Shamanic HeartlandCentral and Northern Eurasia
May 25, 1994 DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520081321.003.0011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Lamaist Buddhism deeply influenced Mongolian and Tungus shamanism, but that the relationship was complex and reciprocal rather than one-way. The author rejects the view that shamanism was simply displaced by Buddhism, pointing to an ancient shamanic complex extending from Lapland to Greenland, and notes that Lamaist Buddhism had itself been shaped by ancient Tibetan Bon shamanism. |
Abstract
This chapter states that with the gradual spread of Lamaist Buddhism northward to Mongolia and Siberia, not only those who adopted (and adapted) the new religion, but others who presumably retained ancestral shaman practices, were deeply influenced by it. Given the wide diffusion of a clearly ancient shamanic complex from Lapland eastward to Greenland (hence far beyond Buddhist influences), this conclusion is untenable; but the undoubted impact of Lamaism on Mongolian and Tungus shamanism suggests a complex and reciprocal relation between them. For the Lamaist Buddhism that spread to the north had already been profoundly influenced, as seen by ancient Tibetan Bon shamanism. In most of northern Eurasia and much of Central Asia, shamanism has been practiced either as a component of tribal religion, or in conjunction with Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism into recent times.
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 |