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Articles and the Media
NOTE: Several of the full articles
linked to on this page are in .pdf format and will require that you
have
Adobe Acrobat
installed on your computer...
IN SEARCH OF TRADITIONAL SHAMANS:
Daur of Inner Mongolia, China, and the Tsaatan Reindeer People of Mongolia
Published in the Shamanism Annual issue of the Journal of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Issue 24, December 2011
Introduction: Susan Grimaldi, M.Ed., FSS Field Associate specializing
in AV Field Documentation, and John Lawrence, Ph.D. videographer and
photographer, recently undertook an expedition seeking Daur Shamans
in northern Inner Mongolia, China, and to find the Tsaatan nomadic
reindeer herders in the East Taiga of northern Mongolia. In both
places, they observed the shamans working and witnessed their
ceremonies, interviewed and filmed them. While in Inner Mongolia,
they were joined by FSS Field Associate, Kun Shi. Here is Susan’s
report of their experiences with the shamans they met, including FSS
Living Treasure, Daur shaman, Siqingua.
—the Editor
Click here to
download the entire article in PDF format
The Grimaldi/Lawrence/ EC
Flag (#74) Expedition to China (Inner Mongolia) and Mongolia, June
23-July 21, 2011
“Shamanic Traditions of the Tsaatan
Reindeer Herders of the Mongolian Taiga, and Daur
Shamans of Inner Mongolia ”
We were able to meet with the Duar shamans
in Northern, Inner Mongolia and observe their work and witness their
ceremonies. We also interviewed and filmed them. In Morin
Dawa, we attended a Nassam festival, and were received as invited guests
and shown every courtesy with our digital video and still photography.
We received a very warm welcome
and tremendous generosity as we were provided with extensive free
transportation, food, and hotel accommodations. Our presence
attracted unexpected press interviews, with TV and newspaper coverage
throughout our stay in Inner Mongolia.
Not without difficulty we were
able to cross the Chinese-Mongolian border by train and traveled in
comfort to Ulaanbaatar. After landing on a dirt runway at the
Moron airport, located several hundred miles north of Ulaanbaatar, we
set off in a sturdy 4-WD vehicle built in Belle Ruse. We headed west
and then north as we began our search for the nomadic Reindeer peoples'
encampment near the Russian Siberian border.
After leaving Moron there were no
roads, only un-graded meandering tracks which lead us over rough
terrain, through river beds, and over mountain passes, to our outfitters
station on Tsnaauur, (White Lake). From there we rode for two, very
long and challenging days through gorgeous fields of wild flowers, and
through boggy swamps, while we tried to keep our horses from floundering
in the miles of deep mud. We arrived in the western taiga, reaching
elevations of over 10,000 feet. We rode beside snowfields in near
freezing temperatures. We were traveling with a translator, and a cook,
along with four horsemen, and three packhorses, making a train of 11
horses. We arrived tired and covered in mud at the summer home of the
Tsaaten Reindeer People. We found them living in a high valley with a
stream of clear, mountain water running beside their teepees. A herd of
Reindeer was passing around us as they grazed. During our stay among the
Reindeer people we lived in a teepee.
While there we met with the
shaman, interviewed her, and filmed a shamanic ritual. She was very
informative and we were satisfied with our success.
We then had 36 more hours of hard
travel to get back to Moron. When back in Ulaanbaatar, we were able to
consult with authorities there and assess the resurgence of shamanism in
Mongolia.
_ _ _
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Video Sample of "Drums of the
Ancestors" from a 1995 expedition |
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This is a shortened
version of "Drums of the
Ancestors", a video
project I did in 1995 in
North China and Inner
Mongolia during a field
study by The Foundation
for Shamanic Studies,
offering a rare
opportunity to
experience the living
traditions of shamanism
as practiced by the
Manchu and Mongol
peoples. The film
includes an ancient
harvest festival, a
ceremony for healing,
and interviews with
shamans. To see the
video sample,
CLICK HERE
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I have had an article on Shamanism in China published in the
magazine "Shamanism", December, 2010, issue 23
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from the introduction...
