In the first of a series explaining Shamanism, this entry explores where the spiritual practice comes from, why it exists and it briefly explores how shamans are made. And why shamanism is so disturbing to those who don’t know what it is.
To the uninitiated, Shamanism looks crazy, whacked-out and just plain weird. But that’s the charm of this very, very ancient spiritual practice. It’s strange and wild by design. It lacks cohesion, rules or form. And it’s the perfect thing for right now. As the singer Seal once said in his late 80’s hit, “we’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy.” And survival is the very definition of shamanism. Besides bones, rocks and fossils, Shamanism is the only thing that still endures after countless generations and multiple kingdoms and dynasties have risen and fallen. Shamanism just survives. And how it does so is what continues to fascinate anthropologists and historians.
Shamanism survives because it is a practice that is handed down from generation to generation. It sprang up spontaneously all around the world around the same time. Shamans have been described as the first to see the light of God. Even though the spiritual practice never started in anywhere particular, and no country or culture can claim it as their own. Yet, it is everywhere.
What is most fascinating is that in every culture where shamans and shamanism have been stamped out, it rises again. Throughout history, shamanism has been a threat to the status quo. For every shaman that is murdered, locked-up, imprisoned or burned at the stake, a dozen or more new shamans are made to replace them. Shamanism, like a furious wind, is relentless. But no one is born a shaman. Shamans are made, crafted by the spirits, honed by difficult trials and tasked with specific specialties and gifted with abilities in order to help and heal humanity large. Shamans are here to help both God and humanity. But it’s damn scary to those not in the know.
When a young person in a tribe, community or neighborhood is chosen by the spirits, they come down with what’s called the shaman sickness. It is a mysterious disease of the mind and sometimes of the body. In order to overcome this sickness, the shaman-to-be must endure a severe and harsh period of training and horrific pain. The spirits lovingly inflict torture, pain and madness. The shaman-to-be is put through extreme and difficult situations. The only way out is to surrender and accept the call.
Once a person is chosen by the spirits, the only way is to bargain with the spirits with their life. They accept their soul mission and become a collaborator with the divine. At that point, the shaman has proven to himself and others that the spiritual healing practices work and that alone is proof. The shaman, once taken by madness and illness, has returned to life, healthy and vital, but also bearing physical and emotional scars of his journey into hell and back.
Lest one get the idea that shamans are dour or weary. Most shamans are jokesters, tricksters or generally of the joyful sort. They have been shown that there is way more than just physcial reality. The physical world matters little to the shaman, but it does matter to the people they help.
The shaman exists with one foot in the spirit world and one foot in the physical world. They commune daily with the divine. To the shaman, everything is sacred, everything is spiritual and what is usual thought of as mundane becomes sublime. A shaman might find it difficult to integrate into normal society after they’ve gone through the shamanic death, spirit training and their ultimate rebirth. Some cultures hide their shamans away so that they can do their jobs free from the grinds of daily life. In other cultures, shamans are expected to hold two jobs: being the shaman of the community and a full-time job to support their families.
Shamans, having tasted death, barely have anything resembling fear. They aren’t scared of conventional frights like disasters, tragedies, pandemics or fires. They understand the process of life. They understand that death is an illusion and that everything is a process of ending and beginning. Their rituals are often misunderstood and their very existence eviscerates the human ego.
For those who practice Shamanism, the disturbing aspects are part of the charm. In some rituals, fears are faced head on and the spirits literally try to scare the disease out of people. Shamanism has a great track record of healing. It can cure almost anything. It works. It’s energy-efficient. And it has existed for thousands and thousands of years. If Shamanism is so great, you might ask, then why is it not used in America?
As shamanism and spirits exist outside of the borders drawn that declare countries, cultures and traditions, there are people in America that are called to be shamans. The problem is that what’s going on with them is being grossly misunderstood. The shaman sickness is often misdiagnosed as various mental disorders and most American shamans are inadvertently put into mental hospitals, jailed or succumb to addictions.
In the next entry in this series, we’ll explore modern American Shamanism and what happens to shamans who will not or cannot answer the call.
