The Religions Book

28

S

hamanism describes one

of humankind’s oldest and

most widespread religious

practices, based on a belief in

spirits who can be influenced by

shamans. These shamans, men or

women, are believed to be special

people who possess great power

and knowledge. After entering an

altered state of consciousness, or

trance, they are able to travel to

other worlds and interact with the

spirits who live there.

Bargaining with the powerful

spirits who control these other

worlds is often a key aspect of the

shaman’s activities. For example,

the shaman often requests the

release of game animals (essential

in some traditional societies) from

the spirit world into this world,

to gain insight into the future, or

for remedies to cure the sick. In

return, the spirits may ask humans

(via the shaman, who acts as an

intermediary) to make offerings

to them or to observe certain rules

and codes of conduct.

Shamans play an important

role as healers of the sick; this role

emphasizes that their journeys are

not simply personal and private,

but are undertaken primarily to

alleviate suffering and hardship

in the community. This function

is reflected in some of the (now

largely obsolete) terms that have

been used to describe shamans,

such as witchdoctors in sub-

Saharan Africa and medicine

men in North America.

In Europe, shamanism was a

dominant feature of many societies

from around 45,000 years ago up

until the modern era. The Vikings,

practiced a form of shamanic

divination known as seiðr between

THE POWER OF THE SHAMAN

IN CONTEXT

KEY BELIEVERS

Sami

WHEN AND WHERE

From prehistory, Sápmi

(formerly Lapland)

AFTER

10,000 BCE Ancestors of the

Sami make rock carvings in

the European Arctic.

c.98 CE The Roman historian

Tacitus makes the first record

of the Sami (as the Fenni).

13th century CE Catholic

missionaries introduce

Christianity, but traditional

shamanism persists.

c.1720 CE Thomas von Westen,

Apostle of the Sami, forcefully

converts Sami to Christianity,

destroying shamanic drums

and sacred sites.

21st century Most Sami

follow the Christian faith,

but recent times have seen a

revival of Sami shamanism.

We believe in dreams,

and we believe that people

can live a life apart from

real life, a life they can go

through in their sleep.

Nâlungiaq,

a Netsilik woman

In worlds we cannot see, powerful

supernatural beings control the

supply of game and the weather.

These other worlds are full of

spirits, too, as both humans and

animals have undying souls.

There are some special people who can

visit the worlds in which these spirits live.

These people can enlist the help of

the spirits to ask for game or good weather

for us, or cure us when we are ill.