Shamanism is one of the oldest religious traditions of humanity which was at the beginning of all world religions. The heathen belifs which had connection with respecting of the forefather’s spirits, the spirits of Sky and Earth go back to the times of last Stone Age and maybe to the paleolith Age.

Many Shamanism investigators have the same opinion about the fact that all worldwide known Shaman techniques in the different places are alike. These spirit practices havn’t changed since the ancient times and they are the same nowadays like they was thousands years ago.

The land of Turkis tribe from Baikal Lake to Gobi desert is well known as a classic land of Shamanism. The successors to the ancient traditions became the Buryat-Mongolian shamans. The homeland of Shamanism, the sacred land of Shamanism is the North-Central Asia, and the sacred place — the center of Shamanism in the North is Olkhon Island on the Baikal Lake.

Because of its isolation this island became to one of the last sacred places for the shamans of Northern Asia. The Mongolian shamans came there to save their lives in the times of Chingiskhan in the 12th—13th centuries and later the Buryat’s shamans — in the times of Lamaism in Buryatia in the 17th—18th centuries.

	Greeting ceremony from local shaman Valentin Khagdaev

We would like to offer you the meeting with Olkhon shaman, get acquainted with ancient traditions, and take a part in the shaman performance.

You can take a part in the Buryat’s celebrating called “Erdyn games” which take place in the period from the the 26th till the 28th June in the mouth of Anga river.

It’s an ancient revived nowadays holiday popular among Siberians. It looked like a great dance around the sacred mountain Ekhor for many days and nights and more than 700 people could take a part in it. It was a magic dance with spells, they should help the shamans to go with winds. The offerings of animals were usual during this feast. Later the Buryat organized this magic dance while celebrating in the family or in the parties.

The “Erdyn games” were a certain kind of sport competitions: horse-racing, wrestling, bow-shooting have been arranged. In the time of these games a lot of guests came, among the guests were folk singer, musicians and dancers, the narrators of folk tales came too and glorified the winners of “Erdyn Games”.