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Siberian Shamanism
Inspite of the repressions of the communists and stalinists in the USSR, shamanism is still alive in the GUS and more and more people start to revitalize their shamanic heritage. Unfortunately there are still opinions in Russia and the GUS which discriminate shamanism. In the russian newspaper of the parliament from the 27th September of the year 2000 an article stated that not shamanism, but spirituality will raise the spirits of the humanity. Such really odd and silly sentences are revealing the ignorance and the acute misinterpretation of one of the most ancient form of human spirituality. in our postindustrial society slowly a new consciousness is appearing and more and more people find their way as "shamanists" (living shamanism as their religion and creative spirituality, not being shamans themselves) or shamans.
It is obvious that shamans living in metropoles like Munich, Berlin, Mexiko City or New York are faced with quite different problems and social structures then the shamans of Siberia. The anthropologists Ute Moos and Florian Gredig published a scientific analysis of contemporary shamans in Europe. Their books are vital for understanding the european revitalization of shamanism. Only Gredig's book was published in english, please have a look at the bibliographic section of my website to get more detailed infos on it. The informations on siberian and tuvan shamans, which I am presenting on these pages of "The Flight of the Condor" should be considered as an aid for the shamanic practitioner in our cultures being a source for comparing own experiences with the ancient and modern shamanic knowledge of siberia.
Shamanic Myths and Legends, recorded by G.V. Ksenofontov
Tuvinean Shamanism
The first of the two categories is dealing with the tellings and the knowledge of the historic shamans of the beginning of the 20th century. The second part is dealing in detail with the tuvinean shamanism. This part is based on the readings of Prof. Dr. Mongush B. Kenin-Lopsan and the individual teachings (theoretical and practical) of the shamans, which were part of the tuvinean delegations of the year 1996 and 2000.
Shaman: Otschir bö, Region Bajangol; © by Finnish National-museum, Helsinki. Photo by J.G.Granö, 1914.
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