The Movement for Reconstructing Identity through Shamanism: A Case Study of the Aga-Buryats in Post-socialist Mongolia

Inner Asia 6(2004): 197-214

This paper focuses on the Aga-Buryats of Dornod province, a Mongol minority group in post-socialist Mongolia, and examines the role shamanism played in reconstructing their ethnic identity throughout their cultural revival movement. The paper stresses the socio-psychological aspects: their identity crisis after the collapse of the socialist regime and the role played by shamanism in dealing with this crisis and in reconstructing the Aga-Buryat ethnic identity.