• The term is taken from the language of the Tungusic People inhabiting Middle and Eastern Siberia and Northeast China, and means one “who is agitated, moved or elevated”,
“he/she who knows”;
• A shaman is a person taken into possession by the divine or by spirits, who at the same time, however, has command over the spirits;
• A shaman is a medium for the spirits, a healer and exorcist, an interpreter of dreams, a rainmaker.
ORACLES
Formerly, the gods or the ancestors were consulted with the help of oracle bones: the question was scratched onto the bone, which was then heated to produce cracks, from which the answer was then read. Today, the gods or ancestors are consulted by casting oracle sticks in the temple or by reading palms.
HOLY MOUNTAINS
Nowhere does one come closer to Heaven than at the top of a holy mountain (shan). Most Chinese emperors climbed China’s most holy mountain, the Taishan, in order to make offerings to Heaven and thus to confirm their title as “Son of Heaven”.
COSMOLOGY
The ancient Chinese viewed the world as encompassing three levels: underneath is the realm of the dead, in the middle is the earth as the dwelling place of the living, and above are the heavens as the dwelling place of the gods and ancestors. The highest divinity is similar to human beings but is far removed. He is called “Lord on High”, shangdi.
