R-sport (en.rsport.ru, Dec. 2, 2013); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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| VIDEO: The Olympic flame was welcomed in by shamans and village folk in Yakutsk with the algys traditional rite. The torch-bearers rode on caribous and on dog sleds (RIA Novosti). |
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| Modern shaman (hamidsardar.com) |
GORNO-ALTAISK, Russia - Not
content to merely watch the weather forecast, Russia’s winter Olympic
organizers took matters into their own hands Monday, arranging for
dozens of shamans to pray for snow in Sochi.
As the record-breaking 65,000-kilometer torch relay entered Russia’s
remote Asian region of Altai, where ancient shamanism is still popular,
traditional holy men and women greeted the Olympic flame in full
traditional dress.
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| Siberian shaman 1692 (Nicolaes Witsen) |
A lack of snow forced the cancellation of some test events in
February, putting the weather into focus as a possible problems for the
February 7-23, 2014 Olympics.
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Fears of unseasonably warm weather in the Caucasus Mountains have
prompted organizers to store nearly half a million cubic meters of snow
in huge refrigerated reservoirs ready for deployment on the ski slopes
if the clouds fail.
The Vancouver 2010 Games were afflicted by spring-like conditions, and
snow had to be trucked into Cypress Mountain ahead of the event.
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