Paper short abstract:

This article concentrates on the materiality of sound and voice in shamanic rituals dedicated to curse infliction and deflection practices in post-Soviet Kyzyl, the capital of the Republic of Tuva. It seeks to reconfigure the understanding of sounds as immaterial and primarily representative.

Paper long abstract:

This article concentrates on the materiality of sound and voice in shamanic rituals dedicated to curse infliction and deflection practices in post-Soviet Kyzyl, the capital of the Republic of Tuva. Given the Tuvans' conceptualization of shamanic vocal apparatus as a unique musical instrument along with perceptions of sound as a key tool in the mechanics of cursing, it seeks to uncover how sounds are imbued with a potency of their own, rather than simply constituting a sonorous aspect of language. Through engaging with an ethnographic example of a curse deflection ritual, this article discusses further how shamans, perceived by clients as distinct artisans of curses, generate an indexical presence of spirits which triggers different tactile, aural and visual experiences in the audience. Concentrating, thus, on the agentive role of sound and the shaman's voice, the article illuminates what it means that sounds, according to Tuvans, make spirits materially present which, concurrently, shapes and reflects the efficacy of shamanic practice. In this way, while presenting the process of voicing into existence concrete non-human beings, the article shows how shamans not only actualize a unique momentum of sociocosmic drama, but also establish 'performative ontological linkages between humans and non-humans' (De Mori 2015: 25). Taken together, while delineating the characteristics of voice and sound production in Tuvan shamanic rituals dedicated to curses, this article contributes to a better understanding of the notions of (im)materiality and representation.