What is shamanism, who practises it and what does it involve?
Emperor moth cocoon rattles on the ankles of a ritual dancer, Kalahari, 1959.
Jurgen Schadeberg, courtesy Claudia Schadeberg via Rock Art Research Institute, Wits University
The moth cocoons are the first archaeological evidence of shamanic ritual paraphernalia in southern Africa.
Examining chicken intestines, reading the tea leaves, watching the markets – people turn to experts for insight into the mysteries that surround them.
Manvir Singh
Hidden forces are always at work in the world, and people always want to control them, a cognitive anthropologist explains. Enter the human universal of shamanism.
People pray during a special service to wish for a successful inter-Korean summit and peace on the Korea peninsular at a church in Seoul.
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon