ABSTRACT
Having discussed the tripartite relationship between shamans, clients and curses as well as having introduced the notion of turbulence, Chapter 4 extends these reflections and analytically explores how shamans, cursed victims and turbulence come together in the ritual context. In doing this, the chapter firstly illuminates how turbulence is integral not only to experiences of cursing but also to cosmic dynamics, mobility patterns, language and, crucially, sound. In particular, the chapter focuses on the role of the shamanic drum as central to the rituals of curse deflection and infliction. Engaging with different ritual orders, the chapter presents how the structure of sound production in the Tuvan tradition of throat singing is homologous to the way drums and musical sounds operate in shamanic rituals. It also delineates how the sounds of the drum unsettle things during the rituals while producing the experiences of turbulence indispensable to the success of the ritual proceedings.
