Reflections of a Mongolian Shaman

Byampadorj Dondog, One Of The Greatest Mongolian Shamans Alive Today, Was Born In 1947 In Darvi Sum Of Hovd Amaig, Southwest Mongolia, In A Maternal Lineage Descended From The Tribe Of The Wife Of Chinggis Haan (Genghis Khan). This Was The Harsh Era Of The Stalinist Purges, When Mongolia Was A Satellite Of The Soviets, And Thus He Grew Up During A Period When Both Buddhism And Shamanism Were Oppressed To The Point Of Near Extinction. In His Youth He Secretly Trained In The Ancient Shamanic Arts Under Several Underground Masters, And When Communism Fell In 1990 He Emerged As A Principal Force In The Efforts Of Cultural And Spiritual Restoration. He Began To Openly Accept Students, And Since Then Has Trained Several Hundred Young Mongols, Many Of Whom Have Become Qualified Masters In Their Own Right. Written In A Strong Personal Voice, Reflections Of A Mongolian Shaman Provides A Rare And Compelling First Person Account Of The Living Tradition Of Mongolian Shamanism As It Exists Today. Here The Master Shaman Byambadorj Provides Insight Into An Ancient Tradition That Survived The Onslaught Of Communism And Modernity. Carroll Dunham, Author Of The Hidden Himalayas