"He enjoys the taste of what is wholesome for him; his pleasure in anything ceases when the bounds of the wholesome are crossed; he divines the remedies for partial injuries; he has illnesses as great stimulants of his life; he knows how to exploit ill chances; he grows stronger through the accidents that threaten to destroy him; he instinctively gathers from all that he sees, hears, experiences, what advances his main concern---he follows a principle of selection---he allows much to fall through; he reacts with the slowness bred by a long caution and a deliberate pride---he tests a stimulus for its origin and its intentions, he does not submit; he is always in his own company, whether he deals with books, men, or landscapes; he honors by choosing, by admitting, by trusting."
"[H]e is strong enough for everything to have to turn out for the best for him" [Nietzsche, Ecce Homo.]
The link between Nietzsche and shamanism is apparent above. Wounding is a stimulus that leads to strengthening. If only the individual is already strong enough to withstand the wounding, she can learn from those as well. Accidents are of benefit because they push one onto alternative pathways. One can learn from that. The quintessential definition of the shamanic type, from all my readings, is "one who has been wounded and has consequently developed insights, creativity and psychological strength."
I have nothing more to say about the shamanic type that isn't entailed in that definition.
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