Shamanic and Mythic Cultures of Ethnic Peoples in Northern China II: Shamanic Divination, Myths, and Idols

This two-volume ethnological study investigates shamanic rituals, myths, and lore in northern China, exploring the common ideology underlying the regions' cultures. The second volume focuses on northern shamanic divination, spirit idols, and folklore, revealing shared patterns of thought, cultural integration, and interactions with the natural world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 182 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Based on extensive field research spanning decades and enriched by the authors deep religious, cultural, and historical insights, extending back to the Qing dynasty, ancient archaeological discoveries, and the legacy of the Siberian peoples, this two-volume ethnological study delves into shamanic rituals, myths, and lore in northern China. It explores the underlying common ideology that shaped the region's cultures.

The second volume specifically focuses on northern shamanic divination, spirit idols, and folklore, encompassing myths from the Manchu-Tungus, Manchu creation shrine tales, and individual tribal myths. This mythic heritage reveals shared patterns of thought among the ethnic peoples of northern China, highlights their cultural integration with Buddhist, Daoist, and Han Chinese cultures, and demonstrates their understanding of the natural world, the creation of humankind, social life, and history. It also sheds light on their interactions with their surroundings.

In contrast to the prevailing notion that shamanic practice is solely a supernatural spirit journey, shamanic spirituality in northern China is characterized by its functionality and practicality in daily life situations. This book holds immense value for scholars of religion, anthropologists, and ethnologists specializing in shamanism studies, Northeast Asian folklore, and Manchu studies.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367676544