A term from the language of the Tungus people in Siberia, used by anthropologists to encompass other terms such as "witch doctor," "medicine man," "wizard," " sorcerer," "medium" and "seer." Narrowly defined, it means: "One who, at will, enters into Transpersonal Consciousness and experiences her/his mind or spirit journeying to other, normally hidden, realities and interacting with other entities to acquire knowledge and power and to help other people." More broadly, it means: "one who, at will, enters into Altered States of Consciousness in service of her/his community." See text, Chapter 12. See also, " Altered State of Consciousness," " consciousness," " mind," " State of Consciousness," " Transpersonal Consciousness" and " Transpersonal Experiences."
A spiritual leader believed to communicate with the gods or spirits.
mediator, who has access to other world via helping zoomorphic spirits; engages in prophecy and curing via ecstatic communication; typically uses drumming to obtain altered, tracelike state in to mediate with god(s) or dead for curing or prophecy
an ancient practice of healing, believed to have began in Russia, and most commonly associates with the Native American Indians.
A priest or priestess who communicates with the inner planes by self-induced trance. Obtaining knowledge of the subtler dimensions of the Earth, during these periods of alternate states of consciousness. Usually ritualistic or magical in nature, sometimes religious.
Someone who obtains their contact with divinity and the earth through the use of substances which induce altered states of consciousness.
The priest or magician who performed rituals for a community. He had access to secret knowledge and was possessed by supernatural energies, enabling him to have visionary experiences and make oracular utterances. According to Frazer, the shaman was the predecessor of the divine king who embodied the spirit of fertility and, as such, was periodically killed in order to restore the land to fertility. These rituals were the basis of seasonal myths such as those of Demeter and Persephone, Theseus, and Osiris.
A spiritual medicine man/woman.
Medicine man responsible in an Indian tribe for curing disease and contacting the spiritual world.
A tribal or aboriginal witchdoctor or medicine (wo)man who possesses the power of "healing" and the ability to communicate with spirits. Very often, these figures play the key roles in the religious and spiritual beliefs of the society in which they live.
A person who mediates between people and the spirit world, in which case the practitioner's authority is dependent upon his or her own personal ability.
A tribal healer, advisor, and medium. Shamans sometimes used hallucinogenic drugs to achieve their visions.
One who uses a set of spiritual techniques to enter into a trance state called ecstasy in which the practitioner travels to Other Worlds in order to diagnose, heal, gain information, divine, guide souls, etc.
A religious leader who possesses spiritual enlightenment and assists in the health and well-being of others.
priest or medicine man (sometimes woman) of tribal groups who intercedes with the spirits for the well-being of his or her tribe.
(from Tunguso-Manchurian aman, "he who knows") In the religious systems of Siberian and Ural-Altaic peoples and in certain analogous systems of other peoples worldwide, a person believed to have the power to heal the sick and to communicate with the world beyond. The shaman is medicine man, priest, and psychopomp; that is to say, he cures sicknesses, directs communal sacrifices, and escorts the souls of the dead to the other world. He is able to do all this by virtue of his techniques of ecstasy; i.e., by his power to leave his body at will during a trancelike state.
a medium of the supernatural who acts as a person in possession of unique curing, divining, or witchcraft capabilities.
a medicine man in North American native culture. Someone with special spiritual gifts and the ability to heal.
Among tribal people, a magician, medium, healer who owes his powers to mystical communion with the spirit world. Characteristically, a shaman goes into auto-hypnotic trances, during which he is said to be in contact with spirits. Shamans are found among Siberians, Eskimos, in SE Asia, Africa, some Native American tribes, and in Oceania. There is also a development of shamanic healers and practitioners in North America. (See Spiritual/Shamanic Healing.)
