Where is Shamanism Practiced

Anthropologists are unclear about the origins of shamanic practice. Did it emerge independently within different cultures at various times, or is there a common Paleolithic origin shared by all human cultures?

I’m not an anthropologist, but I’ve long held that shamanic or shamanistic practices are so universal that they must have a common origin or be archetypal to humans. Biologically, we all share the capacity for trance. But barring culturally specific interpretations and practices, the commonalities between so many cultures are interesting

Here are some of the places around the world known to have shamanic practice:

SIBERIA & CENTRAL ASIA - the birthplace of the term

This is the anchor point linguistically and anthropologically. The term "Shaman" comes to European ears through the Tungusic-speaking Evenki/Ewenki. Still, the practice is widely shared across the region.

Historic & current practitioners:

• Evenki (Tungus)

• Yakut (Sakha)

• Buryat

• Chukchi

• Nenets

• Khanty and Mansi

• Tuvan and Altai Turkic peoples

• Mongols (including court shamans alongside Buddhism)

• Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek groups (pre-Islamic traditions; some revival)

Shamanic specialists commonly employ drum-led trance, soul flight, healing, and psychopomp work here—patterns that strongly parallel those discussed in global anthropology.

EAST ASIA

Shamanic traditions in East Asia are ancient and persistent.

Korea (historic and modern):

• Mudang, predominantly women, practice possession, communication with ancestors, ecstatic dance, and healing rituals. Korea maintains one of the world's most visible surviving shamanisms.

China:

• Ancient Wu 巫 were ecstatic mediums and ritual specialists.

• Southern and minority groups (Yi, Miao, Tujia, Zhuang) preserve strong shamanic systems.

Japan:

• Miko priestesses initially performed possession and divination; modern Shinto retains fragments of these practices.

• Ainu shamans perform trance and bear-spirit rituals.

SOUTH ASIA

The region is a mosaic of trance and spirit-medium traditions.

India & Nepal:

• Ojha, Bhumia, Devarā, and Jhankri (Nepal) serve as healers, exorcists, and oracular mediums.

• Himalayan traditions often involve drum-induced trance and soul-journey motifs.

Sri Lanka:

• Yakadura and Bali ritualists work with gods and demons through possession, dance, and healing drama.

Many scholars have drawn parallels between these roles and Central Asian shamanism. However, the word "śramaṇa" (wandering ascetic) represents a distinct lineage.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

This region has some of the most elaborate shamanic systems in the world.

Examples:

• Dayak (Borneo)

• Penan, Orang Asli (Malaysia)

• Hmong (Vietnam/Laos/Thailand)

• Ifugao, Kankanaey, Mandaya (Philippines)

• Indonesian spirit-mediumship traditions from Bali to Sulawesi

Trance possession, ancestor communication, illness-soul recovery, and dreamwork are standard features of this practice.

OCEANIA & AUSTRALIA

Papua New Guinea & Melanesia:

• Diverse groups with ecstatic healing and ancestor communication.

Australia (Aboriginal peoples):

• Specialists known as "clever men/women" use dream travel, spirit allies, and healing.

• This is one of the oldest continuous shamanic systems on Earth.

THE AMERICAS (NORTH, CENTRAL, SOUTH)

This is where modern people often first encounter shamanism, primarily due to contemporary plant-medicine tourism; however, every region has deep roots.

North America

• Inuit angakkuq

• Plains medicine people (Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, etc.)

• Northwest Coast shamans

• Navajo hataali (singers) have a complex ceremonial system that blends and transcends shamanic categories

• Coast Salish and other groups used soul-recovery and trance techniques

Central & South America

Some of the world's most iconic shamanic traditions come from here:

• Amazonian ayahuasqueros (Shipibo, Ashaninka, Mestizo curanderos)

• Q'ero and other Andean paqos

• Huichol mara'akame (Mexico)

• Mazatec curanderos (psilocybin veladas)

• Mapuche machi (Chile)

Practices often center on diet, plant spirits, healing songs (icaros), and soul flight.

THE MIDDLE EAST & ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN

These areas aren't usually listed under "shamanism," but they absolutely have comparable specialists.

Ancient Near East:

• Sumerian šangû and ecstatic prophets

• Hittite ritualists

• Hebrew nevi'im (ecstatic prophets)

Persia:

• Zoroastrian ecstatic priests preserved fragments of earlier Iranian spirit-mediary traditions.

Turkey/Central Anatolia:

• Pre-Islamic Turkic populations practiced a form of Siberian-style shamanism.

AFRICA

African traditions don't use the word "shaman," but the functional roles line up remarkably.

• Sangomas and Inyangas (Southern Africa): divination, ancestor channeling, healing through trance.

• Yoruba babalawo and iyanifa priests: divination and possession (Òrìṣà traditions).

• Ethiopian zar cult possession mediums.

• Sahelian spirit-mediums in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

EUROPE

Even Europe has deep shamanic strata if you look before Christianization.

Historic:

• Sámi noaiddit (classic drum-flying shamans; still practiced today)

• Pre-Christian Norse seiðr (ecstatic trance, spirit journey, prophecy)

• Baltic and Slavic animistic traditions with ecstatic healers and spirit-workers

• Greek mantis and oracular trance traditions

• Celtic "vates" with ecstatic prophecy

Modern:

Revivalist movements, neo-shamanic practitioners, and traditional healers (especially in Northern Europe).

IS SHAMANISM UNIVERSAL?

Pretty much. Human beings seem to have independently developed ways to:

• enter altered states,

• meet spirits or ancestors,

• heal and divine,

• protect communities,

• and communicate with the spirit world.

Anthropologists refer to this as a "cross-cultural pattern," not proof of a common origin, but it's a striking human constant. Personally, I believe the practices predate existing cultures, going back to the Paleolithic