Beyond Belief? Social, Political, and Shamanic Power in Siberia
Social Analysis 2008 DOI: 10.3167/sa.2008.520106 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Sakha people in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and diaspora |
| Duration | Over 25 years of intermittent fieldwork |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Argues that shamanic practice in the Sakha Republic has shifted from underground, amorphous forms to institutionalized cosmology, marked by the opening of a temple in Yakutsk and the rise of groups around charismatic healers and seers, reflecting broader crises of faith and power. |
Abstract
An analysis of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in the Russian Federation reveals a variety of village and urban reactions to crises of faith and power. The significance for group identity and instances of synergistic group belief are discussed. The transition that has seen amorphous underground shamanic practice lead to the institutionalization of shamanic cosmology is reflected in the recent opening of a temple in the Republic's capital, Yakutsk, and in the various groups that adhere to charismatic healers and seers. Debates about faith, as well as fragmented faith epistemologies, are described. The data derive from over 25 years of intermittent fieldwork in the Republic and with the Sakha diaspora. My approach is situated at the crossroads of medical-psychological anthropology, political anthropology, and new religious movement analysis.