Transformation and Multiplicity

Abstract

This paper explores perceptions ofzoos, objects which are generally replicas of Manchu-era coins attached to the surfaces of some shamans’ coats in present-day Mongolia. Beginning by noting that the general perception of these objects in shamanic praxis is to protect the shaman who wears them, I explore another way in which they are perceived: as things which connote particular aspects of money used in present-day Mongolia. I take two aspects of Mongolian money—its multiplicity and capacity for transformation—and use these to account for the presence ofzooson shamans’ coats. I argue that the multiplicity aspect of money is analogous with the multiplicity of objects attached to a shaman’s coat, and that the multiplicity aspect of money connoted byzoosis something into which can be read the operation of this type of garment. I also explore the capacity of Mongolian money to be transformed into other things, and suggest this is analogous to the transformative nature of spirits which possess shamans during seances. In doing so, I propose thatzoosare able to elaborate the operation of the garments to which they are attached, in a way that is informative of particular perceptions of money in present-day Mongolia.

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