Kenin-Lopsan, Mongush

   President of the Society of Tuvan Shamans, founder and honorary chairman of Tos Deer (Nine Skies), the centralized religious organization of shamans in the Republic of Tuva, as well as a senior researcher at Aldan-Maadyr (Sixty Rebels), the Tuvan national museum. Kenin-Lopsan has been a major force in the revival of traditional spiritual practices in Tuva since the decline of Soviet Communism. He collaborated with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies on a conference in 1993 for the “rehabilitation of shamanism in Tuva,” and following the conference, the president of Tuva stated that both shamanism and Buddhism would be “equally respected in the modern Tuvan Republic.” Kenin-Lopsan has also been declared a “living treasure of shamanism” by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Tuvan shamanic clinics resemble doctors’ surgeries in some ways, with treatment rooms and diagnosis based in part on Western techniques (e.g., taking the pulse and temperature), with shamanic work integrated into the consultation, and all boardcertified Tuvan shamans carry a membership card. Kenin-Lopsan is also a professor on the School of Shamanic Studies program in Tuva, offering teaching in Tuvan shamanism to non-Tuvans.

   See also Healing.