The collapse of socialism at the end of the twentieth century brought devastating changes to Mongolia. Economic shock therapy—an immediate liberalization of trade and privatization of publicly owned assets—quickly led to impoverishment, especially in rural parts of the country, where Tragic Spirits takes place. Following the travels of the nomadic Buryats, 1999 IDRF Fellow Manduhai Buyandelger tells a story not only of economic devastation but also a remarkable Buryat response to it—the revival of shamanic practices after decades of socialist suppression.

Attributing their current misfortunes to returning ancestral spirits who are vengeful over being abandoned under socialism, the Buryats are now at once trying to appease their ancestors and recover the history of their people through shamanic practice. Thoroughly documenting this process, Buyandelger situates it as part of a global phenomenon, comparing the rise of shamanism in liberalized Mongolia to its similar rise in Africa and Indonesia. In doing so, she offers a sophisticated analysis of the way economics, politics, gender, and other factors influence the spirit world and the crucial workings of cultural memory. Buy it on Amazon.

Publication Details

Title
Tragic Spirits: Shamanism, Memory, and Gender in Contemporary Mongolia
Authors
Buyandelgeriyn, Manduhai
Publisher
University of Chicago / University of Chicago Press
Publish Date
November 2013
ISBN
9780226086569
Citation
Buyandelgeriyn, Manduhai, Tragic Spirits: Shamanism, Memory, and Gender in Contemporary Mongolia (University of Chicago / University of Chicago Press, November 2013).
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