Animism (from the Latin anima - soul) is a belief in the existence of souls and spirits, a belief that all nature is animated. According to the theory of the creator of this term, animism is the initial stage of all religions on the globe.
However, the theory of Edaurd Taylor, the scientist who coined the term "animism, " did not stand up to criticism. The material accumulated by critics after the death of Taylor suggests that the development of religion proceeded in a much more complicated way than he had imagined. Thus, animism is preceded by an era of magic and animatism (not just the animation of nature, but its revitalization). According to animism, a person consists of a physical and spiritual component. The spiritual component can leave a person’s body during sleep, when entering a trance, and also after his death. She can control the actions of other people, taking root in them during the holidays dedicated to the dead, or during special rituals, can settle anywhere in the surrounding nature - in trees, rocks, waterfalls. Often there are often ideas that a person can be a few souls. Each soul is responsible for the body performing a specific function. One soul can be associated with bones, another can be responsible for the respiratory organs, and a third can be associated with intelligence. The fate of such souls is different. One may remain in the body of the deceased, another - to go to another world, and the third - to be reborn in some kind of child. It is significant that in Yakutia it was believed that a man has eight souls, and a woman has only seven. In groups of people living in close contact with nature, a belief arose that not only people, but also animals and plants were endowed with a soul. In some tribes it was believed that not all animals were endowed with the soul, but only the elect. Sometimes people have a spiritual connection with any kind of animal. This area of animistic beliefs is called "totemism." For the animist, our world around us is teeming with diverse spirits. Natural disasters - volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, whirlpools - these are real places of accumulation of spirits. And a person needs to cajole them so that they do not harm him and his loved ones.
