Shamanism is considered the oldest culture, the most mysterious religion, which has developed in a natural way. The ancient religion of shamanism is always surrounded by a lot of controversy and conjecture. It is not known for certain how much it already exists, which nations it practiced. Shamanism is completely unlike traditional religions. Obviously, it is the oldest of all - it is known that it existed even in the days of the Paleolithic. And it is not known in which foci shamanism flourished as a religion inextricably linked with the life of local residents, although its echoes are heard all over the world.
Appearance
Shamans are called psychics, hypnotists, mentally unhealthy people, magicians. At first glance at rituals in the spirit of shamanism, it seems that this is a theatrical performance or mass hypnosis. There are a lot of metal images of animals on the shaman, the headdress is often decorated with horns, on their faces are often blindfolds that cover their eyes. Under a fraction of a skin-drawn tambourine, practicing shamanism, people enter a trance state and swirl, shouting inaudible words. Such a spectacle can cause fear, panic among eyewitnesses.
Appearance time
Everything, even such ancient religions as Buddhism, is distinguished from shamanism by time and mode of occurrence. Each of the world religions appeared along with the creator, followed by followers. And such points of reference do not have the most ancient religion. Presumably, the origin took place in all parts of the world in its own special way.
Places of origin
There is no information about the peoples of Western Europe who would practice shamanism as a religion. However, this does not mean that he was not there. So, near the French river Garonne in the 20th century, the cave of the Three Brothers was opened. Its walls were decorated with drawings from the Upper Paleolithic - about 40 - 10 thousand years BC. The attention of scientists was drawn to the drawing of a shaman. He was a dancing man in a leather cloak, deer antlers decorated his head, and a horse tail was attached. The drawings were very similar to the cave plots discovered in Africa and Asia. However, drawings found in France are considered the earliest. Not all experts agreed that this is an illustration of a shaman, it should be noted that the drawing includes all the signs of shamanistic practice. Shamanism is a global phenomenon, through it passed on different paths of development many nations around the world.
At the moment, it has been established for certain that shamanism as a religion was widely practiced in Siberia, Korea, Africa, Chukotka and Alaska. To a large extent, it is developed in the Far East.
How to become shamans
Shamanism has always been considered a profession. Followers of shamanism as a religion believe that shamans receive a gift from distant ancestors. He is chosen by the spirits of the surrounding mountains, forests, lakes and rivers as a mediator between the subtle world and people. With the occurrence of all kinds of troubles in people or unpleasant phenomena in spirits, it is believed that shamans through these mediations resolve these situations. They force people to do something and beg spirits to act.
You cannot learn to be a shaman. There is only the probability of revealing certain abilities that are inherited from the ancestors.
Shamanic disease
It is believed that the spirits chosen for this role begin to be crushed, pushing to their true destination, until people see clearly, starting to engage in shamanism. This is called a "shamanic disease." In this period, all kinds of demands come from spirits to become a shaman, and a person refuses such responsibility. The disease disappears only after consent to engage in shamanism.
An interesting case from the practice of Siberian shamanism. A simple Buryat teacher lived up to 35 years old, having no idea that she could engage in shamanism. She started a family when she suddenly began to hear voices that gave instructions to accept the gift. She denied herself. Suddenly her husband dies. She continues to refuse. One day, walking along the road, she heard a distinct phrase: "After 2 days in this place you will be hit by a truck to death." After that, the woman decided. She is currently a world-famous shaman.
Initiation
To gain shamanistic power, everyone passes the test. The rite of initiation includes a long torture, staying in real hell, and only then rise to heaven. The shaman has the ability to separate from the body, rising above him, to see beyond other people, dwelling in animals, he enjoys his own freedom. During the initiation period, the shaman performs many acts that are seen by others as a manifestation of a mental illness.
