As a rule, a person is free to choose his own profession. However, there is an occupation in the world that is not chosen. This profession itself appoints those who will be engaged in it, and such people have no way back. What does it mean to be a shaman - to receive a gift or a curse from fate?
Call of the ancestors
The representatives of the indigenous peoples of Siberia are well aware: if a young man had shamans' ancestors and he developed a "shamanic disease", it is useless to be cured of it.
One must either accept the restructuring of the body and consciousness on the way to shamanic practices, or prepare for madness or even death. After all, once having heard the "shaman call" the soul cannot return half way and remain the same.
How does this serious illness manifest itself? Consciousness is the first to be hit. Obviously, the shamanic gift does not fall from the sky in the blink of an eye. In order to be able to communicate with spirits, heal people and conjure the elements of nature, you need to go through a spiritual restructuring, which is accompanied by sudden bouts of drowsiness, nightmares, auditory and visual hallucinations. In addition, the future shaman undergoes a complete restructuring of the body.
The body reacts to these changes with very specific physical manifestations: pressure drops, stomach upsets, sharp pains, fever and chills. Interestingly, these sudden "ailments" disappear and appear for no reason. It makes no sense to go to a doctor at such moments - traditional medicine will not help here: it simply will not find any diseases in the patient.
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Rite of passage
The main thing for a novice shaman is to prepare ritual clothes and a tambourine. Ritual "overalls" have been obligatory since ancient times, it gave the shaman a full opportunity to communicate with spirits and wander in other worlds.
Most often, the shaman's costume imitates the image of an animal or bird most revered by the tribe. Among the Yakuts, for example, shamanic vestments resemble the plumage of birds: a cloak or caftan is trimmed with a fringe of leather straps, the sleeves are embroidered with iron plates, conventionally denoting flight feathers. With this outfit, the shaman can "fly" wherever he pleases.
An even more important attribute is a tambourine. This is not only a musical instrument necessary for conjuring spirits, but also a wonderful creature on which the shaman travels to other worlds, while the mallet is considered a whip or whip with which the tambourine can be controlled.
To initiate a beginner, a tambourine must be made and "revived" by an experienced shaman. During the ceremony, he asks the spirits to recognize the convert and obey him, and then turns the tambourine into a powerful "horse" that can deliver the newcomer to any world, and tames him like a real animal.
After that comes the time of the "dissection" ritual - sacrifice to the spirits of the old human body instead of the new one, with supernatural abilities and the ability to influence the forces of nature. At this time, the future shaman moves away from people to a forest dwelling and falls into a trance, during which he sees what is happening to him as a long hallucination. According to the testimony of those who passed through the ceremony, the shaman at this time feels how the spirits tear him apart, and his head is placed on a stake so that he can see what is happening.
According to the beliefs of the peoples of Siberia, the initiate must give a piece of his flesh to the spirits that bring various diseases, in order to become one with them and to be able to drive them out of the sick. The "dissection" usually lasts several days, after which it is time for the actual professional dedication. For this, an experienced shaman is called, who must be magically stronger than the initiate.
The ceremony is performed either at the top of a mountain or in a large open space - a clearing or meadow. On the right hand of the initiate, nine innocent young men are placed, on the left - nine "pure" girls. An experienced shaman stands behind the beginner. He pronounces the necessary spells, which are repeated by the beginner and everyone present. The spells contain requests to the patron spirit to fulfill the requests of the new shaman, for which he will serve his spirit and make sacrifices to him.
Also, spells affect the medical aspect of shamanic practice: during the rite, evil spirits are listed, the diseases they can bring, and ways to negotiate with them in order to heal people. Then a pet is sacrificed, part of its meat is presented to the spirits, the rest goes to the festive feast on. on the occasion of a successfully conducted ceremony.
Haunted worlds
The shaman who has passed the initiation acquires the so-called guided imagination. His physical body dwells in normal conditions of the real world, while the soul can freely move along the entire "tree of being" - from the upper world of the gods through the middle world of people to the lower world of evil spirits and the afterlife kingdom, as well as to thousands of other, parallel worlds …
In order to enter into a trance and go on such a "journey", shamans use various means. Almost all of them use hallucinogens and other natural substances in their rituals, which, according to shamans, facilitate the transition of the spirit to other spaces. Unfortunately, it is because of the use of such substances that many shamans die of liver disease.
To immerse oneself in the world of spirits, dance is also used, each movement of which is part of a conversation with various entities invisible to an ordinary person. The rhythmic beats of a tambourine and the ringing of shamanic bells play a role in ritual shaman dances. There are eight basic tambourine rhythms, each is used for a specific purpose: for example, the rhythm of the snake is for accumulating internal forces, the rhythm of the bull is for protection, the rhythm of the tiger is for transmitting power to another person …
But the most powerful is the shaman who goes into a trance without using any doping. Although regardless of whether the shaman resorts to additional means to enter the world of spirits or copes on his own, in the process of ritual ritual he loses almost all his strength.
It even happens that he does not return from his magical journey at all and dies in the course of the ritual. Therefore, it is forbidden to ask the shaman for services on minor occasions. In other words, the reason for contacting him must necessarily be serious, when no one else can help.
Help from otherworldly forces
The most serious reason for calling a shaman for help is, of course, illness. Shamans regard any ailment, first of all, as a disease of the spirit, a violation of its relationship with the energy of the Universe. Thus, before treating the disease itself, the shaman eliminates the patient's energy leakage, restores his interaction with the forces of nature.
The second stage is to activate the person being healed, directing his body, mind and spirit to participate in the treatment. And only then the shaman can begin a journey into the world of spirits in order to find there the evil forces that sent the disease and convince them to leave the patient alone.
Modern medical scientists argue that treatment with the help of shamanic practices is at least a harmless process, and sometimes it is the only way to heal a patient.
Roger Walsh, an Australian-American scientist and neuropsychologist, writes in his article "Shamanic Techniques":
"Such aspects of shamanic healing as patient selection, placebo effect, the use of psychotherapeutic techniques and hypnosis, the harmlessness of shamanic intervention, allow us to hope for positive results … Shamanic treatment, being primarily a spiritual procedure, is a gentle and really safe process."
Shamans interact with the spirit world not only to heal the sick. They are contacted when the weather needs to be changed to a more favorable one. When it is necessary to know the future, they also go to the shaman. Usually this is not a simple forecast for a certain period of time, but a prediction of the most successful period for carrying out important matters.
The shaman's help in communicating with the spirits of ancestors is indispensable, when you need to consult with them or just respect. If luck has turned away, nothing goes well, and there is an important event in life ahead, the shaman will help here too. In a word, you just need to believe that from the journey into the world of spirits the shaman will deliver what is needed - and a miracle will happen.
Ekaterina KRAVTSOVA