Earthpulse Blog

Part 1 of this series looked at what a shaman usually does, the shamanic cosmology and themes inherent in shamanism across cultures. This necessarily entailed a distillation from a huge number of culturally distinct traditions. Part 2 aims to put some of the colour and variety back into the discussion by focussing on three geographically and culturally separate shamanic traditions. By the end of the article you should get a sense of both the diversity of shamanism and its underlying unity.

The voodoo doll - reality or myth?
(Image provided under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licence by Chabacano. Url = http://flickr.com/photos/35541100@N00/2486381001)

Tradition 1:Vodou (Haiti)

The first tradition is strictly a monotheist religion, but one which has strong shamanic roots. It is a Haitian tradition where superstition, ethnocentrism and sheer misunderstanding (not to mention media spin) has transformed it into something of a taboo. The African word vodou means ‘deep mystery’, ‘invisible force’ or ‘spirit’ and the religion is a merging of west African folk traditions which emerged in Haiti, following the movement of slaves to the Caribbean.

Although Vodou has a number of different spellings, ‘voodoo’ is not one of them. This is a more recent tradition specifically practised in New Orleans.

With origins in shamanism, Vodou clearly involves connection with spiritual forces and these are understood as being of three primary types; the loa, the most powerful of the spirits, gede, spirits of the ancestors and djabs, nature spirits. Connection is made with these spirits, sometimes involving complete possession, and the shaman can receive power (known as ashe) from the djabs and spiritual gifts from the loa. During healing, a shamanic ‘priest’ performs operations such as removing spiritual intrusions, restoring ashe or journeying to retrieve lost soul parts. Practitioners of modern forms of shamanism should recognise the themes here.

As well as Vodou priests, there are also practitioners, known as ‘bokors’, who sell their services for beneficent or destructive purposes.

Further correspondences between Vodou and other forms of shamanism can be seen in the division of reality into upper, middle and lower worlds. Gine is the realm of the loa (who are sometimes described as aspects of ‘Bondye’ (God) and sometimes distinct, depending on the source). The lower world is called the ‘abysmal waters’ and is the temporary home of departed souls and the middle world is aptly termed the ‘marketplace’ due to the competitive nature of life both in the ‘ordinary’ and ‘non-ordinary’ divisions of this realm.

There is clearly far more to be said on Vodou (and related traditions such as Candomble and Santeria) but I wanted to round off by addressing some of the darker associations of the tradition; voodoo dolls, human sacrifice and zombies.

For a start, voodoo dolls and their equivalents (e.g. poppets and nkisi) are widespread in both shamanic and non-shamanic cultures. From North America to Peru and Malaysia to Britain figurines of wood, wax or other substances are used to focus intention and create a sympathetic connection with the recipient for benevolent or harmful purposes. Ironically, Vodou regards the use of such tools as weak and evidence of low levels of ashe so practitioners generally shun them.

Second, my research has found the attribution of human sacrifice to Vodou originates from one source, the purportedly racist Sir Spenser St. John in the 1800s. No concrete evidence has ever been obtained to back this up. Animal sacrifice on the other hand is practised but it is the exception rather than the rule. Most of the loa prefer the sacrifice of other items; corn, eggs, rum and cigars seem popular with some of them. Chicken are sometimes sacrificed during healing, the disease being passed into the animal, but before we pass judgement it is worth looking at the sacrifices made by rats, mice and even monkeys in the name of medical research in ‘developed’ societies. By the way, if anyone wants me to blog on that let me know. As a student of biological psychology I have been privy to some of the more eye-opening details and believe me they show our culture to be a million miles away from any notion of respect for our relations.

Finally, zombies. You might think this would be the easiest element to dismiss as fiction but this is not the case. Zombies (or zombis) do exist. Not the rotting corpse variety, naturally, but certain toxins from jungle herbs are known to be used, particularly by mercenary bokors, to cause the suppression of the nervous system, leading to temporary paralysis in their victims. They are then buried alive for a few days before being dug up and miraculously revived by their poisoner. The psychological and soul damage caused by such a traumatic process, combined with the accepted belief in the necromantic power of the bokor places the zombie under the sorcerer’s control. Even spiritual attack (the wonderfully named ‘expedition mort’ in Vodou) alone can allegedly cause soul loss, resulting in zombification. Of course, soul loss is not restricted to Haiti and maybe the stereotypical zombie character in more modern societies is more than just a metaphor.

A Buryat shaman

Tradition 2: Buryat (Mongolia)

Moving from the heat of the Caribbean and Africa to the frozen lands that span northern Europe and Asia we find the descendants of the ‘wolf people’ of Siberia, the Buryat Mongolians. The ‘gol’ is the centre of the Buryat cosmos and is where all journeys begin, but Buryats also divide their reality into an upper, middle and lower world. The upper world is populated by the powerful tenger, zayaans and khan, the lower world houses the dead between incarnations and is very watery in nature and the middle world has both a physical and spiritual dimension. Does this sound familiar?

In Buryat belief, shaman can divine the future, shapeshift, control the weather, provide healing and act as psychopomps (guides to the lost spirits of the departed). In terms of sickness, spirit intrusion, soul loss and spirit possession are cited as the causes of many ailments.

A Navajo man in ceremonial dress

Tradition 3: Navajo (South West USA)

The real name of the Navajo people (an appellation given to them by the Spaniards to distinguish them from other Apache tribes) are the Dine’ and they are one of the two largest surviving groups of the original people of north America (depending on the source consulted). Dine’ cosmology is complex and laden with symbolism but in it we can discern the same cosmic division into upper, middle and lower worlds. The upper worlds translate as the ‘place of melting into one’ and the ‘world of the spirits of living things’ while the everyday world is said to be the fifth (or twelfth) and uppermost of four (or eleven) lower worlds through which humanity have already evolved (I use this world loosely as I have read nothing to suggest that the humans of the fifth world are somehow superior to the others). The dead inhabit the lower worlds and can influence the living and sometimes injure them.

The notion of spiritual energy is also present and the Dine’ call such power ‘medicine’, whether the power is used for beneficent or malevolent purposes (the latter gives rise to the term ‘bad medicine’). On that note, the Navajo version of the expedition mort or psychic attack is known as ‘shooting of evil’ and spirit intrusion is described as lightning lodged in a person’s interior. However, during my research I did not come across any reference to the phenomenon of ‘soul loss’. If anyone has any information on that I would be grateful.

The Dine’ also have their equivalents of the Haitian Bokor; the ‘ánt’įįhnii’, ’adagąsh’ and ’azhįtee’, three different types of sorcerer with various modi operandi, including shapeshifting, an art practiced by the much-feared skin-walkers.

The history and mythology of the Dine’ is both fascinating and extensive and I recommend looking at the sources mentioned below for much more information. I have only scraped the surface of it here to highlight some of the similarities to other shamanic traditions.

Look out for Part 3, where I will be looking at the history and principles of ‘core shamanism’

Coming next: The Astrological Signs: Libra to Capricorn

Do you have any personal experiences with or opinions on Shamanism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.

References (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):
Arizona Board of Regents, ‘The Navaho’, Books of the southwest [online],link, accessed 21st Dec 2009
Heaven, R. (2003) ‘Vodou shaman: The Haitian way of healing and power’, Destiny Books, Vermont
Mystic Canyon Studies (2002-2004), ‘The Dine’ (Navajo)’ [online], link, accessed 20th Dec 2009
Sarangerel (2001) ‘Chosen by the spirits: Following your shamanic calling’, Destiny Books, Vermont