Singing story, healing drum

"Based on fieldwork, Singing Story, Healing Drum includes folktales, legends, and shamanic poems that illuminate spiritual traditions and rituals practised by the people of the Turkic republics of Tuva and Khakassia in south Siberia. Kira Van Deusen's acquaintance with scholars, shamans, and storytellers who have been active in reviving traditional ways of life allows her to present views from both inside and outside the culture and help the reader find a way through the often confusing phenomena of the "shamanic revival," both in Russia and abroad."--BOOK JACKET.