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Shining Colors of Traditional Clothes Mongols do like to wear nice, richly decorated clothes compensating the simple ascetic nomadic lifestyle. A harsh climate and uneasy life demand attention to smallest details of the clothes. "It is amazing how this nation created clothes fitting all seasons and needs, well thought off and used in many different ways," wrote Medieval travelers.
Fairy tales, quizzes and puzzles serve as entertainment but also teach the meaning of the world and the nature of human beings.
People's belief and attitudes toward the unexplainable secrets of the world.
Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Heavenly Objects The core beings in the shamanist religion are Father Heaven (Tenger Etseg) and Mother Earth (Gazar Eej). In history Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan), the unifier of the Mongolian nation, based his power on a mandate from Tenger himself, and headed all his declarations with the words "by the will of Eternal Blue Heaven." Father Heaven is worshiped for what he is, the timeless and infinite blue sky. He is not visualized as a person, although he is said to have at least two sons. Worship of Father Heaven and Mother Earth is almost universal in Siberia, and is found in North America as well. The weather is seen as a direct manifestation of Tenger’s disposition. Tenger is the creator and sustainer of balance in the world, and the natural processes of weather and the circular motion of the seasons is sustained through him. Lightning is a sign of Tenger’s displeasure or an indication of a site of high spiritual powers. When a lightning strike is a sign of displeasure, a shamanist ritual and yohor dance are made around the site where the lightning hit in order to send it back up to Heaven. Objects struck by lightning or meteorites and ancient artifacts are called Tengeriin Us (Heaven’s hair). They contain a spirit (utha) which is a concentrated package of Heaven’s power. Lightning struck objects (nerjer uthatai) and meteorites (buumal uthatai) can be placed in milk or liquor to energize the liquid with the spirit of the object. Shamans drink this preparation to incorporate the power of the utha spirit. Another form of Tengeriin us is the bezoar stone, which is used in rainmaking magic. No shamanist ritual starts without the invocation of Father Heaven, Mother Earth, and the ancestors. Everyday activities acknowledge Tenger’s presence and is integral to living one’s life aligned with the balance of the universe. When a new bottle of liquor is opened, the top portion of the contents is poured into a container, taken outside, and offered to Father Heaven, Mother Earth, and the ancestors. This ritual, called tsatsah, is a very crucial one in the religion of Mongolia and Siberia. Housewives also offer milk and tea in the same way, walking around the ger flicking the liquid three times in each of the four directions. Tenger’s role in determining fate is acknowledged in everyday speech in phrases such as Tengeriin boshig (Heaven’s will). Women are required to keep their kitchens and cooking utensils clean because to allow them to become dirty is an insult to Father Heaven. Prayers and offerings are made to Tenger on holidays and at times of sacrifices to the mountain spirits. There is also a special sacrifice to Father Heaven in times of emergency which is a private ritual. Rainmaking rituals directly address Tenger, and are held at oboo shrines dedicated to Tenger and the mountain spirits. Every human being has the right to appeal to Tenger directly for help; however when balance has been disrupted by calamity or the intrusion of a powerful spirit the shaman will use the power of his spirits to restore his patient’s connection with Tenger and state of balance with the universe. The crown of the head has a small piece of Tenger residing in it; it is the point of connection between the individual standing in the center of his world and heaven above. This point receives energy from Tenger which flows down the center of the person’s soul sphere. This piece of Tenger in a person’s crown has a counterpart star in the heavens. The star shines brighter or dimmer according to the strength of the person’s windhorse. At death, the star goes out. Mother Earth (Gazar Eej), like Father Heaven, is not visualized in human form, but for what she literally is, the earth from which we draw nurturance and nourishment. She is also called Itugen, and the names for shamans, especially female shamans, are variations on the name (yadgan, utgan, udagan, etc.). This implies that shamans, have a very strong association with the veneration of Mother Earth. Her daughter, Umai, is the womb goddess and caretaker of the body souls roosting in the World Tree. Umai is also known as Tenger Niannian, which comes from the Tungus word for "soil." Trees are a manifestation of Mother Earth’s power, and worship of Mother Earth may be done at trees which suitably reflect her power and beauty. Mother Earth and her daughter Umai are appealed to for fertility. Another daughter of Mother Earth and Father Heaven, Golomto, the spirit of fire, is spoken of as begotten by flint and iron. Sitting beneath the smoke hole in the center of the earth, the sunlight falling upon it from above and being created by products of the earth, minerals and plant materials, fire is a re-enactment of the original union between heaven and earth. The light of the fire is a reminder of the light of Heaven, and its heat recalls the nurturing quality of Earth. Like trees, all human beings draw strength from the Mother Earth below as well as receiving the energy of Father Heaven through the crown of the head. The sun and moon are the eyes of Tenger; they are also seen as two sisters, and their essences are fire and water. Their light represents the power of Tenger shining eternally upon the earth. The cycles of the sun and moon demonstrate the circularity of time and all other natural processes. For that reason, time is irrelevant from the standpoint of Siberian shamanism. Time circles around infinitely, so each point in time is in contact with every other. For that reason, time and distance have no meaning in shamanic rituals, and a shaman can be in direct contact with any time or location without moving. The center of the earth can be anywhere and in any time. The amount of buyanhishig available from heaven seems to vary directly with the moon cycle; the most powerful days are at the times when the moon is new or full. The sun cycle, the solstices as well as the equinoxes, is coordinated with the moon cycle to set dates for festivals. For instance, the White Moon Festival which starts the year is held on the first new moon after the winter solstice, and the Red Round Festival is held on the full moon closest to the summer solstice. Several other heavenly bodies are considered to have spiritual power. One is the planet Venus, Tsolmon, which can appear both in the morning or at night. It is often painted on shaman drums to invoke its power. Tsolmon is the sender of comets and meteors, which are called war arrows. The Big Dipper is called the Doloon Obgon (the Seven Old Men). Their position points out the location of the Pole Star (Altan Hadaas), which holds up the sky. The observation that the constellation rotates around the axis of the Pole Star through the year led to the creation of the has temdeg symbol, which superficially represents the swastika but actually represents the position of the Big Dipper in the four seasons. Interestingly, this symbol is not only found in Siberia but in several Native American cultures as well, which may indicate a very ancient origin. The Pleiades are revered as another group of powerful spirits, and it was also the place where the sky spirits of the western direction met to decide to send the eagle to the earth as the first shaman. During the White Moon festival fourteen incense sticks are kept lit, seven for the Seven Old Men, and seven for the Pleiades. The spirits of the ancestors are invoked in all rituals along with Father Heaven and Mother Earth. According to Siberian and Mongolian shamanist tradition the soul actually consists of multiple parts, usually three, each of which has a different fate after death. One sub-soul, known as the suld or unen fayenga, remains on earth perpetually as an ancestral spirit. Ancestral spirits remain in contact with their descendants and other relatives, usually as protectors and helpers. After several generations these spirits may not remain with their relatives’ households but will be available and ready to help when called. By that time they have become part of the group of ancestors invoked as deedes mini during prayer. Ancestral spirits, after ceasing to reside with their relatives, will usually find a residence in a natural place such as a rock, spring, or tree. They can be called by shamans as helper spirits during rituals and settled into an ongon spirit house. Certain spirits are recognized as ancestors even though they are not necessarily ancestors in a literal sense. Mongols revere Blue Wolf and Red Deer as their distant ancestors, and the Buryat Mongols have a mythical ancestor named Buh Baabai Noyon (Prince Father Bull). The bear is regarded as an ancestor by many Siberian groups, in fact the Mongolian word for bear is actually a form of the word "father" (baabgai). Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) is regarded as a protector ancestor spirit of the Mongolian people and is worshiped both as a patron of the nation and a protector of marriage. The sacred place of Mongolian dwellings usually include pictures of Chinggis Khan and deceased relatives and any ongons which shamans may have created for the family’s use. Tenger, Chotgor, and other Nature Spirits There are many different types of spirits in the sky and in nature; some are very strong and cannot be mastered by shamans, others are relatively easy to control. No spirit should be disturbed or controlled unless for the purpose of restoring balance, and not for any frivolous purpose. Spirits are not greater or lesser than living things with bodies, only different in essence, and should be treated with the same respect as humans or animals. The strongest of the nature spirits are the sky spirits, tenger, who live at each of the four directions. The eastern and western tenger are associated with the black and white shamans in those Siberian tribes that make the. The western tenger are said to have created man, the dog, and all the food animals, while the eastern tenger created the eagle, the animals forbidden to eat, and the disease spirits. Because the world needs balance between good and bad in order to be stable, the eastern tenger are not necessarily considered evil. The greatest of the western tenger is Ulgen, son of Father Heaven and lord of the spirits of the upper world. The greatest of the eastern tenger is Erleg Khan, Ulgen’s brother and lord of the spirits of the lower world. Usan Khan, the lord of the water spirits, is invoked from the southern direction; Keiden, also known as Tatai Tenger, is invoked from the north, he is the controller of violent weather, lightning, and tornadoes. Tenger are very powerful and cannot be controlled, but they can be called for assistance during shamanist rituals. The sky is also home to the endur spirits, who are the suns souls of humans that have lived such outstanding lives that they do not return to the lower world. They are not as powerful as tenger, but live in clouds and cause rain to fall. The earth is home to a great variety of spirits, including chotgor, ozoor, ongon, burhan, and gazriin ezen spirits. Among many Siberian tribes these nature spirits are known collectively as the ayyy. Chotgor spirits, also known as kut or abaasy, are frequently the cause of disease, mental illness, or confusion. Some chotgor are the suns spirits of dead people who did not find their way to the lower world or came back from the lower world. In such cases a shaman simply needs to send them to their proper home. Other troublesome spirits have never been incarnated but simply exist in nature. After being mastered by a shaman they can become helper spirits. Ozoor, ongon, and burhan spirits are generally neutral in their effects on people, but may occasionally cause problems. Ozoor and ongon spirits are frequently the suld souls of ancestors that are freely ranging in nature. They are some of the most important helper spirits of shamans. A special type of ongon spirit, known as the utha, follows shaman lineages and becomes like an extra soul as well as guide for the shaman. It does not incarnate in a shaman’s body but is a carrier of the collective memories of all the shamans that it has been associated with in the past. An utha spirit may start out as a shaman ancestor but after the original shaman of the lineage dies it attaches itself to shamans-to-be, bringing on the initiatory vision. Burhan spirits are very strong, and usually cannot be mastered by a shaman but simply urged to leave a patient alone if it causes illness. Shamans with very strong spirit helpers may be able to gain control of a burhan; in such a case it is tamed into a less powerful ongon spirit. Gazriin ezen are the master spirits of places on the earth, including mountains, bodies of water, rocks, trees, settlements, buildings, even countries. They sometimes come in conflict with ancestor spirits that want to inhabit the spots in nature that belong to them. Some funeral customs are directed at reconciling the suld spirit of the deceased and the gazriin ezen so that the ancestor spirit will be able to reside in nature peacefully.
In the world view of Mongolian shamanism the spirit world is not seen as much different from the physical world except that spirits have a different essence; in fact, the separation of the natural and spirit worlds is rather arbitrary since spirits are in everything everywhere. Spirits have different properties from beings with physical bodies, they can fly and travel anywhere with tremendous speed and see and sense things over great distances or in the past or future. What Westerners call telepathy or psychic abilities is merely the talent to sense things using the abilities of the spirits which inhabit human beings. People with strong windhorse are especially capable of psychic powers because windhorse raises one’s psychic energy. Shamans routinely take on qualities of spirits during their rituals, being able to fly freely to other places or sense things far away or in spirit form through the aid of their utha and other helpers.. A Multiplicity of Souls, their Form and Function All humans and animals possess more than one soul; multiple souls are required in order to inhabit a physical body. Throughout Siberia and Mongolia it is believed that all humans possess at least three souls; some groups such as the Samoyed believe there are more, four in women and five in men. Animals also possess two souls, the ami body soul and the suns soul, both of which reincarnate. For this reason, the game animals possess souls which return again and again to their habitat and must therefore not be offended. Human beings possess the following three souls (for simplicity I give only the Mongolian names):
The three souls reside in the field of energy that envelops the physical body. Of the three, the one most vital to life is the suld, if it is separated from the body death is practically inevitable. The other two souls may be separated temporarily from the physical body without harm. A living being occupies a spherical field of energy. This sphere has an upright axis within it, pierced by seven holes that correspond to the seven chakras. The suld soul resides at the crown of the head, where there is a direct connection to Father Heaven through the small tenger that is also located there. The other two souls oscillate back and forth through the holes of the body axis in a sine wave pattern. In order to be perfectly balanced, the suns and ami souls should always be on opposite sides of the axis. When a person become excited, the circulation of the souls through the seven holes speeds up, causing the heart to beat faster and creating a feeling of high energy or tension. The balance of the suns and ami souls can be thrown off balance by spiritual attack or physical trauma. In the most serious the ami or suns may get knocked out of the body and if this continues for a long time it will result in illness or mental confusion. In cases of soul imbalance or loss a shaman’s help is needed to restore order. The strength of the souls is proportional to the amount of hiimori (windhorse) a person possesses. Human awareness (setgel) is centered around the chest area and while the brain is recognized as being important to bodily function, the ultimate seat of consciousness is in the chest. The suld is the most individualized of the three human souls. It lives in a physical body only once, then takes residence in nature. After death it remains around the body for a while and some groups create ongon spirit houses for these souls in order to keep them near and have their aid and protection. After eight or so generations the suld will become a nature spirit. The suld carries no past life experiences so it develops the characteristics that distinguishes a person from other people. Charisma and dignity are evidence of a strong suld soul; for that reason suld is also used to describe the majesty of mountains or trees. The ami is the soul that enlivens the body. It is related to the ability to breathe, amisgal. It returns after death to the World Tree, where it roosts in its branches between heaven and earth in the form of a bird. Ami souls tend to reincarnate among their relatives. They are under the care of the womb goddess Umai, who dispatches them on spirit horses, omisi murin, to enter the body at the time of birth. While the ami may be temporarily displaced during illness, the ami does not leave permanently until after death. The suns soul, like the suld soul, contributes to the formation of a person’s personality, but carries the collected experiences of past lives within it. The suns is an inhabitant of the lower world between incarnations but may return as a ghost to visit friends or relatives. Erleg Khan, ruler of the lower world, is responsible for the disposition of the suns, and determines when and where it reincarnates. If a soul was extremely evil during its life on earth he may send it to Ela Guren, a part of the lower world where souls are extinguished forever. The suns may also temporarily leave the body and sometimes wander as far as the lower world, which may require a shaman to negotiate with Erleg Khan for its return. The triad of souls which comprises human beings can be seen as a combination of essences from all three worlds. The suld is the most closely tied to this world because it lives no place else. The ami lives on the World Tree and is practically a being of the upper world. The suns is definitely a part of the lower world. The need for multiple souls in order to be a visible physical entity implies that a physical living being represents an intersection of spirits from more than one of the three worlds. When Spirit and Earth Touch: Customs, Taboos, and Ongons As I stated earlier, the spirit and physical worlds are not really separated since they touch in many places everywhere. However, there are certain situations where the