|
Shamanism and Animism are traditional belief
systems which consider the entire universe to be
alive and interconnected. Shamanism in practice is
used to heal and enlighten, using ceremonials which
can include rhythmic music, mind altering drugs and
mythic journeys into the subconscious.
Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and
practices that involve the ability to diagnose,
cure, and sometimes cause human suffering by
traversing the axis mundi and forming a special
relationship with, or gaining control over, spirits.
Shamans have been credited with the ability to
control the weather, divination, the interpretation
of dreams, astral projection, and traveling to upper
and lower worlds. Shamanistic traditions have
existed throughout the world since prehistoric
times.
Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible
world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits
that affect the lives of the living. In contrast to
animism and animatism, which any and usually all
members of a society practice, shamanism requires
specialized knowledge or abilities. Shamans are not,
however, organized into full-time ritual or
spiritual associations, as are priests. Different
forms of shamanism are found around the world, and
practitioners are also known as medicine men or
women, as well as witch doctors.
In Shamanic cultures, the shaman plays a priest like
role; however, there is an essential difference
between the two, as Joseph Campbell describes:
The priest is the socially initiated, ceremonially
inducted member of a recognized religious
organization, where he holds a certain rank and
functions as the tenant of an office that was held
by others before him, while the shaman is one who,
as a consequence of a personal psychological crisis,
has gained a certain power of his own.
A shaman may be initiated via a serious illness, by
being struck by lightning, or by a near-death
experience (e.g. the shaman Black Elk), and there
usually is a set of cultural imagery expected to be
experienced during shamanic initiation regardless of
method.
According to Mircea Eliade, such imagery often
includes being transported to the spirit world and
interacting with beings inhabiting it, meeting a
spiritual guide, being devoured by some being and
emerging transformed, and/or being "dismantled" and
"reassembled" again, often with implanted amulets
such as magical crystals. The imagery of initiation
generally speaks of transformation and granting
powers, and often entails themes of death and
rebirth. |
