Szamanizm i szamani w polskim reportażu XX i XXI wieku

Abstract

The subject of this article is the presentation of Siberian shamanism and shamans in Polish journalism over the last hundred years. In most of the discussed texts, the topic accompanies the following themes: fleeing the civil war in Siberia – Przez kraj ludzi, zwierząt i bogów (Konno przez Azję Centralną) (Over the land of people, animals and gods [On horseback over Central Asia]) from 1923 by Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski; reporting a journey through post-revolution Asia when the Russians initiated the industrialisation processes – Dymy nad Azją (Smoke over Asia) from 1934 by Wanda Kragen and Sybir bez przekleństw (Exile in Siberia without swear words) from 1934 by Mieczysław Lepecki; hunting – Niespokojne tropy (Restless trails) from 1959 by Roman Bratny, Niedźwiedzim tropem. Refleksje i fotografie (On a bear’s trail. Reflections and photographs) from 2017 by Andrzej Strumiłło; a reporter’s laudation on Siberia’s economic development – Portret z diamentów (A portrait made out of diamonds) from 1966 by Józef Lenart. The core part of the article is the analysis of three texts from the first quarter of the twenty-first century, whose authors focus on the resurgence of Siberian shamanism in modern, post-Soviet Asia: Cztery zachodnie staruchy. Reportaż o duchach i szamanach (Four western old women. A reportage on ghosts and shamans) from 2014 by Bartosz Jastrzębski and Jędrzej Morawiecki, Szamańska choroba (The shaman illness) from 2020 by Jacek Hugo-Bader and Las duchów (The forests of ghosts) from 2024 by Andrzej Dybczak.