– (Tom Belly/Strange World)
Reader Question Robson Vilanova Island, Sao Sepe, RS
Edition Felipe van Deursen
It is an ancestral practice that seeks to establish a connection with the sacred. It is not a religion, as there are no canonical books or a specific mythology. O shamanism it is, in fact, a set of very old rituals, such as dances and music that span centuries, the use of psychoactive substances found in herbs and words used to evoke allied spirits.
This goes back to the dawn of humanity, when there was no distinction between religion and science. Several peoples, each in their own way, sought in elements of nature a connection with something superior. For this very reason, it is not possible to pinpoint a time or place of origin. The word «shaman» comes from «saman», a term used by the Tungus, people of northeastern Siberia, to refer to «the one who knows».
From Korea to Peru
Shamanic peoples spread all over the world. See what they have in common
psychoactive substances
To expand awareness, many groups drink, chew, or smoke psychotropic herbs. In Siberia, they drink tea from mushrooms. Amanita muscaria during the winter solstice. In Brazil, the best-known drink came from neighboring Peru. Made from a mixture of the Mariri vine and the chacrona bush, ayahuasca serves Santo Daime followers and tribes such as the Caxinauás.
Dance and music rituals
In Hwanghae Province, North Korea, there is a tradition of geosangchum, dance of offering to the gods to the sound of drums, flutes and zithers. In Brazil, especially in the Northeast, tribes such as the Cariris-Coxós and the Potiguars maintain the toré ritual to bond with the “enchanted”. To the sound of maracas, trumpets and voices in chorus, people form an immense circle that revolves around the center
Smoke and incense
Purification and cleansing rituals usually involve smoking – of a place or a person – and burning incense and herbs. Shamanic groups from South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe “bathe” in the smoke of Helichrysum petiolare. Already in some regions of Canada, there are people who burn cedars while praying for the “great spirit”
herbs that heal
Fighting disease through “power plants” is another tradition. In India, groups crush white basil leaves and place them on joints to help treat joint pain. The Cherokee nation of North America uses myphellium on cuts to stop bleeding.
Can you mix it with religion?
According to experts, this practice would be a kind of pre-religion
O shamanism it is the “mother of all nations”, believes Cyro Leão, representative of this theme in the Inter-Religious Forum for a Culture of Peace and Freedom of Belief, of the São Paulo State Secretariat of Justice. The reason is simple: it predates all doctrines created by humans. For this reason, there are traces of shamanic practices in various creeds: smoking in Catholic ceremonies, herbal baths in Candomblé, the pass in spiritism, meditation in Buddhism…
With more or less notorious influence, these rites have their roots in the shamanism. “I have a student who, without mentioning that it was a shamanic practice, took drum meditation to a community center at a Catholic church”, recalls Cyro. “It can be said that religions represent a shamanism adapted”, agrees Léo Artese, shaman and scholar with several books published on the te
SOURCES Books O shamanism and the Archaic Techniques of Ecstasyby Mircea Eliade An Encyclopedia of Shamanism, Volume Oneby Christina Pratt, and The Anthropology of Health and Healingby Mari Womack