Main Entry: sha·man·ism

Pronunciation: \-ˌni-zəm\

Function: noun

Date: 1780

: a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans; also : any similar religion

— sha·man·ist \-nist\ noun

— sha·man·is·tic \ˌshä-mə-ˈnis-tik, ˌshā-mə-\ adjective