Shamanic Narrative in Modern Buryatia

The article provides a semantic, functional and structural analysis of the autobiographies of modern Buryat shamans in order to determine stable elements and functions, which can later help in determining the relationship between tradition and innovation in shamanism. The article is based on the author's field material collected in August 2021 in Ulan-Ude in the local religious organization of shamans “Tengeri”. A semi-structured interview method was used in the survey. The field research data are compared with the results of the analysis of the autobiographies of the Nganasan shamans, given in the article by O. B. Khristoforova. In the course of the study, it was revealed that the narratives of modern Buryat shamans are rather spontaneous arguments of interlocutors (in response to the researcher's questions), rather than stable established stories. Nevertheless, elements of traditional shamanic folklore can be found in the autobiographies of modern shamans: narratives about shamanic illness and election. These two motives act as some kind of identification marker of belonging to the tradition (the function of substantiating the truth of the shamanic gift), which is important for modern shamans. However, we can notice that the function of “interpretation of psychophysiological states” is weakened due to the formation of a shaman in a different socio-cultural context, and the description of visions during shamanic illness is either absent or taboo. New motives are highlighted in the autobiographies of our respondents: “the search for a solution to the crisis”, “shamans of the Soviet period” and “changing lives”. These motifs can be attributed to the elements of innovations that complement and develop traditional plots.