In the thoughts of Charles Darwin, the introduction and origin of religious belief systems in the life of humanity was not anything mysterious if the development was viewed from a realistically inclined sense. As soon as man developed the important faculties of wonder, curiosity, and imagination coupled with the ability to reason, the chances of man craving for an understanding of the events passing around him, and vaguely speculating the reasons for his existence, became more profound if not outright inevitable. However, the propensity of humanity to believe in unseen deities has puzzled even the earlier projections of Darwin and those developed by his descendants. Every human society that has existed on the planet has had its gods, whether bowed upon from the Gothic cathedrals or offered sacrifices in the Mayan temples. The discrepancies in the exact interpretation of God, the proper manner in which this unseen deity should be properly obeyed and served have created a variation in religion, with different societies and cultures carving out their exclusive interpretation. The shaman religion in indigenous Siberia is one example to this effect. It is the purpose of this paper to explore the dilemma of religion and spirituality. However, the broader sense of religion and spirituality will not be the center focus of the paper, but religion and spirituality from the lens of shamanism.
It would be an attempt in futility to explore shamanism as a subject matter in the absence of digging deeper into its origin and more specifically what is meant by the term. Shamanism originates from the word saman from the Tungus dialect of Siberia where the word is commonly used in reference to a spirit healer. The religion and spirituality of shamanism is currently found in many parts of the world among individuals who adhere to the philosophies of the religion and its law of mystical participation that argues that there is an existence of a spiritual connection between everything and everyone that exists in the universe. Among the adherents to the teachings of shamanism, shamanism is not considered a religion, neither is it a science as portrayed in some quarters, but an activity taking place in a universe that is ordinary in common sense but spiritual in the other (Znamenski, 2003). In the view of Siberian practitioners of shamanism, there is an already existing spiritual connection between individuals in the society, and this kind of reality can never be altered at any one time in the course of human life and that of the world.
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Shamanism believes in the existence of spirits. To access the power that only the spirits can give, the adherents are required to take a spiritual journey. During such occasions, adherents to the teachings of shamanism gather together at a designated place chosen to them by leaders of the religion and spirituality. In most circumstances, the leaders are chosen based on their experience with the religion, and their ability to carry out and perform religious tasks, miracles, and activities that other so-called ordinary members cannot perform. Upon gathering at the designated place as a response to the command of the religious leader, the adherents start drumming and singing sessions as a means of initiating a communication with the unseen spirits and gods. The lyrics of the songs usually start with praise to the spirits and the gods for various positive events that the Siberian society has experienced in the past period. These include changes in the weather patterns that have either resulted in an alteration of drought seasons, prolonged winter or a boost in the agricultural lifeline of the society (Znamenski, 2003). After concentrating time to the spirits and the gods in the interest of the society, personal and familial problems are allowed to be directed to the gods and spirits.
It is important to note that during the climax of the prayer sessions whether it is for the general interest of the society or of the individual or familial level, the pitch of the songs sang, the drums played, and the voice of the adherents go up. The resulting power of the voices and that of the drums make the people lose their ordinary sense of existing in the contemporary world and go through an illusion of speeding along different world otherwise different from the world they live in. It is interesting to note that the access to the different world under discussion are not limited in any manner. As such, the adherents to and practitioners of shamanism can access the illusionary world under ice or water, beneath the earth, or on top of a mountain. In an attempt to access the different world, the adherent of shamanism might encounter an ancestor, an animal or a spirit in possession of healing knowledge or powers (Znamenski, 2003). The ancestor, animal or spirit encountered during this spiritual journey is regarded by the shamanistic religion as a helper, and depending on the level of conviction possessed by the adherent to shamanism, and the depth of the trance he or she is in, the adherent can gain assistance with the ability to heal or foresee the future.
