Ask any group of people what the definition is of shamanism and you may get many different answers. It is agreed that shamanism has been part of our world since prehistoric times and yet there is some conflict and controversy as to what exactly it means to be a shaman. Part of the conflict has to do with the fact that shamanism is a spiritual practice that has such a long history and it has ties to many different and diverse cultural groups. But it is often agreed upon that a shaman is a person who is a spiritual healer and one who has a strong connection to the sacred world. The shaman connects to  spirit guides, and also to animal guides, through sacred rituals that involve, and yet are not limited to, trance-like meditation, lucid dreaming, divination and out of body experiences. In this way they help to restore spiritual, mental and physical balance to a particular individual or to the community that they are connected with. The word shaman is said to have come from the Tungus language of Siberia and referred to holy people in this region who worked as healers and seekers. It is not a gender-based word and can be applied in the same way to both men and women.

A shaman gains insight into what needs healing and restoring in an individual or community by working with the spirits of animals, trees, the land and from the spirits of past ancestors. All of these carry a wealth of information that the shaman can connect with and use in their work. The connection is made by the shaman to the spirits through a shift of consciousness that involves entering a trance-like state through meditation that often involves the use of rattles, drumming and/or chanting.

Shamanism is not a religion but rather a specific set of spiritual and holistic practices and traditions; these practices and traditions can vary depending on the cultural group that they are connected with.  For example, Korean shamanism contains a variety of traditions that is heavily influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. The shamans, who are most typically women and called mudang, may work with a person to help them gain good fortune, to cure illnesses or to help a village obtain a good harvest. The Mapuche people of South America commonly have a community shaman who is also typically a woman and who is referred to as the Machi. The Machi assists the community by practicing herbal medicine and performing ceremonies to help cure illnesses.
 
Shamans are often very much involved in working to heal the land such as finding the reasons for drought, determining the best places for crops to grow and also finding plants that help to fight illness. In some cultures, shamanic abilities are considered to be inherited but many times these abilities are learned through teachings that are passed down from one to another through oral tradition.

Despite some information to the contrary, shamanism and Native American spiritual healers are not one and the same. Indigenous groups such as those who are part of the Inupiat and Aleut tribes of North America and other Indian groups such as the Tlingit and Athabascan tribes used to or currently practice shamanism. However not all Native American holy people or Medicine people are shaman and the word should not be considered a catch-all term for Native American spiritual leaders and healers.
 
For more reading on shamanism go to:

 
Shattering Shaman Myths- article discussing book written by author Barbara Tedlock