spirit world and this world touch in dramatic ways that require special notice and are regulated by specific rules of behavior. This can be embodied in a person, such as a shaman, a newborn, or a deceased individual. Physical sites where spirit and earth touch are in sacred sites such as mountains, trees, or oboo, or in a specially devised dwelling place for a spirit called an ongon. Contact with spirits can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the type of spirit involved and its character. It can also present some danger to the well being of a person’s souls because they may be tempted to follow spirits into other worlds. While contact with a shaman is normally quite safe because his spirits are employed for beneficial purposes, other people with contact with the spirit world can be quite dangerous. Spirit possession or influence can cause illness or insanity, and must be ended quickly. Newborn children and their mothers are sequestered for a certain amount of time following birth, not only to protect the newly entered souls of the child, but also because the entry of the souls through the mother makes her slightly other-worldly and dangerous to other humans. In the same way the household of a person who has died as well as the persons who dispose of the body become temporarily taboo because of their presence at the exit of souls from the world. The name of a dead person may remain taboo for a period of time lasting from a few days to forever. It is believed that the mention of the dead person’s name may call him or her back from the lower world or cause it to stay around. This is dangerous because dead people may try to take the suns souls of the ones they loved. Spiritually powerful places in nature require respect of the spirits that dwell there. Insults to the spirits can result in their attack on the offending person or his community. On the other hand, honoring the spirits of these places bring good luck and prosperity. A special site of contact between spirits and the physical world are ongons, specially created houses for spirits. These are beneficial as long as they are treated with honor. Ongons are one of the most important shamanist tools in Mongolia and Siberia, and almost all tribes use them. They come in many different forms; they can be carved out of wood, painted on leather, mounted on a wooden hoop or made out of metal. The materials used to make ongons includes wood, leather, felt, rocks, paper, fur, feathers, and metal. Some ongons are abstract and some resemble dolls. While the ongon may be made by ordinary people they are enlivened by the shaman who calls the spirit to occupy it. Most ongons are occupied by ancestor spirits or animal spirits, but some contain very powerful nature spirits. After being quickened an ongon is honored by being placed in the sacred place of the ger and fed offerings of liquor, blood, milk, or fat. Two of the most important ongons which are found in Mongolian households are Zol Zayaach and Avgaldai. Zol Zayaach is depicted as a male-female pair and is a protector of the household and herds; Avgaldai is a copper mask of the bear ancestor and is occasionally worn by a shaman in the triennial ominan ritual which honors all of the spirits and initiates new shamans. Shamans normally have a large set of ongons which house their helper spirits; in fact the shaman costume itself is an ongon of the shaman’s utha spirit. Special ongons may be created for healing and soul retrieval ceremonies and left with a patient in order to carry on the healing process and protect the patient’s souls. Temporary ongons of wood or grass are sometimes used in rituals to hold a disease spirit which is then released when the ongon is discarded out in nature afterward. Ongons are passed down from generation to generation because the spirit will continue to live in them and neglect of the spirit may make it turn hostile.
Referring to the spirituality of Mongolia and Siberia as shamanism is somewhat misleading, because a shaman is not revered himself but rather respected because of his special relationship with the spirits. Some scholars have taken to calling this traditional religion Tengrism, which is more appropriate because worship is centered on Tenger and the spirits. Everyday religious practices honoring the spirits does not require a shaman; only when his powers are needed to restore balance or heal illness will a shaman be called for assistance. Some tribes have more than one type of shaman, among some groups they are ranked by their power, or they will be differentiated as white or black depending on what spirits they use and where they travel. Among the southernmost Mongolian groups, such as the Dagur shamans work alongside other shamanlike practitioners such as bonesetters and other folk doctors some of whom also have helper spirits. Many groups have only one kind of shaman who is capable of doing the work of white or black shamans as well as folk doctors. For the sake of simplicity this type of shaman will be the model for the description in this paper. Shamans are distinguished from other people in that they have a shaman spirit which selects and initiates them. This spirit is known by many names, including utha, and onggor among the Buryat and Dagur. It acts like an extra soul and is a source of power and controls the shaman’s encounters with other spirits, some of which may also become helper spirits. While a shaman may show a proclivity for shamanizing from an early age, the utha (I use the Buryat term for simplicity) will manifest itself suddenly, resulting in mental or physical illness. During the course of the illness the shaman-to-be will have a vision in which the utha will initiate him. Common elements in the vision include travel to the upper world and the