The medicine men and priests were always a powerful check on kings, restraining them even in the face of poison and assassination. [1]
The majority of shamans believed in their spirit possession, leading to powerful shamanesses who communicated with the dead through cataleptic trances and professional dancing. [2] Enchanters' practices, derived from ancient superstitions, were classified as shamancraft along with witchcraft. [3] Fetish men, directed by spirit ghosts, enforce taboos with such fear that even violations can result in death. [4]
Shamans were believed to be the first police officers, as ghosts administered justice through them using crude techniques of arbitration such as ordeals of poison, fire, and pain. [5]
The shamans were the pioneer professional class, exempted from physical work and differentiated based on religion, competing with smiths who were feared for their skills in working with metals and associated with beliefs in white and black magic. [6] Epileptics were often shamans, believed to be possessed by spirits. [7] Despite often being of low-grade mind and morals, shamans became wealthy by suppressing rivals and rising to positions of influence and power. [8] Shamans once stood between man and God, but evolution of religion led to the realization of an all-powerful love. [9]
The shaman, as the ranking medicine man and ceremonial fetishman, held a central role in the practices of evolutionary religion, often surpassing the war chief and even functioning as a priest-king in some tribes. [10] Many shamans in history resorted to fraud and trickery to enhance their power and authority. [11] Successful shamans were revered for their weather control abilities, while those who failed without alibi were either demoted or killed. [12] Some early communities ruled by medicine men also served as chiefs and priests, their royal insignias often originating from priestly attire. [13]
The early specialists in industry were the flint flakers and stone masons, followed by smiths, leading to group specialization with whole families and clans dedicating themselves to specific labor - such as the superstitious exaltation of a family of expert swordmakers, which led to the origin of one of the earliest castes of priests. [14]
Shamans, terribly expensive, but worth all they cost, have played a crucial role in the development and preservation of civilization, despite the shortcomings of religion. [15] Religion evolved to require shamans and priests as mediators between ordinary mortals and the unresponsive spirit world. [16]
Ancient shamans performed magic rituals unclothed, using wands, incantations, and “medicine” to conjure mystery, a tradition carried on by modern voodoo doctors. [17] Women, as custodians of home fires, were chosen as shamans and practiced magic through rituals and incantations. [18]
See also: UB 90.