The Movement for Reconstructing Identity through Shamanism: A Case Study of the Aga-Buryats in Postsocialist Mongolia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Aga-Buryats of Dornod province, a Mongol minority group in post-socialist Mongolia, and examines the role shamanism played in reconstructing their ethnic identity throughout their cultural revival movement. The paper stresses the socio-psychological aspects: their identity crisis after the collapse of the socialist regime and the role played by shamanism in dealing with this crisis and in reconstructing the Aga-Buryat ethnic identity.

Full text

InnerAS］A
Vdume6 2004 Number2
EDITORIALlNTRODUCT10N
DAVIDSNEATH J35
ARTICLES
ThingsandtheQing：
MongoICt）ltureintheVisualNarrative
JotiANELVERSKOG 137
ManchuEmpil’eOrChinaHistoricalGIS？
Re−maPPlJlgtheChina／lnnerAsiaFrontier
intheQingPe）’iodCHGlS
KARLE．RYAVEC 179
TheMovcl岬1tforReconstJ．uCtingIdentitythroughShamanism：
ACaseStudyoftheAga−BuryatsinPost−SOCialist一向ongoHa
IppEIS川MAMURA i97
MoralitiesoftheMollgOlian‘Market’：
AGeneaIogyofTradeReIationsandtheZah・Zeel
ALANWHEELER 215
SYMPOSIUMREVtEW
IntemationalSymposIUmOnlnnもrAsianStatccraftand
rltchnologleSOfGovemallCe
DAVJDSNEATH 239
BOOKREVIEWS
MorrisRossabi（ed．），GoverningChiJtabMultlethnicFronEierS
（CHRISTOPHERRATWOOD）
JackWeatherford，GeflghiSKhanalZdthe肋kEngQFtheModeml値r／d
（CHRISTOPHERKAPLONSKt）
MichaelDillon，XiTuiang−ChilZalMu∫lEmFar柚rEhwestand
ChJ’istianTyler，附Ld14kStChllZa：77ze7hmingqfXilUiang
（EDMUNDVhlTE）
St6pha11eA．DudoignonandKomatsuHisao（eds），Research7knds
iJ〟0Ekrl7CentralELLr（7Sial‡StudleS（DAVlDGULLETrE）
INDEXtoJnnerAJiaVblume6，2004
MONGOuAANDINNERASIASTUDIESUNIT
UNtVERSITYOFCAMBRIDGE

TheMovementfbTReconstructlngIdentltythrough
Shamanism：ACaseStudyoftheAga−BuryatsinPost−
SOCialistMongolia
TPPEISHIMAMURA
肋血〃αJ肋′∫どよ…‡好色か−0わ脚J叩伽
か血り脚捕＠f血J扉′四七払dC〝
ABSTRACT
ThispaperfocusesontheAga−Bul・yatSOfDornodpro、′ince，aMong〇】minorily
groupZnPOSt−SOCiaJistMongoJia，andexaminesthero）eshamanismpJayedin
reconstructingtheiI●elhnicidentitythroughouttheircし直uralJ・eVivaJmoYemenL
ThepapersLresseSthesocio−PSyChologJCaJaspects：theiridentitycrisisarlerthe
COHapseofthesociaJistregImeandtherolepIayedbyshamanismindeaHng
WjththiscrisisandinreconstructingtheAga−Bul・yatethnicidentily．
INTRODUCTION
AFterthedissolutionoftheSo、′ietUnionandthecoHapseofmanysociaIist
reglmeS，Cerlainminorltyelhnicgroupsstartedtoemphasisethcil・ethnicidcn一
tily・ThishasglVenrisetovariousattemptstorevitalisecuhLlralspecificities
thathadbceneradjcateddul・ingthelongperiodorst加1dardisat…onfoIJoIVIng
theSovietmodeI（Hamayon2004：293）．SLIChrevitaIisationsofethniccuIlure
havcalsooccurredinMongolia，afbrmel・SatelliteoFlheSovictUnion．The
COlIapseoftheSo、′ietU1−ionenabJedMongoIstorchabilitateChinggisKhan，
asaMongolnationaIhero・AJthoughChinggisKhanhasbecomethesymbol
OfreviLaHsationoHheMongoIianl−ation，Weneedtoexami11eho、VSO−Called
elhnicminoritiesinMongoHarepresenttheircultLIJ・aIdistjnctivcnt55SafterLhc
COllapseoFsociaIistrcglme・
ThcreareJbv、VOl・ksonMongolianethnicidcntities・UI・adynBLllag，sgeneral
Sludyclarifledthewaythatinthecourseorbui】〔lingtheMongoHansociaJist
I−aLion，VarioLISMongolgroupshadbee11CIassiliedas‘ethnicgl・OuPS，andmost
OrthcmhadeiLherbeenassimilatedor、Vel・einthepJ・OCeSSOraSSimilzllioninLo
lhcmaJOrityKhalkh、Vho、、′CrerePreSeI−tedasco−terminous、、′ithlhcMongoIian
naLion（Bulag1998）・Inothcrl＼′Ol・ds，MongoJiahadalsoaltCl叩血Loc］・Cate
ahomogcneousnationbye）・adicatlng、′arioLISCulturとlldirFel・enCeSamO一一gltS
inVC11LedeLhnicllliIlOl・ilies．
／〃〃ビJ・ノhfJJ‘（2001）：197−214
◎2004’‖1CWllitcH〔汀SePrcss

198
IPPEISHIMAMURA
lnthispaper，JshalllimitmyfocustoaMongoJminoritygrouplnPOSト
SOCialistMongoHa−theAga−BuryatsinDornodprovince−andwouJdJiketO
examinetheroleshamanismhasplayedinreconstructingtheirethnicidentity
thl・OughouttheirculturalrevivaImovemenLThereasonfbrselectlngthisgl●OUP
isthatIhadobservedaremarkablesetofactivitiesundertakenbyshamans
lookingfortheirethnicrootsorgenealogleS．I
Shamans，Jong considered extinct，havenotonly re−emerged，buthave
beenincreaslngraPidlyamongtheAga−BuryatsinDomodprovincesincethe
democratisationofJ990（Shimamura2002a）．
TheBuryatshavehistoricaIlyHvedaroundtheLakeBaikalareawherethe
SiberiantalgaandMongoliansteppemeet．Thisareaisthenorthernfrontier
OftheMongoIworId．Attheendoftheseventeenthcentury，theBuryatscame
underthecontroloHmperialRussia．
AftertheRussianOctoberRevolutjonbeganin1917，COnLlictbetweenlもarist
fbrcesandtheRedArmycausedanarchyaroundtheLakeBaikalarea．hthese
ChaoticandtragJCCircumstances，SOmeOftheAgaandKhoriBul●yatsdecidedto
fleetheirhomelandwherebanditryandmurderhadbecomecommonplace．TheiJ●
destinationwasanotherhomeland：（Outer）MongoJiaandlnnerMongoIia．
WithregardtotheEieldwork−basedstudiesoftheAga，BuJYatSinDornod，
thereal●efewworkspublishedafterthe1990democJ71tisation・Bulag’sdiscussjon
Ofthereviva］oftheBuryattl・adiliollandeth11icityremainstheonIysubstan−
tialsludypublished．HedescribedtheprocessofrevIVlngWrittengenealogieS
−tLgaibe∫heg（ugEifZblchEginstandardMongolianorthography）amongstthe
Aga−Buryatsasa‘genea10gy−reVIVJngrnOVement・’lnhisoplnlOn，thereasonfol・
thismovementispl・lmarilypl・aCticaいhatis，tOeStablishWiderkinshipreJa【ions
WiththeBul●yatSaCrOSStheinternationaJborders（Bulag1998：132）・
Tnmyview，LhismovementismuchmoreconcernedlViththegenealoglC‡ll
rupturescausedbythepurgesinthe1930’sandtheculturalassimiJationinthe
Subsequentdecades，andtheindispenSabilityofgenealoglCalknowledgeinre−
COnStruCtingBul●yatethnicide11tityinpost−SOCialistMongolia．Primari］y，their
traumaticrpehoriescompelledsomepeoplewithoutgenealoglCatknoWledge
toreviveorobtailltheirancestralJ．00tSOrgenealogiesbybecomlngShamanscl’
byusJngShamanicmeans．HencemystJ・eSSO11thesocio−PSyChologlCalaspeCtS
Ofthemovement：theidentitycrisisthatfolloWedthecollapseoFthesociat−
istreglmeandtheroleplayedbyshamanismi11deaHnglViththiscl●isisandin
reconstruCtlnglheAga−Buryatethnicidentity．
LPROLIFERAT10NOFSHAMANS
FirstofalI，letmeintroducethisinterestlngPhcnomenon，thatis，therapidin−
CreaSeinthenumberofshamansaIllOngtheAga−BuryatsoFDornod・AsrarasI
know，i112000alone，mOrethanlOBuryatpeOPlebecameshalllanSin4BuI’yat

