Siberian Shamanism | Free Book

Siberian Shamanism | Free Book

Steven Lv12
The Shanar Ritual of the Buryats
Publisher:Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published:September 2015
ISBN:9781620554326
Title:Siberian Shamanism
Author:Virlana Tkacz; Sayan Zhambalov (other); Wanda Phipps (other); Alexander Khantaev (photog.); Itzhak Beery (other)
Imprint:Inner Traditions
Language:English
Number of Pages:208
An intimate account of an ancient shamanic ritual of Siberia

• Illustrated with vivid, full-color photographs throughout

• Details the many preparations and ritual objects as well as the struggles of the shamans to complete the ceremony successfully

Near the radiant blue waters of Lake Baikal, in the lands where Mongolia, Siberia, and China meet, live the Buryats, an indigenous people little known to the Western world. After seventy years of religious persecution by the Soviet government, they can now pursue their traditional spiritual practices, a unique blend of Tibetan Buddhism and shamanism. There are two distinct shamanic paths in the Buryat tradition: Black shamanism, which draws power from the earth, and White shamanism, which draws power from the sky. In the Buryat Aga region, Black and White shamans conduct rituals together, for the Buryats believe that they are the children of the Swan Mother, descendants of heaven who can unite both sides in harmony.

Providing an intimate account of one of the Buryats’ most important shamanic rituals, this book documents a complete Shanar, the ceremony in which a new shaman first contacts his ancestral spirits and receives his power. Through dozens of full-color photographs, the authors detail the preparations of the sacred grounds, ritual objects, and colorful costumes, including the orgay, or shaman’s horns, and vividly illustrate the dynamic motions of the shamans as the spirits enter them. Readers experience the intensity of ancient ritual as the initiate struggles through the rites, encountering unexpected resistance from the spirit world, and the elder shamans uncover ancient grievances that must be addressed before the Shanar can be completed successfully.

Interwoven with beautiful translations of Buryat ceremonial songs and chants, this unprecedented view of one of the world’s oldest shamanic traditions allows readers to witness extraordinary forces at work in a ritual that culminates in a cleansing blessing from the heavens themselves.

In The Press

“. . . fascinating book. . . . With coauthors Zhambalov, a Buryat actor, and Phipps, an African American poet, (Tkacz) gives a vivid and detailed look into this ritual and, more generally, into this rarely discussed culture. . . .This book provides enough information about the culture to place the ritual in context, but it is not meant to be a scholarly treatment of the Buryat culture. The 175 accompanying photographs by fashion photographer Alexander Khantaev are beautiful and convey a sense of color that is not typically associated with this region.”


About the Author

Virlana Tkacz, the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships, is director of the Yara Arts Group in New York. Since 1996 she has worked with Buryat artists to create theater pieces based on Buryat stories, poetry, and songs. Sayan Zhambalov is a Buryat writer, actor, and singer. He performed with the Yara Arts Group and heads Uragsha, a traditional music ensemble that has performed at the World Music Institute in New York. Wanda Phipps is a poet, translator, and founding member of the Yara Arts Group. A recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, her work has appeared in more than a hundred literary journals and anthologies.

  • Title: Siberian Shamanism | Free Book
  • Author: Steven
  • Created at : 2024-10-26 01:18:31
  • Updated at : 2024-10-26 17:28:43
  • Link: https://novels-ebooks.techidaily.com/95782075-9781620554326-siberian-shamanism/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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Siberian Shamanism | Free Book