Shaman

Individuals who have achieved spiritual or supernatural powers as the result of contact with the spiritual world through a [vision quest]

or some other means, shamans are concerned with diagnosis and cure of disease, communication with the dead, divination and magic. They act as intermediary between the world of spirits and the material world, travelling in a trance state through the world of spirits to find knowledge necessary for this world; and help they their people maintain the balance of communal life and survival. In the realm of illness, shamans may perform psychic surgery, when diseased tissue is removed by hand movements on the surface of the body. Many have a remarkable understanding of psychiatric symptoms.

A call to become a shaman may be through epilepsy, disease or some disorder; or it may be through a dream or simply superior knowledge or learning. There is often difficult, and sometimes dangerous, initiation and long study under guidance of someone who has already travelled the path. After initiation the shaman continues to observe special taboos and requirements. Each shaman is individual in the ceremonies and rites performed, as opposed to a priest, who will follow traditional rites. They and their initiates are powerful members of their communities, spiritually and politically, and are feared because of their power. Shamanism is particularly developed in Siberia, Manchuria and extended across through Lapland and the North American Indians; it is also prevalent in South America and Sumatra. Although sometimes exclusive, it usually coexists with other religions and forms of magic.