Shamans are not the people in power

Valentin was born with a finger split into two parts, and a shaman told him later that was a sign

Web sources Pravda.Ru and Yoki.ru are organizing an expedition to the most mysterious site on the Baikal Lake, Cape Rytni. Well-known Buryat shaman, Valentin Khagdayev, will be one of the expedition members. He will help the researchers of the expedition inspect the very heart of the mysterious area and seek some traces of ancient civilizations. Recently, Valentin came to Moscow for a short visit and talked to our journalist. The man looked like many other men but his voice sounded strong.

Valentin was brought up in a clan nomadic camp where the people still followed the patriarchal way of living typical of the 19th century. The people were scarcely acquainted with the novelties of the civilization. The man was brought up by his grandparents; then he went to the Soviet school. He served in the army after school. Valentin's father was a Communist which was quite typical of people in the 20th century, but his grandfather was a shaman. Valentin was born with a finger split into two parts, and a shaman told him later that was a sign.

Shamans are known as absolutely particular people; all of them have at least once been on the verge of life and went through the so-called “shaman fever.” Valentin says that once he fell down from the roof of a building and lost his conscience. He was immediately taken to a hospital; the man says he could see himself from the side and saw a nurse was feeling his pulse. At that moment, Valentin decided he was already dead.

Then, he was soaring up like a bubble and admired the vivid colors high above the surface. He also heard the sounds of the world playing one scale. Then Valentin felt he got into some substance resembling moss, and it began to chew him. He was asked many questions. Valentin realized it made no sense to conceal any facts as the conscience was speaking at that moment.

It was Valentin's destiny to come back to this world. He perceived some white light and wanted to enter the light. He felt some ocean of knowledge there, but some force just pushed him out, and Valentin felt he once again entered the body as if through a thin hair. At that moment, the man knew he got back to the world of suffering.
 
It was Valentin's grandfather and many other people who taught him to be a shaman. At the age of 30, Valentin underwent a special ceremony of making him a shaman and got all necessary instruments for the shaman activity.

Today, many people in large cities claim they are shamans, they even present certificates proving this fact. These people make money by initiating various ceremonies and rituals. Can ordinary people call themselves shamans if none of their families have ever been a shaman? Valentin says that shamanism for these people is likely to be a hobby, while it is the whole of life and the belief for real shamans.

Valentin knows about Cape Rytni and says it is a really cursed place. Once, he says, two hunters went for hunting to the place and brought home many squirrels and sable, but in a year both men mysteriously died. In the old times, when people were passing cattle via the place, the cattle always got back safe and sound but people were sometimes missing.

The previous expedition to the area discovered a stone embankment along the whole of the slope which was obviously made by men. The researchers also stated they saw stone plates made by people. That was the expedition headed by Volkov. Previous geological study of the area registered high radiation there. This is probably the reason why people who visit the area later fall ill or even die.

Before shamans enter the cursed area they say prayers and fall into some sort of trans, that is why they return safe. Now, Cape Rytni  is part of the Baikal reserve and ordinary people are not allowed there.

Valentin often thinks about shamans of the future. In the 1930s, sweeping operations were conducted to exterminate shamans. However, some people managed to preserve the shaman traditions and maintained them. When the Soviet regime collapsed, the people started reviving the shaman culture and traditions. Shamans are nomadic people greatly depending upon the strength of their flocks. That is why they need pastures with good grass. Even in the Soviet epoch, shamans kept on praying and even made sacrifices to the spirits. It is typical of shamans to spend entire days watching the nature; their activity today is the same type it was a hundred of years ago. Indeed, no computer will be as good as a shepherd. Shamans are still keeping up their traditions.

Dmitry Krupnov