Editing Shamanism (section)

==Terminology==

===Etymology===
[[File:Witsen's Shaman.JPG|thumb|The earliest known depiction of a Siberian shaman, by the Dutch explorer [[Nicolaes Witsen]], 17th century. Witsen called him a "priest of the Devil" and drew clawed feet for the supposed demonic qualities.{{sfn|Hutton|2001|p=32}}]]

The [[Modern English]] word ''shamanism'' derives from the [[Russian language|Russian]] word {{lang|ru|шаман}}, {{Transliteration|ru|ISO|šamán}}, which itself comes from the word {{lang|tuw|samān}} from a [[Tungusic language]]{{sfn|Hutton|2001}} – possibly from the southwestern dialect of the [[Evenki language|Evenki]] spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples,{{sfn|Janhunen|1986|p=97}} or from the [[Manchu language]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Crossley|first=Pamela Kyle|title=The Manchus|publisher=Blackwell Publishers|year=1996|isbn=978-1-55786-560-1|url=https://archive.org/details/manchus00cros}}</ref> The etymology of the word is sometimes connected to the Tungus root {{lang|tuw|sā-}}, meaning "to know".{{sfn|Hoppál|2005|p=15}}{{sfn|Diószegi|1962|p=13}} However, Finnish [[Ethnolinguistics|ethnolinguist]] [[Juha Janhunen]] questions this connection on linguistic grounds: "The possibility cannot be completely rejected, but neither should it be accepted without reservation since the assumed derivational relationship is phonologically irregular (note especially the vowel quantities)."{{sfn|Janhunen|1986|p=98}}

[[Mircea Eliade]] noted that the [[Sanskrit]] word {{lang|sa|श्रमण}}, {{Transliteration|sa|IAST|[[śramaṇa]]}}, designating a wandering monastic or holy figure, has spread to many Central Asian languages along with [[Buddhism]] and could be the ultimate origin of the word shaman.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eliade |first=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |year=1989 |title=Shamanism |publisher=Arkana Books |page =495}}</ref> The word has been reported in [[Gandhari language|Gandhari]] as {{lang|pgd|ṣamana}}, in [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian A]] as {{lang|xto|ṣāmaṃ}}, in Tocharian B as {{lang|txb|ṣamāne}} and in Chinese as {{lang|zh|沙門}}, {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|shāmén}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baums |first1=Stefan |last2=Glass |first2=Andrew |title=ṣamana |url=https://gandhari.org/dictionary/1ṣamana |website=gandhari.org |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref>

The term was adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in [[Siberia]]. It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman [[Avvakum]].<ref>Written before 1676, first printed in 1861; see {{harvnb|Hutton|2001|p=vii}}.</ref> It was brought to Western Europe twenty years later by the Dutch statesman [[Nicolaes Witsen]], who reported his stay and journeys among the Tungusic- and [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic]]-speaking [[Indigenous peoples of Siberia]] in his book ''Noord en Oost Tataryen'' (1692).{{sfn|Hutton|2001|p=32}} [[Adam Brand (explorer)|Adam Brand]], a merchant from [[Lübeck]], published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China; a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word ''shaman'' to English speakers.<ref>Adam Brand, ''Driejaarige Reize naar China'', Amsterdam 1698; transl. ''A Journal of an Ambassy'', London 1698; see Laufer B., "Origin of the Word Shaman," ''American Anthropologist,'' 19 (1917): 361–71 and Bremmer J., "Travelling souls? Greek shamanism reconsidered", in Bremmer J.N. (ed.), ''The Rise and Fall of the Afterlife,'' London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 7–40. ([http://theol.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/root/2002/594/c3.pdf PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222218/http://theol.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/root/2002/594/c3.pdf |date=2013-12-02 }})</ref>

Anthropologist and archeologist Silvia Tomášková argued that by the mid-1600s, many Europeans applied the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] term ''[[shaitan]]'' (meaning "devil") to the non-Christian practices and beliefs of Indigenous peoples beyond the [[Ural Mountains]].{{sfn|Tomášková|2013|pp=76–78, 104–105}} She suggests that ''shaman'' may have entered the various Tungus dialects as a corruption of this term, and then been told to [[Christian missionaries]], explorers, soldiers and colonial administrators with whom the people had increasing contact for centuries.

A female shaman is sometimes called a ''{{vanchor|shamanka}}'', which is not an actual Tungus term but simply ''shaman'' plus the Russian suffix ''{{wikt-lang|ru|-ка|-ka}}'' (for [[Grammatical gender|feminine]] nouns).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chadwick|first1=Hector Munro|last2=Chadwick|first2=Nora Kershaw|title=The Growth of Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgq0AAAAIAAJ|year=1968|publisher=The University Press|page=13|quote= The terms ''shaman'' and the [[Russian language|Russianized]] feminine form ''shamanka'', 'shamaness', '[[seeress]]', are in general use to denote any persons of the Native professional class among the heathen [[Siberians]] and [[Tatars]] generally, and there can be no doubt that they have come to be applied to a large number of different classes of people.}}</ref>

===Definitions===
There is no single agreed-upon definition for the word "shamanism" among anthropologists. Thomas Downson suggests three shared elements of shamanism: practitioners consistently alter consciousness, the community regards altering consciousness as an important ritual practice, and the knowledge about the practice is controlled.

