Difference

RE: Difference

Hi Hawkwinds, I dont think there much differant as Native shaman is a spiritual leader of a tribe and they mostly beleive in... All Are Relations....(Mitakuye Oyasin). Native People......They honor all forms of life and oneness of all creation.
love and blessings
lightwinds xxx
Wendy

RE: Difference

Hi guys

Was going to answer this earlier but had to think about it - so here goes, as wendy says, the shaman is the spritual leader of the tribe and as such will lead in ceramonies etc etc,. The spirituality of Native Americans is that they believe that everything was once related and looked like us, it was only when they emerged out from the underworld that they all changed into their various forms and took on special relations.

The spirituality of native americans is very earth driven and they have gods in everything, hence animal guides, they also can have dieties that are plants and rivers and stones so as you see everything is sacred to them, everything on this earth is here for a reason and as such much be asked permission of before you do anything. Especially when it comes to eating natures gifts (buffolow have given their consent for man to consume etc etc etc!!!).

Now whereas the native american tribes worship these deities the Shaman is the direct link to them, he meets them in dream journeys to bestow any questions his tribe have of them, also works the other way as well so he can rely to his tribe or individual people what the spirits want him to know!

Hope this helps, it is a rather garbled way of explaining it but one that makes sense.

With love

maria

RE: Difference

Thanks lightwinds and Maria,

RE: Difference

Hi Hawkwind,
This is a very good question.
According to all the Native American Medicine Men and Women from various tribes that I've worked with there is a big difference.
"Shaman" is a Siberian word denoting a particular type of psycho-spiritual practice which involves travelling into the inner worlds to seek knowledge, power and healing. This word is now used as a blanket term by people practicing many different types of "spiritual" work.
Native Americans, as opposed to non-natives who use Native American ideas and knowledge, especially the Lakota (Sioux) tend to be somewhat offended by the term when it is applied to them. They call themselves Medicine Men or Medicine Women. They have various ceremonies to call the Power out of the inner worlds and into our world. They don't tend to journey in. Its different depending on the tribe but many Native Americans from the Plains work with 7 fixed ceremonies which can be read about in the work of Black Elk. Navahos work with songs, stories and sand paintings. Again, they don't tend to journey in but call the Power out.
Native European "shamans/shamankas" (Celtic, Scandinavian, Germanic) have various techniques that involve travelling into the inner worlds and/or calling the Power out into the material world. Over the millenia each culture has used specific terms to describe such people and the particulat spiritual technique they re using. This can include the "awenydd" (Inspired Ones - Welsh), "aos Dana" (Children of Dana (the Goddess) - Irish), "Volva, Vitki/Vitka" etc. Its a long list.
Hope this helps.

Katherine
tuathre@yahoo.com
Tua Thre Centre for Celtic and Native European Shamanism

RE: Difference

Interesting, thanks Katherine.;)

RE: Difference

Hi katherine, yes your so right........as i now know it's an insult to call Native American Medicine Man or Holy Man (Woman) Shaman's. As they don't have the word in there landgage.
love and blessings
lightwinds xx
Wendy

RE: Difference

In my country it is a gaelic word for old wise woman/man, I cant spell it. My freind in South Africa is a Sangoma/ medicine man/ herbalist. An Native American I know calls himself "holder of the ancestors" he is also a herbalist.I will have to ask the ancestors what I am.I just got an answer there I am (not rotten fish nor fowl), I think I knew that, I think I better go a journeying,Ells