article
Flights of the sacred: symbolism and theory in Siberian shamanism
American anthropologist • 98 (2) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 305-318
By: Balzer, Marjorie Mandelstam.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is an article on bird symbolism in Sakha (Yakut) shamanism. Birds and other animals are spirit helpers of shamans, and in some cases are also the doubles of the shaman, whose soul is carried by birds or is temporarily transformed into a bird. The author discusses various theoretical interpretations of the bird symbol, including the ability of birds to fly, walk and swim, and therefore penetrate and navigate different worlds. The article includes a discussion of the resurgeance and popularization of shamanism in Siberia, after a period of repression under the Soviets. The International Khomus Center offers group therapy based on shamanistic curing practices. Politically, shamanism has become a symbol of an emerging Sakha ethnic identity.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Magical and mental therapy
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Animism
- Spirits and gods
- Ethnozoology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Yakut
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1997
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- North Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1986-1995
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1940s-1990s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern Sakha Republic, Russian Federation
- NotesAdditional notes
- Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 17015424
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Yakut (Turkic people)