very eyes. Yet, he cannot but question as to why the shamans, if they are so powerful, cannot make their own lives better. He has met them from time to time – all look as gaunt as before. They dress in tattered shirts and torn pants. In the evenings one will more often than not find them drunk on cheap local hooch. Still, despite all his doubts and questions, he cannot erase the memory of that night when these malnourished shamans held sway over things ungodly with such a command performance as to overwhelm the senses.
You might ask, how do I know all this? Simple – I was the small boy. I have stood witness, now it is your turn.Welcome to the mystifying world of shamans.
Part II
Shrouded in secrecy
Firstly let us be clear on one point: the very shroud that cloaks the mystery makes it prone to meanings that are generally inconclusive, and there are as many opinions as there are practices. At the same time, while shamanism exists worldwide in different variations it shares some common beliefs: spirits exist and they can be good or evil; shamans can communicate with the spirits and they can cure sickness caused by them; shamans can induce trance-like states to incite visionary ecstasy, and shamans can tell the future. According to one definition, shamanism is concerned with communication with the netherworld of ghosts and spirits.
A shaman is variously defined by eminent scholars as: “Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his consciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe” (Stanley Krippner); “He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy” (Mircea Eliade); “A healer who has experienced