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Descriptor English: Shamanism
Descriptor Spanish: Chamanismo
Descriptor chamanismo
Entry term(s) shamanismo
Scope note: Situación intermedia entre el politeísmo y el monoteísmo basada en un "Gran Espíritu", con menos deidades subordinadas. Con el comienzo del chamanismo surgió la figura del curandero o brujo, que consideraba que existía una relación de supervisión de las enfermedades y su curación. Formalmente, el chamanismo es una religión de las personas uraloaltaicas del norte de Asia y Europa, que se caracteriza por la creencia de que el mundo invisible de los dioses, demonios y espíritus ancestrales responde exclusivamente a los chamanes. Los indios de Norteamérica y Sudamérica realizan prácticas religiosas que son similares a las del chamanismo uraloaltaico. La palabra chamán viene del tungúsico samán (Manchuria y Siberia), que significa monje budista. El CHAMÁN trata la enfermedad casi totalmente por medios psicoterapéuticos; aleja los demonios de la enfermedad adoptando actitudes aterradoras. (Traducción libre del original: Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p22; Webster, 3d ed)
Descriptor Portuguese: Xamanismo
Descriptor French: Chamanisme
Tree number(s): E02.190.488.830
E02.190.901.788
I01.076.201.450.654.830
RDF Unique Identifier: https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D019423
Scope note: An intermediate stage between polytheism and monotheism, which assumes a "Great Spirit", with lesser deities subordinated. With the beginnings of shamanism there was the advent of the medicine man or witch doctor, who assumed a supervisory relation to disease and its cure. Formally, shamanism is a religion of Ural-Altaic peoples of Northern Asia and Europe, characterized by the belief that the unseen world of gods, demons, ancestral spirits is responsive only to shamans. The Indians of North and South America entertain religious practices similar to the Ural-Altaic shamanism. The word shaman comes from the Tungusic (Manchuria and Siberia) saman, meaning Buddhist monk. The SHAMAN handles disease almost entirely by psychotherapeutic means; he frightens away the demons of disease by assuming a terrifying mien. (From Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p22; from Webster, 3d ed)
Annotation: a form of traditional medicine; specify geog; not for African witch doctors: use instead MEDICINE, AFRICAN TRADITIONAL
Allowable Qualifiers: HI history
Previous Indexing: Medicine, Traditional (1970-1996)
Public MeSH Note: 97
History Note: 97
DeCS ID: 33100
Unique ID: D019423
Documents indexed in the Virtual Health Library (VHL): Click here to access the VHL documents
Date Established: 1997/01/01
Date of Entry: 1996/06/10
Revision Date: 2001/07/25
Shamanism - Preferred
Concept UI M0028897
Scope note An intermediate stage between polytheism and monotheism, which assumes a "Great Spirit", with lesser deities subordinated. With the beginnings of shamanism there was the advent of the medicine man or witch doctor, who assumed a supervisory relation to disease and its cure. Formally, shamanism is a religion of Ural-Altaic peoples of Northern Asia and Europe, characterized by the belief that the unseen world of gods, demons, ancestral spirits is responsive only to shamans. The Indians of North and South America entertain religious practices similar to the Ural-Altaic shamanism. The word shaman comes from the Tungusic (Manchuria and Siberia) saman, meaning Buddhist monk. The SHAMAN handles disease almost entirely by psychotherapeutic means; he frightens away the demons of disease by assuming a terrifying mien. (From Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p22; from Webster, 3d ed)
Preferred term Shamanism



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