What is a Shaman? Shaman is a word borrowed from the Siberian Tungus tribe, one of the first shamanic cultures to be studied. The office of Shaman is a unique one, and is present in the history of every hunter/gatherer culture around the world. In tribal culture, the Shaman is the link between the people and the worlds of the spirit, employing ecstatic trance states to travel to other dimensions. The Shaman is the priest, healer, magician, diviner, and the mediator between the living and the ancestors.

Trance The state of ecstatic trance is central to shamanic practice, and is achieved through various methods (and combinations of methods), including self-hypnosis, hallucinogens, and repetitive drumming. Many of the major themes of religions- ascension to heaven, descent into the underworld, etc., are believed by anthropologists to have originated in shamanic practices.

Entheogens The use of hallucinogenic (or, entheogenic) substances is central to most Shamanic traditions. In the Amazon, the most notable of these is Ayahuasca, a complex brew with renowned healing properties. In the Americas, tobacco was popular, and in Siberia, marijuana. The use of these substances is so central to Shamanic practices that some researchers, such as the late Terrence McKenna, believe that they are inextricably linked with the origins of human spirituality. Additionally, there are traces of entheogenic plant use in almost all historical religions, a curious fact that is largely ignored by most modern religions.

Becoming a Shaman One becomes a Shaman generally by heredity or selection, and through rigorous and sometimes difficult (even dangerous) training and initiation. Beware of dubious claims of anyone offering high priced 'workshops' in idealized Native Shamanism- most shamanic traditions are practiced in secrecy and are not available to outsiders or curiosity seekers. It is highly unlikely that a true initiate will go on the workshop circuit, and many tribal leaders consider these events to be exploitative and offensive.

Siberian Shaman in ritual dress

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• African Shamanism
• Native American Spirituality
• Entheogens