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Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. [3] [4] The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way. [3]
Shamanism is still widely practiced in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa, Japan), where shamans are known as 'Noro' (all women) and 'Yuta'. 'Noro' generally administer public or communal ceremonies while 'Yuta' focus on civil and private matters. Shamanism is also practiced in a few rural areas in Japan proper.
The first historian to posit the existence of European shamanic ideas within popular beliefs of otherwise Christian Europeans was Carlo Ginzburg, who examined the Benandanti, an agrarian cult found in Friuli, Italy, whose members underwent shamanic trances in which they believed they battled witches in order to save their crops. [1] [2]
Slavic Shamanism is the ... They are found mostly in the Hutsul communities of the Ukrainian Carpathian region but there are some molfarka who do still exist in other ...
Shamans either had spirit companions from birth, drew their attention during the "shamanic illness", or gained their allegiance during initiation into shamanism. Spirits are believed to be social beings, with individual quirks and personalities (both good and bad). The friendship of abyan depend on reciprocity. The shamans do not command them.
Traditional shamanic initiations often involved pain and fear, [21] while neoshamanic narratives tend to emphasize love over negative emotions. [1] And while traditional shamanic healing was often tempered with ideas of malevolence or chaos, neoshamanism has a psychotherapeutic focus that leads to a "happy ending."
A miko (), or shrine maiden, [1] [2] is a young priestess [3] who works at a Shinto shrine. Miko were once likely seen as shamans, [4] but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized [5] role in daily life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing [4] to performing the sacred Kagura dance.
Shamanism has to do with the belief that the shaman is a mediator for the spiritual world. In various cultures the shaman's role is different; in that of Tlingit culture the shaman is a healer and seer. The shaman performs various rituals and ceremonies and helps with civil disputes.