Where Eagles Fly : Seven Years with Siberian Shamans 1994-2001

7 YEARS WITH SIBERIAN SHAMANS 1994-2001 from costanzo allione on Vimeo.

From the ancient Mongol siber, Siberia means “the wonderful and pure earth”. It is a country of marvels, with great mountainous chains, golden hills and powerful rivers; it was like this at the time when the first explorers saw it, in the XVII century. It has stayed the same even now when we have ‘rediscovered’ it in our backward journey in search of Siberian shamanism: a kaleidoscope of peoples, ethnicities, religions and traditions. We wanted to lift the veil on this remote world, after seventy years of state-atheism, in order to understand whether this very ancient tradition had been able to survive the horrors of the Stalinist Regime. We travelled in the Transiberian, we trusted run-down buses, we crossed rivers on improvised barges, trying to sustain the rebirth process of ancient shamanic traditions. We helped the shamans revive and bring to light rites and ceremonies dedicated to the Master Spirits of these savage lands and we lived with them, gathering around the Sacred Fire, sharing the cold of the yurta and the magic of their shamanic chants. During these seven years of life together, we have collected the secrets of their magic arts and their spiritual testament: to respect Father Sky and Mother Earth.