Summoning Souls - A Shaman's advent to Spiritual healing

Mention the word "soul" and it is likely to elicit a wide range of responses. For modern Americans, for example, the term may conjure up images of a very beloved African-American music, a festive Halloween celebration, or even a appetizing southern style meal. And for individuals with a religious bent, ideas about personal salvation and the afterlife are likely to be called to mind.

In Mongolia however the term has a unique history of its own. Its meaning is similar to the modern English word, yet there are very specific ideas about the souls' relation to the individuals' state of health.

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Like medieval ideas about the existence of evil spirits that were a part of many European communities, the Mongolian tradition provides detailed examples of malevolent soldiery that can enter the body and cause physical harm in the form of sickness. account for religious for the exorcism of these evil spirits were base in many parts of the world. Mongolia does however have a very animated ritual that is maybe isolate from these traditions and it has had a chronic impact upon many of its habitancy to this very day.

Not only can malevolent spirits infiltrate the body but also the soul of an private can be summoned by evil spirits to leave the body, as in the case of death. As means to counter these threats, account for religious rituals are performed by local shaman to call the soul back to the person's body.

Spiritual Remedies

In a animated record of this activity, a British anthropologist, C.R. Bawden documented a Shaman's effort to call the soul homeward. The shaman said:

"In your wisdom, do not go beyond but come, hither. What will you go to Erlig* for?

Come leaning on the arms of the demons and sprites in the south. Do not let your soul go into the ground.

Take and share of this blessed pure water.

Qung** Your .... is here. Your mom is here.

Your homeland is here. Your elder brother is here. Your younger brother is here.

Do not go beyond, beyond. Come hither, hither.

What will you go to the realm of Erlig for? Oh my dear come here!

Qung! Your sister is here. Your father's elder sister is here. Your good clothes are here. Do not go beyond, beyond.

Come hither, hither. Oh my dear, come hear.

Good clothes of yours are here. Your' dear loved ones are here. Why will you go to the realm of Erlig?

Do not go beyond, beyond. Come hither, hither."

The communal importance of Summoning Souls

A. Amarsanna, a cultural anthropologist at the National University of Mongolia, says about the process:

"Summoning souls is a very foremost communal phenomenon as it is the stock of an ancestral culture. The soul is associated to a person's relationship with his or her ancestors. This is very significant, as there is a full, belief that departed souls, and particularly the souls of ancestors, may have a expansive affect upon daily life.

When evil spirits cause the soul to leave the body, a shaman will achieve varied rituals to not only restore health, but to sacrifice any fear that may be caused by the onset of the illness. From a psychological standpoint this is very foremost for the indviduals' state of mind and the well being of the greater society as well.

These rituals are performed because there is a belief that sickness is caused by malevolent spirits or forces. This is in distinction to modern scientific theories about the chemical and molecular causes of illness. And as Mongolia is influenced by a great diversity of ideas both traditional and modern, concepts like these often co-exist".

A modern Shaman at Work

B. Zorigtbaatar, a local shaman, explains his attempts to summon the soul back to a sick person's body: " The soul may escape when man is shocked or becomes afraid. This may cause the man great harm or may even cause death. And because I have extra powers, I am able to call the soul back to the body to restore the person's health. I receive my abilities from heaven ... I can see the soul in a person's eyes. And I am able to see the souls of our ancestors ... My extra power comes from the moon, the stars and the sun."

While Zorigtbaatar spoke in a rambling, even incoherent voice, he verily seemed to lack no conviction about his ability to present with souls, spirits and a range of celestial bodies. During a ceremony packed with habitancy he acted like a man possessed by some sort of supernatural power. He banged upon his drum and shouted in a deep gravelly voice: "Spirit please come back! Return to our hearth and home! Again spirit please come back! Return to our hearth and home!".

Perhaps the most stunning feature of Zorigtbaatar's execution was his imposing, even intimidating appearance. The bearded robust shaman weighs maybe 140 kilos. And as he performed a series of short dance steps, man with an active imagination could even claim to have heard thunder.

Yet it was Zorigtbaatar's emotional intensity that left the deepest impression. As his gritty voice rose and fell with expansive differences in volume, it was accompanied by a quivering tone that seemed associated to some sort of religious fervor. And as I watched alternating facial grimaces that were maybe indicative of excruciating pain and blissful ecstasy, I wondered either this shaman was in fact in touch with some sort of deep magical experience.

I also wondered about the habitancy who had come to gawk this very surreal event. Were they in serious trouble? Were they merely trying to bring good fortune for themselves? Or were they just attracted to the sheer spectacle of this colorful happenstance.

Summoning Souls in the Twenty-First Century

As I left the shaman's sweltering ger after witnessing this dramatic event, my feelings were quite difficult to describe. I asked myself about the importance of such a ceremony in our very modern world. I also wondered about its impact upon the local people, either good or bad. And I also wondered about the extent to which this ceremony matched similar rituals that had been performed elsewhere in the very distant past.

With all of this in mind it is animated to reconsider the thoughts that lie behind this old ritual. Ideas about the material existence of mankind are verily a part of this event. A tendency to apply supernatural causes to account for ordinary daily events would seem to be a part of this process. maybe they are just old rituals performed as a means to supply concrete answers to varied human problems, in a world that may prove only too bewildering.

And for modern habitancy who enjoy the prospect of attempting to understand the science of mind behind these behaviors, and most importantly the old traditions of a nomadic people, the occasion to gawk such a ceremony is verily gratifying. It is at the same time however somewhat ironic that such activities are now again becoming increasingly prevalent as Mongolia enters the twenty-first century. We can only ponder what these activities might mean in the not so distant future.

Source:

Bawden, C.R., Calling the Soul: A Mongolian Litany, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 25, No. 1/# (1962), pp 81-103.

Footnotes

* Erlig: a) king of the underworld, the underworld, to die, to kill; b) a demon of the underworld, angel of death; C) enemy, bane.

** Qung: There is uncertainty about the transcription of the term "Qung" in the aforementioned text. There may have been an error when copying the term from the traditional transcription. The author believes that it is most probably an exclamation.

Summoning Souls - A Shaman's advent to Spiritual healing

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