Beyond Mind– Body Dualism: Pluralistic Concepts of the Soul in Mongolian Shamanistic Traditions

Belief in multiple souls is common across human cultures, especially in pre-modern traditions. This essay examines how a three-fold soul structure appears in Mongolian shamanistic traditions. Accounts of the three souls among various Mongolian ethnic groups diverge, particularly in consciousness-related attributes, likely due to cultural bias of data collectors, inconsistencies between informants, and evolution of concepts from historical events, socio-economic changes, and external influences. Despite these confounding effects, Mongolian shamanism's pluralistic soul concept resembles beliefs in many other cultures. Mongolian Indigenous concepts reveal key elements of consciousness and, though evoking spiritual interpretations, reflect an innately-disposed mindset that extends conceptualizations of consciousness beyond mind-body dualism.

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Abstract

Soul belief is a universal of human culture and belief in multiple souls is common, especially in pre-modern traditions. This essay illustrates how a three-folded structure appears in the soul concepts of Mongolian shamanistic traditions. The reported accounts of the three souls among various Mongolian ethnic groups are somewhat divergent — especially in their consciousness-related attributes — which may reflect the cultural bias of data collectors, inconsistencies between data providers, and the evolution of these concepts due to historical events, socio-economic changes, and external cultural influences. Despite these confounding effects, the soul concept of Mongolian shamanism is similar in its pluralism to the beliefs of many other cultures. Mongolian Indigenous concepts and their descriptions reveal key elements of consciousness. Although these soul concepts evoke spiritual interpretations, they nevertheless reflect aspects of an innately-disposed mindset which extends conceptualizations of consciousness beyond mind-body dualism.