A Shaman in Ulaanbaatar

We went to see a shaman in Ulaanbaatar. I was surprised when the place turned out to be in the city itself, and the shaman to be female. Yeah, dumb on both counts, but there it is.

In the picture above you can see the city in the background behind the ovo. We could see it from the street like a flag. I tried to get a picture from the street, but it came out blurred.

The shaman was kind enough to show us the various tools of her trade, and to talk a little about what she does. She is an hereditary shaman who took over her father’s practice ten years before. I neglected to write it down, but I believe she said she was the ninth generation in her family to be a shaman. Although many shamen come by it in other ways.

She received her training as a shaman from her father, but the two of them did not share spirit animals. Her was a deer. I can’t remember if his was a wolf or bear. The shaman will play various musical instruments as part of their ritual. They ride a drum made of the same skin as their spirit animal into the spiritual realms.

Other instruments may be used, including a Jew’s harp, or flute. They often hold a mirror in their left hand to help light the way through the different realms. They do this while burning juniper incense and wearing an outfit made for the rituals.

She makes her own outfits. She said the first she showed us (this one) was quite old. It turns out quite old was ten years old, and considered worn out. The next one pictured was six months old.

The top (I couldn’t tell if it was a jacket or some kind of jacket shawl hybrid) must have a particular number of danging bits, each one representing a particular heaven. For instance, there are 55 strips representing the 55 white heavens, and 44 strips for the 44 black heavens, green strips for a person’s most important parts, blue for the sky, and red for lives.

There is a kind of wing shape under the arms, and many noise makers attached all around so that every motion will make a sound and wiggles. This is to help with trance.

The hat includes a veil of fringe which is intended to cover the face and protect the shaman. Her boot were purchased. All of this she put over her street clothes – a nice top and jeans, when she modeled it for us.

At the end of her talk, she did a cleansing ceremony for us, only without any of the special clothes or formality. It reminded me a great deal of Native American smudging. She took a small bowl of juniper powder and lit it on fire, then held it before each of us and pounded on our backs.

The best part? She let us use her bathroom.