Why Did Shamanism Evolve Around the World?

Shamanism is universal and not bound by social or cultural conditions. It is the most ancient and most enduring spiritual tradition known to humanity. Shamanism predates and constitutes the foundation of all known religions, psychologies and philosophies. It originated among nomadic hunting and gathering societies. These ancient shamanic ways have withstood the tests of time, varying little from culture to culture. Over thousands of years of trial and error, primal peoples the world over developed the same basic principles and techniques of shamanic power and healing. Shamanic practice is so widespread that it can be deemed a human universal.

So why did shamanism evolve in cultures all around the world? A recent study by one of the foremost scholars on shamanism today reveals that shamanism evolved all around the globe because the shamanic narrative is hard-wired in us all. In his book, Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing, Michael Winkelman presents the shamanic paradigm within a biopsychosocial framework for explaining successful human evolution through group rituals. According to Winkelman, shamanism is rooted in innate functions of the brain, mind, and consciousness. As Winkelman puts it, "The cross-cultural manifestations of basic experiences related to shamanism (e.g., soul flight, death-and-rebirth, animal identities) illustrates that these practices are not strictly cultural but are structured by underlying, biologically inherent structures. These are neurobiological structures of knowing that provide the universal aspects of the human brain/mind"

Winkelman's groundbreaking book extends our understanding of the evolutionary origins of humanity's first spiritual, healing and consciousness tradition. Though shamanism has been conventionally considered a spiritual practice, it has ancient biological, social and psychological roots. Shamanism has its bases in innate aspects of human cognition, engaging the use of altered states of consciousness to integrate information across several levels of the brain to produce visual symbolism exemplified in visionary experiences. This explains why shamanism evolved cross-culturally and is still relevant to the modern world.

"Shaman's Drum"

Shaman's Drum

Oh! My many-colored drum
Ye who standeth in the forward corner!
Oh! My merry and painted drum,
Ye who standeth here!
Let thy shoulder and neck be strong.

Hark, oh hark my horse--ye female maral deer!
Hark, oh hark my horse--ye bear!
Hark, oh hark ye!

Oh, painted drum who standeth in the forward corner!
My mounts--male and female maral deer.
Be silent sonorous drum,
Skin-covered drum,
Fulfill my wishes.

Like flitting clouds, carry me
Through the lands of dusk
And below the leaden sky,
Sweep along like wind
Over the mountain peaks!

--Tuvans of Siberia (1)

1. Vilmos Dioszegi, "Tuva Shamanism: Intraethic Differences and Interethic Analogies,"Acta Etnographica, 11: 162-163, 1962.

The Last Innu Singer

Akat Piwas is the only Labrador elder still singing in the Mushuau Innu dialect. Now 79, Piwas belongs to the generation of Mushuau Innu who were born in tents and raised on the land, before--as adults--being moved into houses in Davis Inlet, a village that would be plagued by poverty, shoddy housing and substance abuse. The tribe relocated to the Innu community of Natuashish in 2002. Piwas is old enough to remember life before settlers, schools and government. She lived through the tumult that besieged her people as they all tried to come to grips with a completely foreign way of life. 

For thousands of years, before making contact with European settlers, the Mushuau Innu lived nomadically, moving with the seasons across Labrador, following the caribou and other animals to hunt. The traditional way of life of the tribe changed dramatically in the 1960s when they were forced off the land and onto a reserve. When the Newfoundland government decided to shepherd the Innu into community living, the Catholic Church played a key role. The church had a profound impact on the first generation of Innu adults who moved into the community in 1967.

Unfortunately, church and tradition didn't coexist easily. Most priests discouraged the old ways: drumming ceremonies, the shaking tent, even speaking the language. The Innu way of life was torn asunder. Traditions were lost, people were left adrift. For Piwas, the Catholic faith was one thing that didn't change. Like most First Nations converts to Christianity, Piwas was quite capable of moving between two religious systems on a situational basis, drawing from each those prayers, beliefs, and songs that satisfied the needs of the particular time. The church, and its music, helped her navigate the change. For Piwas, it's a source of strength. Today, she is the only elder who can sing hymns in her dialect. Though some of the old ways have been lost to time, Piwas and others are working to preserve what's left.

Photo of Akat Piwas by CBC News.