The word “shaman” is derived from saman, which Russian travelers borrowed from the Tunguz (Evenks) of Siberia in the 17th century. Of unknown origin, the Tunguz word denoted a person who could control spirits, meaning the helper spirits with whom shamans came into contact during their ritual ecstasy [10. 431]. Missionaries and travelers of the early modern period frequently equated the concept with devil worship, sorcery, or charlatanry (Missionary report 3.), and the meaning of the …