The Sound of Sacredness: The Dynamic Integration of Cognition, Emotion, and Society in Shamanism

Embodied cognition, as the second trends of cognitive science, advocates for the coupled interaction between emotion and cognition. It posits that cognition, mind/spirit, body, and environment together form an organic system, constituting a complex dynamic phenomenon involving multiple different systems such as auditory, kinaesthetic, and even synesthetic. In recent years, related research has diverged into three main approaches. This paper, based on the enactive approach within the theoretical orientation of embodied cognition, uses shamanism as an ideal type to reflect on how this method addresses the predictability and consistency in religious phenomena. By comparative analysis of musical practices in shamanic rituals across East Asia, Central Asia, and South America, this study will explore how music facilitates controllable and uncontrollable possession experiences for shamanic practitioners, and through its intrinsic structure, enables the transition between the mundane and the sacred bodies. Systematic cognitive theory focuses on the commonalities and differences manifested in various socio-cultural contexts. Specifically, although the forms of shamanic rituals vary across different cultural backgrounds, they exhibit strong similarities in constructing social structures. Thus, what is presented in shamanic rituals is not a state of unconscious or irrational body, but rather an ordered one. Music, as a socially cognitive element, becomes a key medium connecting the productive attributes of individual bodies with structural interactions in society. Furthermore, this paper discusses the role of music in maintaining the creativity and compliance of the religious body, emphasizing the dialectical relationship between internal cognition and external interaction within shamanic music, as well as its importance in fostering consensus and enhancing social cohesion among community members. Through these practices, the reinforcement of societal power and order systems is achieved, thereby realizing the integrative effect as described by Durkheim.