“Dealing with Uncertainty: Shamans, Marginal Capitalism, and the Remaking of History in Postsocialist Mongolia.”

In this article, Buyandelgeriyn explore the proliferation of
previously suppressed shamanic practices among
ethnic Buryats in Mongolia after the collapse of
socialism in 1990. Contrary to the Buryats’
expectation that shamanism would solve the
uncertainties brought about by the market economy,
it has created additional spiritual uncertainties. As
skeptical Buryats repeatedly propitiate their angry
origin spirits to alleviate the causes of their
misfortunes, they reconstruct their history, which
was suppressed by state socialism. The Buryats make
their current calamities meaningful by placing them
within the shifting history of their tragic past. The
sense of uncertainty, fear, and disillusionment
experienced by the Buryats also characterizes daily
life in places other than Mongolia. This study reflects
broader anthropological concerns about the
emergence of new cultural spaces and practices in
former socialist and preindustrial societies
undergoing transitions to market economies.
[shamanism, market, state, postsocialism,
uncertainty, Mongolia, Buryats, violence]