Seven-year-old sacrificed to the gods for good harvest in India

[ZombieHorde]

49. Actually, Shaminism is a religion.

Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shamanism

sha·man·ism
 
noun
1. the animistic religion of northern Asia, embracing a belief in powerful spirits that can be influenced only by shamans.
2. any similar religion.


Encyclopedia of Britannica http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/538200/shamanism

shamanism, Korean shamans petitioning the spirits to protect the community’s fishermen. [Credit: © Karen Sparks]religious phenomenon centred on the shaman, a person believed to achieve various powers through trance or ecstatic religious experience. Although shamans’ repertoires vary from one culture to the next, they are typically thought to have the ability to heal the sick, to communicate with the otherworld, and often to escort the souls of the dead to that otherworld.

The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman. The noun is formed from the verb ša- ‘to know’; thus, a shaman is literally “one who knows.” The shamans recorded in historical ethnographies have included women, men, and transgender individuals of ... (100 of 5649 words) <-- I have to activate my free trial to get the rest of the article.