Combat

   A major role of many shamans is to defend their communities from enemy shamans, witches, or sorcerers, as well as predatory or aggressive other-than-human persons or spirits. The ability to know what is happening at a distance may be drawn on as an “early warning system,” just as it may aid in the investigation of the origins of illnesses and other negative phenomena. It is not always enough that shamans identify the source of aggression, though, and they may be expected to engage in combat themselves, either by joining other warriors or by shamanizing with harmful intent. This is part of what leads Carlos Fausto to describe Amazonian shamanism as “a predatory animism.”