shamanism

[shah-muh-niz-uh m, shey-, sham-uh-]

noun

the animistic religion of northern Asia, embracing a belief in powerful spirits that can be influenced only by shamans.
any similar religion.

Origin of shamanism

First recorded in 1770–80; shaman + -ism

Related formssha·man·ist, noun, adjectivesha·man·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shamanistic

Contemporary Examples of shamanistic

Greenspan cultivated an oracular air, his utterances vague and technocratic yet hinting at shamanistic powers.
Bernanke's Arrogance Problem
Zachary Karabell
December 6, 2010
In 1980 he added Trois Villes Saintes, a barely readable exercise in shamanistic geography.
If He Had to be French...
Peter Stothard
October 9, 2008

Historical Examples of shamanistic

Sumerian religion had originally been 'Shamanistic' in character.
A Primer of Assyriology
Archibald Henry Sayce
Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes.
The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees
James Mooney
Page 207: The use of robes made of the hides of buffalo and other large animals, painted with shamanistic devices, is mentioned.
The Origin of the Werewolf Superstition
Caroline Taylor Stewart
The religion of the poem is peculiar; it is a Shamanistic animism, overlaid with Christianity.
Kalevala, Volume I (of 2)
Anonymous
The alien rulers, accordingly, showed interest in the Chinese shamans as well as in the shamanistic aspects of Mahayana Buddhism.
A history of China., [3d ed. rev. and enl.]
Wolfram Eberhard

British Dictionary definitions for shamanistic

shamanism

noun

the religion of certain peoples of northern Asia, based on the belief that the world is pervaded by good and evil spirits who can be influenced or controlled only by the shamans
any similar religion involving forms of spiritualism

Derived Formsshamanist, noun, adjectiveshamanistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shamanistic

shamanism

1780, from shaman + -ism. Related: Shamanistic.