Priest

==Indigenous and ethnic religions==
{{Further|Shamanism|Medicine man}}

===Shinto===
{{More citations needed|date=February 2012}}
[[File:Yasaka-jinja 01.jpg|thumb|alt=Shinto priest and priestess in Japan.|[[Shinto]] priest and priestess in Japan]]
The Shinto priest is called a ''{{nihongo|[[kannushi]]''|神主||lit. "Master of the [[kami]]"}}, originally pronounced ''kamunushi'', sometimes referred to as a {{nihongo|''shinshoku''|神職||}}. A kannushi is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine, or ''[[Shinto shrine|jinja]]'', purificatory rites, and for leading worship and veneration of a certain ''kami''. Additionally, ''kannushi'' are aided by another priest class, ''{{nihongo|[[miko]]''|巫女||"shrine maidens"}}, for many rites. The maidens may either be family members in training, apprentices, or local volunteers.

''[[Saiin (priestess)|Saiin]]'' were female relatives of the Japanese emperor (termed ''saiō'') who served as High Priestesses in [[Kamo Shrine]]. ''Saiō'' also served at [[Ise Grand Shrine|Ise Shrine]]. ''Saiin'' priestesses usually were elected from royalty. In principle, ''Saiin'' remained unmarried, but there were exceptions. Some ''Saiin'' became [[Queen consort|consort]]s of the emperor, called ''Nyōgo'' in Japanese. The ''Saiin'' order of priestesses existed throughout the Heian and Kamakura periods.

===Africa===
The [[Yoruba people]] of western [[Nigeria]] practice an indigenous religion with a [[Tribal chief|chiefly]] hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to AD 800–1000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akintoye |first=S. A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/609888714 |title=A History of the Yoruba People |date=2010 |isbn=978-2-35926-005-2 |location=Dakar, Senegal |oclc=609888714}}</ref> Ifá priests and priestesses bear the titles [[Babalawo]] for men and [[Iyanifa]] for women.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African Religion |author1=Asante, M.K.|author2=Mazama, A.|date=2009 |volume=1 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9781412936361 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B667ATiedQkC&pg=PT365 |access-date=2015-07-25}}</ref> Priests and priestesses of the varied [[Orisa|Orisha]] are titled Babalorisa for men and Iyalorisa for women.<ref name="google2">{{cite book |title=Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture |author1=Walter, M.N.|author2=Fridman, E.J.N.|date=2004 |volume=1 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781576076453 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&pg=PA451 |page=451 |access-date=2015-07-25}}</ref> Initiates are also given an Orisa or Ifá name that signifies under which deity they are initiated. For example, a Priestess of [[Osun]] may be named Osunyemi, and a Priest of [[Ifá]] may be named Ifáyemi. This traditional culture continues to this day as initiates from all around the world return to Nigeria for initiation into the priesthood, and varied derivative sects in the New World (such as [[Cuba]]n [[Santería]] and Brazilian [[Umbanda]]) use the same titles to refer to their officers as well.

===Afro-Latin American religions===
In Brazil, the priests in the [[Umbanda]], [[Candomblé]] and [[Quimbanda]] religions are called ''[[pai-de-santo]]'' (literally "Father of saint" in English), or "babalorixá" (a word borrowed from [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] ''bàbálórìsà'', meaning ''Father of the [[Orisha]]''); its female equivalent is the ''[[mãe-de-santo]]'' ("Mother of saint"), also referred to as "ialorixá" ([[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]: ''iyálórìsà'').

In the [[Cuba]]n [[Santería]], a male priest is called ''Santero'', while female priests are called ''Iyanifas'' or "mothers of wisdom".<ref>{{cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=October 10, 2022 |title=The Cuban priestesses defying religious patriarchy |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/10/10/the-cuban-priestesses-defying-religious-patriarchy/ |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref>