What is Shamanism?
The term “shamanism” was introduced by European anthropologists after many voyages into the unknown parts of the world, east and west. The first time that the word “shaman” was written down was in the 13th century. It was then picked up by academics and explorers. It became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries and spread from Russia to France, and then to Great Britain, and so forth.
This term was used to describe and summarize all kinds of healing modalities that the explorers and researchers encountered during their research in all parts of the world. The word “saman” comes from the Evenki, a Tungusic people from North Asia. These nomadic people lived in the woods of the Taiga. In their language, “sama” meant “to get excited”, nowadays we translate it into “one who sees/who knows” or “one who sees in the dark”.
One key feature of any shamanic tradition is animism. Animism is the belief that all has spirit, everything is ensouled or alive – every tree, every rock, every story, every mountain,
every insect, absolutely everything. All cultures have at their root animism, but not all of them have shamanic features in their lineages.
Shamans do not call themselves that; their community gives them that name. This is very important. Ultimately it is the community that decides whether they do their job well or not.
Most of the time a shaman is called upon to work with the bigger picture (it’s a calling). Being a shaman is not a walk in the park, because it is very strict and sometimes dangerous work. Sometimes it is only a great loss, an inner transformation, a serious accident, or surviving an illness that enables the shaman to do this work. If they don’t accept the task, something will keep happening until the call is answered. When someone becomes a shaman, their own power increases enormously. So first, one has to learn to take responsibility for one’s unique power!
The path is then very individual and personal. Everyone has their unique way of working with the Great Spirit. The shaman spends most of his time traveling and maintaining relationships with the helpers in the other dimensions and spheres. These are the true teachers. In some traditions, there are also initiations and/or various tests before one becomes a master (Vision Quest, Master Plants, Dismemberment).
Basic Principles
A healer, a shaman, or a curandero is someone who people from a community would visit with a specific problem around health, or disharmony in the emotional, mental, or spiritual Self. In indigenous communities, shamans are community members like you and me: they can also play another role in their society next to practicing healing work. Still, shamans work their whole lives towards refining their connection with the Great Spirit.
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