RELIGION
SHAMANISM
The professed religions on the territory of Buryatia
Shamanism is a complex of ancient religious concepts, where the major idea is
worshiping natural forces and dead ancestors. It became especially popular in
the seventeenth century after Transbaikalia joined Russia. Shamans developed the
whole system of rites and ritual ceremonies that could greatly effect the state
of mind of people who believed that a shaman could contact spirits and with
their help influence the course of events and human life. Shamans were able to
use different means and phenomena: the beauty of nature, images of gods and
spirits, means of addressing them, darkness or twilight, aromas, prayers,
singing, poetry, music, shaman objects etc. They combined these abilities in
kamlanie (rite), the most bright and striking drama performance. Many of them
had extrasensory abilities and demonstrated them. According to archaeological
finds first professional shamans appeared in Neolithic Era. They were first
clergymen in Siberian history, while many of them might have been women. Only a
person with shaman kinship could become a shaman. There were “white” and “black”
shamans. White shamans serve the forces of the good and the black shamans serve
the evil forces.
Shamans played great role in life of the Buryats and were universal bearers of
folk culture. They performed numerous functions: made rituals, did magic, made
predictions, healed people. They were poets and actors, singers and story
tellers, legends and myths. They knew the genealogy, controlled abidance to
common norms, educated their people, developed ideology and very often performed
the role of a tribal leader.
In shamanism there are nine initiation stages. It has a big pantheon of deities
with the Highest Deity - Khukhe Munkhe Tengry (Eternally Blue Sky). With the
spread of Buddhism many element of shamanism were included in Buddhist religious
practice. Since eighties of the last century Buryat shamanism has been under
revival. Tailgans are held, the all Buryat Association of Shamans is
established.
In Buryatia there are many holy places where “obo”, a praying site is arranged.
Modern shamans as well as their ancestors perform praying ceremonies to
strengthen physical and moral health of people, help them in solving their
problems, make predictions, pray for the wellbeing of Buryatia and the Baikal,
ask for happiness, good weather, blessing, human unity and harmonization of
their relations with nature and the Universe. They often live like ordinary
people, develop relations with their colleagues while fulfilling their main
tasks left for them by their teachers and the clan, serve as middlemen between
the human world and the world of spirit. Shamanism and its rituals are of great
interest among tourists since with the help of shamans they can learn about
their distant past, better understand the modern world and imagine their future.
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