2R. Gilberg, a former curator (1971-2007) at the Department of Ethnography at the National Museum, spent more than forty years gathering expertise to produce this highly detailed study of Mongol and Siberian shamanic costumes and paraphernalia. The “Mongol” (including Solon) artefacts originate from two scientific expeditions (1936-1937 and 1938-1939) led by Danish explorer and writer Henning Haslund-Christensen (1896-1948) in Inner Mongolia (PRC). The Siberian items come from different collections (some were purchased by Danish polar explorer Knud Rasmussen) – the oldest costume arrived at the museum in 1861. The Mongol shamans’ costumes were previously published in a catalogue by Henny Harald Hansen, which featured more than three hundred costumes from the museum and was republished in 1993 as part of the same book series (Hansen [1950] 1993). Gilberg also consulted unpublished notes from the Department of Ethnology’s archive, and included in his catalogue old photographs from the Danish expeditions and other travels, as well as highly detailed drawings of the artefacts by Inger Achton.

4The first chapter provides definitions of “shamans” and “shamanism” and introduces shamanic cosmology, types of shamans, and rituals. The second chapter presents the various components of the shamans’ costumes and headdresses, as well as ritual instruments used by various Mongol and Siberian peoples, exploring their distinct functions and symbolic meanings. It also offers valuable insights into the creation of these items, their ritual uses, their previous owners, and their destiny after the shaman’s death. Chapter 3, titled “Searching for Mongolian shamans in Inner Mongolia”, details Haslund’s encounters with two shamans in 1936-1937 in Barga (Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia), then under Japanese occupation. It describes the challenges he faced in acquiring the costumes, particularly due to widespread fear of the curses associated with the shaman’s ongod (auxiliary spirits). Haslund engaged in lengthy discussions with the shamans or their descendants, showing a deep respect for their traditions. Regarding the costume of Dölgöre Büge, a Buryat shaman who had migrated to Hulunbuir, the shaman agreed to concentrate the spirits into two locks, rendering the costume harmless and thus available for purchase (without the locks), effectively deconsecrating it. Haslund also managed to acquire a second costume, that of Basaman, a Solon shaman, in exchange for the shaman’s body: the shaman had lost his fight against a Japanese locomotive and the Japanese authorities prohibited the Solons from retrieving the body and performing the appropriate funerary rites. However, Haslund was eventually able to locate the remains and facilitate their return. He couldn’t purchase Basaman’s copper mask, but he arranged for a copy to be made by the same artisan who had crafted the original. In 1939, Haslund used a trick to acquire the tent, costume, paraphernalia and numerous artefacts of a Barga shamaness, who had died in 1909 in Chahar; her costume had been passed down from earlier shamans (pp. 157-160). Her son, “Purup”, continued to make sacrifices at the shamanic altar, but when Purup’s wife introduced a Buddhist altar in their yurt, the coexistence of the two spiritual powers led to misfortunes and calamities, including the deaths of children. His entourage urged him to get rid of the “black altar”, and they hoped that Haslund could provide a solution that would “restore value and happiness to these unfortunate people’s lives” (p. 159). Haslund suggested placing the black altar two hundred steps northeast of the tent at midnight, and if the altar disappeared the following day, it would be proof that the shamanic powers had left “to the far northeast where they belonged”. He also left eighty dollars for the Buddhist altar. The next day, when the altar was gone, the people believed Haslund’s prediction had come true, and “thus the family was released from its troubles”. Soon after, the wife gave birth to a healthy boy. While this could be seen today as Haslund deceiving the couple and taking the shamanic artefacts, Gilberg does not present it in this way. Instead, he emphasises that Haslund, in a sense, compensated for the shamanic artefacts by leaving eighty dollars and helped resolve a dramatic situation. He was not coercing anyone but had been asked for his advice and “felt he could leave the decision to the Mongols”. However, Haslund faced challenges in transporting the black altar: the camel became crazy, and the Mongols were frightened by the altar.

5Chapters 4, 5, and 6 provide a detailed description of the costumes (including headdresses, masks, and boots) and paraphernalia associated with Dölgöre Büge, Basaman, and the Barga shamaness of Chahar. These chapters include additional illustrations of each accessory and explanations of the symbols, numbers, colours, terminology from local informants, and the materials and uses of various costume accessories (small bells, Chinese coins, mirrors, and bronze seals, etc.) and ritual instruments (drums, drumsticks, sceptres, and weapons such as a French bayonet and a pistol, horsehead staffs, a “red-hot glow-feet” [p. 189], rosaries, etc.). The Barga shaman’s altar contained 221 objects, including a table, incense burner, offering cups, offering spoons, masks made of copper and cowhide, bags containing ongod and other “power bags”, magic ropes with Chinese coins and anklebones (fig. 6.66), ancient Scythian-style bronzes, and pieces of cotton used to capture the last breath of the deceased shaman, which were believed to hold the shaman’s power (fig. 6.68, p. 212).

6Gilberg also visited contemporary shamans in Mongolia and participated in rituals in 1996. Despite not speaking Mongolian and being unable to ask the questions he wished, he describes and documents the costumes of Darhad and Buryat shamans (chapter 7).

7The Siberian collection (chapter 8) is less extensive and less thoroughly documented compared to the Mongol collection. It features Evenki, Nanai, Samoyed (Netsy), and Yakut costumes, as well as a wooden mask and drums. The appendix provides details about Danish expeditions to Mongolia in the 1920s and 1930s, along with the biographies of key figures involved.

8The reader may sometimes be confused by the transcription system used in the text, which is inconsistent, blending phonetic transcriptions of Buryat, Chahar, Halh, and other dialects. As a result, the same term appears in varying spellings, such as Barga (Barag, Bargha, Barak), ongon (ongghon), and tenger (tengeri, tegri, tengri). Additionally, the text contains some inaccuracies, such as on page 19, where “lus” (< Tib. klu, nāga) is incorrectly derived from the Mongolian word us (meaning “water”) and land spirits are referred to as savdag (< Tib. sa bdag, “lord of the earth”), incorrectly described as a Mongolian word meaning “soil”.

10This meticulously documented catalogue will appeal not only to scholars of Mongol and Siberian shamanism but also to contemporary shamans. Its significance is all the more important given the growing popularity of shamanism in the West, where museum exhibitions often display reconstructed and speculative versions of ancient shamanic costumes (fig. 1).