Among the objects that make up the shaman's equipment in north-eastern Asia, one of the most charged with meaning is also one of the simplest in appearance: a disc of polished metal. In Mongolian and Buryat it is called toli, the mirror. Hung on the costume, worn on the chest or back, carefully kept and handed down from one shaman to another, the toli concentrates in itself some of the deepest ideas of the shamanic tradition.
An object from afar
Most old shamanic mirrors are made of bronze. Many of them were not made by the peoples who used them, but came from China, where bronze mirrors had been produced for many centuries. They had one polished, reflecting face and one face decorated with relief motifs, often with a small central loop through which a cord could pass.
Through trade and gifts, these objects reached the steppes and forests of the North, where they took on a new meaning. A mirror that in China was a toilet article or a grave good could become, among a people of southern Siberia, one of the shaman's most powerful instruments.
The functions of the toli
Ethnographic sources and the testimony of shamans attribute several functions to the toli, which often overlap:
| Function | Traditional meaning |
|---|---|
| Shield | repels the «arrows» and attacks of hostile spirits |
| Eye | allows one to see what is hidden, here and far away |
| Dwelling | houses a protective spirit or the shaman's strength |
| Light | reflects the sun and the light of the sky, against darkness |
| Mark of rank | the number and age of the mirrors indicate experience |
The shield function is perhaps the most often cited. The metal disc worn on the chest or back was regarded as protection against the invisible blows the shaman might receive during his journeys and struggles. Some shamans wore a large mirror on the chest and smaller ones along the costume, so as to be protected on every side.
The eye function is just as important. In the mirror's reflection the shaman could, according to tradition, glimpse what escaped ordinary sight: the condition of a person, the presence of a spirit, a lost object.
Mirror and soul
In many Asian cultures the mirror is linked to the idea of the soul or double. What is reflected in a mirror is, in a sense, an image of the person separated from the body. This is why the toli was treated with great respect: it was not left lying about, not lent, not looked into carelessly.
Among some groups it was believed that the mirror of a deceased shaman retained part of his strength, and that it could be passed on to a successor of the same line. In this sense the toli was also an object of continuity, a bridge between generations of shamans.
The toli among neighbouring peoples
The shamanic mirror is not exclusive to the Mongols and Buryats. Metal mirrors hung on the costume are documented among the Manchus, the Tungusic peoples and other groups of southern Siberia. In the rites of Manchu shamans the bronze mirror, worn at the belt or on the chest, accompanied the rattles and bells of the costume.
It is useful to recall, by contrast, the role of the mirror in ancient Japan, where a sacred mirror is one of the three imperial regalia and is associated with the sun goddess. Although in very different contexts, the association between the shining disc, celestial light and the sacred returns.
The toli today
Contemporary Mongol and Buryat shamans continue to use the toli as an essential element of their ritual dress. Old mirrors are particularly prized; when they are not available, new ones are used, consecrated with a rite. In tourist markets one finds decorative copies, which of course do not have the ritual value of consecrated mirrors.
For Studio Esoterico Cornelio the toli is a symbol of extraordinary eloquence: an object that reflects, protects and reveals, reminding us that in many traditions seeing is also an act of responsibility.
In short
- The toli is the bronze mirror of the Mongol and Buryat shaman.
- Many old mirrors came from China and took on a new meaning on the steppes.
- It works as a shield against hostile spirits, an eye on the invisible and a dwelling of strength.
- It is linked to the idea of the soul and was passed down between shamans of the same line.
- Similar mirrors appear among Manchus and Tungusic peoples, and the mirror is sacred in ancient Japan too.
