An American in Mongolia: Part XI

The shamanic ethic

In Mongolian history, one might note the recurring themes of the mixing of cultures, uprisings to independence, upholding of dynamism, transience, and fluidity; folkloric spiritual practices and traditions are the only thing that has been consistently present throughout Mongolia’s history, even in hiding during the age of socialism. Petroglyphs from prehistoric times in the steppes depict reindeer herds and shamans amongst the nomads as spotted amanita muscaria mushroom heads…

Figure 3.

…and NPR reported “Shamanism Endures in an Evolving Mongolia” on the November 25, 2004 edition of Day to Day. You can find other evidence of the fortitude of shamanism in Mongolia without immersing yourself in the culture of the country in other media as well, from the French made film Khaddak, to the book Riding with Windhorses, to academia’s own Caroline Humphrey in her articles and books dealing with shamanism in Mongolia, Russia, and Siberia.

In Mongolia, there is an age-old tradition of shamanism19 that even the most valiant efforts on the part of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party could not wipe away in a mere 80 years. That said, there are a great many revivalists and anthropologists who are now devoted to the study of shamanism as an important component of the country’s history, and it is a great source of pride and interest amongst laypeople in Mongolia and the international community. Because there are so many Mongolians studying shamanism within an academic context in the country, and because of Mongolia’s ancient shamanic heritage, anthropologists there have formulated theories that deviate somewhat from the more inclusive, general definitions and theories of western anthropologists. Instead of utilizing basic anthropological theories on global shamanism generated by making broad observations about shamanism throughout the world, Mongolian anthropologists studying shamanism seem to place more weight upon theories and observations that are specific to Mongolia and its own rich magico-religious legacy. Because there are specific ideas of what being a shaman constitutes and how a shaman behaves to a certain extent within the context of Mongolia, a shaman who deviates from this relatively broad ideal is often understood as either not being an authentic shaman, or being some kind of misidentified other. The other could be a range of things, from an unknowing gurten (someone who can deliver prophesies, usually within the Buddhist tradition), or one who is possessed by a ghost or teshren, or someone with some kind of other spiritual orientation but no religious vocabulary: a common problem arising from a socialist education, or even an imposter profiting on the title of shaman. This other category of non-shamans which was given to me by Mongolian anthropologists is what I will call those who I suspect fit into it the “non-conventionals” for the purpose of this paper. I prefer it to the words inauthentic, or corrupt (which I think is an over-simplification), though I suspect this is often what the anthropologists meant.