A large, and general question, but a valid one at that. The role of the shaman through history has been commonly a healer, a spiritual consultant, a community leader. Some call the shaman the technician of ecstasy referring to the altered states of mind the shaman calls at will. Usually, in most cultures, they were not the counterpart of modern priests or rabbis - the difference being that outside of ceremony, they took part in day to day life as any other community member would. They were not isolated as purely holy men, but were also warriors, farmers, etc. This is not true for every culture, but very common non the less. They tend to spend a lot of time alone, taking vision quests in the wilderness, and consulting with the spirit guides. Even in modern culture, the shaman still plays the same role, but in a more underground fashion, due to social pressures - but some of the people one would least expect are actually modern shaman - such as ship yard workers, lawyers, repair men, etc.
The amazing thing about shamanism is the cross cultural similarity of the practice. The core concepts are almost identical from European (Celtic), Aboriginal, Native American, Chinese, Hindu, etc. in the shamans world. The modern religions may be very different, but when you dig a bit deeper in the roots, all religion spawned from shamanism, and all shamanism was very similar. Groups that had little or no contact with each other had similar core principles for tens of thousands of years.
The shaman is not the Hollywood picture of a sorcerer shooting lightning bolts from his/her hands, conjuring fierce dragons from a poof of smoke. Only Hollywood special effects labs do that. What the shaman does do, though, is change states of conscience at will, and contacts appropriate spirit powers on that other plane. The more effective the state of conscience change, usually the more effective the shaman. Shaman have been known to cure anything, far above the scientific community efforts. There have been reports of tumors the size of softballs disappearing by the shamans healing, bones being mended, diseases cured, unknown aliments healed, etc. Shaman have been able to predict earthquakes, and other natural 'disasters' for millions of years, and are still more accurate than modern technology. Modern psychology is also stemmed from the shamans world, and parallels only one aspect of it. The shaman has been doing something called soul retrieval long before Jung and Freud were ever born.
The concept of shamanism can not be captured by words - they exist in the world which cannot be told, only experienced. The song of the shaman transcends the audible spectrum, and vibrates in the souls of all that are, were and will be - his shadow casts in all directions, and his body connects the heart of the universe to the heart of the spirit.
Traditionally shamanism is a complex system of beliefs which includes the knowledge and belief in the names of the helping spirits in the shamanic pantheon, the memory of certain texts, the rules for and the objects, tools and paraphernalia used by shamans....
Suffering is a tool that is used in the testing and attainment of a shaman's power. Suffering through self-deprivation (fasting, lashing, etc.) are practices that are held by many belief systems....
Thomas Carlson, M.D., director of ethnobiomedical field research for Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc., believes that jungle-dwelling societies might know botanical remedies for diseases that baffle modern science....
The world view is the way one perceives all that is existing in his or her world. No two people see the same things - even down to something as simple as colors....
One misconception of the shamanic relationship with the spirits is that he/she commands them at will, and that they beckon to his/her will at all times, like servants to a master....
In neoshamanic literature this spirit has different names. To mention a view: totem, nagual, poweranimal, protection spirit/angel/animal, fylgia, clan spirit, animal soul, alter ego....
Everyone practicing shamanism or magic knows of the fact of soul loss. Shamanism and magic simply asumes the existence of something called the soul....
To work with this system of advisors you at least have to know about how to meditate. The best thing is, of course, if you are fit in the shamanic journey....
The simpliest way of achieving a power song is making a journey to it. If you have a good contact to your spirits they will provide you with instructions, maybe some cryptic ones. ...
Horses were used to being sacrificed very often in asiatic and sibirian cultures. These sacrifices were offered to the master of heaven or other main spirits to calm them down that humans can achieve more wealth and richness. ...
Characteristic for siberian shamanism is the shamanic costume. It is composed of many different parts. Prominent ones are the shamanic drum, the drum-stick, the shamanic cloak and foot-wear, the shamanic mirror and the headdress....
