Shamanism
The Oxford Handbook of the Anthropology of Religion February 19, 2026 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1093/9780191822285.003.0029
Summary
Shamanism is experiencing a revival, yet it lacks significant new theorization. Based on ethnographic research in Mongolia and Inner Asia, it is proposed that shamanism represents a fundamental cosmology or theory of change, potentially resolving all existing theories of change. The chapter argues that shamans can make visible the inherent instability of existence, highlighting their unique theoretical potential as entities that embody both presence and absence.
Study at a glance
| Population | ethnographic subjects in Mongolia and Inner Asia |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Shamanism can be viewed as a foundational cosmology that may unify all theories of change. |
Abstract
Abstract Despite repeated pronouncements concerning its imminent death as a topic worthy of anthropological attention, shamanism has experienced a revival. However, it has not been subject to or the vehicle of much new and influential theorizing. Based on ethnographic work in Mongolia and Inner Asia, this chapter seeks to do some of the conceptual groundwork for a workable theorization of shamanism. The chapter suggests that shamanism can be conceived of as the ultimate cosmology or indeed theory of change that could potentially end all theories of change. Change, after all is the essence of transition, and the shamans and their spirits are optimally capable of rendering this immanent ontological lability visible, and, possibly, livable. It is precisely in this capacity for being simultaneously “a thing” and “not a thing,” the chapter argues, that the unique and not yet fully harnessed theoretical potential of shamanism resides.