Shamanism: A System of Knowledge and Power Analysis

This essay provides an in-depth exploration of shamanism, focusing on its practices as a system of knowledge and power. It examines the traditions of African and Native American shamanism, highlighting the roles of shamans as intermediaries between the mortal and spiritual worlds. The paper discusses how shamans communicate with spirits to gain insights into the afterlife and future events, as well as to influence the well-being of their communities. The essay also delves into the similarities and differences between African and Native American practices, including the use of natural elements and the concept of ancestral spirits. Furthermore, it analyzes how the knowledge and power derived from shamanic practices impact individuals and communities. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of shamanism as a source of wisdom and influence, and the role of shamans as contact points between worlds. The assignment includes references to key literature and concepts related to shamanism.

Running head: SHAMANISM – A SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE AND POWER
SHAMANISM – A SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE AND POWER
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Introduction
Shamanism refers to the practices that involve the practitioners who are known to have
been dealing with the communication with the occult and the world of the deceased and the
departed. The shamanism practices are generally used to deal in the matters of communication
with the spiritual world with the intention of gaining knowledge regarding the world of the
afterlife as well as regarding the situations that might take place in the future as well. The
practitioners of shamanism or the shamans are believed to be interacting with the various
members of the spirit world and thereby acting as one of the contact points between the worlds
(Fotiou, 2019). The following paper attempts a discussion on the practices of shamanism. The
paper discusses the African and the Native American shamanism. The paper further discusses the
practices of shamanism as systems to gain knowledge and attain power with the help of the
spiritual world.
African Shamanism
The practices of shamanism are highly observed among the various members of the tribal
societies that exist all over the world. One of the major cults of shamanism refer to the practices
of shamanism that are undertaken by the tribal people residing within the African territories. The
tribal people of Africa are observed to have highlighted a blissful connotation for the activities of
shamanism. The African connotation of the practice of shamanism highlights the various helpful
activities that are undertaken by the members of the tribal societies with the help from the
spiritual world (Højer, 2017). The African shamans were known to have been manipulating the
various spirits or the several earthly substances in order to carry out the practices that would help
the development of the health of the members of the tribal community. The shamans were often
provided with various titles which they received for the help that they offered to the tribesmen in

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terms of rains and healing. However, not all the shamans used their magical powers to help the
tribesmen. There were some shamans who used their power for their personal benefits or in order
to harm a certain person or group of persons (Nelson, 2019). These shamans were often stated to
be sorcerers or witches who were highly regarded to have been dealing with the misuse of their
powers and their knowledge. The African shamans held the viewpoint that the spirits of the
ancestors of the tribesmen are not the ones that would cause them any harm. The shamans
preached the fact that the spirits of the ancestors would never be the cause of any harm or
misfortunes that might befall the concerned tribe (Howard, 2017). According to the shamans, the
major cause of the misfortune that would befall the concerned tribe could be attributed to the
other people who have been associated with the concerned tribesman or the tribe
Native American Shamanism
The Native American shamanism holds a plethora of similarities and dissimilarities with
the practices of African shamanism. The major areas of similarity that is observed among the
Native American shamans and the African shamans refer to the fact that the shamans in both the
cultural backgrounds were majorly observed to have been helping in the development and the
betterment of the community altogether. The Native American held the belief that every
community had specific spiritual leaders. The leaders were claimed to be in direct and regular
communication with “The Great Spirit” or the Wakan Tanka (Sharma, 2018). The shamans were
believed to be in proper attachment with these spiritual leaders who would thus help in
highlighting the betterment and the development of the tribe. The shamans who had been
practicing in the Native American tribes were expected to maintain a proper and good intimacy
with the spiritual world. The tribesmen believed that these would help in the securing of the
proper and the effective knowledge from the spiritual world (Waddock, 2017). The beliefs stated

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that the knowledge from the spiritual world would further help the concerned tribesmen to gain
spiritual enlightenment as well as help in maintaining the good graces of the tribe at the hands of
the spiritual beings (Brown & Brown, 2006). The shamans of Native American tribes that dealt
in medicines were not considered to have been possessing the various magical qualities that were
possessed by the other shamans. The people who used to undertake the practices of medicine
were considered to have a greater amount of knowledge as compared to the other members of the
tribe. The major dissimilarity among the Native American shamans and the African shamans
refer to the greater reference to the natural elements like the stars and other natural things to seek
proper answers.
Shamanism as a system of knowledge
The concept of shamanism is heavily used for gaining knowledge regarding various
factors. The shamans had been using their power to communicate with the spiritual beings in
order to increase their knowledge base on the given matters. The majority of the factors that were
used by the shamans helped them in developing a better understanding of the various forces of
nature. The majority of the shamans were known to have been undertaking the various activities
and techniques for the communication with the inhabitants of the spiritual world. This in turn
would help them in gaining knowledge that is not reachable for the common people inhabiting
within the tribe (Santarpia et al., 2018). The shamans were believed to hold special powers that
would help them reach out to the spiritual beings with the help of their meditations. The
communication with the inhabitants of the spiritual world helped the shamans in gaining a better
and broad knowledge regarding the happenings of the mortal world as well as help in the finding
of the solutions for the issues that the concerned individuals had been facing in their daily lives.
The shamans are thus known to be playing the role of the communicator who would help to build

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a communication bridge within the mortal world and the spiritual world. This connectivity would
further help in the increase in the knowledge base of the concerned tribesmen and the inhabitants
of the spiritual world (Michael, 2017). The concept of shamanism also highlights the fact that the
knowledge that is sought by the individuals might at times be available within the natural beings
and the natural objects that surround mankind. Shamanism practices might thus be stated to have
a great influence over the knowledge gained by individuals.
Shamanism as a system of power
Knowledge of a person helps the individual to develop a sense of power from within
himself. The practices of shamanism, thus, are observed to have been helping the overall
development of the power among the concerned individuals who have been benefitting from the
same. The practices of shamanism are known to yield both positive and negative effects in terms
of the power that is enjoyed by the shamans. The African shamanism practices highlight the
existence of shamans who used their power for their personal benefits or in order to harm a
certain person or group of persons (Marovic & Machinga, 2017). These shamans were often
stated to be sorcerers or witches who were highly regarded to have been dealing with the misuse
of their powers and their knowledge. On the other hand, the Native American shamans held
similar viewpoints as well. There existed shamans who had been known for the various ways in
which they misused their powers. The misuse of the shamanic powers highly affects the gaining
of the power of the individual (Geschiere, 2016). This in turn is known to have been affecting the
tribes as well. The interaction of the concerned tribesmen with the spiritual beings helped in the
development of the knowledge that is enjoyed by the tribesmen as well as the shamans (Alberts,
2016). The increase in the knowledge helped the shamans to take care of similar situations as
well as helped them develop the power through the use of the several spells that would help in

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the achievement of the outcomes sought by the concerned people. The ability of shamans to have
increased the knowledge regarding any given subject helped in the attainment of the power to
deal in the factors that enable the concerned individuals to learn more about the afterlife and
ways in which the life on earth might affect the afterlife.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can safely be stated that the shamanism had been considered to be one of
the major sources of attaining knowledge and gaining power. The practitioners of shamanism or
the shamans are believed to be interacting with the various members of the spirit world and
thereby acting as one of the contact points between the worlds. The shamans were believed to
hold special powers that would help them reach out to the spiritual beings with the help of their
meditations. The communication with the inhabitants of the spiritual world helped the shamans
in gaining a better and broad knowledge regarding the happenings of the mortal world as well as
help in the finding of the solutions for the issues that the concerned individuals had been facing
in their daily lives.

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References
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