The Last Shaman — Religious Transformation among Circumpolar Indigenous Peoples from an Anthropological Perspective
Rui Lao
Communications in Humanities Research November 11, 2025 DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.ns29315 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Circumpolar star Politics Modernization theory Government linguistics Perspective graphical Anthropology Ethnology Natural archaeology Indigenous culture Gender studies Environmental ethics |
| Key points | Argues that shamanism declined among the Ewenki due to political control and modernization, and among the Sami due to religious intrusion during Christianization, with outside power disrupting the natural life of these cultures. |
Abstract
Traditional religions have often faced decline when meeting outside forces. Their loss, however, happens in different ways. For the Ewenki people, shamanism weakened mainly because of political control and modernization. Government policies forced them to settle down and turned their sacred rituals into cultural performances. For the Sami, the decline was not caused by modernization but by religious intrusion. During Christianization, their sacred drums were destroyed and their shamans were punished, severing the link between ritual and faith. In both cases, outside power—whether political or religious—disrupted the natural life of these ancient cultures. While most of the cultures disappeared, few remain among small indigenous groups located in remote areas. Once contact was made, change and loss became almost inevitable. This essay introduced the fading of shamanic culture in two nomadic minority cultures from the circumpolar region separately.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |