The "Personal Myth" in the Context of Modern Narratives about Shamans.
Epikhina Ekaterina
TECHNOLOGOS 2024 DOI: 10.15593/perm.kipf/2024.1.06 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Modern shamans in Buryatia |
| Key findings | The author argues that modern shamans' autobiographies, classified as "bylichki," share a constant structure and can be called a "personal shamanic myth." She contends this personal myth functions not just as a stable narrative with recurring structures, motives, and plots but as a flexible value-semantic coordinate system that creates a vector of development for the shaman and promotes self-identification. |
Abstract
Currently, there is an increased interest in archaic religious beliefs and practices which include shamanism. The image of a modern shaman differs in many ways from the ethnographic descriptions that were collected up to the middle of the XX century. The main informants have always been the shamans themselves. They talked not only about their vision of the world and religious practice but also about their family history and their formation as shamans. In the autobiographies of modern shamans, you can find common motives that make up their image. In this regard, the author defined the purpose of the study: based on the data of field work conducted in Buryatia in 2017-2022, to identify the place of autobiography among modern shamanic narratives, for which it is necessary to classify modern narratives about shamans, characterize the concept of "personal shamanic myth" and determine the role of self-presentation in the life of a modern shaman. Through the labeling proposed by E. S. Novik, narratives about shamans were divided into three types: myths, legends and stories ("bylichki"). It was concluded that the first two types are rarely mentioned in the respondents' tales. The author paid special attention to the third group – "bylichki". She attributed the autobiographies of modern shamans to this group and noted the presence of a certain constant structure in them. The author suggested calling these autobiographical narratives "the personal myth of a shaman." Further, the author drew parallels with the "personal myth" taken from the field of psychology and came to the conclusion that the shaman's personal myth is not just a relatively stable narrative with periodically recurring structures, motives, and plots, but a personal flexible value– semantic coordinate system that creates a vector of development for the shaman and promotes his self-identification. When writing the article, general scientific research methods were used, as well as comparative, functional, structural, semantic, and diachronic analysis, analogy, and an analysis of semi-structured interviews.