Abstract

Shamanism is a widespread healing discipline, grounded in animism. Healing, divination, rain-making and settling disputes are among the shaman’s duties. Many people rely on shamans for primary health care and spiritual guidance. The mind, body and spirit are treated as a unit by shamans. The shaman will seek to determine the supernatural cause of an illness. This can be anything from the violation of a taboo or some other transgression against the supernatural world, possession by an evil spirit, sorcery practiced by an enemy, or the actions of an offended ancestral ghost.