SAKHA (YAKUT) IDENTITY AND INSTITUTIONALISED SHAMANISM (Sahha (jakuudi) identiteet ja institutsionaliseeritud shamanism)

In this article the author discusses the ambivalent position of institutionalised shamanism in the Republic of Sakha, in the Russian Far East. Concurrently with the declaration of sovereignty in 1991, there was an upswing in the ethnic consciousness of the Sakha, the relevant process being manifested in increased interest in Sakha traditions and history. Shamanism, as one of the core features of Sakha culture, soon became an important ethnic symbol. After the establishment of the Association of Folk Medicine, the institution became politicised, being informally embedded in state structures, although formally, it was primarily engaged in healing people. The author shows that the state needed the Association to complete its nation building project, and the Association leaned on the state to increase its significance.