BRISTOL —The word shaman evokes a range of mysterious images and feelings. Filmmaker and energy healer Sas Carey brings these to life in her film “Ceremony,” which she will share and discuss on Thursday, March 9 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol. This free event is hosted by the One World Library Project.
“Ceremony”witnesses the spiritual journey and practice of a shaman in northern Mongolia. The documentary revolves around a specific ceremony by steppe dwellers of Darhad ethnicity and taiga-dwelling Dukha reindeer herders, both of whom continue shamanic traditions.
Elder shamans share their wisdom and discuss their lineage as bearers of the “shaman disease,” including their initial resistance to assuming this powerful role and the dangers of not accepting the call. While connected to the ancestor’s spirit, the shamans fill the role of doctor, spiritual adviser and healers in a land where the nearest doctor can be eight hours away by reindeer and horse.
Footage for the documentary, released in 2015, was taken over an eleven-year period and includes intimate glimpses of the geographical and cultural environment.
Sas Carey, the film’s director, is an energy healer, nurse and spiritual adviser. She has spent time in Mongolia annually for the past twenty-three years following the nomadic practice of Dukha people and documenting their lore and heart songs. She has explored traditional Mongolian medicine, served as a health educator for the United Nations Development Programme (1997) and founded and directsNomadicare, a nonprofit supporting sustainability and cultural survival of nomadic people. 
A trailer for “Ceremony” can be found at https://vimeo.com/114941631. Other works by Sas Carey include the film “Gobi Women’s Song” (2005), the book “Reindeer Herders in My Heart”(2012), and the award-winning documentary “Migration” (2016). Cary’s videos and books will be available for sale at the event.
For more information on this event or about One World Library Project, contact the Lawrence Memorial Library at 453-2366 or visit www.OneWorldLibraryProject.orgor the One World Library Project Facebook page.
One World Library Project is a local community nonprofit that “Brings the World to our Community” through regular programs as well as a collection of adult and children’s books and films about world cultures, all of which can be found at the Lawrence Memorial Library. The library’s online catalog has a full listing of OWLP items available for checkoutat www.lawrencelibrary.net.