Female shamans of Gadaba tribe (India). Extended version.
While traveling through the tribes of Odisha state in India, we surprisingly visited a private ritual in a Gadaba village. A local family paid some female shamans for a ritual that should bring wealth. We witnessed a ceremony where young women were dancing in trance like possessed by spirits, shouting in unknown language and convulsing in dirt. Sometimes one of them fell into deep unconsciousness and then other people tried to wake her up. It was mesmerizing and a little scary.
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Odisha State, India
September 2025