199
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
Sum∫（COunty−leveladministrativedistrjcts）inDornod：Bayan−Uu7，Bayan−Dun，
rrbagaan−Ovoo，andDashbalbar，thenumberofshamansnowtotallingapproxi一
mately120inthesesums．TheprovinciaIstatisticsshowthatthepopulatianof
the4sumsin2000W鮎14，789，indicatingthatthenumberofshamanswasmore
thanonepercentofthepopuIationinthesedistricts．Furthermore，mOStOfthese
hadbecomesham・anSafterthe1990democratisatiorl．Asiswellknown，mOSt
Mongo］shavebeenBuddhistsincetheseventeenthcentury，andexceptforthe
Buryats，Shamanismhasonlybeenr℃tajnedamongtheDarkhadsofKhovsgo】
PrOVinceandtheAltai−UryankhaiofKhovdprovinceidMongolia，aSWdlas
theDauトMongoIsandHorchinMongolsinChina（HumphreyandOnonJ999）．
ButincomparisonwiththenewshamansamongtheAga−BuryatsinDornod，
thenumberofshamanseJsewhireisrelativeJysmaH．Accordingtomyresearch
OntheDarkhadsin1997，therewereon］y5sha血ansamongagroupwhose
POPulationwas14，757in1989（SSOM1994：37）．
OnepossibleexplanationfortheincreaslngnumberOfshamansmightbeto
describethisasareactiontothereligiousoppressionofthecommunistperiod．
ButthisexplanationcannotaccountforthemuchsmalJernumberofshamans
amongtheDarkhadoIUryankhaidespitethesamとhistoryofreligiotlSOPPreS−
Sion．WtmustseekadifferentsortofansweI二
ttisremarkabJethattherevivalofBuryatshamanjsmisnotcon伽edto
Mongolia，butitjsaphenomenon苧eenaCrOSSthenationalborders・Inrecent
yearsmanyBuryatsfromRussiatravelledtoDornodprovincebyjeeps，and
underwentshamanicinitiationundertheguidanceofMongolianBuryatmaster
Shamans（bagshb∂∂）．Someofthesemastershamanshavealsobeerlinvitedto
traveltoRussianBuryatiatoperforminitiations・DornodprovinceofMongolia
istheepJCentreforshamanicproIiferationamongdisperSedAga−Buryats．
ItisholVeVerincorrecttodescribetheproHferationofshamansasa‘revival’
Ofapasttradition．T．M．MikhaHov’S（1987）studyofBuryatshamanismshows
thatBuryat！inthedistrictofChita（WhichincIudesAgadistrict）havebeen
StrOnglyinRuencedbyTibetanBuddhism，andthattheyhadthefewestnumber
OfshamanscomparedwithotherBuryatdistrictsaccordingtothecensusof1897
（MikhaHov1987：198）．ltisclearthatthisisanewmovement．
2．THEUGASTHEPRTNCIPLEOFBECOMINGASHAMAN
WhatthenisthecausefortheexpIosiveincreaseofshamans？Letusbeginour
anaIysisbyexanllmnglhepl’OCeSSOfbecomIngShanlan．
BeforeapeI・SOnbecomesashaman，heoJ・Sheinevitablyhasanexperjenceof
mentalorphysicardisorder，、Vhichisvariouslycalled‘shaman，ssickness，，‘divine
ilhess’，Or‘splr血aIemergency，insomepsychotoglCaIstudiesonshamanism
（cr・Walsh1996）・lnmostcases，thesurFel・erisnotashamanatthisstageand
Choosestogetmedica＝reatment・IF，dcsplteallkindsoFmedicaldiagnosisand

200
IPPEISHIMAMURA
treatmenl，theydonotrecoverfromthe‘unknoWn’川nessmanysuffbrersdecide
toconsultashaman．Thisis，indeed，nOtpeCutiartotheAga−Buryatsbecause
SuChiHnesscanbeobservedaHovertheworld．However，Vhenitcomestothe
interpretationofthecauseoftheillnessamongtheAga−Buryats，Whenabdd
（maleshaman）or〟砲an（femaleshaman）diagnosesthesicknessofafuture−
ShamanasdivineHlness，theyneverfaiTtosay‘YbllrlLgdemands／callsyou（LLg
nekhekh）．lfyoudon’tchoosetobecomeashaman，yOuShalJdiesoon！’
Thedictjonaryde甫nitionoftheword‘ug’is‘base，StamP，StUb，rOOtOrigin，
andsource’（GombqiavandKrueger1986：539）．Inthiscasethetermisused
tomeanshamanicrootorancestor，andtheseshamanicrootsareIimjtedto匹r−
ticuJarancestors−theancestralspiritswhowerereIigiousfunctionariesWhHe
theywerealive：Shamansorsometimesevenlamas．Tnshort，itisdiagnosedthat
OneOfthespiritsofhisorhershamanicancestorswantshimorhertobecome
asha111an，andthatthepatientwjHdieunlessdemandsaremet．
Afterthediagnosis，theshamanteHstheneophytewhenandwheretocaJTy
OuttheinitiationrituaLThemainissueoftheinitiationfbrthenewshamanis
toknowthenameoftheancestorwhois‘demanding’．ShouJdthenewshaman
becomeab（浴Orudgan，2heorshewiJ＝1aVetOlearnthewaytogetthesplnt
（ongo，ug3）intohisorherbody．
Generallyspeaking，beforethe’initiation，thenewshamandoesnotknowthe
nameofthtugwhois‘demanding’thathe／shebecomeashaman・
Here，Wedealbrieflywiththeini【iationritefbrbecomlngaShaman．This
rituaHsnarned‘shanar’meaningthe‘quality’ofashaman，andtheritualaction
iscaHed‘shanarkhiikh’−tOPutthisqualitylntOtheshaman’sbody．TherituaI
beginswiththeinstructorshamanenteringatrance，andutteringthenameof
thespirit（LLg）whose‘demands’aremakingthecandidatesick・Thenameofthe
lLglSgIVenintheusualeverydayform，uSLngjustthepatronymicandpersonal
name，forexample，X’ssonYaged70（theageatdeath）．Generally，thec；an
nameoftheug−SpirjtisnotrevealedbytheinstruCtOr’soracu］arspil■it・
AfterestabHshingthenameofug，then，tObringtheug−SPil◆itandallowitto
enterhis／herbody，theinitiateshamanshouJdjogandskipcontinuoLtSIy，both
dayandnightifneedbe，beatingthedrum（khets）inand／Oraroundthetreesof
Whitebirchfol・theritualrshaJlarynmOd）．4，ThesetreesarecutdoIVnfromthe
mountainsidethedaybeforetheritualandplantedinthegivenpIace．Sometimes，
thisjogglngands叫）PingordeaHssaidtocontinueforawholeWeekuntilthe
initiateattainsastateoftrance，andthetLg−SPlrItenterShisorhel’body．When
theLLg−SPritenters（duringtrance），theinitiateshamanclimbsupthehighesttrce
caHed‘nestwood（ELurmOd），inwhichheorshelayseggsmadeoffIour，and
Chil・PSIikeacuckooonthetopofthetree．5Afterchil，Ping‖（eaCuCkoo，heor
shef油Sontothegl・Ound．
ThispracticeiscalIedcatchingtheLtg−SPirit：ugbarikh’．Theug−SPil●itis
SOmetimescaHed‘ongo’，inBuryatvernacular，Whichistheusualtermfot’the
ShamanicsplrltintheMongoIianpastoral、VOrld・

