Kazakh Shaman — Altai Mountain Ceremony
749.00 د.إ
A Kazakh shaman (bakshy) in the Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan during a healing ceremony — his frame drum held overhead at the ceremony’s peak, his eyes in the characteristic altered-state quality of active shamanic practice.
Description
Shamanic practice in the Kazakh Altai — suppressed during the Soviet period — has experienced a cautious revival in the post-independence era, with some practitioners willing to have their work documented by researchers operating within ethical guidelines. This image was made during a healing ceremony in a yurt above the Katon- Karagay valley with the bakshy’s agreement and the family’s consent, the shaman at the ceremony’s peak intensity when the drum rhythm has reached its maximum speed. The overhead drum position — the frame drum held above the head with both hands — is the traditional gesture of invocation in this regional practice. Shot at f/2 on a 50mm prime at ISO 12800 in the available yurt candlelight, the image is deliberately high in grain — the visual quality matching the intensity of the ceremony context.
