Paper 90 Overview: Shamanism—Medicine Men and Priests

Religious practices changed over time from simple fear-based rituals to more complex systems led by shamans and priests. Shamans were special men and women who claimed they could talk to spirits and gods for regular people. People believed that only these special leaders could get the attention of spirits.

Religion began with fear of the unknown but eventually developed into an understanding of God's love. In between these stages, shamans acted as go-betweens for humans and gods. They performed special ceremonies and claimed special powers that made them important in their communities.

Religious practices changed from simple actions like avoiding spirits to more complex rituals like sacrifice and atonement. As people's ideas about spirits became more complex, their rituals did too. These rituals were led by medicine men, shamans, and priests.

Early humans believed that spirits would only listen to special people. This meant religion became a secondhand experience for most people. Most belief systems on earth still show this pattern, where special people stand between regular worshippers and the objects of worship. This middle stage comes between early fear-based religion and the later understanding of God's love.

The shaman was the most important medicine man and led religious ceremonies in early cultures. In many groups, the shaman was more powerful than war leaders, which showed how religion began to control government. Some tribes had both earlier shaman-medicine men who were seers and later shaman-priests.

People with unusual mental or physical traits were often chosen as medicine men because these differences were thought to be signs of spirit possession. Many shamans believed they truly were possessed by spirits, while others were clever tricksters. The profession developed rules, including special clothing and a ten-year training period. Smart and shrewd shamans survived while honest ones often died when they failed to produce results.

Spirit rituals were very complicated and similar to modern church ceremonies in ancient languages. Early humans looked for help from superhuman beings, and shamans used the power of suggestion in their work. Shamans specialized in making rain, healing diseases, and finding criminals, but their main job was controlling the dangers of life.

"Black magic" was called "white magic" when practiced by priests or shamans. Later, witchcraft became connected with the devil, setting the stage for religious intolerance. Shamans also trusted in signs and omens, studied stars, and interpreted dreams. Weather shamans remained important throughout history, and even today many people still believe in astrology and fortune-telling despite scientific progress.

Early humans thought ghosts and spirits controlled their material world. When primitive people had problems, they tried to win the favor of these superhuman agencies. This explains why many ancient religious practices seem strange to us today.

Early humans developed five main theories about disease and death. First, they blamed ghosts for directly causing illness. Second, they recognized obvious causes like war wounds. Third, they blamed magic and enemies with evil powers. Fourth, they saw sickness as punishment for breaking taboos. Finally, they began to understand natural causes, which was an important scientific breakthrough that slowly freed humans from superstition.

Ancient people's religion was largely about preventing disease. They had great faith in their treatment methods, which made these treatments somewhat effective through the power of belief. In early times, sick people were feared and avoided, so it was progress when shamans agreed to treat diseases.

Shamans used many treatments including chanting, laying on hands, breathing on patients, and primitive surgery. They also used herbs, massage, bloodletting, sweating, and hot baths. Some groups believed plants could cure animal-caused diseases, while others used fasting and strong-smelling medicines. The Greeks were the first to develop truly rational medical treatments, and many ancient remedies worked well when kept secret.

Rituals had to be performed perfectly to have power over spirits. If done wrong, rituals would anger the gods. Over time, shamans developed into trained priests who directed these complicated rituals. For thousands of years, endless rituals have burdened society and slowed down progress.

Rituals create and preserve myths and customs. They involve words, pilgrimages, purification ceremonies, and initiations. Priests evolved from shamans through various roles to become directors of religious worship. They claimed special authority and often conducted rituals in ancient languages to mystify worshippers. While priests have sometimes delayed scientific progress, true religious leaders have pointed the way to higher realities.