Voiced into being: the power of sound and the phenomenon of cursing in Kyzyl, Tuva

Abstract

In this article, I explore the way sound itself is imbued with agency. By focusing on its transformative rather than mimetic qualities, I analyse how in ritual contexts people construct and experience relationships through sound. Taking as an example a curse deflection ritual in Tuva, I trace ideas about the production of sounds as key to shamanic vocal performances. Through showing how sounds facilitate intermittent oral, tactile, and visual encounters with nonhumans, I suggest that shamans voice spirits into being, thereby allowing sound and shamanic voice to become central aspects of navigating sociocosmic dynamics and removing curses. While illuminating further the importance which people ascribe to the fragmentary sensory experience of an ‘Other’, I explore how sounds make spirits materially present and how this, in turn, shapes and validates the potency of shamanic practice.