In exchange for the ability to move into the bodies of other animals, fly and travel through other worlds, people give up everything that was familiar to them. Trials for future shamans are dangerous, they learn to tame their instincts. For example, many ceremonies include torture by fire and cold. The future shaman is wrapped in a wet sheet and put on the door on a winter night. The temperature can drop to -50 degrees. A man dries a sheet with his body. Also, shamans touch hot metals until they no longer feel pain and bodies. All this leads to the fact that their spirit grows stronger, and they interact with fire easily and confidently.
Ceremonies
One of the most famous shamanistic rituals is ritualization. It begins with the fact that all participants slowly gather in one place. The shaman warms up his tambourine, holding it over the fire. It was believed that in this way a living tambourine is awakened and purified. This changed the sounds that the instrument made, becoming deeper, its vibrations were more intense. It was believed that in the tambourine there were special powers of each shaman. Throughout his life he possessed several such tools, their number did not exceed 9. With the breakdown of the last tambourine, the shaman was expected to die soon. However, if the shaman passed away before this event, a tambourine must be pierced so that the spirits come out of it. Most often he was put on a sharp branch on a tree growing near the burial place of a shaman.
Images of other worlds were recorded on a tambourine. Often an amulet with a picture of a shaman was attached to it, and during strokes on the instrument he moved to different worlds with the shaman.
In these worlds, fabulous lands, the shaman meets with assistant spirits who endow him with wisdom. It is with her that he returns to our world to solve the problem.
Curious rituals associated with the return of the soul. In shamanism, it is believed that each person has several souls - about two or three. Each endowed with a special role and functions. According to some beliefs, every organ in the human body has a soul. Adversity comes when a person loses his soul. This leads to all kinds of diseases - mental and physical. So, anxiety, depression, apathy can be the result of loss of soul. It can also cause the extinction of a person and his death.
Modern psychology makes attempts to explain many of the phenomena practiced in shamanism in modern language. The practice of healing many diseases really resembles modern methods of psychology - a meeting with one's “I”, when a person is taught during therapy to feel his body and emotions again, thereby “returning” his “soul” to him.
Shamans do this through a journey through the other worlds, fighting for the fragments of a lost soul. When the ritual is carried out successfully, a person feels a surge of energy and vitality, he again feels holistic and finds a connection with his emotional sphere. The shaman helps him realize the transformation.
So, in one of the stories of a participant who was undergoing a ceremony of such healing by a shaman, it sounded. He saw as if not a shaman, but a huge beast was knocking on a tambourine, everything was spinning, and he and the shaman fought off animals. Then they reached the volcano where the first fragment was found. The second was found in the ice in the middle of the dead desert, where the next piece was brought by a white wolf. The following was found and brought by a big black raven in the fortress. Then, when the shaman connected the fragments, he observed a strange symbol, similar to infinity, and by the end of the ceremony the body shuddered in convulsions.
The basics
In shamanistic traditions, it is believed that everything around has its own spirit. It connects all living things and all surrounding reality. So, a person is connected with mountains, sky, earth, dogs, trees, bears and bees. These ideas of animism subsequently were largely transferred to later world religions.
It was believed that shamans have the ability to manifest themselves in other worlds and they do not need a physical shell for this. They plunged into a special state and drew their magical powers from communication with the spirits of other worlds. They were in comfort both in ordinary reality and in other worlds. Each had their own protector - the spirit. It could be a beast, a totem, or the spirit of an ancestor. It was he who had the ability to transform into other animals, birds and fish. Even enter into the consciousness of other people. Shamans called the spirit into their own bodies, and he protected the shaman from alien strength, healed him of the disease.
Neo-shamanism
The ancient culture with its colorful mysterious rites has survived in our days, despite numerous attempts to eradicate it. So, in the USSR, all ancient practices were considered popular superstitions and fell under the ban. Nevertheless, shamanism survived the state, and modern shamanism is still developing actively.
At this stage of time, many shamans are fortune tellers, healers, mentors and custodians of ancient rites and creativity. Interest in this culture is growing. It is reborn among many nations, and its values are cleansed of their archaism and again become relevant.
Followers are seeking official recognition of shamanism as another world religion.