In contemporary secular society, life and death are defined in strictly clinical terms that are determined by physicians, and the fate of the spirit is relegated to the domain of religious specialists, who, significantly, have nothing to say about the physical well-being of the living. By contrast, in most shamanic traditions the physician is also the priest and the condition of the spirit is as important as—and, in fact determines—the body's physical state.
Shamanic medicine is based on a non-Western conception of the etiology of disease, in which health is defined as a coherent state of equilibrium between the physical and spiritual components of the individual. Sickness is disruption, imbalance, and the manifestation of malevolent forces in the flesh. Health is a state of harmony, and, for the shaman, it is something holy, like a perfect reunion with the gods. The maintenance or restoration of this balance is the shaman's duty, and it accounts for his or her unique role as healer.
As a form of medicine, shamanic healing does not ignore the existence of pathogens; it simply notes that pathogens are present in the environment at all times and then focuses, instead, on why certain individuals succumb when they do. Good or bad health results not just from the presence or absence of pathogens but from the proper or improper balance of the individual. Shamanic medicine consequently operates on two quite different levels, the spiritual and the physical.
Typically, shamans recognize an entire range of ailments that may be treated symptomatically, much as is done in Western medicine, and they use medicinal plants and folk preparations, many of which are pharmacologically active. From the shamanic perspective, however, purely physical ailments that can be treated with herbal remedies are less serious than the troubles that arise when the spiritual harmony of an individual is disturbed. Because disharmony will affect all aspects of the individual's life, he or she may suffer from both physical and psychological ailments, as well as from other troubles such as chronic bad luck, marital stress, or financial difficulties. In such cases it is the source of the disorder, not its particular manifestation, that must be treated—and that responsibility falls strictly within the domain of the religious specialist.
Restoring the patient's health may involve a number of techniques. At the material level, treatments may include herbal baths and massage, administration of medicinal plants, physical isolation of the patient in a sacred space, and, in certain traditions, animal sacrifice, whereby the patient returns to the earth a gift of life's vital energy. But invariably it is intervention on the spiritual plane that ultimately determines the patient's fate, and for this the healer must employ a specific technique of ecstasy to achieve an altered consciousness. Indeed, the very power of a shaman rests in the ability to enter a trance. Critically, the shaman is never a victim of that trance. Rather, he or she commands it, deftly utilizing the rhythm of the drums, the power of dance, or some other means to elevate the spirit to those distant realms where spiritual healing takes place.
Reprinted with permission from Shadows in the Sun, Wade Davis, © Island Press, 1998. Published by Island Press, Washington D.C., and Covelo, CA. For book information or ordering, 1-800-828-1302.