Spirituality
When an individual initially receives the call to become a shaman, he or she experiences a state of vision in which the old non-spiritual body is dismembered in a spiritual sense and then brought back together in a new form with some kind of extraordinary power. The process of spiritually dismembering the old body and transforming it into a new powerful one is known as sparagmos . This kind of spiritual ordeal is in some way similarly echoing the Christian version of being born again as was proclaimed by the biblical Jesus Christ when answering questions from his disciples on how an individual can be the best follower of Christ. An adherent to the teachings of shamanism, especially those who have mastered the spiritual comparatively well, while on a spiritual journey or dream may receive a vision pertaining to future events that are likely to take place in the society or an individual who is well known to the person (Naxon, 1993). A shaman who has reached this level of spirituality may be of assistance to other members of the society on important matters such as the provision of information on the whereabouts of lost individuals or property which have proved difficult to find. In some circumstances, top and most dedicated adherents to the teachings of shamanism have been known to alter the weather patterns in the society they live in upon request or out of personal volition to offer assistance in the interest of the common good (Naxon, 1993).
In some instances, this category of adherents has accorded ordinary members of the society physical strength and power that are beyond the common convention and bordering impossibility. A typical way of understanding how the process of healing through shamanism works resonates with a medium through which a person in possession of the shamanistic powers liberates human faculties beyond the ordinary means of modern medicine and science. When a practitioner of shamanistic teachings is in the process of carrying out healing, he or she puts the hand on the location where the disease or ailment is felt by the patient or the sufferer, an act of spiritual healing is said to occur in between the two of them. The patient or the sufferer in such instances does not just feel the pressure emanating from the healer’s hand towards the spot of the ailment, but a healing connection that eventually translates to relief for the sufferer. The happenings in such kind of phenomenon are not yet largely examined through scientific research, but even in the cases where they have been examined, it is only the experience felt by the patient or the sufferer that can be relied upon.
Soul travel
Shamanism believes that that life is not only lived in this world but even in another world that is present when an individual dies and the body leaves the present physical world. The human soul, which acts as the point of connection between the present physical world and next unseen world that an individual travels to upon leaving the present one, only serves as a brief appearance in the bodies of human beings currently living on earth, but later return to the destined homeland. The concept of ontological distinction of planet earth as a home of spirits and the other world of earth is a common practice in the Siberian lands where shamanistic religion is more prevalent. There is a remarkable attachment to the human soul in the shamanistic religion more than the importance attached to the human body (Naxon, 1993). Indeed, unlike some other religions that accord the human body unnecessary attention through its perception as the temple of deities, the concept propagated by shamanism is altogether different.
In other religions such as Christianity and Islam, the body continues to command considerable attention and respect even after death. The attachment of importance to the human body in such religions is largely visible after the death of their adherents when the body of the dead is made to undergo a ritual process starting with its preservation by embodiment after it has been washed. The body is then isolated from the rest of the populace who are still alive, and kept in a special place designed for purposes of such nature, before being prepared for internment. The latter process of internment is critical due to its difference with the shamanistic religion as the body is always appropriately packaged prior to the final burial process, an activity that always involves other members of the society as a show of last respect (Naxon, 1993). The shamanistic religion, however, attaches no importance to the human body save for the soul. With the death of an individual, the body is viewed to be of no importance and is often discarded in public and left at the mercy of wild animals and birds. The excessive attachment of importance to the human soul created a cult of the dead in addition to curing of the ill as some of the most important constituents of the shamanistic religion. The thinking of the adherents was characterized by an assumption of a better life existence on the other side as opposed to the physical world, as such, it was important for the soul to free itself from this world through the death process.
The shamans believe that human illness occurs when the soul runs away from the body of the person, or if the soul is caught by evil spirits, and therefore needs to be brought back home through exorcism. In the event that an individual was believed to be possessed by evil spirits, the top practitioners of shamanism were called to expel the spirits from the soul of the victim by calling the support of helping spirits.
In conclusion, the shamanistic religion stands out as one of the many religions that have so far thronged the surface of the planet with some of the extreme forms of understanding the true meaning of religion regarding what is appropriate and applicable to the unseen deities.
References
Naxon, M. R. (1993). Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia: Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia. Anthropology of Consciousness , 4 (1), 15-16. doi:10.1525/ac.1993.4.1.15
Znamenski, A. A. (2003). Recording Shamanism in Old Russia. Shamanism in Siberia , 43-130. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-0277-5_2
