Etnografia. Praktyki, Teorie, Doświadczenia
December 16, 2024
Anna Przytomska
Quechua shamanic practices in the central Andes of Peru involve a concept of “shared subjectivity” where humans and non-humans are interconnected. Ritual objects such as stones, coca leaves, guinea pigs, and eggs actively participate in ceremonies, contributing to a synergistic process of becoming and building subjectivity. Two types of shared subjectivity are identified: borrowed subjectivity, where a person’s essence temporarily transfers to objects for diagnosis and healing, and embedded subjectivity, where non-human agency permanently resides in objects like power stones. These practices reveal fluid boundaries between humans and non-humans, forming the basis of a relational and fluid Andean ontology.
Etnografia. Praktyki, Teorie, Doświadczenia
December 16, 2024
Galaarid Badam-Ochir
After the collapse of socialism 30 years ago, Mongolia's shift from an atheist state to one permitting multiple religions has spurred a revival of shamanism, the indigenous Mongol faith. Despite a tragic history and prolonged decline, Mongolian shamanism has re-emerged, shaped by unique local traditions. The article examines factors behind its centuries-long decline, influences that facilitated its revival, and its institutionalization process. It also explores emerging trends in the study of Mongolian shamanism and the interplay of traditional and innovative elements in its revival.
Etnografia. Praktyki, Teorie, Doświadczenia
December 16, 2024
Oyungerel Tangad
Mongolian shamans use social media to spread what they consider correct knowledge about their tradition. The internet, combined with their creativity, helps convey aspects of shamanism that are hard to put into words. While shamans show great diversity—drawing on tradition, heritage, Buddhism, and global movements like neo-shamanism and environmentalism—their statements share recurring themes about the complex interdependence of human and non-human beings in a hierarchical cosmic system. This analysis contributes to discussions on knowledge production in various discourses and attempts to incorporate the ontology of the "subject" into ethnographic theories, inspired by philosophically oriented anthropologists.
Etnografia. Praktyki, Teorie, Doświadczenia
December 16, 2024
Wojciech Połeć
Punishment in shamanic societies is not merely a human institution but includes actions by non-human entities such as mountain and river guardians and ancestral spirits, which are central to shamanic cosmology. Drawing on fieldwork in Buryatia and Mongolia and analysis of Buryat shamanic texts, the article argues that what external observers label as punishment is actually an immanent part of the belief system and its ethics. The concept of punishment is examined through ideas of ovoo guardians, illness, and the shamanic vocation, including shamanic disease, showing that it is embedded in a broader cosmology rather than a separate legal or justice system.