Khagdayev is trying to change that. In the towns and villages near Yelantsy, about 160 miles northeast of Irkutsk and a short drive from majestic Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia, Khagdayev runs a museum dedicated to shamanism and teaches youngsters about their ethnic history, religion and language. Even in Khagdayev's house, Russian competes with Buryat as the everyday language of his wife and children. A lot of the older shamans are more traditional. They cannot deal as well with young people or outsiders.
Some older shamans have misgivings about reaching out to foreigners and tourists.
They worry that ancient rituals are being commercialized. The shaman is a priest, after all, not a showman. But Khagdayev believes it important to explain shamanism not only to the younger Buryat generation but also to Russians and foreigners who may be prejudiced. Khagdayev has distributed more than 500 copies of his graduate dissertationthat compares shamanism with Buddhism and Christianity. Khagdayev added that reported rifts among shamans are exaggerated.