The “war of position” in memory: the “Siden Saman” and the revivification of Manchu shamanism in northeastern China

Abstract

In the first three decades following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the rapid urbanization in northeastern China and the promotion of atheism education and ethnic integration policies by the Chinese Communist Party pushed Shamanism, the religion of the Manchu ethnic group – a major minority in northeastern China – to the brink of extinction. However, during our investigation of Manchu autonomous villages in Jilin and Liaoning provinces in the Northeast, we discovered an emerging Manchu shamanic group calling themselves "Siden Saman" (Public shaman). They dedicate themselves to restoring Manchu identity and memory and are active in northeastern China. Although they are not the majority of the Shamanic population, they have established their influence in cyberspace. Through our tracking interviews over nearly six months, we believe that the religious practices of the Siden Saman should not be simply understood as an emerging religious force but rather as an effort by them to reconstruct their ethnic narrative. This effort is prominently manifested in their resistance to the history of ‘de-Manchurization.’ The resurgence of Siden Saman symbolizes the struggle for memory by minority ethnic groups against the backdrop of the long-term implementation of ethnic integration policies in China.

Keywords:

• Shamanism
• Manchu studies
• ethical identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All the Manchu script involved in this paper is translated into the Latin alphabet according to the DQU transliteration.

2 The Manchu definitions of the Manchu concepts involved here are from the official dictionary revised by the Manchu central government of the Qing Dynasty in 1771: Yuzhizengdingqingwenjian (御制增订清文鉴).