Ph.D., Associate Researcher at the French Institute for Central Asian Studies
Nestor Manichkin is an anthropologist, a former senior researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology Russian Academy of Sciences. Now, he is an associate researcher at the French Institute for Central Asian Studies (Institut Français d’Etudes sur l’Asie Centrale in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
His research interests concern the intersections of religion, syncretic cults, anthropology of consciousness, alternative healing practices, historical and cultural memory, and post-colonial studies. The main research fields are post-soviet Central Asia, particularly Kyrgyzstan, and Latin America, particularly Cuba.
Manichkin is the author of the monograph “Shamanism and Spiritual-Magical Practices of the Kyrgyz People” (Smart Event, 2020). Some of his articles: “Blood as Ontological Fluid of the Afro-Cuban Witchcraft”. In Etnografiia 1(15): 227–249, 2022; “Reciprocity of the Living and the Dead: Sacrifices and Possession in Afrogenic Traditions”. In Etnograficheskoe obozrenie 2: 161–178, 2021; “Discussion on Aykol Manas in the Context of the Historical Relationship between Shamanism and Storytelling among the Kyrgyz People”. In Folklore: Structure, Typology, Semiotics 3(4): 12–34, 2020; “Spiritual Healing in Afro-Cuban Religious Traditions”. In Vestnik Antropologii 3(51): 92–107, 2020; “Sacral Experiences: New Evidence on the Characteristics of Types of Altered States of Consciousness and the Differentiation of Kyrgyz Shamanism”. In Sibirskie istoricheskie issledovaniia 4: 216–233, 2016. He writes the non-fiction longreads for The Knife Magazine and collaborates on some literary and media projects.
