Object-Persons – A term that attempts to express in English the indigenous notion that many objects are not inanimate, “mere representations,” or art but rather are persons or agents in their own right. The term might apply to natural objects, such as stones, and to artifacts (objects of human manufacture) such as baskets. Drums, medicine bundles, fetishes, masks, and images of divinities or ancestors illustrate some examples of significant object-persons with whom shamans in particular cultures might engage and whose active participation in shamanic performance they may seek.
SOURCE:
Historical Dictionary of Shamanism by Graham Harvey and Robert J. Wallis 2007