Ksenofontov G.V. Legends and Tales about Shamans of Yakuts, Buryats, and Tungus. 2nd publ. Moscow: Bezbozhnik Publishing House, 1930. 138 p.

This book is a collection of Shamanic legends commented by the compiler. It was published by the East Siberian Department of the Russian Geographic Society. The second publication with some additions was issued by the ‘Bezbozhnik’ (Atheist) Publishing House in 1930 with an introduction by S.A. Tokarev, in which he criticized the author for his opinion about the dominating role of nomads (horse breeders) in the history, culture, and religion of the peoples of Siberia.

The book introduced a broad circle of texts on the Shamanic folklore and the mythology of Siberian peoples into the research field. The problem of the origin of Shamanism was analyzed on the vast background of Eurasian peoples; the author made an attempt of comparative analyses of Christianity and Shamanism.

There are several topics in the collection of materials: deification of Shamans, myths on the birth of Shamans, the idea of God-Father, ‘Shamanic disease’, tree, animals, and birds in Shamanic myths, Shamanic initiation, legends on ancient Shamans, Shamans’ ‘wonders’, Buryat and Tungus parallels in legends about Shamans.

There were two reviews on that book: Ursynovich S. On the Collection by G.V. Ksenofontov ‘Legends and Tales about Shamans of Yakuts, Buryats, and Tungus’ // Antireligioznik. 1929. # 6. P. 105-107; Potapov С. On the Collection by G.V. Ksenofontov ‘Legends and Tales about Shamans of Yakuts, Buryats, and Tungus’ // Buryatievedenie. 1928. # 1- 2,  P.283 - 284.