The Encyclopedia of World Religions

shamanism S 417

she sees a VISION or has another sign that a guid ing spirit has come who then will help the novice control and use spiritual powers. The prospective adept next may seek training from a senior sha man. In Japan blind girls have sometimes become shamanesses. Shamans often have elaborate dress and accoutrements. They may wear robes and ornate hats, and beat drums to help them go into trance. Their performances may include dance and drama as they go about their two main duties, to speak to the gods and heal the sick. There are two main kinds of shaman: “posses sion” shamans and “traveling” shamans. The for mer stay in one place, so to speak, in their ecstatic trance, but call down gods and spirits to possess them and speak through their lips. Such shamans can receive the spirits of the departed and so let their loved ones hear their voices again. They also communicate the instructions of gods, and do healings with the help of the gods who have entered them. “Traveling” shamans are believed, in trance, to be able to fly through the air or dive into the Earth to visit the land of the dead, recover lost or stolen souls, or speak to the gods above. Sometimes these scenarios are quite dramatic public performances. The Altaic shaman would climb an upright tree trunk representing the way from Earth through the various heavenly spheres above. On each level the shaman would call down to the audience of his tribespeople, describing the particular paradisal realm he was now entering. Eskimo shamans, in a crowded but darkened room, would enact a vivid ritual, with sound effects, of going into the Earth to seek the central realm of their deities. Shamans have often been associated with healing. Sickness was frequently believed to be caused by the loss of one’s soul. Shamans in North America’s Pacific northwest, in the presence of sick persons and the family, would dramatically enact their journey to the other world in search of the lost soul, including the crossing of treacherous rivers and combat with guardian demons. When they had found the strayed spirit, they would bear it back in triumph, singing its song. One can imagine how such a performance would revive and perhaps even

Shakers An American communitarian move ment. The Shakers were an offshoot of the Q UAK ERS . They began in England in 1747. They got their name because their WORSHIP services involved much energetic activity, including shaking. This was taken to be a sign that the Holy Spirit was present. In 1774 the Shakers came to the United States under the leadership of Ann Lee (1736–84). They considered her a prophet and eventually a personi fication of the female aspect of God. “Mother Lee” taught that people who remained celibate could achieve perfection. The Shakers formed several communities from Maine to Indiana. Their communities stressed celi bacy and the equality of the sexes. The residents of the communities held all property in common. The Shakers were most numerous in the mid dle 1800s, when they had around 6,000 members. By the end of the 20th century they were virtu ally extinct. Though small in number, the Shakers made important contributions to American society. These include their music, crafts, and distinctive, simple but elegant furniture. shamanism The practice of religious special ists who have been specially trained and initiated to go into trance and contact the spiritual world directly. The shaman is an important fixture of religious life in PRIMAL RELIGION , preliterate tribal cultures, and traditional societies of many parts of the world. The word shaman and classic examples come from Siberia and central Asia. But shamans can also be found throughout the Americas, where they have sometimes been called “medicine men,” in China, Korea, and Japan (where they are most often female), and elsewhere. Significant traces of shamanism can be seen in the background of most of the major religions of history. One becomes a shaman in two ways: through heredity or special vocation. In the latter case, the prospective shaman often displays highly bizarre behavior, as though going mad; this is a sign the gods have singled out this person. The future sha man may go out into the wilderness until he or