The English historian [[Ronald Hutton]] noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, there were four separate definitions of the term which appeared to be in use:{{sfn|Hutton|2001|pp=vii–viii}}
#To refer to "anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness".
#Those who contact a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness at the behest of others.
#In an attempt to distinguish shamans from other magico-religious specialists who are believed to contact spirits, such as "[[mediumship|mediums]]", "[[witch doctor]]s", "spiritual healers" or "prophets," this definition suggests that shamans undertake some particular technique not used by the others. However, scholars advocating the third view have failed to agree on what the defining technique should be.
#"Shamanism" referring to the [[Indigenous religions]] of Siberia and neighboring parts of Asia.

According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', a shaman ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|ɑː|m|ə|n}} {{respell|SHAH|mən}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|æ|m|ə|n}} {{respell|SHAM|ən}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|eɪ|m|ə|n}} {{respell|SHAY|mən}})<ref name="OED">{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/shaman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402074808/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/shaman|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2017|title=Definition of Shaman by Oxford Dictionaries}}</ref> is someone who is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of [[evocation|benevolent and malevolent spirits]], who typically enters into a [[trance]] state during a [[ritual]], and practices [[divination]] and [[healing]].{{sfn|Singh|2018}}<ref name="OED" /> The word "shaman" probably originates from the Tungusic [[Evenki language]] of [[North Asia]]. According to Juha Janhunen, "the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms" such as [[Negidal language|Negidal]], [[Even language|Lamut]], [[Udege language|Udehe]]/[[Oroch language|Orochi]], [[Nanai language|Nanai]], Ilcha, [[Orok language|Orok]], [[Manchu language|Manchu]] and [[Ulch language|Ulcha]], and "nothing seems to contradict the assumption that the meaning 'shaman' also derives from [[Tungusic languages|Proto-Tungusic]]" and may have roots that extend back in time at least two millennia.{{sfn|Janhunen|1986|pp=97–98}} The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces [[Siege of Kazan|conquered]] the shamanistic [[Khanate of Kazan]] in 1552.

The term "shamanism" was first applied by [[Western world|Western]] anthropologists as outside observers of the ancient religion of the [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] and [[Mongols]], as well as those of the neighbouring Tungusic- and [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic]]-speaking peoples. Upon observing more religious traditions around the world, some Western anthropologists began to also use the term in a very broad sense. The term was used to describe unrelated magicoreligious practices found within the [[ethnic religion]]s of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and even completely unrelated parts of the Americas, as they believed these practices to be similar to one another.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Shamanism, Discourse, Modernity|last=Alberts|first=Thomas|publisher=Ashgate|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4724-3986-4|location=Farnham|pages=73–79}}</ref> While the term has been incorrectly applied by cultural outsiders to many Indigenous spiritual practices, the words “shaman” and “shamanism” do not accurately describe the variety and complexity that is Indigenous spirituality. Each nation and tribe has its own way of life, and uses terms in their own languages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hazlitt.net/feature/fatal-naming-rituals|title=Fatal Naming Rituals|date=2018-07-19|website=Hazlitt|language=en|access-date=2020-03-05}}</ref>

[[Mircea Eliade]] writes, "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = 'technique of [[religious ecstasy]]'."<ref name="Eli72">Mircea Eliade, ''Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy'', Bollingen Series LXXVI, Princeton University Press 1972, pp. 3–7.</ref> Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments and illnesses by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul or spirit are believed to restore the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. Shamans also say that they enter [[otherworld|supernatural realms]] or [[Plane (esotericism)|dimensions]] to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community, or visit other worlds or dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. Shamans operate primarily within the spiritual world, which, they believe, in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance is said to result in the elimination of the ailment.<ref name="Eli72" />

===Criticism of the term===
{{Further|Medicine man}}
[[File:Shaman tableau.png|thumb|A tableau presenting figures from various cultures described as "shamans" in Western academic literature.]]
The anthropologist [[Alice Kehoe]] criticizes the term "shaman" in her book ''Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking''. Part of this criticism involves the notion of [[cultural appropriation]].<ref name="Kehoe-2000">{{cite book |last1=Kehoe |first1=Alice Beck |title=Shamans and religion : an anthropological exploration in critical thinking |date=2000 |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-1-57766-162-7 |location=Prospect Heights, Ill.}}</ref> This includes criticism of [[New Age]] and modern Western forms of shamanism, which, according to Kehoe, misrepresent or dilute Indigenous practices. Kehoe also believes that the term reinforces racist ideas such as the [[noble savage]].

