An American in Mongolia: Part XIV

The shaman in Ulaanbaatar, which has been influenced by Soviet culture and is now being influenced by Western culture

The phenomenon of the urban shaman is a very relevant field of study in Mongolia currently, while both more and more people are moving to Ulaanbaatar, soum and aimag (province and township) centers increasing the likelihood of shamans in their midst, while simultaneously increasing the demand for shamanic guidance in those areas. Urban migration has been increasing steadily since the early nineties and before, and this often looks in Mongolia like rural nomads moving their gers to the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar (creating ger districts), and attempting to continue their lives in much the same way as in the countryside. The problem is that in Ulaanbaatar there is a relatively concentrated population (it contains approximately ½ of Mongolia’s 2.5 million population.) Therefore there is also a greater demand for pastures, as well as higher pollution and herd mortality (in the ger districts most people burn coal and old tires for most of the year to stay warm, etc.), and less possibility for subsistence herding, creating the necessity of taking up occupations that provide wages (and often don’t exist.) Because the urban situation is less than ideal for herding animals and jobs are scarce, many people negotiate their time between the countryside (and perhaps family members that have been left behind there) and Ulaanbaatar. Additionally, for the first time in centuries there is the presence of commercial foreign interests in Mongolia, beyond direct imperial powers (Manchu, Russian)—tourists, mining companies36, international NGO’s, missionaries, etc. creating a new demographic landscape. Most importantly, unless a shaman’s family has lived for generations in the area where Ulaanbaatar now stands, the shaman will have to go to the countryside every summer (shamans in Mongolia call this “making chanar”) to become more powerful and to reestablish contact with their ancestral, land, and water spirits. It is not an ideal situation for shamanic practice (keeping in mind the Mongolian idea of shamanic authenticity) on the one hand and on the other hand the demand is high on several fronts.37

Remarkably, I have been able to find no published research analyzing the specific phenomenon of urban shamanism in Mongolia using qualitative and quantitative data (though I have found an article examining the phenomenon in Siberia by Caroline Humphrey.) Now that Mongolia has entered a period of democratization, nationalism is back and that means people are getting interested in their ethnic origins, and their cultural heritage, which extends to traditional religious practices as well. Therefore, a comparative study of rural vs. urban shamans in Mongolia would not only be groundbreaking in that it would shed some light upon a(n arguably) newly emerging trend and virtually undocumented phenomenon, the research might also serve as a tool for those urbanities who are now becoming re-acquainted with their national historical spiritual roots, are spiritually curious, or need guidance as to what they might be able to expect upon visiting a shaman in the city (vs. the countryside), and also what that shaman might expect of them.