dismemberment and reassembly of the shaman’s body so that it will be new and empowered for his work. When the new shaman falls ill, the shaman who will examine him will recognize at once that he has been selected by an utha spirit. At that point if he agrees to become a shaman he can be healed, otherwise he will usually die. The training and initiation which follow his recovery are only a confirmation of the initiation which he experienced in the spirit world. The duties of a shaman include healing, blessing, protection, hunting magic, and occasionally weather magic. Healing is the most important of these because spirits are the cause of illness. Spirits can also be called to provide protection and improve luck. Hunting magic rituals put the shaman in touch with the animal and nature spirits who provide or withhold game. Weather magic usually involves rainmaking or sending lightning back to the sky, and requires direct contact with Tenger. Some rituals such as the oboo ceremony and ominan ritual last for several days and are meant to promote the welfare of the entire community. Shamans’ work may vary from simple fortunetelling to grand rituals lasting several days. Depending on the difficulty of the task a shaman may invoke his spirits to help him or to actually enter his body when a lot of power is needed. Shamans usually sing, drum and dance during performances. Shamans use several different tools in their work. Their costume and ongons are actual residences of their helper spirits. A one-sided hand held drum, usually 60 cm or more in diameter is used to drive the singing and dancing which are a part of most ceremonies. After the drum the most important tool of the shaman is the toli, a metallic circular mirror. A shaman will attach many toli to his costume if he can obtain them, but one toli over the chest is most important. A toli acts like armor, deflecting spirit attack, it can reflect light to blind spirits, and is also absorbs energy from the universe to increase the shaman’s power. Most shamans usually also have one or two staffs that represent horses which he rides on spirit journeys. Another tool which is found in many tribes is the dalbuur, a ritual fan which is used to drive out spirits from patients. Other musical instruments may be used by shamans, the jaws harp (aman huur) being the most common. Shamans from some tribes use masks, but the most common one is the bear mask used for the ominan ritual. Drumming, Hallucinogens, Paths to Ecstasy Although shamans are noted for going into trance for doing their work, not all rituals require it and the shaman performs many tasks in an ordinary state of consciousness. When an altered state of consciousness is required, however, there are many techniques which boost the shaman into the ecstatic state of mind that allows him to take on the qualities of a spirit and become clairvoyant and capable of spirit travel. Most rituals employ several of these techniques together in order to bring the shaman to ecstasy. The setting of the ritual is crucial to the effectiveness of a ritual. Shamanizing at night is conducive to achieving the trance state; in fact many spirits are not as effective when called during the day. The people attending the ritual can help the shaman reach a trance state by echoing parts of his song, beating drums, or shouting along with the drumming. Circle dances can raise energy and propel the shaman into the upper world. The beating of the shaman drum is the most powerful way to induce trance. Scientific studies have shown that repetitive rhythms at certain frequencies can induce a hypnotic state similar to the trance of shamans. Shaman’s drumming, however, does not have a metronome-like steadiness, but rather will slow down or speed up, get louder or softer depending on the state of the shaman’s mind at a given moment. Mongolian and Siberian drums are generally large in diameter and have a deep resonating sound that will vibrate through the shaman’s body, and the drum is frequently held near the face or over the head so that the beat will resonate through the head and upper body with great force. Intoxicants may be consumed before or during the ritual. Shamans frequently drink alcohol before shamanizing and pause at points during the ritual to smoke tobacco. Juniper, which is mildly hallucinogenic, is used in practically all rituals in Mongolia and in many parts of Siberia. The fumes of juniper will be waved in the face and inhaled, and the air of the ger will become thick with juniper smoke during the ritual. Sacred smoke is believed to raise windhorse and is pleasing to the spirits. A more potent hallucinogen, the muscaria mushroom, has been connected with Siberian and Mongolian shamanism from ancient times. Mushrooms may not always be consumed during shamanist rituals, but shamans may also consume the dried mushrooms on order to achieve ecstasy during times between rituals. Climbing the toroo tree is another path to ecstasy. In Mongolian the word to go out and to go up are the same word, garah. Chabros has suggested that the connection between those two meanings lies in shamanism. By symbolically ascending the representation of the World Tree the shaman is literally going out of this world into the world of spirit. The toroo tree has nine steps, and as the shaman climbs higher and higher, at the same time singing, the drumming and the encouragements of his audience will bring him to the ecstatic state. Some shamans will show their contact with the spirit world by singing hoomei (overtone or throat singing), which consists of a base note and a whistling overtone note. The overtones represent the contact with the spirit world while remaining physically on earth (represented by the base tone).
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