201
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
IJltereStingIy，thel・iteofshallarisnotonlyperformedLbrtheRrstinitiation
intothestatusofshaman，butalsofortheeIevationofshamanicrank．Shamans
PeJ・fbrllltheriteonceayearoreverythreeyearsunti＝hey甫nish13shanar・
lnotherwol●ds，thehi帥erashamanclimbsuphisoJ．herrankIadder，themol■e
ug−SPirjtsarediscovered．lnadditibn，SincetheLEg−SPiritsofshamansaJ−enOtOf
unilinealdescentbutaremuJtilinealancestoJ・S，6shamanscandiscoveranaImost
in触itenumberof‘ug’．Forexample，he／shemaycapturetheugofamother’s
motherandafather’smothen
FromthepeJ・SpeCti、′eOfbeJievers，the∫JzaJlarisnotsomethingpassiYeWait−
1mgtObediscovered，ratherpeOpleactiyeJytrytomeetandworshipaneestral
SPiritsthroughashaman’sbodyintheriteofshanar．However，aSnOtedabove，
thisnewfbrmofancestortvorshipamonglheAga−Buryatisconcernedwith
muItiJinealancestors，andtheshamanicconceptofLLgisverydifferentfromthe
SeCuJaruseofthetraclngOfdescentamongtheAga−Buryats・InsecuJarJift，the
WOrdmeanspatriHnealgenealogyandc】anname，nOtthelimitlessnumbersof
magicaJancestorsoftheshamanicusage．ThereasonforthiscuriousdoubJe
meanJngisdiscussedbeJoIV・AtthispolntWeCanSimpJydistinguishtheshamanic
meanlngOfLLgfl℃mjtssecu）armeanlng，thefol・merreferringto‘ug−SPirit’01●
‘shamanicroot’，andthelater‘patl●iJinealdescent’orgenealogy．
3．THESECULARUSEOFUG
ItiswellknownthatcomparedwithotherMongoIgroups，theBulYatShave
agoodknowledgeoftheirgenealogyandtheirclannamesillMongoliaand
the）’eareanumberofpubJicationsonthissu句ecLSumiyabaatarrecorded，for
instance，alargenumberofgenealogiesofAga−BuryatsinMongolia（Sumiya−
baatar1966）・MyresearchinDol・nOdconかmsthatmostAga−Buryatscanname
upto5to9generationsoftheirpatJ・ilinealdescent．SolnepeOPJqevenhave
WrittengeneaIogleS．
TheAga−Buryatsco11Sistof8clans（Aganaimaneceg7）．TheybeIievelhat
8clanscallbetracedtothe8sonsofthesamefathel・CalledKhoridolルね1％eFL
Accordingtolegend，KoridoiMergellhadllsol−Saltogetherandthesewere
theancestorsofKhoriBuryats．FoHowinghiswiJl，thefamiliesof3sonsre−
mainedintheLakeBaikalarea，theiroffspringfol・mlngtOday，sKhorトBuryats・
Thefamiliesoftheother8soI−SmlgratedtotheAgasteppe，thereaftercaHing
themselves‘thedescendantsofthe8fathersofAga’（bider7aimanesegiinlLg
gan，altai）・Thisindica【eslhecollCePtiol10f8clanslinkedbyasinglepatrilineal
ancestol：EachcJanissegmentedto2−5sub−C］ans，lVhicharecalledkhLLkhELILrlS
AlthoughtheAga−B”・yatsinMongoliaareonlyasmallpartoftheentireAga−
Bul−yatpopulalion，the8clallnameSeXistamongthem．
ThislegendoHheAga−Buryats，ancestl・alrootshasbeen‘preservcd，both
Ora‖yandintextstIncontrast，theKhalkhMongoIs，thelTl叫OL・ltyinMongolia，

202
1PPE］SHIMAMURA・
generallyknoW3generationsofdescentatmosLfnterestlngIy，althoughLLglS
aMongo】血1WOrd，mOStpeopleinuaanbaatardonotusehjnlheirevel・yday
SPeeCh；SOmeeVendonotundel●StanditsmealllngWithoutcombinedwithan−
Otherword−uSualIy‘zLggaraJ‥ugtLdam’or‘ugiinbEchig’一meaningdescent
andgeneaIogy．ThisindicatesthatitisnotimportantfbrUlaanbaatar’scitizens，
especiaHytheKhaIkhcitizens，tOremembertheirgenealogleS・Inl998，When
Mongolialegislatedtointroduceandregister‘surllameS’（obog），Sincemost
PeOPJedidnotknowtheirsul・nameS【heMinistryofJusticealldtheAcademy
OfScienceshadtopubIishabookentitled77zeR痴Tm7CeBookjbrSearchlng
♪rlbzLrSurname（TijiudandBesudJ998）．
ForAga−Buryats，hoIVeVer，itisverylmPOrtanttOremembertheug：Patri−
linealdescentandcJarlnameS．lheardmanytlmeSAga−Buryatssaylng‘ltis
importanttoknowouruggarval（BuryaHermfbrMongoJianuggaraL−−rOOtS，
genealogies）．ItishistoIY！’，Or‘WeknowourLLggarVaLmuchbetterthanthe
Khalkh’・Somewouldsay‘Jtisimportar）ttOmemOriseourgeneaJogytOaVOid
COnSanguineousmaJTiages（tsusolrtokhoosseTgeeLekh：aVOid blood getting
Close）．’Or‘That’swhywetraditionaIlyhal′ePraCticedamorescient摘cmar−
rlagethanotherMongoIs．’・
MypurposehereisnottoshoWhowAga−Buryatshavegreaterhistorical
knowledgeandmore‘scientifiC’viewsonmarrlage，rathertoexplorethereasons
theyputsuchemphasisonmemoI・lSIngtheirLLgOrgenealogleS・
CarolineHumphreyexplainsthattheBuryatgenealogylVaSShapedand
insri【utionaHsedthrough（heBuryatreJationshipwiththeRussianstale．The
BuryatuseofgenealogywasJargelylnl’eSPOnSetOIandandtaxationpolicies
（HulllPhJ−ey1979）．InhervielV，it、、′aSapOliticaHydelerminedformofgroup
SOlidal●ity（Cf．BuIagl998：128）．
HumphI’eyalsoWrilesthatwhengroupsoFpeOPIeclaimullilinealdescerit
h・OmSlngJeancestors，linesperCeivedascoHateraJareBenerallyforgottellif
they、VishtopJ’eSerVetheunityofaparticularg1−oup，buHheyareremembered
iF，foronereasonoranother，thegrouphasoccasiontosplitup（Humphrey1979：
235−j＝fweappJythisideatotoday’sAga−Buryats，itisunderslandabZetha【
theirdispe1−SalhasenabledtheAga−Bul◆yatstOl●emembertheirs111glecommoll
ancestorasasymbolofidenlity．Whatisinterestlngisthat，jnthecaseoFAga−
Buryatswhoarescatteredinthreecountries，nOtOnlyarethecommonances−
torsalldvaJ・iouscoHateraHinesstillremembered，butthel●ehaveemergednelV
ug−SPlrltSillreCentyearS，andtheyareproZiferatillgbywayofshamanismeven
noW．InDorIlOdpl●OVince，genealogiesbega11tObetaughlinschoolfrom1990
（Bulag1998：129）．Moreovel●，Aga−BuryatpeOPlespontaneouslyl●el′ivedtheiI・
genealogyonbothsidesoFtheRussiall−Mongolianbol’del●・
Itisimpol−tanttOnOtethattheAga−BuryatsexplaintherevivaloFtheir
genealogy by emPhasisillglheir pnnciple of‘exogamy’；ln Other words，
knowledgeofpalriIinealgenealogyandcIallnameSisoFpl‘incIPalimportance
fol●thepurposeoFmamage．tndeed，irthebridea11dgroomcannotglVethe

