horse-sacrifice ceremony

The horse-sacrifice ceremony among the Altaic peoples of east Central Asia is a shamanic ritual that lasts two to three days. In this ceremony, the shaman symbolically releases the soul of a real horse and then, astride a goose-shaped device, imitates the sounds of a goose and a horse while chasing the horse's soul. After capturing the soul, the shaman, with audience assistance, kills the horse, and its flesh is prepared. The following evening, the shaman offers pieces of the horse meat to the spirits, symbolically ascending to the heavens on the horse's soul while drumming and chanting. During this ascent, the shaman communicates predictions about harvests and potential misfortunes to the audience. The ceremony concludes with merrymaking and drinking.1