In Siberian myth (See Siberian entries) and religion, shamanism (See Shamanism) is an ever-present reality. Not only does the shaman concern himself with individual cures and with the placating of spirits who have entered a body to cause disease, but he is also responsible for ceremonies by which spirits can be appeased for the benefit of the whole community (See Siberian Spirits). Siberian shamans perform important rites before hunts, for example, and other rites to end droughts. In short, the shaman is the important mediator between the spirit world and the human world. It is said that shamans are able to travel in various forms—often as animals—into the spirit world to retrieve souls. The shamanic travel takes place during a trance or seance. As the shaman undergoes trials in the other world, his assistant describes his adventures to the people in attendance. Usually Siberian shamans are “called” to their profession by shaman ancestors in the underworld rather than appointed by the tribe. It is said by some that the shaman's soul enters the world in the form of his special animal—his totem—given him by the Earth Mother at the root of the world tree (See Siberian Creation, Siberian Underworld).