Kehoe is highly critical of [[Mircea Eliade]]'s work on shamanism as an invention synthesized from various sources unsupported by more direct research. To Kehoe, citing practices such as [[drum]]ming, trance, [[chant]]ing, [[entheogen]] and [[hallucinogen]] use, [[Mediumship|spirit communication]], and [[healing]] as definitive of shamanism ignores the fact that they exist outside of what is defined as shamanism and even play similar roles in nonshamanic cultures, for example chanting in the [[Abrahamic religions]]. She argues that these expression are unique to each culture that uses them and that such practices cannot be generalized easily, accurately, or usefully into a global religion of shamanism. Because of this, Kehoe is also highly critical of the hypothesis that shamanism is an ancient, unchanged, and surviving religion from the Paleolithic period.<ref name="Kehoe-2000"/>

The term has been criticized{{by whom|date=February 2021}} for its perceived colonial roots, and as a tool to perpetuate perceived contemporary linguistic colonialism. By Western scholars, the term "shamanism" is used to refer to a variety of different cultures and practices around the world, which can vary dramatically and may not be accurately represented by a single concept. Billy-Ray Belcourt, an author and award-winning scholar from the Driftpile Cree Nation in Canada, argues that using language with the intention of simplifying culture that is diverse, such as Shamanism, as it is prevalent in communities around the world and is made up of many complex components, works to conceal the complexities of the social and political violence that Indigenous communities have experienced at the hands of settlers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Belcourt |first1=Billy-Ray |title=Fatal Naming Rituals |url=https://hazlitt.net/feature/fatal-naming-rituals |website=Hazlitt |date=19 July 2018 |access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref> Belcourt argues that language used to imply “simplicity” in regards to Indigenous culture, is a tool used to belittle Indigenous cultures, as it views Indigenous communities solely as a result of a history embroiled in violence, that leaves Indigenous communities only capable of simplicity and plainness.

Anthropologist {{ill|Mihály Hoppál|de}} also discusses whether the term "shamanism" is appropriate. He notes that for many readers, "-ism" implies a particular dogma, like Buddhism, Catholicism or Judaism. He recommends using the term "shamanhood"<ref name=summer/> or "shamanship"{{sfn|Hoppál|2006a|p=14}} (a term used in old Russian and German [[ethnography|ethnographic]] reports at the beginning of the 20th century) for stressing the diversity and the specific features of the discussed cultures. He believes that this places more stress on the local variations{{sfn|Hoppál|2005|p=15}} and emphasizes that shamanism is not a religion of sacred [[dogma]]s, but linked to the everyday life in a practical way.{{sfn|Hoppál|1998|p=40}} Following similar thoughts, he also conjectures a contemporary paradigm shift.<ref name=summer>[http://www.folkscene.hu/magzines/shaman/coming.html ISSR, 2001 Summer], abstract online in second half of second paragraph</ref> [[Piers Vitebsky]] also mentions that, despite really astonishing similarities, there is no unity in shamanism. The various, fragmented shamanistic practices and beliefs coexist with other beliefs everywhere. There is no record of pure shamanistic societies (although their existence is not impossible).{{sfn|Vitebsky|1996|p=11}} Norwegian social anthropologist Hakan Rydving has likewise argued for the abandonment of the terms "shaman" and "shamanism" as "scientific illusions."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rydving|first1=Hakan|title=Le chamanisme aujourd'hui: constructions et deconstructions d'une illusion scientifique|journal=Études Mongoles et Siberiennes, Centrasiatiques et Tibétaines|date=2011|volume=42|issue=42|doi=10.4000/emscat.1815|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Dulam Bumochir has affirmed the above critiques of "shamanism" as a Western construct created for comparative purposes and, in an extensive article, has documented the role of Mongols themselves, particularly "the partnership of scholars and shamans in the reconstruction of shamanism" in post-1990/post-communist Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bumochir|first1=Dulam|title=Institutionalization of Mongolian shamanism: from primitivism to civilization|journal=Asian Ethnicity|date=2014|volume=15|issue=4|pages=473–491|doi=10.1080/14631369.2014.939331|s2cid=145329835}}</ref> This process has also been documented by Swiss anthropologist Judith Hangartner in her landmark study of Darhad shamans in Mongolia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hangartner|first1=Judith|title=The Constitution and Contestation of Darhad Shamans' Power in Contemporary Mongolia|date=2011|publisher=Global Oriental|location=Leiden|isbn=978-1-906876-11-1}}</ref> Historian Karena Kollmar-Polenz argues that the social construction and reification of shamanism as a religious "other" actually began with the 18th-century writings of Tibetan Buddhist monks in Mongolia and later "probably influenced the formation of European discourse on Shamanism".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kollmar-Paulenz|first1=Karenina|title=The Invention of "Shamanism" in 18th Century Mongolian Elite Discourse|journal=Rocznik Orientalistyczny|date=2012|volume=LXV|issue=1|pages=90–106}}</ref>