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Shamanism, a form of mysticism, was the dominant belief system at the time of Chinggis Khaan. Shamanism has deep connections with the earth. Digging the soil and cutting the grass are seen as profane. This is the reason why agriculture has traditionally been looked down upon by Mongolians.
Shamans act as intermediaries between the spirit world and human world. Shamans live alone in isolation, but are always available to protect their clan and their herds from disease and evil spirits. Shamans can go into a trance for as many as six hours to accompany the soul of a dead person to the other world. Sometimes shamans inherit their powers, and other times their powers become apparent after a sudden period of sickness.
Ritualised and theatrical Tsam dances are performed to exorcise evil spirits. The papier-mâché masks are often implanted with precious stones. The most famous tsam figure is Tserendug, the White Old Man, a former shamanic figure who is revered as the guardian of fertility.
Today, shamanism is practised by the Tsaatan, Darkhad, Uriankhai and Buryat people, who live in the north of Mongolia. The most obvious manifestations of shamanism are the Ovoo.
OVOOS
Throughout Mongolia, on the crest of hills and passes, one finds Ovoos, ubiquitous piles of stones. The building of these structures is an ancient custom that proceeded Buddhism and even Shamanism. These cairns were likely to have originally been tombstones related to archaic funeral cults. Later they became shamanistic altars. Consequently they are closely related to the cult of ancestral spirits.
Each clan has its particular Ovoo, which marks the symbolic limits of the clan's territory. Rituals, offering food and sacrifices, to the souls of the dead, spirits of nature, earth and water, are carried out to guarantee the protection of the spirits over that land.
The communists tried to rid the countryside of Ovoos, they condemned them as suspicious and backward. But regardless of past political and religious changes, the ovoo has maintained its importance.
Mongolians circle the ovoo three times in a clockwise direction. Their circumambulations are in the same direction as the stars and sun; Mongolians hope to join the cosmic process. Not so cosmic are the items left as offerings. Today ovoos have scattered upon them car parts, empty bottles and matchboxes. A lame person may place a crutch upon the ovoo. These offerings are not seen as junk but as meaningful gifts.
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