1°
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON CENTRAL ASIAN SHAMANISM

June 20-26 1996 the First International Symposium on Central-Asian Shamanism was held in Buryatia, organized by the Academy of Science and the Association of BuryatianShamans.
Chiarman prof. Irina Urbanaevna
The congress explored a series of fundamental points identifying the function of shamanism and its role in the development and safeguarding of its culture in this remote area of our planet.
The participants, both shamans and scientists from all over the world, exchanged viewpoints on the various aspects of the shamanic inheritance of Central Asia and on the problems of methodology connected with the study of the shamanic reality.
The topics discussed were: the problem of shamanic initiation and the trance, its function as a healing method, the comparison with other religious systems and with other systems such as transpersonal psychology and bioenergetics .
In fact shamans are men and women who from birth have the power of seeing and hearing the Spirits. For this reason they can act as intermediaries between our material world and the parallel world inhabited by the Spirits, a world of subtle energies. The shaman's main function is to maintain the balance or harmony between these two dimensions. His role or capacity is to contact the Spirits in order to cure and pacify disturbances of a single person or of a community.
During the 70 years of communist regime the shamans were unable to exercise their function because of Stalin's anti-religious campaign which, in the 30's, saw many shamans imprisoned and killed.
Even now, ten years after the fall of the Communist regime, there were great difficulties to organize the congress on shamanism and perform the first official Taylgan (ritual ceremony) since 1930.
Still many shamans came from all of Buryatia's neighboring countries, Mongolia and Caucasia.
Moreover the realization of this congress demonstrated a peculiarity in the position of the shamans coming from the ex- communist countries. Many of them are professors at the Russian Academy of Sciences or the Academy of Culture, and for this reason they were able to arouse the interest and attention of the Russian Universities and cultural institutions.
In fact, the Academy of Science specifically organized the "scientific" part of the congress, that is the exchange and confrontation between scientists coming from all over the world.
So the organization of the congress was on one hand an opportunity of opening up to the international scientific world, but mainly it gave the shamans the possibility of reuniting and has set the foundation for a greater collaboration.
During the opening conference, which took place at Ulan Ude, capital of Buryatia, many different shamans have testified to the importance of this meeting.
To quote their words: "…Our fathers would have never dreamt of such a meeting taking place."
The President of the Association of Buryatian Shamans, Nadia Stepanova, a shaman herself, organized a Taylgan at lake Bajkal involving the presence of many shamans to honor Erkem Baavai, a mythical figure among shamans, protector of the holy Island of Olkhon, and his son the Eagle.
Nadia Stepanova is one of the most interesting figures in Buryatian shamanism today. With a degree in Education she has been teaching shamanism at the Eastern Siberia Academy of Culture. Since the changes of perestrojka, Nadia Stepanova has been fighting to keep these teachings alive, inviting shamans to abandon secrecy and share their knowledge.
Nadia Stepanova has a very clear vision of her work, its historical meaning, the necessity of preserving ancient teachings while the old shamans, who have a direct lineage are still alive.
An energetic and lively woman, she believes that future generations will acquire new degree of consciousness if they learn to know themselves and explore beyond all barriers including those created by different religious backgrounds. Buryatia is a country where different ethnic groups with different religious traditions coexist. About 300 years ago Tibetan Buddhism arrived to Buryatiafrom Mongolia and since then a combination of shamanic and buddhist beliefs has been the dominant religion.
Signs of integration between these two religions are quite common.
In our interview with Subto Lama, Abbot of the Ivolga Datsan, the Buddhist monastery of Ulan Ude, he told us that a good relationship exists between the shamans and the Buddhists to the point where
Buddhist practitioners commonly use some shamanic practices today.
According to Prof. Irina Urbanevna many lamas in Buryatia have assimilated the traditional shamanic procedure of performing rituals for the benefit of others by acting as an intermediary between our samsaric reality and different other dimensions more than a traditional Buddhist lama would do.
Prof. Irina Urbanevna is recognized to be a shaman and also a disciple of H.H. the Dalai Lama.
The Mongolian shaman Tserin Zarin Boo the highest-ranking shaman alive today in Mongolia and Buryatiawas the most important and widely recognized shaman present at the congress.
