Around Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, live the Buryats, a Mongolic-speaking people who today inhabit mainly the Republic of Buryatia, in the Russian Federation, and neighbouring regions. Buryat shamanism is one of the best documented in southern Siberia, thanks to the studies of Russian and Buryat ethnographers in the 19th and 20th centuries and to its survival into our own time.
Böö and udagan
The Buryats distinguish two figures:
- the böö, the male shaman;
- the udagan, the female shaman.
The term udagan, in similar forms, is found among several Siberian peoples, even of different languages, and this spread has led scholars to think that the figure of the female shaman is very old in the region.
The right to become a shaman was closely bound to the utkha, the shamanic «root» or lineage. The vocation was believed to pass down the generations: a shaman had to have shaman ancestors, and it was their spirits who chose and supported him. The Buryat shaman also followed a path of successive consecrations, each marking a higher degree.
The 99 tengri
Buryat cosmology is dominated by the sky, as throughout the Turkic-Mongol world, but it articulates it in an original way. The sky is populated by 99 tengri, celestial deities divided into two hosts:
| Host | Number | Traditional character |
|---|---|---|
| Western tengri | 55 | benevolent, linked to light |
| Eastern tengri | 44 | fearsome, bringers of misfortune |
Mythical tales explain this division by a conflict between the two hosts, which is reflected in the human world. People must maintain relations with both: propitiating the benevolent powers and appeasing the hostile ones. Alongside the tengri are many other figures: the «masters» of places, the ancestors of the clans, the spirits of deceased shamans.
From this arrangement also comes the distinction, widespread in ethnographic literature, between «white» shamans, turned mainly towards the western powers, and «black» shamans, able to deal with the eastern ones. The distinction is useful but varies greatly from group to group.
Olkhon and Shaman Rock
Baikal is a sacred landscape. Its largest island, Olkhon, is regarded as one of the most important places of Buryat shamanism. On the island's western coast stands Cape Burkhan, with the so-called Shaman Rock, a twin-peaked rock formation jutting out over the water.
In tradition this place is the abode of a highly respected power, and until recent times access was governed by precise rules: one did not go there without reason, did not enter with certain animals, did not make noise. Today the site is heavily visited, and its protection is a matter of discussion in the local community.
The tailgan
The most important collective rite of the Buryats is the tailgan, a ceremony that gathers a clan, a village or a group of families to make offerings to the powers of the place and to the ancestors. It traditionally takes place outdoors, on a height or at an established site, often in the warm months.
In the tailgan:
- shamans lead the invocations;
- milk, drinks and cooked meat are offered;
- prosperity is asked for the livestock, favourable rain and protection for families;
- the community's bond with its territory is renewed.
The tailgan shows clearly that Buryat shamanism was not only a matter between the shaman and his spirits, but a form of communal religion tied to the land and to kinship.
Shamanism and Buddhism
From the 17th-18th centuries Tibetan Buddhism spread among the Buryats, especially east of Baikal. In these areas shamanism retreated and partly merged with Buddhism, while west of the lake it remained stronger. Even today in Buryatia Buddhist monasteries, shamans and traditional sacred places coexist.
After the repression of the Soviet period, since the 1990s Buryat shamanism has undergone a revival, with associations of shamans and public tailgan. Studio Esoterico Cornelio regards it as a valuable example of how a tradition can survive and rebuild itself without losing its bond with its landscape.
In short
- The Buryats live around Baikal and distinguish the male shaman, böö, from the female shaman, udagan.
- The vocation was tied to the utkha, the shamanic lineage.
- The sky is populated by 99 tengri: 55 benevolent western and 44 fearsome eastern ones.
- Olkhon Island and Cape Burkhan are among the most sacred places.
- The tailgan is the great collective rite binding community, ancestors and territory.
