Mongolian and Buryat shamanism

Domain XI · Traditional medicine & indigenous healing · Mongolia and Buryatia

What it is

Mongolian and Buryat shamanism is a living spiritual and healing tradition, not a psychotherapy. A shaman (böö; female udgan, male zairan) is understood within the tradition to work with guardian and ancestral spirits (ongod) on behalf of individuals, families and clans. Practitioners and clients…

Format

• Teachers and other shamans: recognition is conferred socially, through initiation witnessed and blessed by other healers and the community. Teacher-led disciple groups and shamanic centres (böögiin gal) have become institutionalised; terms include bagsh (teacher) and zamch (guide).
• Phase 1: Engagement and cultural assessment (sessions 1–2, about 60–90 minutes each).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Mongolian organisations: Blue Temple of Heaven (Tengeriin Khökh Süm, established 1990 by the shaman Tseren Zairan); the Mongolian Shamanic Golomt Centre (Ulaanbaatar, May 1996, initiated by Shagdarjavyn Sükhbat); Spirit of Heaven Association (Tengeriin Sülder, first congress 2003, 126 shamans); the Corporate Union of Mongolian Shamans (2012). As of 2023, Mongolia had fourteen officially registered shamanic centres…
• Buryat organisations (Russia): the Local Religious Organisation of Shamans Tengeri (Ulan-Ude; head named as B. Tsyrendorzhiev), which became the Inter-Regional Centre of Shamans Khaan-Tengeri in 2013; Tengeri was co-founded by Oleg Dorzhiyev. Shaman centres also operate in Irkutsk. Shamanic groups registered as religious organisations; under Russia's 2012 health-care law, spiritual healing is treated as unrelated to…
• State: in Mongolia, registering as a religious organisation is described as challenging; there is no verified national licensing of shamans. In 2012 President Elbegdorj publicly suggested prohibiting the initiation of new shamans; no ban is reported as enacted.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Goals: evidence-based treatment for any diagnosed disorder, adapted to the client's model; integration of consultations; family and intergenerational work; safeguarding review.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• worsening symptoms; secrecy about remedies. Working when medical and traditional care run in parallel.
• fatalism ("the spirits will decide"); heavy drinking. Working when the client engages in a safety plan.
• debt, fear of spiritual retaliation for refusing, isolation from family. Working when the client can set limits or seek help.
• the client's voice disappearing; family pressure about fees or a calling. Working when family members support the agreed plan.
• the client fearing you will call it "madness"; family conflict over the meaning. Working when the idiom becomes a shared word in sessions.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.