the tribe, its battles, tragedies, sacrifices, and sorrows. The story of the tribe’s creation and its relationship to the divine is part of the raconteur’s responsibilities. The raconteur is a historian who through the stories preserves the tribal history.

Whatever the role, be it, healer, or raconteur, the shaman is a highly respected, powerful, and often feared member of the tribal community. Many tribes kept their healer out of their village and forced them to live a considerable distance away from the village, often a solitary life. The shaman did come to the village for a special ceremony, to heal, or to find a mate.

What was the early shaman’s worldview? Generally, when one thinks of a worldview, some grandiose scheme of things floods one’s mind. Today, science is deeply involved in various theories of how the world came into existence. Probably the term worldview is likely too narrow a term to describe how a shaman views things. Perhaps the phrase belief-system is more appropriate. What then, do shamans believe? Universally, first among the major tenets is the lack of a need to confirm the world. For the shaman, what is—is. One cannot prove or disprove a perception. Perceptions are internalized and personal. Be mindful, however, one may change one’s perception, and a shaman never hesitates to change hers or his if it is necessary.

Second, the shaman believes the Self and all else are connected, moving together in fluidity just as mind and matter are irrevocably intertwined. The fundamental basis for this tenet is the notion that all things contain a life force, a soul, or a spirit. This includes human beings, all animals, and plants. Mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, the wind, and the planetary system are considered to be part of all that is alive. This is important in that the shaman accepts all of these as potential helpers and as such he acknowledges all of them. Native American prayers amply demonstrate this. I will share part of one such prayer which shows the relationship to Earth. It is by KiiskeeN’tum (She Who Remembers) and is titled Mother Earth.

Mother Earth hear your child, as I sit here on your lap of grass, I listen to the echoes of your voice in my brother, the Wind, as he blows from all corners and directions.

The soft and gentle raindrops are the Tears you cry for your children.

 

Teach me the Lessons you offer: To nurture my children, as you nurture yours, To learn the Lessons of the Four Kingdoms, that make up this World of Physical Things, and To Learn to Walk the Path chosen so long ago.

 

The third aspect of the shamanic belief system is the concept that the individual is fundamentally responsible for her or his health. For the shaman, one’s health is the creation of that individual. This is significant! The shaman functions primarily as a healer. The key here is the word creation. The shaman’s job is to determine the cause for the malfunction of that creation. This holds unless an individual has had her or his soul or part of the soul stolen.

The fourth tenet is the shaman’s view of reality. For the shaman, the reality is not just a physical representation. Both ordinary and non-ordinary realities exist in the shaman’s view. The practiced shaman is comfortable in either reality. For the shaman, all realities are possible. Peggy Malnati in “The Shamanic View of the World (Walksoftly2’s Blog, 2011) writes “…. reality is perceived as being layered rather than flat and single-dimensional.” She continues by saying, “Existence is not only perceived as being layered in parallel and overlapping horizontal dimensions but also it is layered vertically.” Modern science supports this through the concept of parallel universes or multi-dimensionalism.

The fifth tenet of the shamanic world view involves the belief that the world, the universe, or the cosmos is a living, changing, evolving entity. It is alive and the shaman, in turn, flows with whatever those changes may be. This statement probably best represents the shamanic worldview: “I am that I am and the World is as I dream it.”

The shaman’s worldview is certainly substantiated by modern science. Today we know that all things are made of molecules that are in a state of constant movement creating the energy we call the life force. Thus, shamanically speaking, all things are indeed alive.