This week we are back on our Trans-Siberian Experience, still exploring Buryatia, and delving into the Shamanistic world common in this neck of the woods.
Trips and Tales (Part 74 ): Tribal Lines Part 3
This was something that I had been looking forward to for weeks – since our blog about modern day Buryatia creeds. And now here I am: connected across land, sea, time and culture to the other side of the world. To another world even, it certainly feels that way. We’re sparking across parallel existences here: two tracks set never to connect except by some transitory electrical blips.
I must have been leaving college when Igor went full-time. Imagine this: someone tells a stray 18 year old that decades away he would be asking questions of an 82 year-old Shaman from Buryatia via this thing called The Internet, using its technology to track down magic. Where? No way!
Imagine this: Igor heads home from the state-owned logging company on his final work-day to be told that this oddball disembodied voice from the West would, decades away, be taking an interest in his beliefs now that he has turned his life-changing corner. Well, why? From the West? Who would have thought it?
For one who embraces the world of the spirits as a norm, such a prospect may have seemed like relatively small-potatoes in comparison. And so here we are, in momentary convergence.
Yes, prior to following his Shamanistic path he had been logging under the Soviet regime or system, whatever you want to call it. It had always been a foregone conclusion though, that his life would turn a full 90 degrees at some point, as sure as night becomes day. His ancestors had been Shamans, passing the duty down the line until one day it was knocking upon his door. Before that, he performed some Shamanic practices on a seemingly “ad-hoc” basis. So, previously a part time Shaman, then? On the page that description seems to belittle both the practice and the practitioner. Think: Sunday-afternoon Christian within our reference.
Reading between the lines – and hearing it through the translator too: it sounds to my non-expert ears that the Shamanic calling is either with you or not. If you have to try to be it, then you aren’t one, perhaps? So it was with Igor all the time, though in his previous existence he chose to embrace it as needed whilst still earning a living. A foot in both worlds, then.
It was difficult at first, he says: to get the rituals right. His magical procedures may take from 30 minutes to 4 hours and, as a Shaman, he must be very strict in adhering to the correct protocol throughout. It’s all to turn the metaphysical machinery, to make it work, to respect the spirits (essential) and therefore to successfully enlist their aid. Fortunately, Igor tells me that the spirits of his ancestors visited him in his dreams (they still do) and assisted in his learning; speaking in images to show how he should correctly lead those all-important rituals that he feels a great responsibility to get right. Now by his own admission he is “very good” at his practice and wishes me to be equally as good in my own work. I’m glad to hear it.
It’s worth establishing the Earth-Spirit setup as Igor experiences it: for instance, he doesn’t visit the Spirit World – he says they live “in the sky” – but invokes his ancestors, the spirits and gods who dwell there. They in turn communicate with him through dream images. He tells me that it is rare to actually see a spirit but they may appear as human beings, and then almost always in dreams.
It seems that his version of celestial real-estate is arranged similarly to ours: equivalents to Heaven, Earth and Hell, with good, mortal and bad allocated respectively. He describes spirits as “good” or “evil” and – perhaps this is warped in translation – “smiling” too.’ L’, my embattled translator re-frames this as “funny”, perhaps friendly?
At any rate, at the top of the tree are the gods who may watch, help and protect mere mortals, whilst spirits can assist as a more lower-level “support” to this end. They in turn are not considered as powerful or important, but as with all supernatural entities: worthy of a cautious respect at the very least.
More Igor next time.
[Photo by Hombit]
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