Shamans (France, 2016-2017)

Shamanism is an ancestral practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.

Shamanism has has gained increasing popularity in the West since few years, in the wake of the New Age and the self-actualization movements. Initiatory stays and festivals bring together more and more westerners looking for the meaning of life. They are attracted by the pilars of this neo-shamanism : spirituality, links with the nature and community side.

On the occasion of the “9th assembly of Ancestral Traditions” (28-29 April, France), I photographied shamans from all over the world wearing their traditional costumes.