Contents 1 What is Shamanism? 2 Origin and Development of Shamanism 3 Shaman's Duties 4 Shamanistic Worldview 5 Shamans and Help...
Contents
- 1 What is Shamanism?
- 2 Origin and Development of Shamanism
- 3 Shaman's Duties
- 4 Shamanistic Worldview
- 5 Shamans and Helping Spirits
- 6 Shamanism Education
- 7 Is Shamanism Innate?
- 8 How to Perform Ceremonies in the Spirit of Shamanism?
The word shaman means sorcerer or priest. For this reason, some researchers do not accept Shamanism as a religion. They state that these ideas are supported because they do not have a holy book, founder or way of worship. Although some researchers think that it is not exactly a religion, they see it as a phase of development towards religion.
Researchers who see it as a religion accept that it is a religion based on the Sky God, the Underground God and the spirits connected to them. The shamanic spirit is very important in Shamanism . Shamans perform certain ceremonies and these ceremonies are usually held at night. Shamanism ensures its continuity in a hierarchical order. When the shaman dies, one of his grandchildren, who served as his assistant, takes his place.
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism involves a mysterious design of humans and the world. They think there is a magical bond between people and God. A bond is established through spirits. They bring about the acceptance of shamanism as applied animism. According to Shamanism, human beings consist of soul and body. Body; It consists of flesh, bones and blood. It provides a balance to human physiological functions. Whether a person is healthy or sick depends on the balance between good and bad spirits in nature.
The Origin and Development of Shamanism
Shamans have seen nature under the influence of good and evil spirits since the day they existed. With the existence of humans, they have sought ways to establish relationships with spirits in order to be protected against evil spirits. In the beginning, it was thought that everyone was a shaman. When people thought that they could not get rid of these spirits alone, they took refuge in the help of people with stronger personalities and shamanism was born. People with special talents began to practice shamanism as a profession after a certain training.
Shaman's DutiesThe shaman's duties are as follows:
It is defined as . These duties establish a relationship with God through spirits. The similarity of this situation to prophecy in Abrahamic religions caused Shamanism to be considered as a religion. It has spread over a very wide area around the world. It has an important place in the history of Turkish-Mongolian culture. Shamanism carries the traces of the matriarchal social structure to the present day.
Shamanistic Worldview
Shamanists divide the world into three parts. These three parts are sky, earth and underground. In the sky, there is the sky god called Ulgen and the spirits connected to him. People live in the middle world, that is, on earth. In the world below, that is, the underground, there is Erlik and the evil spirits affiliated with him. In societies affiliated with shamanism, the Sky God is located at the highest level of the sky. Because he was designed as a human-like being, he was named Ülgen.
Ülgen means great. The sky god governs the order of the world and they know its destiny. It gives people children. The only person who does good is God. It is thought that he placed metal mirrors as the sun and moon to illuminate the world. It is thought that Erlik is on a black throne in a palace made of black mud on the lowest floor underground. Erlik is the cause of the worst disasters.Erlik takes people's lives, takes them to the underground, interrogates them there, and then uses them under his own command. No pictures or idols symbolizing Erlik can be made. In shamanism, the earth is accepted as a god on its own. There are rivers, lakes, forests and mountains on the earth. All of these are called ground-water. There are spirits on earth who own streams and mountains. Thus, it was sanctified and as a result, the homeland was considered sacred.
Shamanism ; perceives the community and human existence as a sacred whole. The essence of Shamanism is the unity, solidarity and harmony of humans and nature. Shamanism also includes dual structures such as good-bad spirit, light-dark world. According to his worldview, the world is under both good and evil spirits. In the ecstatic state of the shaman, the society meets the sacred together with the shaman. People do not know the habits of souls, the ways to reach them, what they like, and which souls they will be pleased with.
Shaman and Helping Spirits
Establishing relationships with evil spirits who are ready to do evil to people and animal herds is also found in shamans with the power received from ancestors or kin groups. Helping spirits cannot be effective. The power of the shaman is proportional to the number of helping spirits. Big shamans have 10 helping spirits, little shamans have 2. The rituals begin after the helping spirits arrive. The shaman gains characteristics according to the spirit that enters him.
For example, fire resistance. Helping spirits; It is inspired by animal and bird figures. Thus, they continue the effects of good spirits. Even though they try to prevent the harmful moves of evil spirits, the shaman's power is sufficient in this regard. In the rituals he organizes for these purposes, the shaman tries to get the desired result by interacting with the spirits and pleasing them. Ability and aptitude are important to establish this relationship with spirits.
Education of Shamanism
Receiving a certain training does not make that person a shaman. Shamanism is an innate and inevitable feature. It is believed that enlightened shamans are chosen by spirits. It is also stated that the choice of shaman does not depend on personal will. This selection is made according to a number of symptoms defined in the person.
Thus, it is believed that the person who will become a shaman shows superior powers in advance, and thus the people accept him as a shaman. For example, a baby born with teeth or six fingers is expected to become a shaman in the future. If a person who has been away from his clan for a long time due to a reason such as illness reappears later, he is considered a shaman.
- Is Shamanism Innate?
Shamanism is generally a trait that comes from lineage. Epilepsy seizures in childhood are considered a sign of the mysterious power involved. As the seizures increase, it becomes clear that the person will become a shaman. In this situation, the person picks up his drum and starts playing, calms down and comes to his senses, thus getting rid of the disease. The ecstasy technique, which forms the basis of shamanism, is similar to epilepsy attacks, and this similarity forms the basis of identification.
A person who avoids becoming a shaman eventually either goes crazy or dies young. It is thought that epilepsy will relapse as a disease in people who quit shamanism. Shamans are generally described as intelligent, poetic and dreamy. During the ritual, he becomes ecstatic and tells about extraordinary events and strange beings related to the sky and the underworld. Immediately after the shaman wakes up, he does not remember anything.
Just as it is not possible to become a shaman through education alone, innate predisposition and talent are not sufficient criteria to become a shaman. Shaman receives the power, knowledge and will in his profession from his ancestors. Thus, during the ritual, he correctly manages his drum, recites prayers, calls the spirits, and with their help, separates his soul from his body and sends it to the light or dark world to ensure balance.
The souls of deceased shamans leave the underworld and live in this world immediately. Without these kindred spirits, the shaman cannot fulfill his mission. Needs their help to overcome obstacles. After the candidate completes his training as a shaman, he wears his clothes in a ceremony and an oath prayer is recited. As a result, shamanism is passed from father to child or from relative to relative. It is an invitation to shamanism during a person's sexual maturity. The training of shamans is 3 or 5 years. This period may extend up to 10 years.
How to Perform Ceremonies in the Spirit of Shamanism?
In Shamanism, ceremonies are divided into two; These are ceremonies held on certain days or not predetermined. There are differences in these ceremonies depending on the beliefs, traditions and customs of the people. But there is definitely a tradition of sacrifice. Offering something or dedicating an item to a sacred area or value is considered a bloodless sacrifice. Tying a cloth to the shaman's drum or sacred trees is considered a bloodless sacrifice.
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