Spiritual Cosmology:
Spirit World: Belief in spirits, ancestors, and other non-physical entities.
Cosmic Balance: Maintaining harmony between humans, nature, and spirits.
Altered States of Consciousness:
Drumming, Chanting, and Dancing: Techniques to enter trance-like states.
Plant Medicines: Some shamans use psychoactive plants like ayahuasca or peyote to induce visions and connect with spirits.
Animal Spirits and Totems:
Animal Guides: Shamans often have a spirit animal or totem that aids and represents them in the spirit world.
Shapeshifting: Belief in the ability to transform into animals or other forms during spiritual journeys.Training and Initiation
Apprenticeship: Typically involves a period of training under an experienced shaman, often involving rigorous rituals, fasting, and isolation to develop spiritual abilities.
Initiation Rituals: Formal ceremonies marking the shaman's acceptance and acknowledgment by the spirit world and the community.
Healing Practices
Soul Retrieval: Belief that illness can be caused by soul loss and that the shaman must retrieve lost soul parts from the spirit world.
Extraction: Removal of spiritual intrusions or negative energies causing illness or imbalance.
Psychopomp: Guiding souls of the deceased to the afterlife.