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Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. A practitioner of shamanism is known as a shaman, pronounced /'???m?n/, /'?e?m?n/, (|'shäm?n; 'sha-|) noun (pl. -man(s)).[1] There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world and several common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Shamans are intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds. They can treat illness and are capable of entering supernatural realms to provide answers for humans.[2] The term "shaman" originally referred to the traditional healers of Turkic-Mongol areas such as Northern Asia (Siberia) and Mongolia; šamán being the Turkic-Tungus word for such a practitioner and meaning "he or she who knows."[3][4] Other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and indeed is "the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language".[5] In contemporary English language usage, shaman has become interchangeable with the older English language pejorative term witch doctor.[who?] This is anthropologically inaccurate, and has raised objections among academics and traditional healers, who assert the word comes from a specific place, people, and set of practices.[citation needed] There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world; and several common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Common beliefs, identified by Eliade (1964)[2] are the following
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