shaman
/ˈʃamən
/ /ˈʃeɪmən/noun (plural shamans)
A person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits, especially among some peoples of northern Asia and North America. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.While performing the ritual, the shaman (witch doctor) dances and enters into a trance....
- Rituals of traditional belief systems mark life-cycle events or involve propitiation for particular occasions and are led by shamans, spirit mediums, or prayer masters (male or female).
- Other religious practitioners include spirit mediums and shamans, most of whom are women.
Synonyms
medicine man, medicine woman, healer;
witch doctor;
in South America peai, peaiman;
in Hawaii kahuna;
in Greenland angekok;
in Malaysia & Indonesia pawang;
in South-East Asia dukun
Derivatives
shamanism
- The cult of spirits, shamanism, and ancestor worship compose the three major parts of traditional Hmong religion.
- Confucianism, Taoism, and shamanism have also influenced Japanese religion.
- He writes about shamanism, paganism, mysticism and feminism, and approaches them all with respect, compassion and mischief.
shamanist
- They were Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Manicheans, pagans, nomads, shamanists, and animists as well, and, ethnically speaking, Seljuks, Khazars, Bulgars, Timurids, Mongols, Anatolians and Chinese.
- There are scores of ex-Mormons, shamanists, pagans, and atheists meeting up, hoping to find camaraderie.
- Can it be a good idea to take shamanist ways of working and using them for spiritualist work?
shamanistic
- The oldest Buddhist sect in Tibet, it emphasizes mysticism and incorporates shamanistic practices and local deities borrowed from the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.
- We hear about pre-Christian religion, pagan beliefs, shamanistic rituals and healing drums, and the story is narrated in ambiguous and multivocal words and concepts.
- Many areas were not converted to Islam until the eighteenth century, and even then it was by the mystical Sufi branch, who integrated local shamanistic practices with their religion.
shamanize
- Protestant Christianity was no exception: It had to be ‘shamanized’ considerably in order to be more agreeable to the religious imagination of the Korean people.
Origin
Late 17th century: from German Schamane and Russian shaman, from Tungus šaman.
Rhymes
- hold something down
- hold something in
- hold something in fee
- hold something out
- hold something over
- hold sway
- hold the ball
- hold the field
- hold the fort
- hold the front page
- hold the line
- hold the man
- hold the purse strings
- hold the ring
- hold the stage
- hold thumbs
- hold together (or hold something together)
- hold up
- hold up one's head (or hold one's head high)
- hold water
- hold with
- hole
- hole-and-corner
- hole card
- hole-in-one