Hypertext Webster Gateway: "shamanism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shamanism \Sha"man*ism\, n.
The type of religion which once prevalied among all the
Ural-Altaic peoples (Tungusic, Mongol, and Turkish), and
which still survives in various parts of Northern Asia. The
Shaman, or wizard priest, deals with good as well as with
evil spirits, especially the good spirits of ancestors.
--Encyc. Brit.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
shamanism
n 1: any animistic religion similar to Asian shamanism especially
as practiced by certain Native American tribes
2: an animistic religion of northern Asia having the belief
that the mediation between the visible and the spirit
worlds is effected by shamans
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