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shamanism

vr.tr.shamanism · thing-q42042

Let an agent explain shamanism as a scholarly category and its regional forms, relay ethnographic and historical accounts with attribution and respect for the peoples concerned, describe neoshamanism and debates about the term, and distinguish shamanism from other religious specialists and from commercial or appropriative practices.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.ACT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Understand What shamanism is.

Definition

Definition and debate.

Definition

Definition.

  1. What is shamanism, where does the term come from, and why do scholars debate its use across cultures? definition
  2. Is the question about the scholarly category, a specific tradition, neoshamanism or a commercial practice? boundary

Practice

Practice.

Practice

Practice.

  1. What do shamans do in healing, divination and ritual, as ethnographers and practitioners describe? definition
  2. Is the presentation respectful and attributed? boundary
Regions Regional forms.

Siberia

Siberia and the Arctic.

Siberia

Siberia.

  1. How is shamanism practised among Siberian and Arctic peoples, and how did Soviet policy affect it? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Asia

East Asia.

Asia

Asia.

  1. What are shamanic traditions in Japan, Korea and China, including Manchu shamanism at the Qing court? provenance
  2. Which entry fits the specific tradition? action
Modern Modern developments.

Neoshamanism

Neoshamanism.

Neoshamanism

Neoshamanism.

  1. What is neoshamanism, and how do practitioners, Indigenous critics and scholars assess it, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary

Cacao

Ceremonial cacao and workshops.

Cacao

Cacao.

  1. What are ceremonial cacao and similar practices, and what questions of origin and appropriation arise? provenance
  2. Which sources are cited? provenance
Context Study and history.

Study

Scholarship.

Study

Study.

  1. How have Eliade, anthropologists and Indigenous scholars shaped the study of shamanism? provenance
  2. Which entry fits anthropology of religion? action

History

European history.

History

History.

  1. What shamanic elements have historians proposed in European history, with claims attributed? provenance
  2. Which entry fits European folk religion? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
thing
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.ACT
Other names and narrower kinds
Ceremonial Cacao, neoshamanism, shamanism in Japan, Shamanism in the Qing dynasty, Shamanism in China, Shamanism in Europe, Shamanism in Pakistan, vegetalismo, Shamanism in Siberia, Korean shamanism, Americanism, Kidō

What it is Filled

A range of religious practices in which a practitioner, the shaman, is believed to interact with a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, often to heal, divine or guide the community, documented among Siberian, Arctic, Indigenous American, East Asian and other peoples, including shamanism in Japan, in China and historically at the Qing court, and in Europe, and reinterpreted in modern neoshamanism and practices such as ceremonial cacao; the term shaman comes from the Evenki language and its application across cultures is debated by scholars.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain shamanism as a scholarly category and its regional forms, relay ethnographic and historical accounts with attribution and respect for the peoples concerned, describe neoshamanism and debates about the term, and distinguish shamanism from other religious specialists and from commercial or appropriative practices.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Altered states
  • Spirit mediation
  • Community role
  • Contested category

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Mock or exoticise shamanic practitioners and their communities.
  • Sell or promote sacred practices as commercial products without the holders' consent.
  • Encourage unsupervised ceremonies involving psychoactive substances or fasting.
  • Present practitioners' healing claims as medical treatment.

Only with a human decision

  • Publishing sacred or restricted knowledge of a living community.

May

  • Describe shamanic traditions of particular peoples with sources from those communities and scholars.
  • Distinguish specific traditions instead of treating them as one religion.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Shamanic traditions belong to peoples who have faced persecution and appropriation.
  • Unregulated ceremonies have caused harm and deaths among seekers.

Who is affected

  • Indigenous and local communities
  • Practitioners
  • Participants in ceremonies

Owners Filled

Steward

The communities who hold each tradition.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q118471175 - registry parent class

related

  • religious activity - in registry terms
  • shaman - as specialist
  • Mircea Eliade - in a foundational but debated work
  • neoshamanism - in modern contexts

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.shamanism
  • Wikidata: Q42042 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42042)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

  • origin of the word: Evenki saman note - via Russian
  • Eliade s study: 1951 year - Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Practitioner mediating with a spirit world
  • Siberian, Japanese, Chinese including Qing court, European and other shamanisms; neoshamanism; ceremonial cacao
  • Priests and monks are other specialists; mediums and healers overlap; commercial workshops may be appropriative
  • Not a visible object; ritual practice with drums, costume and trance in many traditions.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain the category
  • relay regional forms
  • describe neoshamanism and debates
  • distinguish related practices

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Homogenising diverse traditions under one term
  • Cultural appropriation and commercialisation
  • Disrespect toward practitioners and peoples
  • Health risks in unregulated ceremonies

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Indigenous cultural protection and heritage laws
  • Regulations on psychoactive substances used in some practices
  • Consumer and health rules for commercial workshops

Context of use required Filled

  • Not applicable; a category of religious practice.
  • Siberian and Arctic shamanism
  • Indigenous American shamanic practices
  • East Asian shamanism including Japanese, Korean and Chinese forms and Manchu shamanism at the Qing court
  • shamanic elements in European history
  • neoshamanism and core shamanism
  • contemporary practices such as ceremonial cacao circles

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q42042: shamanism - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Shamanism - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should regional shamanisms and neoshamanism be separate primary entries?
  • How should ethnographic sources be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases naming regional forms and a modern practice; should they be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q42042/spec.json