This book by an Altai scholar close to historical memory and source materials, is a valuable addition to our knowledge of Siberian culture and belief systems, illuminating the relatively unknown Altai White faith - its concepts and specific language - in its relationship to nature, cosmic forces and the natural history of the human soul. (Eva Jane Neumann Fridman, Ph.D., Author of Sacred Geography; co-editor: Shamanism: an Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture.) Featuring the voice of elder Nikolai Shodoev, this book provides valuable insights into the shamanic worldviews of indigenous Altai peoples, using the concept of 'bilik' - folk wisdom. (Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Ph.D., Georgetown University, Editor of the Journal Anthropology and Archeology of Eurasia and the book Shamanic Worlds)
