Shamanism (also shamanism ) is an early form of religion [1] , based on the belief that the shaman interacts with the souls in a state of trance (“ ritual ”). Shamanism is associated with magic , animism , fetishism and totemism . Its elements may be contained in various religious systems . Shamanism was developed among the peoples of Northern Europe ( Sami ), Siberia , the Far East , Southeast and Central Asia and Africa , the Indians of North America , Australia and Oceania , as well as the Indians of South America. In one form or another, it existed among the majority of the peoples of the Earth. In this sense, shamanism is considered to be the oldest religion , numbering tens of thousands of years. However, this understanding is somewhat arbitrary, since modern religions presuppose a single mythological basis. In shamanism, the mythological basis, even within Eurasia, may differ quite strongly, and African and American shamanism generally rely on their own systems of myths.
The concept of " shaman " is used in many languages. The basic version of its origin is from the Evenk word saman [2] , it is also possible that it comes from the Indo-Aryan culture and comes from the word "shramana" - the listener. [3]
Content
Features of shamanism
Shamanism has the following features, which can vary considerably from region to region:
- The shaman is the chosen one of the spirits. This means that shamans are not made of their own free will, not as a result of training, but according to the will of the spirit who enters the shaman. Sometimes the term shamanic disease occurs.
- Shamanism relies primarily on individual experience, which almost does not accumulate in the form of books and canons. The truth criterion is always the individual ecstatic experiences of a particular shaman.
- The shaman , as a rule, cannot fully control the spirit that inhabits him or with whom he communicates, he rather serves as an intermediary in communicating with spirits, and sometimes follows the will of the spirits.
- A shaman can study the world (spirit), relying on personal experience, and make up his own maps of the universe , which, as a rule, are entirely individual.
- To invoke or communicate with the spirit, rituals of ritual are used when the shaman goes into a trance or experiences transpersonal states. In many regions, a tambourine or a harp , certain dances and spells are used for ritual.
- Shamans perceive the world as the interaction of spirits, and in this world, all sorts of rituals play a significant role - initiation, offering to spirits, fighting with spirits, etc.
- Entering into a trance , shamans go to travel to other worlds: the upper world (the world of the gods), the lower world (the world of demons), the middle world (the world of earthly spirits).
The shaman takes an ecstatic journey to:
- to meet face to face with a heavenly god and give him offerings from his community
- to find the soul of the patient, who is believed to have got lost far from the body or was stolen by demons ;
- deliver the soul of the deceased to its new haven;
- Finally, enrich their knowledge by communicating with supernatural beings.
In preparation for an ecstatic journey, the shaman puts on a ritual costume and beats a tambourine (or plays a special instrument). During ecstasy, he can turn into a wild beast and pounce on other shamans. The ability of the shaman to travel to other worlds and see supernatural beings (gods, demons, spirits of the dead, etc.) was the decisive factor in the knowledge of death.
A common view in Siberian shamanism is the idea of three worlds: the upper (celestial), middle (earth) and lower (underground). A shaman is a person who, thanks to heavenly election, is able, through the World Tree, to move between worlds in order to achieve practical goals: healing the sick, predicting, causing rain, etc.
Animistic religions rely on shamanism, claiming that everything in the world is endowed with soul. In their developed forms, animistic religions contain polytheistic ideas, where natural phenomena, such as the sun, moon, stars, thunder and lightning, fire, etc., are already personified as deities ( gods ).
Shamanism in human history
According to archeology, shamanistic rituals were practiced in Siberia in the Neolithic era and in the Bronze Age . Unlike most religious teachings created by one or another founder, shamanism was formed in a natural, historical way. At a certain stage of the reflection of the world in the minds of people, the image of the mythical Universe became so significant and developed that only individuals who had special abilities and underwent special training could understand it [4] . In most societies, there is a need for a "mediator" between the human and the otherworldly worlds [5] .
One of the most ancient shaman burials in Russia was found on Deer Island near Lake Onega, and belongs, apparently, to the Mesolithic era, dating back already to 6 thousand years. [3]
Shamanism in East Asia
The “Kingdom Speech” ( Guo yu國語 《楚 語 下》) provides the most comprehensive classical description of shamanism in Chinese culture. There are male and female female shamans who know the rituals responsible for interacting with spirits.
Shamans in Korea (Mudan) and Japan (so) are mostly women. In Korea, rare male shamans even dress in women's clothes for ceremonies and rites.
Shamanism and the evolution of religious views
In different regions, among different peoples, in the course of accumulating and understanding the shaman’s experience, primitive and amorphous systems of religious beliefs (as well as associated religious institutions ) developed into more complex and stable ones. An example of the result of such an evolution is Taoism - a comprehensive worldview that accumulates ideas about nature, the soul, the world of good and evil spirits, etc.
Shamanism in modern culture, science and quasi-science
In the 20th century, shamanic techniques began to be actively applied outside the traditional context - in New Age schools and religions, and in various psychotherapy systems.
Books on the shamanism of the American anthropologist and writer Carlos Castaneda have become widespread. In 2011, the German artist Christian Tonnis organized the exhibition “Shamanism of a large Altai” in Frankfurt am Main [6] .
In 2011, in the Irkutsk Region, a Center for the Study of the Ancient Buryat Religion was opened on the basis of a branch of the Buryat State University to study shamanism [7] .
In 2004, French filmmaker Jean Coonen produced the film “Other Worlds” ( D'autres mondes ) about the traditions of shibo shamans [8] .
