People's Republic of Mongolia was renamed to Mongol Uls in 1992, the next year of the collapse of Soviet Union. The socialist goverment which had continued for longest years of the world also collapsed. National economy is activated by introducing market economy. But at the same time the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. If you ask the people which is better before or after democratization, then the answer may be "Neither".

(Photo: People in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia)

Freedom of speech, assembly, and religion were granted after democratization. Especially the restoration of religion is remarkable. In Mongolia, people have believed in the syncretism of Tantric Buddhism imported from Tibet and native shamanism for long years. However, religious activities ware severely restricted in communist time. More than 20000 monks and böös (shamans) were killed by the goverment of Choibalsan who was supported by Stalin.

The great stature of Avalokitesvara (a kind of Boddhisattva), built in 1911 at Gandan Khlid, the head temple of Mongolian Buddhism, was destroyed by the communist. About 60 years later, the steture was reconstracted in 1996 (photo).

Shamanism has been supressed by Buddhist at medieval period and by the communist after revolution but supported by people especially in Khövsgöl aimag (province), the northest region of Mongolia.

"Böö is not a religion, but the power given by the land and mountains." says Ms. Byandaa udgan who is Dharkhad Mongolian living in Khövsgöl. (udgan means female shaman.) She don't use a drum in her ritual because her drum was seized by the police in Choibalsan time. In this ritual (photo), ongot (guarding spirits) came down to her, and then, her soul went to upper world with the ongot.

(Click the photo, and you can see Quick Time movie (860kB )

In August 1999, the 5th congress of the International Society for Shamanic Research was held in National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Not noly domestic and foreign researchers, but also many böös attended this meeting. Shamanism become the symbol of ehinic identity in today's Mongolia.

(Photo: Chimbat zairan and his wife (right), and Bayar udgan and her daughter (left). According to Mr. Chimbat, this white light is his ongot (guarding spirit).)

After the conference, some böös climed up to Mt. Bogd near Ulaanbaatar to have a ritual for gods of the mountain at the foot of Chandmant ovoo. An ovoo is a pyramid-shaped collection of woods and stones. This is a symbol of the axis connecting between upper world and the earth. This is a typical cosmology of shamanism.

It rained intermittently during the rutual. However, this was regaeded as a good omen for fertility because the rain is semen ejaculated from father heaven to mother earth.

Mr. Byambadorj who is also böö is drumming for the ritual. The sound of drums play very important role to induce trance state. For shamans, trans state is not half consciousness, but expansion of consciousness. Another shaman says, in trans state, she feel a gust of wind in her body, and get "clear wizdom" beyond time and space.

There are both male böö and female böö. Usually they had some unusual experience such as sudden loss of consciousness like epilepsy in their young time around 20's. This kind of experience is regarded as the sign which they have special destiny to become böö.

(Click the photo, and you can see Quick Time movie (500kB).)

In general, local cities are declining while Ulaanbaatar is developping rapidly. Some people returned to their traditional nomadic life.

It has been said that old-fashoned nomadic life will be replaced socialistic cooperative, superstition like shamanism will be replaced by scientific knowledge. But, ironically, we can see the contrary in today's Mongolia.

(Photo: Nomadic people milking horses in Khövsgöl aimag.)