Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia

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Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia

Shamanism plays a role within most tribal communities of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Within the community the shaman has many roles; one of his[1][1] main roles is that of a healer. The function of the shaman is closely related to the spirit world (Eliade 71). A shaman uses ecstatic trance to communicate with spirits. Spirits are integral to a shaman’s ability to heal within his community.

“Shamanic activity is generally a public function” (Grim 11-12). Shamans are highly respected members of the community. “Shamans are of the ‘elect’;” recognition of a shaman can only be bestowed by the entire community (Eliade 7, 17). Without the community, a shaman is not a shaman and cannot function as such. An example of this situation would be vocational or self-made shamans, who are not chosen by the community, ancestry, or the underlying ‘numinous encounter’ to shamanize. The entire community does usually not recognize vocational shamans; they are not as effective as shamans and even viewed as frauds (Grim 45).[2][2] Therefore not anyone can be a shaman.

“It is to the . . . shaman that tribal peoples turn for aid in dealing with the urgencies of life” (Grim 8). Due to the harsh Arctic environment, the shamanism of the indigenous peoples of Siberia is closely related to the struggle for existence in their world. The shaman is sought to aid the community in surviving by curing the sick and attacking or destroying evil spirits, among other roles (Hinnells 293-294). Within the community, the shaman has multiple roles including priest, magician, medicine man, mystic, poet and psychopomp (Eliade 4). One of his main roles is that of medicine man or healer. Accordin...

... middle of paper ...

...d A Serpent’s Skin and A Bears Fur.” The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon: Siberian Folk Tales. Interlink Books. New York: 1991. 88-91.

Waida, Manabu. “Problems of Central Asian and Siberian Shamanism.” Numen 30.2 (1983): 213-239.

Notes:

[1] ( The masculine pronoun is used throughout to describe the shaman. It is noted that not all shamans were males; in some tribes the majority of shamans (shamanesses) were female. However the masculine case is used from simplicity, since the gender role of the shaman is not being discussed in this case.)

[2] For further discussion of numinous, see page 3 of this paper.

[3] a main aspect of a shaman’s entrance into ecstatic trance

[4] Most of this source covers the Ojibway Indians of the Great Lakes Region. However, Siberian Shamanism is used as a classical model from which Ojibway shamanism is derivied (56).

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