Shamanism

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Shamanism \Sha"man*ism\, n.
     The type of religion which once prevalied among all the
     Ural-Altaic peoples (Tungusic, Mongol, and Turkish), and
     which still survives in various parts of Northern Asia. The
     Shaman, or wizard priest, deals with good as well as with
     evil spirits, especially the good spirits of ancestors.


     --Encyc. Brit.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  shamanism
       n 1: any animistic religion similar to Asian shamanism
            (especially as practiced by certain Native American
            tribes)
       2: an animistic religion of northern Asia having the belief
          that the mediation between the visible and the spirit
          worlds is effected by shamans [syn: {Asian shamanism}]