Bōlērākō-cu! / “Speak, I’m Talking to You!” Reconstructing the Self in Tamang Shamanism
Martor. The Museum of the Romanian Peasant Anthropology Review November 15, 2023 Vasile Albineț
Initiation rituals in Tamang shamanism in Nepal help individuals with biopsychological disorders transform their cognitive and embodied self-narratives. Mental and physical suffering causes fragmentation, instability, and inconsistency, creating disconnection from the world and one's own body, with the self as the central locus. By internalizing the preconfigured structure embedded in the ritual, individuals reshape their sense of self to align with the role and expectations of a shaman in their society. This demonstrates how cultural tools reconfigure the self, addressing the psychological and neural basis of ritual beyond its social functions.