What Comes Next?
The Afterlife
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The Shamanism belief on the afterlife is fairly similar to many other religions in the world. They believe that there is a life and continuation after death however; shamanism has a more complex outlook on death and dying. In fact, death and dying are regarded as an important part in the shamanic mindset. Keep in mind that Shamanism is the ancestral mother of the human spiritual experience.
Death is closely related to birth in Shamanism. Out of the many roles that a shaman has, a midwife of the dying is just one of the many roles. While working as a midwife for the dead, shamans will help, guide, or usher the soul or essence of a dying person into the afterlife. This work is known as work of a conductor of souls. A good example when discussing this role of the shamans would be the Greek god, Hades. Hades’ role was to transport the souls in the underworld.
Death is closely related to birth in Shamanism. Out of the many roles that a shaman has, a midwife of the dying is just one of the many roles. While working as a midwife for the dead, shamans will help, guide, or usher the soul or essence of a dying person into the afterlife. This work is known as work of a conductor of souls. A good example when discussing this role of the shamans would be the Greek god, Hades. Hades’ role was to transport the souls in the underworld.
Afterlife Beliefs
As mentioned earlier shamans believe in life after death. Shamanism teaches that when someone dies they will experience a continuation of this world. They will be able to live with their deceased loved ones, participate in various activities and live in a world with less suffering and more good. Shamans believe there may be some differences in this afterlife, for example when it is day time in our world it may be night in the afterlife. Another difference may be the changes in the laws of gravity. Below a Colombian Guarijo shamaness recounts her visit to the after world:
“They eat better than we do; there were enormous amounts of melons (a delicacy in the arid Guajira region) and lots of meat. They have everything there. . . . The dead look like people here. They live the way people used to live on earth, and the place we went to in the Beyond is just like here. There are cold and hot regions, places with water and places without water, rich and poor, sick and healthy. It is just like here.”
“They eat better than we do; there were enormous amounts of melons (a delicacy in the arid Guajira region) and lots of meat. They have everything there. . . . The dead look like people here. They live the way people used to live on earth, and the place we went to in the Beyond is just like here. There are cold and hot regions, places with water and places without water, rich and poor, sick and healthy. It is just like here.”
Shamans and Death
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“A shaman is someone who is already dead and thus has no fear of death or life,” says Don Eduardo Calderon, a Peruvian shaman. So what does this mean? Shamans have no fear of death or life because they are so intertwined and connected with all of life, including the afterlife. Shamans go through a shamanic crisis of initiation in which he or she dies in order to learn information about themselves, their abilities/ powers and his or her helping-spirits. Shamanic traveling, or the ecstatic soul flight through the spirit world, is regarded as a preparation for death because shamans move through different parts of the world beyond what we know and gain knowledge about the various laws of the world. Shamans will also go on spiritual journeys in order to find people who have died in unfortunate circumstances, by accidents or who had sudden deaths. When the shamans locate these people it is there job to help this lost soul make the transition into the next world to be reunited with their loved ones who have passed on before them. This shamanic work is very similar to what some modern day mediums may do for lost spirits who are still holding on this world instead of moving on.