Shaman

A shaman is part of the religious order (loosely applied) that leads many tribal groups in religious observations. They can communicate with spirits (both benevolent and malevolent), and said spirits inhabit aspects of the natural & supernatural world. Many also believe that the spirits can a act as guides and such, usually in the form of animals. They usually have the belief that some animals are specific aspects of deities. In some cases ancestor spirits are more important than animal or plant spirits.   Many shamans also go in vision quests, in the afterlife or underworld, and can contact the spirit world directly. They enter trances that can achieve this too. Some shamans use music and/or specific plants with poisonous and/or hallucinogenic properties to achieve this. They sometimes lead the tribe or specific individuals in this process too, for example coming-of-age rites.   Usually shamans use their powers to heal people of illness caused by malevolent spirits. Also, quite a few use some form of divination to work out the future for both tribe and individual.   They are high ranking members of their society, and usually males, passing it down the male lines in their family. Many act as mediators in their tribes or between warring tribal groups. They usually carry the history of their people in the oral tradition using storytelling or in song. Some also lead sacrifices depending on their culture.   Many can be specialised to doing certain tasks related to the shamanistic traditions of their people.