Shaman Travelled From Siberia to English
A shaman is a person believed to mediate between the human and spirit worlds. The word comes from the Evenki language of Siberia through Russian.
A shaman is a figure believed to reach the spirit world on behalf of a community, often through trance. The word is genuinely Siberian: it comes from *šaman* in Evenki, a Tungusic language, and reached English in the 1690s through Russian accounts of peoples east of the Urals. Anthropologists later stretched it across the world, which is why its use is now debated.
- A spiritual intermediary. *The village shaman.*
- Shamanism — the practice or belief system. *Siberian shamanism.*
- Shamanic — the adjective. *A shamanic ritual.*
- Neo-shamanism — modern Western adaptations. *Neo-shamanic workshops.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shaman | An elderly shaman. |
| Plural | shamans | Local shamans. |
| Abstract | shamanism | The study of shamanism. |
| Adjective | shamanic | Shamanic drumming. |
| Source | šaman | Evenki, Siberia. |
- The shaman entered a trance to the sound of a drum.Ethnographic description.
- Shamanism is not a single religion.An important caution.
- The term is applied far beyond its origin.Scholarly debate.
Why the word is contested
- Origin is specific — one region, one language family
- Use is general — applied to very different traditions worldwide
- Communities differ — many prefer their own terms
- Not a priesthood — a shaman is usually called rather than trained into office
- Best practice — use the local term where one is known
Russian *šaman*, from Evenki *šaman*, one who knows. It entered English in the 1690s; a Sanskrit link through Buddhist *śramaṇa* has been proposed but is not settled.
Where does the word shaman come from?
From Evenki, a Tungusic language of Siberia, borrowed into Russian and then into western European languages in the late 1600s.
Is shaman a general term for any spiritual healer?
It is often used that way, but many communities have their own words and prefer them. The generalisation is a European academic habit.