Abstract
In this article, the acceptance of women as “shaman” in North and Central Asian Shamanism in the
Middle Ages and as “witch” in Continental Europe in the Late Middle Ages in healing practices, their causes
and consequences are examined. Historical evidence and indicators of the fact that mankind is interested in its environment at every period of the cultural process, is interested in unknown, mysterious and mystical events and wants to be present in them are discussed. Nowadays, more are regarded as superstition, magic, in the historical process mystical, mysterious and society in extraordinary ways “the secret forces”, as most fundamentally treatment (healing) for the purpose of making, carrying, over time, that can not be achieved in
known ways to achieve things, to harm someone, or a team to protect from harm and the secret mystical
practices using nature and the laws of nature are applied for the purpose of influencing force are discussed
with examples. It has been revealed that spells and magicians were called by different names at different times and geographies. It has been determined that shamanism and witchcraft, which are based on magic and healing (healing) and developed within this framework, also exist with opposite perceptions in different geographies and affect societies. On the other hand, it has been seen that the roles, duties and responsibilities assigned to the sexes determine the positions of men and women in society. In line with these roles, women
were sometimes seen to be deified, and sometimes they were thought to be the main source of evil. In this
direction, the women who applied the healing practices were evaluated as good in the position of shaman and bad in the position of witch. Shamans and Witch as the determination and evaluation of the social position of women in two different locations and two different identity to represent two contrasting phenomenon, the perception of women in society and history, which shows that this difference can vary how much we think it is important for women and contribute to. For this reason, the paper tries to show that women, who exist in all areas of society, are generally representations of two opposite concepts (good-evil) in different societies as shamans and witches. It has been discussed why the woman who heals the sick with the identity of a shaman is considered sacred and represents goodness, while the woman who initially heals is considered cursed with the identity of a witch and represents evil. Thus, the positioning of women in the context of shaman/witch, good /evil has emerged as an example of the opposite roles that they impose on individuals of the same gender in two different cultures. At the same time, the paper aims to determine how and to what extent the perception of women varies from society to society. In short, this study, which affected at different times and societies are shaped with the same basis, despite the fact that the craft barn and different from the properties of the perceived women as shamans and witch contributions to society through representation in a broad historical perspective of the good and evil are examined.