Shamanic ritual as a source of theatricality: on the genesis of stage action
Wang Chao
Russian Studies in Culture and Society June 30, 2026 DOI: 10.12731/2576-9782-2026-10-2-337 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that shamanic ritual is an integral system containing key features of theatricality, including a special performer status, ritual transformation, marked space, the structuring role of sound, costume and mask functionality, organized plasticity, and a dramaturgy of transition. Proposes that the shaman serves as a proto-model of the stage performer and that ritual is a cultural source of stage organization. |
Abstract
Background.The article addresses the problem of the genesis of stage action and considers shamanic ritual as one of the early cultural forms in which the basic mechanisms of theatricality emerge. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that, in contemporary cultural studies and theatre studies, the relationship between ritual and theatre remains methodologically significant, while shamanic ritual is more often described as a religious, ethnographic or mythological phenomenon and far less frequently analysed as a proto-theatrical form of action. Purpose.The purpose of the article is to interpret shamanic ritual as a syncretic form of sacred action that contains structural features of early theatricality and allows for a new approach to the problem of the origins of stage behaviour. Methodology.The methodological basis of the study includes historical-cultural, comparative and theatre-studies methods, as well as elements of performance analysis. The article draws on works in ritual anthropology, shamanism studies, performance theory and cultural theory of theatre. Results.It is established that shamanic ritual is not a set of isolated ceremonial actions but an integral system in which myth, sound, bodily practice, symbolic objects, altered states of consciousness and collective participation form a unified structure. The study shows that shamanic action already contains key features of theatricality: a special performer’s status, ritual transformation, marked space, the structuring role of sound, the functionality of costume and mask, organised plasticity and a dramaturgy of transition. It is argued that the shaman may be interpreted as a proto-model of the stage performer, while the ritual itself may be regarded as one of the cultural sources of stage organisation. Practical implications.The results of the study may be applied in cultural studies, theatre studies, anthropology of performance, and in courses on theatre history, ritual theory and traditional artistic culture.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Ritual Sociality and the Limits of Shamanic Efficacy among the Luangans of Indonesian Borneo Anthropological Forum January 2, 2021
- Zâr: Cultural beliefs, symptoms, and healing ritual anthropological study of a cultural mental disorder Culture & Psychology January 22, 2025
- Shamanism at the transition from foraging to farming in Southwest Asia: sacra, ritual, and performance at Neolithic WF16 (southern Jordan) Levant May 4, 2022