in societies practicing shamanism: one acting as a medium between the visible and spirit worlds; practices sorcery for healing or divination
a bridge between this world and the invisible worldof the spirit
a conduit to the spirit world
a healer and a guide to the spirit
a healer, a visionary and a soul doctor who walks between the worlds of the everyday and spiritual realms, the visible and the invisible with the aid of special spiritual helpers
a healer, someone with extrasensory abilities, a hypnotist, a person aware of the past and future, chosen to build harmony between the world of nature and the person
a healer who changes world views in order to become more effective
a healer who masters the body by controlling the intake of food, subscribing only to certain healthy foods, meditation, connecting to nature, animals, and uses their body to heal themselves and others
a holy man that is well acquainted with a form of spirituality that incorporates plant entheogens that facilitate the NDE or out of body experience
a hybrid because it can deal damage in lieu of a Rogue/Hunter/Mage, but also heals in lieu of a Priest
a link between this world and the next, and teams up with ghosts and spirits to achieve their goals
a man (or, less commonly a woman) who mediates between this world and the supernatural realm of ghosts, demons, witches, ancestors, and the like
a man or woman who is able, at will, to enter into a nonordinary state of consciousness in order to make contact with the spirit world on behalf of members of his or her community
a mediator between the human world and the world of spirits, and possesses special skills and clairvoyance
a "medicine man, wizard, witch doctor, or priest-magician
a member of the community who is able to change his or her state of consciousness and thereby come into contact with another reality, which he often refers to as the world of the spirits
an actual, serious religious practitioner while the trickster is an imaginary god-like jokester
an animist who actively communicates with spirits, usually by going into a trance
an explorer of doorways from ordinary reality into nonordinary reality
an Indian medicine man or doctor, but reason for Mansfield's choice of name is not known
an induvidual, also called a Wounded Healer, who has usually encountered extremely difficult experiences in life, and as a result of this, receives a special call to work as an intemediate between the people and the spirits
a person who can interface with the world of gods and spirits, which allows them to do amazing things
a person who can walk in both worlds, the reality that we all agree upon and the one in which she communes with God, the divine, whatever we want to name the spirit we connect with
a person who communicates (or is possessed by) Gods, Spirits and the Dead using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, and influence events
a person who, generally in an altered state of consciousness, acts as an intermediary between the mundane and invisible worlds to foresee and control the future, heal, and generate miracles
a person who goes through great suffering, usually in the form of a mental or physical illness, and then goes on to heal himself or her- self
a person who incorporates wisdom, magic and medicine in many traditional societies in the Northern Hemisphere
a person who is able to journey between this world and the others in order to find healing, information, knowledge or help for themselves or others
a person who is able to perceive the world of souls, spirits and gods
a person who is, by nature, a healer, and has obtained, through spiritual practice and a natural 'gift', the capacity to hold both positive and negative charges within their body
a person who is not part of an organized religion and is in direct contact with the spirit world, usually through a trance state
a person who is profoundly aware that the world is alive with spirits and spiritual energy, and who does something with that knowledge
a person who knows how to reach contact with the divinities, les souls of the dead and other roaming spirits
a person who sees things differently, a walker between worlds, a wounded healer, a tender to the soul of the community who combines self-knowledge, vision and service to become a link in the continuity of life
a person with the ability to access experiences, open consciousness, and extend beyond normally-perceived reality, to connect with other realms of consciousness
a priest or medicine man whom the Mapuche believe has direct contact with spirits (usually women)
a priest or medicine man who (purportedly) can influence good or evil spirits
a priest/priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events
a priest who gets his powers through summoning spirits and worshipping them for special spells and spell-like abilities
a religious leader among the barbarian tribes
a religious leader who usually functions in an animistic culture to contact the spirit world in order to be empowered by it
a religious or mystical expert (male or female) who in FIRST NATIONS and INUIT societies undergoes initiation experiences in altered states of consciousness (trance or possession)
a ritual or religious specialist who is believed
a specialist and master of the ecstatic trance-journey, not a synonym for tribal healer, holy person or medicine man
a spiritual leader believed to have special abilities to contact the spirit world and use its power to help body and soul
a spiritual leader THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS The Awakening The awakening of the Indians of California to the tremendous task of solving the many problems that confront them as a people is noticeably remarkable
a teacher, a physical and spiritual healer, a story teller, a man of knowledge
a theologian, medicine man, scholar or poet, guiding Native Ame
a theologian, medicine man, scholar or poet, guiding Native American tribes and preserving a balance of
a tribe's seer sent forth into the wilderness of his own personality in order to dig forth the answer to the question everyone is blinded from asking
a type of medicine man that is said to cure diseases and small sicknesses by meditation and magic
a wise and respected person, believed to have a special relationship with the spirit world
a "wise one" or teacher that has and uses knowledge of the earth spirits
A tribal priest who, following much preparation and rite of initiation, uses the forces of magic to effect healings and divinations.
(IC). The term "shaman" is used variously. In my definition, shamanic practices involve the regulation and transformation of human life and human society through the use (or purported use) of alternate states of cosciousness by means of which specialist practitioners are held to communicate with a mode of reality alternative to, and more fundamental than, the world of everyday experience.
a religious specialist in many small-scale societies who performs rituals designed to communicate with the spirit world; in such societies community welfare depends on this communication.
A drug addict who uses his New Age connections charge people money to party with him; not to be confused with tribal leaders or healers.
(SHAY-men): The word Shaman comes from an extinct Ural-Altaic language called Tungus. They are the priests and medicine men of old tribal societies. Shamans (Shamankas in the feminine form) practiced in every known culture, many of which are still active today.
