Shamanism

Shamans

• members of society possessing magical powers
• acted as physicians, religious leaders, & lead dancers
• combatted the environment by reading weather signs
• diagnosed illness predicted the future

Magical powers were accessed by use of music, alcohol, hallucinatory substances, and DANCE

Types of dance performed

• healing dances: drove away bad spirits, ghosts, demons, and devils to keep tribes healthy
• mask dances: link between living and dead by using a mask as disguise to enter another spirit
• totem dances: spirits of natural elements were taken on to form a power of connection
• trance dances: altered state of mind entered by dancing to the point of exhaustion, gained access to the spirit of God, cosmic element, or plant

Each of these dance forms demonstrated how leaders used dancing to obtain resolutions for certain tensions they were facing. Through communication with spirits, they were able to access their powers for the good of their tribes.