E-mail: semturem@mail.ru Tel.: +7 (812) 571-25-01
4/1, Inzhenernaya str., St. Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation PhD in History, Leading Researcher, Russian Ethnographic Museum
This article is devoted to the analysis of the image of the shaman in the Manchu epic “Nishan Samani Bithe” — the most famous written work of the Manchus, originating in oral folklore and shamanism. This work is widespread among the peoples of Manchuria. The scholarly novelty of the article consists in its ethno-cultural “shamanic” reading of the folkloric narrative of the Manchus in comparison with the folklore and rituals of other Tungus-Manchu peoples. The methodology of analyzing folklore includes the hermeneutical, comparative-historical and semantic approaches. The article analyzes individual elements of Manchu shamanism reflected in their shamanic epic, including: shamanic disease; the formation of a shamaness; the rituals of kamlaniia; the soul’s journey to the lower world; the world of the dead; shamanic clothing, attributes, and spirit-assistants. The historical foundations of Manchu shamanism as reflected in Jurchen beliefs and archaeological artifacts are noted. Attention is also drawn to Buddhist influence on the shamanic epic of the Manchus. Of particular interest are ethnocultural parallels in the image of the shaman and the shamanic elements of the Manchus to those of the Nanai, Oroch, Evenks, and Udege peoples. Comparative analysis shows the commonality of Tungus-Manchu shamanic ideas contained in their folklore.
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