203
RECONSTRUCT7NGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANTSM
genea10gleSandcIannarnesofbothsides，marrlageWOLIldnotbeperrnitted・
ThisexogamousmarrLageSyStemiswidelyfbLLndamongnomadsinCentral
AsiageneraHyandisnotunIquetOtheAga−Buryats．My甫eIdresearchreveaIed，
hoWeVer，thattheir・eXOgamyPrlnCip］ehasbeenmodifiedbyconcernsabout
maintaining‘ethnic’b7aSkZn）pLlrity．TheynotonlyprohibitmarriagesbetlVeen
PeOPTeofcommonpatrilinealancestrywithin7−9g印erations，butalsofrown
uponmarrJagelVithnon−BuryatpeoplesuchasKhalkhMongoJs，Chinese，and
SOOn．Anoldwoman（69）inDashbalbarsumtoldmethatwhenshewasyoung，
apersonwhomarriedaKhaIkhcou］dnotstayinthestlmandhadmovedto
UIaanbaatarbecauseaspersionshadbeencastonhercharacterthroughoutthe
district・AIthoughmanyBuryatssti”expressabhorrenceatmarrlageWithKhaIkh
Mongols，lnter−mamageⅥ；ithKhalkhdoestakepIace・9
FredrikBarthpointsoutthatifagrouptriestomaintainitsidentityWhen
membersinteractwithothers，thisentailscriteriafordetermInJngmembership
andwaysofsignaHingmembershipandexcltlSion（Birth1998日9691：）5）・
IflVeaPP］ythistheoryintheAga−Buryatcase，theknow】edgeofgenea10gy
SerVeStOdeterminemembershipandthismaintainstheBuryatidentitytoday・
ThisobservationisinbroadagreementlVithBulag’sarguhentthattherevival
OfgenealogylnPOSt−SOCjaHstMongoliaentailsbothclanexogamyandnational
endogamy（1998）．
4．THEDISCONTINUJrIlONOFTHESHAMAN，SGENEALOGY
NoW，letusreturntothesuuectoftheproliFerationofshamans・Iaskedsome
ShamansortheirLLg−SPiritsdirectlyaboutthereasonforthis．‘OFcourse，itis
naturaIforustoinclreaSethennmberofshamanS，becausewehavebeenLLnder
COmmLInistsuppressionfor70years，’anug−SPiritofoId、1′OmanSaidcalmly，
lVhenshewasinasiance．AnotherShamansaidtomewithasadsmHethat
aFterthefaHofcornmunism，SOmanyug−SPiritshavestal・tedto100kfortheir
‘yasmakhnytasarkhar’ZO（dispersed）offspl・ingbecauseoH011gSeParationfrom
theiI・‘chiJdl・en，・AJthoughthisexpressedanimportantaspectofrecenthistory，
itseemstometheseexpIanationsarenotsuFRciellt・LaterIdiscoveredacuri−
OuSfacいVhichthI・0、VSaneWlightonthereIa【ionbetlVeenShamansand．their
geneaIogy．Mostseniorb∂dsIVhocoachednelVShamanshadJosttheirown
hereditat・yandcuIturalcontinulty、Viththeirancestorsllbputitmo］・eClearly，
theirpatr曲1ealbondswerecutoFFinoneWayOranOtheI・，aSSOmeOFthemWere
adoptedBuryatsandoriginaHywereoFRussian，Tungus（Khamnigan）orKhalkh
Mongoldescent；andsomeshamans，oldestancestors、Vel・e、、′Omendespitetheir
agna【icprlnCipIeoFgenealogicaldescent・ThefbHo、VJngCaSeSWil川Iustl■atethe
Variousaspectsandpattel・llSOFgenealoglCaldiscontinuation・
Myinvestlgationz・eVealedthatonly4shamanshadsurvivedbythetime
OFthefalloFcommunismin1990．So】etuscaHthemGl（generationl）．The

204
fPPEISHIMAMURA’
nextgeneratjon（G2）、VerethosewhohavebeencoachedbytheRrst4andhave
becomeJeadersofyoungshamans．Thefbllowlngtabteshowstheconditionof
genealogicaIdjscontinuationofseniorshamans（GlandG2）．
TABLEl．TheconditionofgeneaJogicaldiscontinuationofseniorshamans（b66and
fl砲〟l）
No． ﾖvX｢Geneト ation 牌V觀ﾆvﾉf6ｶw&V襭N．B．
l テ8都8｢Gl FFVFg&ﾔｶﾆｶ"&&v
2 彪FvH｢G】 彪豸踟v6ﾅf友匁W6RPassedalVayln
husband？ 涛
3 彪Fv葢G】 展FG&免VﾆW7F&Passedawaいn
（1918−1996） 冤anonymousIVOman’ 涛b
4 彪Fv藕鉄｢Gl FFVFg&ﾔ6匁Xｸ覲DiscipIeor
HerLLg−SPihtisananony一 疲Fﾆ匁ﾖSi
mOuSman
5 彪Fv蓼x｢G2 偃fG&免匁VﾆW7FﾈﾆDiscipleoF
Russjan．Herfatherwas adopled 疲8C&ﾆﾆC2
6 塔chDｨ都8｢G2 FFVFg&ﾕGV誣W2Hisstepmolher t
（Khamnigan） 沫7FV66hR蹂C
7 cdx都h｢G2 展FG&免匁VﾆW7F&'W76
8 cdﾈ｢G2 敵FG$匁V芳W66V蹤Passedawayln
‘anonymOuSWOman’ 涛bF6ﾇﾆVb蹂CC
9 彪Fv薊田(｢G2 FFVFg&ﾖFW$'VﾈﾇE2Discipleor； No3 1
10 cdH鼎｢G2 展Fﾇ&ｦﾆ免ﾆVﾆ$6U6ﾆ&V踐逍ﾖﾆﾅ5tﾖ2SonofNo．8．
‖ 彪Fv薊｢G2 FFVBDiscIPleof No．1
WhenweRrstmetin】999，B∂6S（No．1），Whoistheroot−instI●uCtOrOfmany
SIlamanS，tOldrnethathewasofshamanicdescenいVhichhecouldtraceback
for13generations．HoWeVer，SOmeOfhischildhoodfriendsoracquaintances
revealedthathewasadoptedfromaKhalkhfamily．Latel‘，hesaidtomehewas
adoptedfromtheBarga，aMongolgroupc10SelyrelatedtotheBuryats・

