Shamanic Journeys Through Daghestan

Known as the 'land of the mountains', Dagestan lies immediately north of the Caucasus Mountains, and stretches for approximately 250 miles along the west shore of the Caspian Sea. With its mountainous terrain making travel and communication difficult, Daghestan is still largely tribal. Despite over a century of Tsarist control followed by seventy years of repressive Soviet rule, there are still 32 distinct ethnic groups in Daghestan, each with its own language, making it unquestionably the most complex of the Caucasian republics. Shamanic practices are still prevalent in this country, where one of the ten lost tribes of Israel can be found, and in which the stories of the elders provide the people with evidence of who their ancient ancestors were and where their roots lie. In Daghestan, as in the neighbouring countries of Georgia, Chechnya, and Azerbaijan, these roots lie in shamanism. This book, one of only a handful available in English on the country, contains the texts of some of these stories as well as commentaries on them. Author regular articles in magazines and online sites interested in Shamanic traditions, including: "Shaman: Journal of the International Society for Shamanistic Research", "Shaman Portal", "The Study of Implicit Religion and Contemporary Spirituality", and "AVALON" magazine. The author regularly attends conferences internationally and speaks on a wide range of topics with regards Shamanic traditions. It targets university departments in the subjects of Anthropology, Spirituality and Religions. What were the religious beliefs and practices of the early inhabitants of the Caucasus? Some of the answers can be found by looking at the folktales from the region, which is what this book does. This book, one of only a handful avalable on Daghestan, looks at the shamanic elements that can be found in the folktales from the region. It is suitable for the Academic market for books on Religious Studies, Anthropology, Folktales, and Jewish Studies, as well as for elements of the New Age market who have an interest in books on shamanism.