The Manegry are a large tribal community of northern Tungus, comprising a significant portion of the ethnic composition of the Far East. From the late 17th through the 20th century, as a result of migrations from the spurs of the Stanovoy Range, the Manegry settled on the banks of the Upper Amur and the middle reaches of the Zeya River. In the second half of the 19th century, the Manegry population on the left bank of the Amur gradually declined as a result of migrations to the right bank in China. By the mid-19th century, the Manegry's ethnocultural characteristics had already developed into a stable complex, which was described without significant differences by Russian researchers of the period. On the banks of the Amur, Manegry culture was influenced by Daurian, Manchurian, and Chinese cultures, which significantly impacted their religion and shamanism. Manegry shamanism is an ethnolocal type of Tungus-Manchu shamanism. The beliefs and practices of Manegry shamanism are based on the religious traditions of the northern Tungus – taiga nomads, hunters, and fishermen. After the formation of the People's Republic of China, the religious beliefs and practices of the Manegry gradually faded into the background of public life but did not disappear. Shamanism remained part of the cultural tradition. In the mid-20th and early 21st centuries, shamans still retained their rooted beliefs, practices, and psychological behavior patterns. By the early 21st century, Manegry shamanism, in its traditional forms and representatives, had almost completely ceased to exist. The main goal of this article is to determine the place of Manegry shamanism within the overall system of Tungus-Manchu shamanism, to identify the main trajectory of its evolution, and to localize it within the religious landscape of the Far East.
Key words: Manegry, Tungus, shamanism, Russia, China, Far Eastern frontier, religious landscape
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2026-2-91-108
About the author
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Andrey P. Zabiyako – DSc (Philosophy), Full Professor, Head of the Department of Religious Studies and History, Amur State University; of. 107, build. 7, 21 Ignatievskoe Shosse, Blagoveschensk, 675027, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |