Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards: Pagan Mythology, Shamanism, and Magic from Finland, Lapland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

Excerpt from "The Magic Drum Calls You": BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BEAT! BEAT! BEAT! In Lapland when the Arctic Storm Wind roars down from the mountains and blows through the valleys and over the tundra, comes the call of the Magic Drum. Do you hear it on the wind? Do you hear its beat! beat! beat! and the grinding of the Wizard's teeth as he beats! beats! beats! Long, long ago, with chanting and magic and drum-beating came the Great Wizard Nischergurje down from the mountains. Tree-tall, tree-straight was he, clad in the softest skins of the white reindeer. He was girded with the Wizard Belt of Might, and on his feet were soft-soled shoes. From his right wrist hung his gold drum-hammer, and his left hand held the Magic Drum... In Lapland, four great wizards join Nischergurje for a night of storytelling. There is Kauko, Red-Haired Wizard of Finland; Sarvik, with woolly white hair, come from Estonia's rocky coast; yellow-eyed Kurbads from Latvia of the crystal streams; and Jakamas of Lithuania, with bushy golden head, pointed eyes, and apple-red cheeks. And each wizard carries his own Magic Drum. Beat! Beat! Beat!