Tserin Zarin Boo is proof of the collaboration and integration between shamanism and Buddhism. He was born in Buryatia but soon fled to Mongolia escaping Stalin's repression. His spiritual education began at the age of eight in a Buddhist Monastery and soon after, at the age of thirteen, the first signs of his shamanic "calling" appeared. As a result he continued his education by preparing to become a shaman.
His life is a long story of great suffering; he spent eight years in jail accused if being a shaman. Now that the perestrojka has reached Mongolia as well, he is recognized as being the highest religious figure among Mongolian and Buryat shamans.
He is a great healer, specialized in mental illnesses. His presence at the congress was an important event as it marked the return to his motherland for the first time.
When the congress transferred to the shores of lake Bajkal the shamans honored Tserin Zarin Boo by asking him to celebrate the opening ceremony at the Taylgan. When we arrived a very cold wind was blowing and the
waters were dark. The shamans said the lake was angry. As the ceremonial drums played, Bajkal calmed down and the sun appeared to warm us.
Tserin Zarin Boo, assisted by two other shamans, Bazar Boo and Bair Boo, wore an old shamanic costume which weighed over 140 pounds.
A fringe hung from his hat so his face would be covered during the trance, as is the custom among Siberian shamans.
To return the hospitality of the Buryatian shamans, Tserin Zarin Boo celebrated an initiation ritual for all the shamans present and gave each one of them a title.
The highest title were given to Nadia Stepanova, Levantii Abzayevich, Jambal Tave and Valentina Baldakhnova. Vera Nagyslaeva and Tania Kobezhikova were nominated "shamans with bells", others were called "shaman that holds the drum" and 'greatest expert in rituals."
Among Buryatian shamans Levantii Abzayevich is one of the most important figures. He is Nadia Stepanova's teacher and has initiated many shamans in Buryatia. He played a very relevant role in the renaissance of Buryatian shamanism.
The next day it was the Buryatian shaman's turn to officiate a cerimony in honor of the protector of the island of Olkhon, Erkem Baavai, and his son the Eagle and the local protectors.
The cerimony began in the morning and finished at sunset. All the shamans met at the shores of the lake and started the offering of milk, butter and vodka to the Spirit of the Fire. Levantii Abzayevich after evoking his ancestors, his spiritual lineage presented himself to the Gods and Spirits, asking for protection for all the people present.
The ceremony ended with the sign the shamans were waiting for: an eagle circled the fire and slowly widening the circle he finally disappeared.
The wholeness of the place, of the earth and the sky, of the lake and the fire, the cows that wandered among the people while birds flew high above us could be perceived in one glance.
On the following day the shamans went on a pilgrimage to the Rock of the Shaman, on the island of Olkhon. This ancient holy site is a pilgrimage for all the peoples of this area. It is a pilgrimage specifically to honor the protector of the sacred island and the Eagle, his son.
An ancient legend says that Erkhem Bavai, a shaman, married a Buryatian woman and they lived on the island of Olkhon. They had no children, but instead raised an eagle. When the shaman had become too old to fetch food for his family he asked the eagle to help him.
The eagle took care of the old couple for as long as they lived.
Before dying the old man said to the eagle:
"…Now you are my son. Future generations will honor you and will address their prayers to you, as they will do to me."
Our trip lasted one day and one night. During this time the shamans practiced with no interruption. The atmosphere was full of the strong energy of the lake very conductive to a state of concentration and
serenity.
It was very cold. Above the ferryboat, heavy low clouds covered most of the sky. The water's surface was "as smooth as silk."
For the Mongols it was a great gift: up until a few years ago they believed that never in their life would they have been able to reach the holy island.
All of a sudden the shape of a knight made out of light shined through the clouds following us for a while. As Nadia Stepanova explained it was a welcoming Spirit manifesting itself in a way that also common people like us could see it!
From Brazil, Canada, USA , Corea, Hungary, France, Austria, Russia and Mongolia and of course Buryatia many researchers took part in the congress.
The largest foreign group, came from Italy. Among them ten psychologists and psychiatrists essentially interested in the healing techniques of the Siberian shamans, particularly to a different approach to mental disease and a deeper understanding of the way energy manifests both in man and in the environment.