The Origins Of Shamanism

Contrary to popular belief, shamanism is not something that comes from Africa; many popular culture mediums usually depict and describe African witch doctors as being shaman, while referring to the shaman of other cultures under some other incorrect euphemism. Shamanism in fact, originated in Asia. The word itself was actually a corruption of another term: “Shramana” which was Sanskrit for a disciple of Buddha. Somehow, instead of becoming a term used for religious, or pious men, it became, amongst the Mongols, a word that was merely a synonym for “magician”. It was not until later on, that the term “shaman” became a term that was used more widely for men and women practicing religious magic.

The term later became defined as the general word for “healer” in the Turkish, and Mongol regions, and despite its commonly misinterpreted suffix, was intended for the description of both male and females. The folk healers in Northern Asia went by the name “šamán” which meant in the language of the region, “he or she, who knows”. The knowledge being either, or both of the more mystical subjects of life, or simply having healing abilities. Still other historians have theorized that the word “shaman” comes instead from the Manchu language, and is the only word of the language that has been borrowed for common use by the English speaking world.

Later on, the word became synonymous with the term “witch doctor”, which is in itself, both rude and pejorative. Most historians and scholars of the subject, as well as practitioners of shamanism believe that the two practices originate from different eras and regions. The intermingling of culture never took place, so there’s no reason to create a generalizing term for the two separate practices.