central role of the Shaman for the community of believers. These elements that are common to all forms of Shamanism include:
. Spirits play important roles in human lives.
. Shamans can control and cooperate with the spirits for the community's benefit.
. Spirits can be either good or bad.
. Shamans use rituals aimed at altering consciousness.
. Animals play important roles in human lives as they serve as spiritual guides.
. Shamans can treat illness or sickness and are healer, gurus, and magicians.
Other cultures also adopted the practice of Shamanism and for a variety of reasons ranging from the political to the spiritual. Shamanism is basically a belief in the supernatural, especially the capacity for human beings to be able to communicate with the spirits that control the human sphere. In cultures like the Mongol tribes during the 1200s, supernatural spirits were viewed as commonly interacting in human affairs, but "ordinary people were not capable of communicating with them or learning about their intensions and guidance" (Buyandeiger 30). Some Mongol aristocrats used Shamans for political guidance, but under Genghis Khan's reign Shamanism was used as a "spiritual tool": for uniting the Mongol tribes (Buyandeiger 30). After the collapse of communism, Shamanism returned to favor as the chief
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