Shamanism (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what shamanism is, its characteristics, origin, history and functions of the shaman. Also, shamanism in Mexico.

What is shamanism?

shamanism is the belief in the spiritual power of shamans, figures linked to animism and that are common in primitive tribal communities. These shamans are ancestral healers who believe they can contact the world of spirits through rituals, to ask them to intervene in favor of their will, in order to perform some type of mystical or religious feat.

In the beginnings of humanity, shamans played an important role as priests of the tribe, and were at the same time healers, priests, herbalists. Occasionally they were also military or political leaders, depending on the organization of the community, since medicine, religion and politics were, initially, part of a disorganized cultural whole, at least by modern standards.

Shamanism, thus, It has been practiced since prehistoric times in all geographies of the world and in many it survives to this day, accompanied by the belief in a world populated by spirits with whom contact can be made, through appropriate rituals.

To do this, shamans usually dress in specific clothing, often with the skins of totem or guardian animals, whose spirits they often invoke to carry out special tasks. Thus, for example, a shaman could invoke the spirit of the jaguar to give fierceness to the tribe's warriors before a battle, for example.

Characteristics of shamanism

shamanism characteristics — Dancing, music, hallucinogens and trance may be part of your usual practices.

Broadly speaking, shamanism is characterized by the following:

It consists of the practice of spiritual or magical healing at the hands of an animist priest called “shaman”.
The shaman Deals with real-world situations through rituals, dances, or invocations whose purpose is to attract suitable spirits. It is also common for them to lead rituals and procedures of the tribe, for legal, political, war or social purposes.
As a doctrine, shamanism can be understood as a form of animism. However, It is practiced only by the shaman, as a spiritual leader of the community.
Despite being spiritual leaders, shamans are not part of a recognizable institution, but rather transmit their knowledge from one generation of shamans to the next orally and individually.
The position of shaman may be reserved for men or women, depending on the culture and usually grants the person the right to wear special clothing, such as furs or ritual clothing. Dancing, music, hallucinogens and trance may be part of your usual practices.

Origins of shamanism

shamanism It is common to the different ancestral or prehistoric cultures of humanity. Its presence, with different names, responsibilities and modes of intervention in the community, is part of the common tendencies of the modes of primitive organization of humanity.

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In that sense, It is the antecedent of all organized religions whose beginnings date back to the Upper Paleolithic period, before the invention of agriculture and sedentary lifestyle.

Many of its mystical and symbolic practices were maintained in one way or another in the polytheistic religions of ancient cultures, although they were later persecuted and marginalized by the rise of monotheisms in Europe and the Middle East. The witch hunt may have been the end of many forms of traditional European shamanism.

Functions of a shaman

The shaman traditionally fulfills some of the following roles in the tribe:

Healer and sorcerer doctor through spiritual healing.
Spiritual and religious leader in charge of the tribe's traditional rituals, such as ritual sacrifices or initiation rites.
Compiler of stories and traditions of the community, as well as reciting them and transmitting them to the young generations, as a spiritual teacher.
Guess the future and interpret the signs (ómenes) of the gods, often as a collective method of facing danger or making a political decision.
Prepare the dead and lead the funeral rites if any.
Prepare warriors spiritually for hunting or for war, and sometimes accompanying them as a kind of chaplain.
serve as mediator in internal conflicts of the tribe and as an advisor to the leaders.
Distinguish allowed foods from prohibited ones identify beneficial herbs and deal with the spirits of the animals after the hunt.
Celebrate wedding rituals if any.

Shamanism in Mexico

mexican shamanism — Shamanism is part of the Mexican cultural background.

Many forms of shamanism inherited from pre-Columbian cultures survive in Mexico and that are part of the cultural background of each of the ethnic groups or nations that constitute part of Mexican culture. The shamans predominate in rural areas and they tend to preserve many of their ancestral practices, as bearers of traditional medicine, marginalized by modern knowledge.