National and regional forms of shamanism
- Altai shamanism
- Buryat shamanism
- Korean shamanism
- Kyrgyz shamanism
- Mansiysk Shamanism
- Tuva shamanism
- Khakass shamanism
- Chukchi shamanism
- Yakut shamanism
- Shamanism in Peru
- Shamanism in Siberia
- Mexican shamanism
See also
- Shaman
- Entheogen
- Occultism
- Animism
- Totemism
- Altered state of consciousness
Notes
- ↑ Shamanism - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- ↑ Eliade M. Shamanism. Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. - L .: 1964. P. 4
- ↑ 1 2 Petrukhin V. Ya. Myths of the Finno-Ugrians. - Moscow: Astrel, 2005.
- ↑ Arefiev V. E. Introduction to tourism: a tutorial. - Barnaul: ASU , 2002. - 282 p.
- ↑ An example of an exception society where the phenomenon of “professional mediation” has not spread is the Itelmens of Kamchatka. The shamans here were known, however, according to G. Steller , “they did not enjoy special respect,” and any member of the community could perform their functions (see: Steller, G. V. On the Itelmen Religion // Kamchatka Land Description. - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 1999). Usually they were older women.
- ↑ Altai artists shaman in Germany Archival copy of April 24, 2014 on the Wayback Machine ( Contraband , September 10, 2011)
- ↑ In the Irkutsk region will study shamanism
- ↑ "Other Worlds" on IMDb
Literature
- Shamanism - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- Veselovsky N. I. Shamanism // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Basilov V.N. Shamanism as an early form of mysticism // Questions of scientific atheism . Issue 38. Mysticism: problems of analysis and criticism / Redcol. V.I. Garadzha (otv. Ed.) Et al .; Acad. societies. Sciences CC CPSU. Inst. Of scientific atheism. - M .: Thought , 1989. - P. 94-108. - 335 sec. - 22,765 copies - ISBN 0321-0847.
- Bersnev P.V. Sacred Cosmos of Shamans. Archaic consciousness, the worldview of shamanism, traditional healing and plant-teachers. - SPb., 2012.- 368 p. ISBN 978-5-903931-29-3
- Voronina V.Yu. Healing in the tradition of basic shamanism. // " Medical anthropology and bioethics ". - Moscow: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology. N.N. Miklukho-Maclay RAS , 2013.
- Galdanova G.R. Buryat shamanism: past and present // Siberia: ethnic groups and culture (traditional Buryat culture). Moscow-Ulan-Ude, 1998.
- Gorshunova O. V. The heavy burden of the shamanic gift: the fate of modern Fergana bakhshi // Shamansky Dar. Ethnological studies on shamanism and other traditional beliefs and practices, vol.6. Moscow: IEA RAS , 2000. Cc. 191-204.
- Gorshunova OV. Images of the spirit-patrons of the Central Asian shamans (bakhshi): On the issue of the mental aspect in ethnographic research // Proceedings of the international interdisciplinary scientific and practical symposium. Ecology and traditional religious and magical knowledge. Ethnological studies on shamanism and other traditional beliefs and practices, Volume 7, Part 2. Moscow: IEA RAS , 2001. Ss. 22-33.
- Dandaron, M. B. Cosmos of the Shaman and Modern Scientific Conceptions of Space and Time // Collection of Scientific Articles “Siberia: Ethnicity and Culture”. - M.-Ulan-Ude: VSGAKI , 2004. - p. 38-49.
- Zomonov MD, Manzhigeev I. A. Dictionary of Buryat Shamanism. Ulan-Ude: Buryad Unan, 1998.
- M. Zomonov. The concepts of shamanism: a semiotic-comparative approach // Dialogue of philosophical cultures and the development of transversal philosophy. SPb .: St. Petersburg Philosophical Society, 2010. P. 187-192.
- Xenophontov G.V. Khrestes, shamanism and Christianity: (facts and conclusions). Irkutsk, 1929.
- Ksenofontov G.V. Shamanism: Fav. works Yakutsk, 1992.
- Kyzlasov L. R. On the shamanism of the ancient Turks // Soviet archeology . 1990. No. 3. P. 261-264.
- Mikhailov TM, Asalkhanov I. A. Buryat shamanism: history, structure and social functions. - Novosibirsk: Publishing House " Science ", Siberian Branch, 1987.
- Novik E.S. Rite and folklore in Siberian shamanism. - M .: Vost. lit., 2004. - ISBN 5-02-018475-6
- Stephens D. Secrets of shamanism. M: Kiev-Sofia, 2001.
- “Shamanism” // Tokarev S. A. “Early forms of religion”. - M .: Politizdat , 1990
- Torchinov E. A. Shamanism // Religions of the World: The Experience of the Beyond. - SPb .: ABC-Classic, 2005. C. 115-150. - ISBN 5-352-01370-7
- Khakkarainen M.V. Transformation of Traditional Knowledge: Shamanism without Shamans // The Meanings of Myth: Mythology in History and Culture. - SPb .: St. Petersburg Philosophical Society , 2001. pp. 116-121. - ISBN 5-88925-009-4
- Shamanism and early religious views / resp. ed. D. A. Funk. - Moscow: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences , 1995.
- Shamanism of the peoples of Siberia. Ethnographic materials XVIII — XX centuries. - SPb .: SPbSU , 2006. - ISBN 5-8465-0424-8
- Eliade M. Shamanism: archaic techniques of ecstasy. (inaccessible link) (inaccessible link from 10-05-2013 [2271 day]) - Kiev: Sofia, 2000. - ISBN 5-220-00304-6
- Gorshunova O. Tajik shamanism (Central Asia) // Shamanism. An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture, Vol.1. Edited by Eva Jane Neumann Fridman and Mariko Namba Walter. Santa Barbara, CA .: ABC-CLIO, 2004. pp. 629–633.
- Thiel J. Shamanism im Alten China // Sinologica. Vol. 10 (1968)
Links
- Shamanism in the directory directory Open Directory Project (dmoz)
- Bashkir Encyclopedia. Art. Shamanism