Chinese Wu, Ritualists and Shamans: An Ethnological Analysis

The term 'wu' (巫) is commonly translated into English as 'shaman,' but cross-cultural ethnological research shows that most types of Chinese wu ritualists resemble other ritualist types—priests, healers, mediums, and sorcerers—rather than shamans. Only prehistoric and commoner wu share key shamanic features such as altered states of consciousness and links to foraging societies. The paper argues that translating wu as 'ritualist' or 'religious ritualist' is more accurate, based on comparisons with biogenetic bases of ritual and cross-cultural patterns.

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Abstract

The relationship of wu (巫) to shamanism is problematic, with virtually all mentions of historical and contemporary Chinese wu ritualists translated into English as shaman. Ethnological research is presented to illustrate cross-cultural patterns of shamans and other ritualists, providing an etic framework for empirical assessments of resemblances of Chinese ritualists to shamans. This etic framework is further validated with assessments of the relationship of the features with biogenetic bases of ritual, altered states of consciousness, innate intelligences and endogenous healing processes. Key characteristics of the various types of wu and other Chinese ritualists are reviewed and compared with ethnological models of the patterns of ritualists found cross-culturally to illustrate their similarities and contrasts. These comparisons illustrate the resemblances of pre-historic and commoner wu to shamans but additionally illustrate the resemblances of most types of wu to other ritualist types, not shamans. Across Chinese history, wu underwent transformative changes into different types of ritualists, including priests, healers, mediums and sorcerers/witches. A review of contemporary reports on alleged shamans in China also illustrates that only some correspond to the characteristics of shamans found in cross-cultural research and foraging societies. The similarities of most types of wu ritualists to other types of ritualists found cross-culturally illustrate the greater accuracy of translating wu as “ritualist” or “religious ritualist.”