Manegry Shamanism
Andrey P. Zabiyako
Study of Religion 2026 DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2026-2-91-108 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | The Manegry, a tribal community of northern Tungus in the Far East |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Manegry shamanism is an ethnolocal type of Tungus-Manchu shamanism grounded in northern Tungus taiga traditions and later influenced by Daurian, Manchurian, and Chinese cultures. The authors contend that after the founding of the People's Republic of China shamanism persisted as cultural tradition rather than disappearing, and that by the early 21st century it had almost completely ceased to exist in its traditional forms. |
Abstract
The Manegry are a large tribal community of northern Tungus, comprising a signifcant portion of the ethnic composition of the Far East. From the late 17th through the 20th century, as a result of migrations from the spurs of the Stanovoy Range, the Manegry settled on the banks of the Upper Amur and the middle reaches of the Zeya River. In the second half of the 19th century, the Manegry population on the left bank of the Amur gradually declined as a result of migrations to the right bank in China. By the mid-19th century, the Manegry's ethnocultural characteristics had already developed into a stable complex, which was described without signifcant diferences by Russian researchers of the period. On the banks of the Amur, Manegry culture was infuenced by Daurian, Manchurian, and Chinese cultures, which signifcantly impacted their religion and shamanism. Manegry shamanism is an ethnolocal type of Tungus-Manchu shamanism. The beliefs and practices of Manegry shamanism are based on the religious traditions of the northern Tungus – taiga nomads, hunters, and fshermen. After the formation of the People's Republic of China, the religious beliefs and practices of the Manegry gradually faded into the background of public life but did not disappear. Shamanism remained part of the cultural tradition. In the mid-20th and early 21st centuries, shamans still retained their rooted beliefs, practices, and psychological behavior patterns. By the early 21st century, Manegry shamanism, in its traditional forms and representatives, had almost completely ceased to exist. The main goal of this article is to determine the place of Manegry shamanism within the overall system of Tungus-Manchu shamanism, to identify the main trajectory of its evolution, and to localize it within the religious landscape of the Far East.
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 |