205
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
LittleisknownaboutリdganS（No．2）．ButoneoftheeJderstoJdmethatshe
hadnoshamanicancestors，andthatshehadaChinesehusband．Shejnstructed
SOmeShamansandwチSSaidtohavecooperatedwithUdganN（No・3）・’
AlthoughUdgan・一N（No．3）passedawayin1996，lobtainedsomeinterYielVS
Withhernephew（herbl・Other’sson）whoknewherweH．Whenshewas16
（1935），ShestartedtoroamaboutthefbresLAfterthat，afamousudiancaIIed
MorgoJinDarimadiagnosedher’shamanicilZness，andinitia（edherintothe
StatuSOfu兎an（felllaJeshaman）．ShecapturedthelLg−SPiritcalledKhusnai
Sakhiya−Whichcanbe【entativelytranslatedas‘Sakhiya（1et’sguard’），SOn
ofKhus（birchtJ・ee），，thebirchbeiIlgthesymboloftheAga−Buryat．La危r；her
mainEIg−SPit・iいVaSJ・eVeh）edasawoman’sspiritcalIed‘Kh‘なShinbu〟raLqiii’・
ThisisnotpersonalnamebLltmeanS‘theoldpaternalgrandmother’．
Udg争11U（No．4）、VaSadoptedFromaChinesefather・AnoIdwornan（83）who
knewherfbtherweHsaidtomethatherfhtherlVentbacktoChinainthelate
1950swhenthereIatiQnShipbetweenMongoIiaandChinadeterjorated．When
Shewas8yearsoId，hermotherpassedawayandthelljn1978whenshewas
26herstepfatherdiedtoo，andsincethenshehadfeltphysicaHydisordered，btlt
nomedicaltreatmentcouldsootheherpaJnandmedicalscreenlngShowedthat
Shehadnodisease，In1980shemetlVithB66S（No．1），Whoatthattimewas
theonlyshamantreattngctientsandhadtodoso−insecreLWhenhetoldherto
CaPturethe‘LLg’sheknewneitherhershaman’sancestors，nOrhergenealogy・
Sheconftssedtomethatshedidndtevenknowwhat‘lLg’meant．
Herug−SPirit，WhichshecapturedundertheguidanceofB66S，iscalled
R72LuEIMLndulL，SOnOfKheT7tel．Shesaidtome，‘HeⅥ′aSabig，famoLlSShaman
inthenorthernland！’ltisnotclearwherehewouldbelocatedinhergenealogy・
‘Helivedalongtimeago（mashdeerueiin），’shesaid．
UdganO（No．5）hadacomplicatedracialbackground．WherlShewasa
SChooトgirf，ShewasbulliedbyhercJassmatesbecauseofherbtueeyes．When
Shewas17，Shebecamederanged（tenegboLsoll，literaHy‘becomingafbol’）
SOShewasinstitutionalisedinamentalhospitaLShelostherappetiteandthen
ShewasaJwaysasleepandoftenexcretedinthebed．Herfather，Sel●enPureV，
WaShimselfadoptedfromanon−Aga−BuryatfamHyandhisbiologlCaJgrand−
fatherwasaRussian．BeforebecomlngShaman，Sheonlyknewthatshehada
RussianancestorcaIled‘MangadDambaa’．tIewastheveryug−SPiritthaH1ad
‘demanded’OtobecomelLdg（臥AccordingtoO’saunt，thetruthlVaSreVealed
byaspIrJtataSianceofUdganUin1990．
B66J（No．6）vVasadoptedfromaTungus（Khamnigan）（family）．Hewas
theonly（adopted）SonofthelegendaryUdganChimedlVhoIVaSborninRussia
i111888・AccordingtoJ’srecoIJection，hismotherUdganChimedworkedasa
maidservantinaRussianfamily．Then，ShewasexiledtoMongoIiainthe1910S，
aslVeremanyBul−yatS，tOaVOidtheforthcomlngCivjlwal■betweenl七aristsand
BoIsheviks．Shehadahar（‖ife；herhusbandlVaSeXeCUtedinthel930S，dur−
mglhebloodypurgebyChoibalsan，andtheironlydaughterdiedininfhncy・

206
1PPEISHIMAMURA’
J，amanOffewwords，tOldmethat，afterthat，his1−10therbecamecrazyand
becameanudganinMongolia．Duringthecommunistperiod，Shehadsecretly
treatcdalotofpeopleasamaglCalhealer・Shepassedawやyin1976attheage
Of88．B66S（No．1）wastheonlydiscipZesheinstructedwhileshewasaHve．J
becameb66afterthedcmocratisationof1990，undertheinstructionofB66S，
hismother’sdiscipJe．Likehisadoptivemother，JadoptedachHdfromaBuryat
fhmi］yinKhentiiprovince．Thus，inthjscase，therewasnodirectbiolog；Ca］
bondbetweenparentandchildover3generations・
‘Youknow，tarnanerlEEz（haJf−brced）．lamUryankhaH’Thefirstcontact
WithB66G（No．7）inthesummerof2000leftastrongimpressiononme‥＼C−
（ualIy，hestruckmeashavingthecharacterofakindoftrickster，However，he
nevertoldmethereasonfbrbeingan‘erliiz’atthattime．After6monthsmy
frequentvisitsgavemethechancetoaskwhyhis5thpatrHinealancestorcalled
‘Shandmaan’wasaRussian．Accordingtohim、Shandmaan’sf如herhad2Sons
aswelIasadoptingShandmaan−anabandonedRussianchiJd．Hedecidedto
givehispropertytothecIeverestofthe3sons・EventuaIIy，theRussiaIIChHd
WaSSClected．Gtoldmethatisthereasonthathisoffspringhadblondhair．
B66L（No．8）isthefhtherofB的D（No．10）．Itappearsthatinthiscasethere
isnodiscontinuityindescent．B66SwhoinstructedB66Dtobeashamansaid
tome，‘HehadarealshamanicrQOtUinkheneb∂鞄iiFllLgtai）．Befbrehemetme，
heaTreadykneWhis（SeCuZar）genealogy（LEgaameddbaihan）．’NevertheIess，
itseems（OmelhatthenameoftheirlLg−SPiritsymbolisestheirgenealoglFaI
discontinuity．DtoIdmethathisbiggestlLg−SPJrltJSaWOmanCalledNahawn
Kh6gsfzEtl．lnhisexplanation，NahatyT7Kh6gshtllrneanS‘theWifeofNahat’and
Nahatwasthe5thpatrjlineaIancestorofB66D．
Yet，theword‘MhaE’（NastaiinstandardMongorianorthograPhy）canbe
inlerpretcdasmerely’OTd’or’01dMan’，SOthatNahatynKhdgshilZmeaTiS
ananonymousotdlVOman，aSIVaS桁（ねShinBuur（lLqiiofNo．3．
UdganT’S（No・9）familybackgroundisverycomp7icated．Shewasadopted，
directlyafterbirth．Uponthedeathofherfbsterfatherin1952，WhenshelVaS13，
herfostermotherremarriedaBuryatman．HerfostermotherwasanLLdgan．
SofarWehaveexaiTtinedthereasonfortheproHFerationofshamansa1−10ng
theAga−Buryats・Pal●adoxicaHy，thisdatashoWSthatmanyshamans、Vhoare
rituaIspeCialistsfbrancestorlVOrShiphavelosttheiroWnpatriHneaZgenealoglCal
COnSis【ency．Oneday，anOIdLI4ganconfessedtomethattheybecameshamans
despitenotkno、V川gtheirug，Althoughshe、、′aSaShamedofnotkno、Vingher
ELg−SPirit’snamebeforebecom！ngShaman，thismightindicatethattheTackoF
knoWledgeontheirug（regardlessof、VhetherthisWOrdmeansthespiritualor
theactualgeneaIogicaIdescent）isconsidel・edthesTneqllal70nOfbecominga
ShamanamongtheAga−Buryats．Moreover，it・ishighlyprobablethatthege−
nealogicaldiscontinLlltyistheprlmaryCOnditionthat．enabtedthcmtobccome
Sharnans，becauseancestralsplntSWhowereunkno、VntOthemlVeremOreaCtivety
Seeking（demanding−ugIlekhekh）theirdescendants・

