Being chosen
Across many traditions the role is described as unwanted. Sinbyŏng in Korea, spirit-sickness in Siberia, ancestral affliction in southern Africa: refusal is reported to prolong the suffering, and acceptance reframes it as a call.
Dismemberment motifs
Eliade drew attention to widespread initiatory visions of being taken apart, having bones counted and being reassembled. The motif is real in several traditions and absent in many others; treating it as universal is a classic overreach.
Training and accountability
Instruction typically involves a named teacher, restriction of diet and conduct, memorisation of songs and names, and a period of supervised practice. Public recognition — not private experience — completes the process.