Tungusic Shamanism

The word shaman comes from the language of the Tungusic peoples of Manchuria and the Russian Far East, among them the Jurchens, Manchus and Evenks. Their belief is animistic and polytheistic, led by the sky god Abka Enduri, the source of all life, with many gods who enliven every part of nature.

Shamans are men and women of unusual ability who can perceive the ways of the gods, and every kin has its own shaman, who conducts sacrifices. The wilder rites for animal gods were forbidden by Hong Taiji in 1636, and by 1673 every communal shrine except the imperial one was banned.

The Manchus took the soldier-god Guan Yu as one of their gods. In 1747 the Qianlong Emperor published a manual of Manchu rites, translated into Chinese in 1780.