Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shamanism \Sha"man*ism\, n.
   The type of religion which once prevalied among all the
   Ural-Altaic peoples (Tungusic, Mongol, and Turkish), and
   which still survives in various parts of Northern Asia. The
   Shaman, or wizard priest, deals with good as well as with
   evil spirits, especially the good spirits of ancestors.
   --Encyc. Brit.

Source : WordNet®

shamanism
     n 1: any animistic religion similar to Asian shamanism
          (especially as practiced by certain Native American
          tribes)
     2: an animistic religion of northern Asia having the belief
        that the mediation between the visible and the spirit
        worlds is effected by shamans [syn: {Asian shamanism}]