Much of the ceremony will be accompanied by music and song.
The music plays a central role in shamanic induction of altered states
of consciousness. The shaman can reach these states by "rhythmic stimulation
of music and ritual."(Walsh 175) The patient and audience also hear
the drumming and singing that the shaman uses to enter an altered state.
Therefore, they too might enter a trance, but not as deeply as the shaman,
who has spent years mastering this skill. The shaman focuses on controlling
the patient's mind who is in a trance. Once the patient's mind is vulnerable,
the shaman might suggest or persuade the patient for healing. A state of
hypnosis might be induced. Suggestions for healing given during hypnosis
can sometimes be dramatically effective, and might play a major role in
the success of some shamans.
Patients may also enter states of consciousness and trance
through ingesting psychedelics. By both the patient and shaman taking the
drug, "they maybe able to obtain the spirit vision that will reveal
the cause of illness".(Walsh 190) When this spiritual source of illness
has been recognized, the shaman acts to correct it. The shaman may try
"intervening with troublesome spirits, retrieving the patient's soul,
or exorcising spiritual intrusions".(Walsh 197) At the end of such
an "exorcism" the shaman may produce, "with full dramatic
flourish"(Walsh 200), some unsightly object such as a spider or worm
to prove the effectiveness of the treatment.
When the shaman is finished with the patient, there is always
some sort of fee involved for the shaman from the patient. Along with this
fee, the patient will usually make an offering to the spirits. The shaman
may require the patient to follow "rigid rituals, such as a restrictive
diet and carefully kept taboos."(Halifax 96) Such payments and restrictions
may increase the effectiveness of treatment, or at least the patients'
belief in its effectiveness; "since it seems that the more people
pay for something, the more they are likely to value it".(Walsh 230)
