Shaman in the Nomadic Cosmos: Ritual Expertise Between Tradition and Modernity

Shamanism in Central Asia is not a static relic of the past but a dynamic, multi-layered system of meaning-making. Its cosmological and ritual foundations, based on tripartite universe models and axis mundi schemata, provide symbolic and psychosocial frameworks for healing and communal cohesion. Shamanic social roles—mediators of crisis, narrators of normative order, and agents of fertility and hunting—integrate ritual performance with social, ecological, and gendered life. The interaction between shamanism and Islam is a process of transformation, not disappearance, with continuities in ritual practice and contemporary revivals shaped by post-Soviet identity politics, heritage regimes, and global neo-shamanic movements. Shamanism serves as a productive analytical lens for understanding the entanglement of local tradition and global circulation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article offers a comprehensive analysis of shamanism in the Central Asian context, arguing that it cannot be reduced to a static relic of the past but should instead be understood as a dynamic and multi-layered system of meaning-making. First, the cosmological and ritual foundations of shamanism—anchored in tripartite universe models and axis mundi schemata—are shown to provide both symbolic and psychosocial frameworks for healing and communal cohesion. Second, shamanic social roles are examined across historical and economic domains, demonstrating how mediators of crisis, narrators of normative order, and agents of fertility and hunting integrate ritual performance with social and ecological life, including gendered dimensions of practice. Third, the interaction between shamanism and Islam is explored as a process of transformation rather than disappearance, highlighting continuities in ritual practice and contemporary revivals shaped by post-Soviet identity politics, heritage regimes, and global neo-shamanic movements. By situating shamanism at the intersections of identity, power, health, ecology, and religion, this study proposes shamanism as a productive analytical lens for understanding the entanglement of local tradition and global circulation.