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shamanism
religion
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External Websites
- World History Encyclopedia - Shamanism in Ancient Korea
- Yale University - Human Relations Area Files - Cross-Culturally Exploring the Concept of Shamanism
- Encyclopaedia Iranica - Shamanism
- Ancient Origins - The Real Story of Shamanism: No Need to Don a Headdress or Take Hallucinogens
- University of Minnesota - Taking Charge of Your Health and Wellbeing - Shamanism
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Category:
History & Society
- Key People:
- Vilmos Diószegi
- Related Topics:
- diviner’s sage active ecstasy horse-sacrifice ceremony angakok wandering ecstasy
shamanism, religious phenomenon centred on the shaman, a person believed to achieve various powers through trance or ecstatic religious experience. Although shamans’ repertoires vary from one culture to the next, they are typically thought to have the ability to heal the sick, to communicate with the otherworld, and often to escort the souls of the dead to that otherworld. The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman. The noun is formed from the verb ša- ‘to know’; thus, a shaman is literally “one who knows.” The shamans recorded in historical ethnographies have included women, men, and transgender individuals of ...(100 of 4597 words)