207
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
5．THEFEAROFBEINGCALLEDBYUG
SoFarlhavebeenQOnCernedlVithdemonstra（ingthediscontinLIltyilTthe
geneaIoglCaIdescent／OftheAga−Buryatshamans，ButoneqLIeStionl■elllains
uncJear，thatis，lVhyistheshamanicconcep10rELg（multiJinealancestl●alspirit）
distinguishedFromitssecu7aruse（PatriHnealgeneaIQgy）？
IfshamaniccandidalesdonotknowtheirpatrHineaJgelleaJogIeS，amaSler
ShamannotonlyglVeSthemthenamesofELg−SPiri【stha（areCaHingthecandi−
datestobecomeshamansbymeansororacularpronounceme11t，butalsonarl‘aLes
theirgeneaJogleSintheShanarrituaLThesepl・eCeSOfknowJedgearegIl′enby
theoracuIarpronouncementoFthemastershaman’sIEg−SPiritwhenheorsheis
posse占sedbythespiritsol・gnlerSatranCe（ongoorulLlakh）．lnthesecases，the
LLg−SPirit＄gJVenbythemastershamansareusuaHyfromthepatl■ilinea‖ineages
Oftheinitiate．OFcoul・Se，theJ・eartTalsosomeshamanswhoknewlheirancestra）
SPiritsbeForebecomJngShamallS．lbbettel●understandthis，itmaybeuseru＝o
lookatsomeSPeCiRccases・
UdiallM（34，G4）hasawl・ittenashamanicLLgaibeshegorgenealogyor
19generations．Herfather，Who、VaSanegdeE（Collective）manager，】●eVivedhis
genealogyafterthefaHofcommunism，SOShea］sokneWhersecuIarLLgOrgenea）L
Ogy．SincechiIdhood，SheortenreIIintoasWOOn，andasharnan’sdiagnosisIVaS：
’youarebeingcaHedbyyoLrLLg’．SoshebecamebariashIl（‘traditionalhealeJ・’
Or‘bone−Setter’）in1998・Inspiteofkno、VinghersecuJarLIgOrgenealog）′berol●e
becomlngaShaman，Shecaptured年SPirit．Ayearlater，hoWeVer，SheaccidentaHy
］osthereyesight．Shewassofrightenedthatsheconsultedsomeothtrshamans．
Ab∂6saidtoher：yOuarebeingcaHedbytheELg−SPiritoFablackshaman・011
hisrecommendation，ShebecameabJackshaman（thatis，lI砲anasoppo主edto
bariash，Whichisawhiteshaman）andcaptLlredanotheJ・LLg−SPiriLCLLriousJy，lhe
namesoflhetwospiritsll′eI’enotincIudedinhel‘Wl・ittenpatl●iHneaIgeneaIogy・
WhenIpointedoutthisomissionshea11SWeredthatsheomiltedLhembecause
thesespIrltSal’eherbther’smother’sancestors．
Inthiscase，hersecularugorgenea】ogy、、′aSnOl・maL NeverthcJess，the
importantpolntisthatthereisagene）・alsocialat血tdeorFearoFbeingcallcd
byone’S〃＆
LUdgallL’S（64，G4）caseisalsoagoodexampleofthisstrongFearorug．
ShehadalsoknoWnhergenealogytoadepthor5agnaticgenerationsbe（t）t・e
Shebecameashaman．HoIVeVer，Shetoldmethatshehadneverknoll′ntha【she
hadashamanicancestorinheragnaticHneage．ShebecameashamanillI996
becauseshehadanoedemaOr、、′ateryS、＼′eHng（tolgoikhal，ltJtda／zftn）ollheI−
head．AfterbecomlngaShaman，Shesaidhel・oedemall′aSCLLl・ed、butsheisnollr
Sur托ringrromkidneypaJn，andshebeliel′eSLhaHhekidlleyPalniscausedby
ano【heI’Elg−SPiriいVhichhasnotyetbeencaptured．

208
lPPEISHlMAMURA
Thus，Whenbadluckordisasteroccurredtothem，regardlessoftheextentto
WhichtheyknewtheirgenealogJeS，eaChofthesepeoplewaspowerFuJJyafJ−aid
Ofhearing：‘Youarecalledbyyourug’．
lngeneraJ，therejsnoneedformostAga−Buryatstoknoworseektofindout
aboutsuchbHateralancestraJspirjlsbecauseformos【purposestheyonIyhave
torecordtheirunilineal‘secuIar’genealogies．However，manyhaveahighly
COmPeHingconcernwiththeideathattheyarethreatenedbyugregardJessof
Whe（herthismeanspatrilinea）genealogyorshamanicancestraJspirits，andthat
iswhytheyfbelboundtosetoutto‘capturetheug’．Sinceevel’yOneissup−
POSedtohaveanug，Whetheroneknowsj（OrnOt，jnorderto‘capturethelLg’
PreemPtiveJy，Shamansarecreatingvirtualancestralspirits（SeeNos．3，8，and
10）whicharesometimesagnaticancestors，andsometimesbilatel◆alones．
WhythendotheBuryatshavesuchanobsessionaboutug？
6．THEBURY打rPURGESANDSHAMANTCNARRArlVES
ThereisastrongfearamongtheAga−BuryatshamansthaHheyhavelostge−
nealoglCaIcontinuitythroughouttheirsociety．EvenifoneknowsthepatriJineal
descent，heorshestiHfearsthattheymayhaveIostknowledgeoftheircoHateraI
ancestors．SuchsocialanxietylSCauSedbythetraglCeXPerlenCeSOfthepurges
60yearsago．
Accordingto50mereSearChbyBuryatMongoIsafterdemocratisation，tllis
historicali血identwasnotasimplepurge，thisawfuloppressionstartedin1937
undertheStalin−ChoibalsanruJeintheMongoJianPeopJesRepublic．Alarge
numberofpeOPleincJudingBuryatsWereSuddenlyarrestedonchargesofbeing
JapaneSeSPleSOrengaglnglnCOunter−reVOlutionaryactivitiesandmostofthem
WeredirectIyexecuted．AccordingtoPerenlei（1995），255menlVerearreSted
inDashbalbarsumalone．Amongthem，44menweresentencedtolO、yearS，2
to25years，90executeddirectlyandtheresthaveremainedmissing（Pereniei
1995：26）．ThenumbeJ’OfpeOPlearl●eStedaccountedforalmostone−qual’tel●Of
thesum’sentirepopulatiollatthattime．
Someolderwitnessestoldmesomeshockingfacts：theofRce）．SOftheInternal
Affail’SMinjstI・yCameSuddenly，andsaid‘wehavetotake100peopJetoda）・’．
ThismeansthatofRcersfl・OmUIaanbaatararrestedmanylnnOCentheJ’dsmen
Withoutanykindofinquiry，OneoftheJ・eaSOnSthat’theylVerePreSumedto
beJapanesespleSisthatsomeBuryatshadmigratedtoHulunbuiJIWhichwas
COntl・OIledby−theJapaneseEmpirefro1111932to1945．Peoplesaytha【StaIin
fearedtheBuryatsbecausetheywe暮’ehighlyeducatedalldthreatenIngtOhis
positioninthePal・ty．So，aJlhoughthesurvivingBLLryatSinposトWarMongoHa
WerenOtPel●SeCutedasanethnicity，ltWaSOnlyaftel’】990thattheMongolian
gove1°nmentOfRcia11ydroppedtheoldchargesagainsttheBuryats．

