But this is where Shonchalai Khovenmei, whose grandmother was a shaman in Khakasia, a region in eastern Siberia, has joined forces with Moscow shaman Olard Dikson to organize the election for the post of Russia’s chief shaman.
Shamans are regarded as spiritual healers in many regions of Russia, such as Khakasia, Buryatia, and Tuva, and among native tribes such as the Evenk of northern Siberia. The word shaman is said to come from the Evenk verb “to know.”
Russia’s native tribes have practiced various forms of shamanism for thousands of years, but the spread of the Russian empire in the 19th century and the official atheism of the Soviet Union meant shamanism was discouraged and often repressed.
But today, shamanism is experiencing a revival in some communities,
Khovenmei and Dikson want a leader elected to help the shamans and their followers fight against stereotypes and repression outside their own communities.
clipped from: www.rferl.org 