Study of Khorchin Shamanic Attire and Implement
Chaobo Yang
International Journal of Education and Humanities May 30, 2025 DOI: 10.54097/5etymw42 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Shamans of four categories in Khorchin, Inner Mongolia |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | Argues that Khorchin shamanic material culture—costumes and ritual implements—fuses nomadic traditions, Buddhist influences, and memories of classical Mongolian shamanism, and that these material forms are central to understanding the composite nature and contemporary persistence of Khorchin rites. Identifies "yellow-oriented" and "new" shamanic types emerging from the intersection of Buddhist vocabulary and traditional shamanic belief, and proposes a three-part analytical lens of ritual, material, and memory. |
Abstract
Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a critical review of textual sources, this article offers a systematic typological and symbolic analysis of the ritual functions, attire, and implements of the four categories of shamans in Khorchin, Inner Mongolia-khondon, Shamanic, laichin, and gürdem. The study demonstrates that Khorchin shamanic material culture fuses nomadic traditions, Buddhist influences, and memories of classical Mongolian shamanism. Core garments-through colour, movement, and sound-construct a mediating space for dialogue between humans and spirits, while the ritual instruments together form a comprehensive technology of healing and exorcism. By unpacking the materials, structures, and symbolic meanings of each group’s costume and tools, the article shows that these material forms are crucial to understanding both the composite nature of Khorchin rites and their contemporary persistence. It also reveals “yellow‐oriented” and “new” shamanic types that emerge from the intersection of Buddhist vocabulary and traditional shamanic belief, highlighting the dynamic evolution of Mongolian religious culture. Tracing the cultural suturing of Gelug Buddhist language with steppe magic since the seventeenth century, the study illustrates how material culture and visual communication strategies converge to create new modes of self-representation. Finally, it proposes a three-part analytical lens-ritual–material–memory-that offers fresh theoretical and methodological insights for examining Mongolian folk religion under combined forces of globalisation and localisation, and for revitalising intangible heritage in pastoral regions.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |