Therapeutic Activity of (Neo)Shamans and Healers of Sakha: From Tradition to Modernity

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2022-4/279-296

Abstract

The article is devoted to the transformation of the healing activity of Yakut healers and (neo)shamans. Referring to the field materials collected in Yakutsk and eight uluses of the Republic of Sakha, and to the relevant ethnographic literature, the author offers an overview of the methods currently used by Yakut practitioners and demonstrates the specifics of their social organization. An analysis of the transformations of ethnographic material reveals both the change in a number of surviving traditional methods and the emergence of new ones. This happens in the context of general sociocultural processes, such as the institutionalization and commercialization of sacred specialists, information globalization, and the development of intercultural interactions and connections. Particular attention is paid to the healing and cultural activities of algyschyts - priests who preserve and develop the art of spiritual blessings.