ˈshäməˌnizəm, ˈshā-, ˈsha- noun
( -s )
1. : a religion of the Ural-Altaic peoples of northern Asia and Europe that is characterized by the belief that the unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits is responsive only to the shamans
2. : religious practices similar to the shamanism of the Ural-Altaic peoples of northern Asia and Europe followed especially among Indians of No. America and characterized by use of the mediumistic trance