Spirit work
The Tuvan shaman and the drum
A kham, a Tuvan shaman, calls helping spirits with a drum and juniper smoke in a rite for a family or a place.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
In Tuva, a republic of Russia on the Mongolian border, and in parts of Mongolia and Siberia, a shaman is called a kham and works with a hide drum, a rattle of bells and a long coat. A rite may be asked by a family for illness, loss or bad luck, or by a community for a place. The shaman is believed to call the helping spirits, speak with them and return with an answer.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Hide drum (dungur)ToolBeaten to call and carry the spirits.
- Juniper smokePlantBurned to cleanse the space and the people.
- Shaman's coat and bellsObjectCarry the spirits' marks.
- FireSubstanceThe hearth fire receives offerings.
- Milk or teaOfferingSprinkled to the spirits.
- Song and chantWordUsed to call and speak to the helping spirits.
- Tool
- Plant
- Object
- Substance
- Offering
- Word
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Cleanse The place and people are smoked with juniper. Step 2: Light The hearth fire is fed and honoured. Step 3: Speak The shaman sings to the helping spirits. Step 4: Circle The drum is beaten as the shaman enters trance. Step 5: Read The spirits answer through the shaman, who reports the advice. Step 6: Close The drum is stilled and thanks given.
A rite in outline
A common beginning is a cleansing with the smoke of juniper, artysh, then the beating of the drum to call the spirits, while the shaman sings in a changed voice. The spirits are fed with milk, tea or grain thrown to the fire, and the shaman may speak to the family in their name. The details belong to the shaman's lineage and are not for outsiders to copy.
Suppression and revival
Under the Soviet state shamans were persecuted and drums were destroyed, and many practices went underground. After 1990 a revival took place, with a shamans' society in Kyzyl and a growing number of practitioners, and also of tourists and sellers. People inside the tradition warn about those who sell shamanic experiences without having been called and trained.
What it is for
- Seek help for a family in trouble
- Honour the spirits of a place
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Tuvans (The people.), Shamanism (The wider category.), Juniper (The plant used for cleansing smoke.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.