Book excerpt: Singing Story, Healing Drumexplores the shamanic practices, oral traditions, and music of the Turkic Republics of Tuva and Khakassia in south Siberia. Based on extensive field-work, it includes folktales, legends, and shamanic poems that illuminate spiritual traditions, as well as descriptions of rituals practised by the people of this region. Kira Van Deusen's travels and her acquaintance with scholars, shamans, and storytellers who have been active in reviving traditional culture give her a unique perspective that allows her to present views from inside and outside the culture. Lively personal accounts are combined with scholarly research to show the importance of oral literature and music in connection with shamanism.Singing Story, Healing Drumhelps the reader find a way through the often confusing phenomena of the "shamanic revival," both in Russia and abroad.