209
RECONSTRUCrINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANTSM
Sinceahighproportionofadtl1tmaIeswez−eeXeCuted，CauSlngaSeVere
ShortageofmamageabkmaIesaHhattirne，SOmeWOmenmuSthavemarried
non−Buryats：KhaJkh，Russian，Chinese，andsoon，andsomemighthavenever
rnarried・Inmanycases，lheshortageofmaJesforcedpeQPletoadoptchiIdren
torebuifdfamilyliv岩sandifpossibletomaintaintheirgroupasawhoJe．
Once，InaShamanicsiance，Iencounteredawoman’sug−Spiritwhocom−
mittedsuicidebeforemamage．Thespiritwhichhad・pOSSeSSedtheshamaness
sobbedoutanaccountofhersadJifeasfoHows．
gンiinbLZ，aaghharaaguib・（Ihaveneverseenmen’sappearanCeS）
Aib・lZhamganbobOgELib．（Ihaveneverbeenanybody’swife） ’
Later，IJearnedlhatthistypeOfyoungwoman’sspiritscanbewidelyseen
amongAga−Buryatshamans．WhenspiritsofthistypeareenCOunteredinsha−
manics6ances，peOPlesaythattheycannotholdbacktheirtearswhen）istening
totheir）aments．12
1tisimpol1anttonOtethatbecauseofthesevereshortageofBuryataduJt
maJes，aJargenumberofshamanstodayareofmixedparentagewhosepatri−
IineagesarenotBuryat．Moreover，thistraumatichistoryofveryhighmale
mortaHtyisnotonlyaperSOnalexperience，butalsothecollectivetrdgedyofthe
Aga−Buryats．Thefearofextinctionhashauntedtheirmemories，andthisfear
hasjntensihedinpost−SOCjalistMongoJjawhen／whereethnicity，ethnicpurity，
nationalism，tradition，rOOtS，anda110therprlmOI・dialconcernshaverep］aced
fbrward−tOOkingsocialistrnodemity．Childrenofmixedparentageborethebrunt
Of ociaIstlgma，andtheirvividmemoriesofthistraumamusthavecompeHed
themtobecomeshamanswhenconditionsbegantopermitafterthecoHapseof
thecommunistreBlmeinMongolia．
WhenlparticipatedinasianceofUdganT（No．9）attheendof2000，the
SPiritofT’smotherpossessedher．ShehadbeenanLI4gansecretlyduringthe
COmmunistperiod．TPespiritnoticedthattherewasastranger（i．e．me）andsaid
fearfuIly，‘Thereisastrangerhere．Heisnotthegreencapman，ishe？‥The
greencapman’referstotheo代ceroftheinternalaffairsinthe1930sbecause
theofRcers’caps、Veregreen・lwasshocked；itseemedtomethatshewasreally
afraidofthegreencapmanevenlongafterherdeath．
ThefbHowlngStOryOfB66J’sbl・OtherCshoWSuShowotherpeopIehad
alsosufferedfromthistraumaticfear．tOurfamilyhashadbadstoriesofthe
number37，’saidthewifeofC．ThefatherofJandChaddiedanunusualdeath
attheageof37in1938，andChadbecomeinsaneattheageof37whenG，
SOnOfCalmostdiedinatra用caccident．AccordingtoG，hisgrandfather（C’s
father）wasadorlig，13buthelVaSeXHedtoMongoHalVithouttheequipmentof
adorlig，andconsequentlytheirfamilysufferedaseriesofmisforttmes．When
Cbecameinsanein1963，heroamedaroundnaked．．UdgarlChimedclari飴dto
methatthedorli＆equLPmen‖eFtbehindintheAgasteppeS‘demanded’Cto
becomethedorlig．Evenduringthecommunistperiod，C’swifenegotiatedw宜h

210
IPPEISHIMAMURA
thedirectorofafactorytoarrangethemakingofnewdorligequlPmentinorder
tosaveherhusband・AFterbecomlngadbrLig，hebecamesancagaln．
ThetraumaticmemoryofthepLLrgeandthede−BuryatisationthroughcuItural
assimiJationandintermarrlageWiththeKhaはhinthepastseveraldecadesmust
haveaccentuatedtheBuryats’fearofethnicextinction．ItisreasonabletoargtIe
thatthesefearsandanxietieshaveprovokedthemtouncovertheir‘forgotten’
ancestorsinnewsoc−OPOJiticalconditionsafterJ990．Consequentfy，theconcept
of‘ugnekhekh’（【heshamanicr叩tOrug−SPiritdemandingsomeonetobecome
ashaman）hasbeenwidelyaccepted．Hencethenumberofshamanscontinues
toincreaseamongtheAga−Buryats．
7．CONCLUStON：RECONSTRUCT10NOFTHEBURYATIDENTtTY
BYSHAMANTSM
ltiscertainthalne、VShamans，Whose’secuIar’BuryatdescentisdoubtfuI，Can
JuStifythejrgeneaJogJCaHegitimacybyappropriatingthemysteriouspower
OfLLg−Spirits．Fbrinstance，UdganOandB66Ghavethesocialdisadvantage
Ofhavingnon−BuryatphysicaHbatures，Whichareattributedtoheterogeneous
descent：btueeyesandblondehair．However，theycouldconvertthisdisadvan−
tagebyinvokingtheJegendsoftheirLEg−SPiritsthl・OughthemouthofthespIrJL
lnthecasesofUdganUandB的J，itisalsoadisadvantageforAga−Buryatsto
PrOreSSnOknblVIedgeofpatriHnealdescent，eSPeCiaHylVhenthegenealoglCaJ
informationisil●retrievablylosLInothe＝VOrds，ignoranceofone’sdescent
mightweHinduceanidelltitycrisisinasocielyasgenealoglCally−Ot’ientedas
theAga−BuryaLWeshouIdrememberthattheirsociety‘traditiona］ly’requJreS
theknowledgeoftheiragnaticgeneatogyforinter−Clanexogamy．Andinlhe
nelVPOSトSOCialistatmospherewiththecrazefbrgenea70gy，iFsomeonedoes
notknoIVhisて）Ⅰ●herpatrHinea］descent，theymighthavedifRcuJtylnmarrylng
、VithintheAga−Bul●yatSOCiety．Asmentionedinsection3，tTleknowIedgeof
geneatogy‥detel●minesthemembershiporgroupidentityoftheAga−Buryats．
HerelVemayeVenSaythattheposLSOCiatistAga−ButYatSOCietyisagenealogy
reglme，PuttingvictimsofgenealogICallossatfurthersocialdisadvantage．
ThefoIIowingcaseofB66T（41）clarifieshoWtherestorationofhisgene一・
al0gygaVehimseげ−COnRdenceandhe］pedl℃COnStruCthispersonaIidentity．
SocialimperativesreqLIireshamanstorecreatetheirLIg（inthemeaningor
heterogeneousancestors）inordertoconverttheirLInraVOuI71blesocialposition
toaravourabZeone・Psycho］ogICaHy，becomIngaShamanisaheffbctivelVay
toheala11indvkltlal’side11tityanxiety．
BGOTWaSadoptedfromanLmkno、l′nfamily．WhenhelVaS8yearsoId，his
rosLeI●rathel●dicdordisease、andbecaLtSeOFthis，heexl）lained，hehadnochallCe
tokno、VhiscIan’snameandgenealogy．Then，helVaSinamentalhospitalin
J98ト1986・DuringthaHime，hesaid，eVel・yOnelookeddo、、′nOnhim，because

