A connection between epic bards and shamans has been regularly observed in the ethnographic literature for Central and North Asian societies, but the meaning of this connection is far from clear. A general model of shamanic processes derived from Victor Turner's work on African ritual and Roy Wagner's studies of Melanesian society suggest that the key element is the shaman's ability to manipulate the community's perceived reality. This is an ability which the epic bard also shares. Performances of the Gesar epic of Tibet only occasionally involve the bard entering a quasi-shamanic visionary state，but they can generally be interpreted as narratives about contests between shamanic heroes. The victor，Gesar，is himself less a king than a shaman invoking and manipulating the powers of the Buddhist tantric deities of whom he is the earthly representative.
