Russia: Siberian shaman prays for Olympic luck

A shaman in a remote Siberian village has been broadcast on national TV performing traditional rituals to bring luck to the Russian Olympic team, it appears.

Official channel Rossiya 24 TV showed the shaman dancing around a fire lit inside a yurt, beating a drum and chanting incantations to summon up the spirits. When they did appear, Rossiya 24 said, he treated them to some "fiery water" - which usually means vodka or moonshine. The shaman then performed a ritual on the Russian national flag.

According to the networks, villagers in the Evenkia region are passionate supporters of the Russian national team, and are a little let down with its performance so far. "Evenks try to correct our athletes' failures the old way - by appealing to spirits," the Rossiya 24 says.

Earlier, the channel showed a report saying the Teleuts, a Siberian ethnic group that lives to the south-west of the Evenks, have also been performing traditional rituals to support Russia's Olympic team.

On day 10 of the Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi, the Russian team had a total of 16 medals, including four gold medals.

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