Second, while the ayami play an important role, it's not a decisive role in Siberian shamanism. Eliade doesn't really explain why his conclusion is true, he just asserts it. He does imply, however, that because only the dead can see and communicate with spirits, a shaman must have experienced death to have the ability to interact with spirits. The Souls of Ancestors often play a role in the initiatory stage of a shaman. In some groups ancestor spirits do not actually initiate the shaman, but put him in contact with the initiatory spirits that impart shamanic knowledge and techniques.
Shamans are in a sense dead.
Only if they are dead can they see spirits, etc. Seeing the Spirits Spirit visions are important in all varieties of shamanism. In some areas, seeing the spirits signifies an immediate transfer of magic powers. This does not mean that the shaman controls all spirits that he invokes in a seance. The majority of helping spirits take an animal form.