Final answer:
Shamans claim to enter trances to communicate with the spiritual realm for tasks such as healing or locating lost souls. The trance can be induced by drumming, dance, or hallucinogens. Shamanic trances are central to the religious and cultural practices of many societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Shamans are known to enter trances in order to engage in direct communication with the spiritual realm. This altered state of consciousness allows them to perform tasks such as healing the sick, locating lost individuals or animals, and retrieving lost souls. The trance state can be induced by various methods including drumming, dance, use of hallucinogenic substances such as ayahuasca, and prolonged rhythmic music which resembles the psychological impacts experienced during modern raves. During the trance, shamans claim they can transcend normal reality and manipulate supernatural forces for the benefit of their communities.
The healing aspect is of particular importance, as seen in the !Kung San's medicinal trance dance known as n/um tchai. In cultures like the Chukchi and the Shipibo, shamans also serve as spiritual leaders and connectors to the supernatural world, which can have powerful impacts on individuals and communities especially during times of social stress and illness. Studies have also suggested that the shamanic capacity to transit into altered states of consciousness could offer a cultural understanding of neurological or psychological conditions.
Ultimately, shamanism is a complex practice deeply embedded in the religious and cultural lives of various peoples around the world, and the shamanic trance serves as a principal means by which shamans fulfill their roles as intermediaries between the human and spiritual realms.