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Regional forms of shamanism
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Regional forms of shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice present in various cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism takes on many different forms, which vary greatly by region and culture and are shaped by the distinct histories of its practitioners.
Wuism (Chinese: 巫教; pinyin: wū jiào; lit. 'wu religion', 'shamanism', 'witchcraft'; alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào), refers to the shamanic practices of China. Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture. Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to Chinese folk religion.
Shamanism also persists among various ethnic minorities in China, such as the Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, Miao, Naxi and Pumi peoples.
The Hmong people are an ethnic group of people originating from Central China, who continue to maintain and practice Ua Neeb. Being a Hmong shaman is a vocation; their primary role is to bring harmony to the individual, their family, and their community within their environment by performing rituals, usually through trance.
The Hmong believe that all things on Earth have a soul (or multiple souls), each considered equal and possibly interchangeable. Animal sacrifice is central to these beliefs, where it is seen as a necessary request to borrow the animal's soul to heal a person's affliction or to save their soul from being captured by a wild spirit for a period of 12 months. During the Hmong New Year, the shaman performs a special ritual to release the animal's soul to a spiritual dimension. As part of its service to mankind, the animal's soul is understood to be reincarnated into a 'higher animal,' possibly becoming a member of a god's family (ua Fuab Tais Ntuj tus tub, tus ntxhais) to live a life of luxury, free of suffering as an animal. Hence, participating in this exchange by being sacrificed is one of the greatest honors for the animal.
Animal sacrifice has been part of the Hmong shamanic practice for the past 5,000 years. After the Vietnam War, over 200,000 Hmong were resettled in the United States and shamanism is still part of the Hmong culture. Before the sacred cockfight, The Hmong of south-east Guizhou cover a rooster with a piece of red cloth and then hold it up to worship and sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth. In a 2010 trial of a Hmong from Sheboygan, Wisconsin charged with staging a cockfight, it was stated that the roosters were "kept for both food and religious purposes", and the case ended in an acquittal.
In addition to the spiritual dimension, Hmong shamans attempt to treat many physical illnesses through the use of the text of sacred words (khawv koob).
Shamanism is part of the indigenous Ainu religion and the Japanese religion of Shinto. Since the early middle-ages Shinto has been influenced by and syncretized with Buddhism and other elements of continental East Eurasian culture. The book "Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods" by Percival Lowell delves further into researching Japanese shamanism or Shintoism. The book Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto uncovers the extraordinary aspects of Japanese beliefs.
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Regional forms of shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice present in various cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism takes on many different forms, which vary greatly by region and culture and are shaped by the distinct histories of its practitioners.
Wuism (Chinese: 巫教; pinyin: wū jiào; lit. 'wu religion', 'shamanism', 'witchcraft'; alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào), refers to the shamanic practices of China. Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture. Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to Chinese folk religion.
Shamanism also persists among various ethnic minorities in China, such as the Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, Miao, Naxi and Pumi peoples.
The Hmong people are an ethnic group of people originating from Central China, who continue to maintain and practice Ua Neeb. Being a Hmong shaman is a vocation; their primary role is to bring harmony to the individual, their family, and their community within their environment by performing rituals, usually through trance.
The Hmong believe that all things on Earth have a soul (or multiple souls), each considered equal and possibly interchangeable. Animal sacrifice is central to these beliefs, where it is seen as a necessary request to borrow the animal's soul to heal a person's affliction or to save their soul from being captured by a wild spirit for a period of 12 months. During the Hmong New Year, the shaman performs a special ritual to release the animal's soul to a spiritual dimension. As part of its service to mankind, the animal's soul is understood to be reincarnated into a 'higher animal,' possibly becoming a member of a god's family (ua Fuab Tais Ntuj tus tub, tus ntxhais) to live a life of luxury, free of suffering as an animal. Hence, participating in this exchange by being sacrificed is one of the greatest honors for the animal.
Animal sacrifice has been part of the Hmong shamanic practice for the past 5,000 years. After the Vietnam War, over 200,000 Hmong were resettled in the United States and shamanism is still part of the Hmong culture. Before the sacred cockfight, The Hmong of south-east Guizhou cover a rooster with a piece of red cloth and then hold it up to worship and sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth. In a 2010 trial of a Hmong from Sheboygan, Wisconsin charged with staging a cockfight, it was stated that the roosters were "kept for both food and religious purposes", and the case ended in an acquittal.
In addition to the spiritual dimension, Hmong shamans attempt to treat many physical illnesses through the use of the text of sacred words (khawv koob).
Shamanism is part of the indigenous Ainu religion and the Japanese religion of Shinto. Since the early middle-ages Shinto has been influenced by and syncretized with Buddhism and other elements of continental East Eurasian culture. The book "Occult Japan: Shinto, Shamanism and the Way of the Gods" by Percival Lowell delves further into researching Japanese shamanism or Shintoism. The book Japan Through the Looking Glass: Shaman to Shinto uncovers the extraordinary aspects of Japanese beliefs.