Kam
The Altai and Tatar Turkic word for the shaman: an intermediary who travels to the sky and the underworld.
In Altai and Tatar Turkic the shaman is called “kam” (gam). The word appears in Old Uyghur texts, in the Kutadgu Bilig and in the Codex Cumanicus [1].
In the kam’s world the cosmos is divided into three layers: sky, earth and underworld. Among the Altai, the benevolent being of the sky is Ülgen and the ruler of the underworld is Erlik Khan [1].
The kam’s most important tool is the drum, called “tüngür” or “çaluu”. Its frame is made of birch or cedar chosen from untouched forest, and its face is painted with the sun, moon, animals and trees [1]. Purifying a place with Juniper smoke before ceremonies is also a known practice of Central Asian shamanism.