(sha' mn) a priest or medicine man.
A person with special powers that stems from its original source to which he/she has access. Typically this person is a healer, medicine person, or religious leader.
shah-man; shah-man-izm]- the word "shaman" originated in Siberia, from the Evenk language, meaning an 'excited, frenzied person'. Shamans were both men and women who presided over spiritual life. Shamans often shared close relationships with nature, and their duties as religious practitioners included such tasks as curing the sick, protecting the community and influencing the weather.
People who can cure the ill and who the tribes of the Amazon believe have magical powers.
A member of a tribal society that is a medium between the visible and invisible world that also practices magic for purpose of good.
A religious leader of a tribe who performs rituals of magic, divination, and healing, and acts as an intermediary between ordinary reality and the spirit world; a medicine man.
A witch doctor or medicine man who communicates with spirits while in atrance and who has the power of healing.
This is another term for "witch doctor."
A man or woman who has obtained knowledge of the subtler dimensions of the Earth, usually through periods of alternate states of consciousness. Various types of Ritual allow the shaman to pierce the veil of the physical world and to experience the realm of energies. This knowledge lends the shaman the power to change her or his world through Magic.
A word derived from the Tungas language of Siberia, it is a generic term for healers and spiritual leaders in tribal societies. Traditional Shamans induced trance states through drums, dancing, ingesting hallucinogens, self mutilation and deprivation and virtually any means by which one might achieve an altered state of consciousness. While in such a trance, the shaman crosses over into another world to get information for his people such as the cause of illnesses and other misfortunes. The Shaman is the peoples' link to the spirit world.
Among tribal peoples, a magician, medium, or healer who owes his powers to mystical communion with the spirit world. Characteristically, a shaman goes into auto-hypnotic trances, during which he contacts spirits. Shamans are found among the Siberians, Eskimos, Native North and South American tribes, in S.E. Asia, and in Oceania. (See Spiritual/Shamanic Healing.)
A part-time religious intermediary whose primary function is to cure people through sacred songs, pantomime, and other means.
wizard' in tribal societies who is an intermediary between the living, the dead, and the gods.
a man or woman who enters an altered state of consciousness, at will, to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power and to help other persons.
(Sanskrit) In the strictest definition "one who lives life in self-denial for spiritual purpose". However, this word is more often viewed through it's secondary meaning "one who is dedicated to a spiritual life achieving a level of leadership and teaching". The term began in India and slowly migrated in two directions, to Germany, Scotland, Ireland, to North America, and from India to the Orient. Shaman is the masculine variation, Shamanka is the female version.
priest or medicine man who has power to influence the unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits by being in direct communication with them.
A holy man or woman who has contact with the gods or spirits.
A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a medium between the visible world and an invisible spirit world and who practices magic or sorcery for purposes of healing, divination, and control over natural events.
A person with powerful intuitive, psychic, and sometimes healing and telekinetic abilities who is very much attuned to the forces of nature. Many can predict the weather, communicate telepathically with animals, and sense when the energies are out of balance in the bodies or psyches of living beings. Some believe that the vastness and richness of our herbal pharmacopoeia is owed to the intuition of long-ago shamans who observed the effects of certain plants on animals and began to use the healing herbs to help their fellow tribesmen. The term is traditionally applied to the sorcerers and medicine men or women of primitive tribes, but in recent decades a significant number of Westerners have rebelled against the artificial complexity of modern religion, employment, and medicine, adopted the shamanic practices of yore, and begun calling themselves shamans.
A medicine man/woman or witch doctor.
A shaman is a person within a tribe or clan who acts as a medium. They communicate with spirits and relay the messages they receive to their tribe.-- Back.
(Russian Tungusic saman Prakrit samana, a Buddhist monk Sanscrit sramana, ascetic) A priest or medicine-man of shamanism, which is: 1. the religion of certain peoples of northeast Asia, based on a belief in good and evil spirits who can be influenced only by the shamans. 2. any similar religion, as of some American Indians and Eskimos.
medicine man who deals with the spirit world.
in primal religious traditions, one through whom supernatural powers are channeled for the spiritual welfare of the community or tribe. More precisely, the shaman might heal the sick, escort the souls of the dead into heaven and away from their corpses, or confer with gods by taking on the shape or language of an animal or bird.
American Indian name for a spiritual healer
A tribal medium, witch-doctor, or priest accredited with supernatural powers as originally exemplified by Siberian tribes. [From the German Schamane, derived from the Russian shaman, derived from Tungusic samân
Shaman is the follow-up album to Santana's 1999 studio release Supernatural. It was released on October 22, 2002 (see 2002 in music).