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Fifteen years ago, Kun
Shi and Susan Grimaldi
joined the FSS
expedition to study the
Manchu and Mongol
shamans in Jilin and
Inner Mongolia. Ten
years later, the authors
participated in the
opening of the Museum of
Shamanic Culture at
Changchun University and
published in Shamanism
about the exciting new
developments in China...
This is a further update
about the continuing
revival of shamanism in
China, with a focus on
Daur shaman Siqinqua,
who is an FSS Living
Treasure of Shamanism.
CLICK HERE
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2010 Interview with Susan about Asian shamanic
culture conducted by Adam Silver, Executive Director of Asian
Cultural Center of Vermont, Inc.
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an excerpt:
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"...The
shaman knows the nature of suffering and holds the ability to seek a
vision of the healing. This understanding taps into a collective
source of human wisdom. Healing comes from nature. The vision
informs the shaman as the healing is conveyed. This guidance brings
the suffering person back to a state of ease. The shaman can travel
outside of time to when the ‘dis-ease’ first occurred. By
re-dreaming the experience, solutions are experienced, the suffering
is removed and the purity of the soul’s essence is restored.
"
Read
The Full Interview
(will open in its own window)
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Observations on Daniel Noel's
The Soul of Shamanism: A Defense of Contemporary Shamanism and
Michael Harner
an excerpt:
"Instead of appropriating
indigenous traditions, as Noel suggests, Harner is actively committed
to helping indigenous people reclaim their shamanic traditions... His
characterization of Harner's training programs is based on attending
one introductory weekend workshop with Harner in 1990..."
Read Full Article
an excerpt:
"(the woman) told me that
a special event would occur, an event she called an 'African Dance'...
the woman said there would be dancing to drums and that the people
were going to 'feed the sea'... She asked if I would like to go with
her. I had no idea that I was going to witness an ancient
healing and sacrificial ceremony... "
Read Full Article
an excerpt:
"We spoke later that week.
She told me that she had a restless night after the healing session
when she dreamed of volcanoes, fire, and floods. When she awoke
the next morning, the hives were gone and she returned to work".
Read Full Article
an excerpt:
"We see everything as
living, seeing and feeling. When a hunter goes into the forest, he
asks forgiveness... The transfer of knowledge from my mother to me
occurred daily. I learned that you never need to think that you are
stronger than nature... (Nadezhda Duvan, Wisdom Keeper")
Read Full Article
a description:
From an amazing trip to
China, I've been able to tell the story of three different Shamans -
in their own words. Read
Full Article
a description:
In July 1998, I joined with four
very special visitors from the Republic of Tuva: Professor Mongush
Kenin Lopsan, Ai-Churek Ouin, Sailyk-ool Kanchyyp-ool, and Rollanda
Kongar. They had traveled from the center of Asia to California to
teach aspects of their traditional shamanism to forty graduates of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies' Three-Year Programs. My great fortune
was to be there to learn from them, video-record their teachings, and
serve as one of their hosts.
Read Full Article
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I was featured in an article in
the September, 2003 issue of SELF
magazine, titled "A New
Prescription for Happiness"
by Deb Abramson. The section about my practice
is called "Shamanic Healing - The Chanting Cure"
Here is an excerpt where
Deb recalls her session with Susan:
"... her words are what
stay with me. Weeks later, I remember her description of a whole self,
along with her sky blue eyes, her attentiveness to my concerns, her
willingness to travel to the ends of the earth in search of scraps of
ether that are parts of me. In moments of doubt, I summon up her
faith, both in the process and in me, and I feel comforted... "
Click on the cover to
read the entire article
 In
the Fall/Winter 2006 issue of Shamanism, Volume 19, issue No. 2, you
will find my co-authored article, "Good
News Regarding the Tungus Shamans in Northern China: Field Notes from
Changchun and Wulajie in Jilin, China, May 2006"
by Susan Grimaldi and Kun Shi'
Below is a brief excerpt
(and great news about our friends in China)
"...Given the present revival of
shamanic traditions in China, coupled with increasing academic
freedom, Chinese researchers are valuing the shamans as transmitters
of culture and keepers of cultural traditions..."
Read Full Article
(230k PDF)
Susan and Kun with the shamans of
Wulajie
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