211
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
hewasa‘fool，．ButaFterab∂∂toldhimthatthereasonfbrhismentaldisease
lVaSthathehadnotrespettcdhisdbrLigaIICeStOr，hebecameadorligillJ993・
Buthisco1−ditiondidnotil一一PrOVemuCh，SOheaskedb∂∂Jforadvice・Bd∂J
divinedforhimandadvisedhjmtocaptul・ebothb］？Ckand、VhiteLLg−SPirits・Tn
J998，intheshaFWinitiationlDbecollleab∂6，thespil・itofhisfoster−ねther
possessedhisinstructor，UdganB・Thespiritmentionedhis‘seci．lar，genealogy
Of5generations・TsaidtomewithaninnocentsmiJe，‘Dadpromisedmethat
hewouldrevealmorethanlOgenerationsofdescentinthenextShanarl’lnany
CaSe，aJthoughhehasnotnecessariJyobtainedhisrealfather’sgenealoglCaJin−
formationindepth，heseemstobehappybecau亭eheno、VknoWShisc）an’sl−ame
andpartofhjsgeneaJogy．Once，Whenhe、VaSdrunkinthepl‘OVineialcentre，
thepoHcearres−edhimandwhenthepoliceofncerJnquiredastohisname，he
answeredproudJy，‘IamT，SOnOfGofBanLLLJZ〟んIIaSaiomog（Clan）！’Though
aIal・medalhiswayofansIVem1g，thepoJicepJT）CeededtofineT、VhoLhenpula
roundmirror，WhichisthecharmandsymboloftheBuryatshaman，Onthepolice
Officer’sdeskandsaid’Ihavenomoney！Sotakethismirror！’Then，reaJising
hewasashaman，thepoHcereleasedhimwithoutfurlherado．
ThiscaseiIJuminatesthepeJ・SQnalreasonsforal−individualtobecomea
Shama11：thereconstructionofthesubject’spersonalandgroup（Buryat）identity
throughtheJ・etOVeryOfhis／hergenealogybyshamanicmeans・
Onceane、VShamancaptuJ’eSanlLg−SPil’it，geneI．aHypeopJestal’ttO’goand
askhim／herfororacularadvice．Newshamansare，hence，aCCePtedasugtaikhiin
（PerSOnWhohasshamanicrootol・geneaJogy）byAga−BLIryatSOCiety・
Thegreatpurgesinthe1930sprofoLLlldIyimPaCtedo11thesocia日払bricor
theAga−BuryatsocietyinMongolia．ThehighmalefatalitiesandthestrategleS
OFsurvivaJ，aSWellasculturalassimiJationleftnlallyAga−BuryatSlgnOrant
oftheirorLglnS，anddesti・Oyedthepatrilineal‘purity’ofdescent．Ifsocialist
Mongoliaencoul●agedafuture−Jookingorientation，thel●ebysoothingthepaln
Oftheirtraumaticmemory，aSSOCialismcrumbledinMollgO］ia，theybecame
disoriented．IftheKhaJkhandsomeothel・MongoliangroupscouldRndtheir
PrideillChi11ggisKhanandahostofothertangibleandilltangibleMongolian
historica］symbolisllいVhenthegenealoglCalIyol’ientedBuryatslookedback，
manyfbundonlyanabyss：gl・eaHossesof‘fathers’or‘grandfathel●S’inthe
Pul●geS，lossoFgenealoglCalkno、Vledgeandintegnty，andadoptionofmany
non−BuryatpJ71Cticesandcustoms，therebycl■eatJngaWidespl’eadideIltitycl−isis．
MostAga−Bulつ′alsnoWOftenaskthemseJves，‘AmlapuI・eBuryat？’
Thediqiunclurebet、l′eenthecenlralityoFgenealogytotheBuryatidelltity
andtheIossoFgeneaIoglCalintegnLynoWleadsmanyAga−Bul’yatStOdespcl‘とILely
SearChforgenealogies．ThesocialpressureisparticularlyheavyonthoseWhose
Bul’yatidentityisulldersuspIC10n．Andtheyaddl’eSSthispl●Oblembymea11SOf
discove1−川gShama11icLLg−SPlrltS，Whoseol・aCularp1−0nOunCelTlentSmaglCalIy
l・einsLituLeLheil・lostgenealoglCaldescellt．Shalhanicrel′ival，amO11gtheAga−

212
1PPELSHIMAMURA
Bul・yatSinpost−SOCiaHstMongolia，isasmuchaBuryatculturalrevitalisation
asameanstoempowerthesociaJJydjsadYanlaged．
NOTES
Firstofall，IwouldliketothankProf・KonagayaYuki，mySuperVisor，forhervaluable
advice・IamalsogratefultoDr．UradynE．BulagforhisusefulcommentsandeditoriaI
heJp・ThaJlksaJsotoPTOfessorCaroJjJleHumphreyandDrlDavidSneath，bothofwhom
Carefullyreadanearlyversionofthemanuscl・lPtal−dgavemesomeprecioussuggES−
tionsforimprovemenL
lMy鮎IdresearchinDornodwascarriedoutintermittentlybetweenthesummerof
1999andthespringof2001．
2B66and〟兎anareknownas‘blackshamans，amongtheBLlryatS．Theyarethemediums
WbomakeomcularpronouncemenbIVhenPSSeSSed吋anceStmlSPlnlSCaHed‘β〃gク’in
atranceaccompaniedbydrummlng・IntheMongolianlVOrld，amaleshamaniscalled
b66，andafemaleshamaniscalJedu（なan．
3Aga−Buryatssometimesusetheword‘LLg，forancestralsplrItS，inthesamewayasLhe
krm‘oJIg。’isLlSed．
4Therearesomeethnographicreportもaboutthetreesofshaman，sinitiations．Fbrexample，
A・Pozdneevobservedshanar（chinar）ofKhoriTBuryatshamansinJ879．lnthe1950’s
B・RincbenaI50reCOrdedhowtoplanHhetreesorlhe∫血〝。rri【ualamongAga−Buryzlts
inDornod．ForfurtherinFormationonthisritual，SeeShimamura（2002b：207−239）．
5InYiewofthefactthatthecuckoodoesnotbuildanestbutlayseggsinolherbird，s
nests（Humphrey1996：206），itmightbepossibletothinkthaLshamanswithLhecuckt）O
VOicesymboJisetheirdiscontinL−ltyOf‘LLg’orun−Buryatness・
6SomesttLdiesonBuryatshamanismcIaimthatshaman，ssplntSareCOllateraLAccord−
ingtoSandchqjew（Sa可eev），amOngtheWbstemBuryals，Shamanicancestorsemerge
a暮OnglheactualJiz−eOfpatrilineaJdescent，bultheydonotappearinanunjnterruplcd
Iine．RathertheshamanicJineofdescentlVOuldzigzag，SOmetimesskippingageneratio；1，
SOmetimesappearirlginthefemaIelineorcoIlateralbranch（Krader1975：115）．
7Eachclanissimplycalledomog・Forexample，WhenBuryatsusetheirclanname，they
WOttldtypicallysay，LBiBodoJlgLLudomogoikhEjtz’（’lamaperSOnOftheB（元Onguud
OmOg’）．
換HumphreylnterPretSkhzLkhLLLLraS‘Iineage，inhel・historicalstudyonthegenealogy
OftheKhoriBurya【S（Humphrey1979：253）．However，durirlgmyheldresearchin
Dornod，mOStpeOplecouldnottracethecommonal−CeStOrOrkhLLkhLLILr・ThatisIVhyl
Callit‘sub−Cla11’．
9Interestlngly，Aga−Buryatsdistinguishtheword‘Mo，lgOlcJzLLud，from■ルわngolluLLLd，・
Grammatically，bothoFthemarethepluralformofthe、VOrd‘Mongol’・Buttheyuselhe
formerastheMongoIsincIudingBuryats，arldthe）attel・aSKhalkh・Ollei11formantgave
methefollo、VlngSentenCeaSaneXamPle：‘BideBLLTTadLLudMoIZgOLnL”dieihLLILhad
血増山’（Wと，8LHγa【S，doll’日iketonWryMongoIs）．

213
RECONSTRUCTINGIDENTITYTHROUGHSHAMANISM
Hnsmeansboneand”Zakhmeansfleshormeat・lnMongoJialHraditionaHhinkil一g，bones
lVOLLJdbetransmittedbyfather，andReshbymother．727∫arkhaLmea11Sbits，PleCeS．
‖BarLashisalVhiteshamanwhocurespeople、Vith‘magtcal’massag川gOrbone−Set−
ling．
暮2AmongtheDaur−MongoIs，aPparently，Shamanesses，storiesofhavingnohusband
hadpositivemeanings（Humphrey1996：308）；amOngtheAgaBuryats，hoIVeVer，SuCh
expI・eSSionsbyug−SP＝●JtSal●euSuaIJytakenastraglCStOries．
■3‘Dorlig’or．Dor／igtoihhlLn’（perSOllWithdbrlig）isatypeOfshamanicbIacksmithWho
makestheritualequlpmentuSedbyb肋andbarEaShes．BeForedojng∫hanar，illitjate
ShamallmuStgOtOthedorLigandaskhimtomakeequlPmentSLIChasshamanurums
（kheLs），mirror（totE），helmelwithdeerantlers（orgoiamitaO，Skin−COatWithiron−Orna−
ments（〟halllLtai），andsoon．DorLigalsoperformshealingriteswitharedhotiron
rod．TheworddorLigorlgmaHyderivesfromtheWestTibetanlVOrdwhichmeansgood
blacksmith（seeShimamura2000）．
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暮nnerA
VO山me6，number2
2004