ShamanismShamanism- The dictionary defines it as a religious practice of indigenous people. People in far northern Europe and Siberia began practicing shamanism around 5,000 years ago before the advent of the religion. This is characterized by the belief in an invisible world of gods, demons and ancestral spirits who respond only to shamans. According to Encyclopedia Britannica; Shamanic religion focuses on a shamanic person who gains powers through trance or ecstatic religious experience. Although shamans' repertoires differ from culture to culture, they are believed to have healing powers. A shaman is an intermediary between this world and the spirit world. Shamans perform ceremonial rituals and help people follow the shamanic path. Shamanic practices are rooted in nature and are a method by which human beings can strengthen this natural connection. Shamanism is considered one of the oldest branches of humanity's pagan belief system, with roots dating back to prehistory. It is generally accepted that shamanism originated among groups of hunters and gatherers. One of the oldest healing practices today. However, shamanism is also used more generally to describe indigenous groups. Now the question is why did shamans exist? Can everyone be a shaman, can women be shamans and can teenagers be shamans? What is the age required to be a shaman? According to Wikipedia, becoming a shaman was a vocation, a dream, a sign that required long training. Powers can be inherited, a phenomenon called shamanic initiation crisis, another explanation of the journey to becoming a shaman, a rite of passage for shamans usually involving a physical illness or psychological crisis. The detailed case can be found in the story of Chuonnasuan, the last mas...... middle of paper ......s I mean, I would hear ideas here and there about them. I didn't know they resided on three mesas in northeastern Arizona, 70 miles from Flagstaff. The way they kept their lives and their religion private, I wouldn't know if it weren't for Mr. Arnold. I think it's amazing that it's all spoken and not written, you really need to have a clear and healthy mind to pass the story on to the next generation. It is fascinating to see how much we talk about shamanism as animism and about this animism as the doctrine of the soul. So basically I think in animism everything has a soul like trees, rivers, mountains and everything is full of gods. When he talked about incarnated and one day or another life you might be a rabbit, that sounds familiar. Something I learned from my mother's religion, Buddhism always talks about how if you do something wrong or kill a certain thing, you might come back in the next life because it.