The Baikal region has long been a stronghold of traditional shamanism, and Olkhon Island has always been a generally recognized sacred place for shamans.
One of the most widespread cults in Siberia and, accordingly, in the Baikal region is the cult of the sacred eagle.
The worship of the bald eagle as the ancestor of shamans is characteristic of the culture of the peoples of Lake Baikal. According to the materials on mythology, shamanism appeared simultaneously with the creation of the world, and the first shaman was the son of a heavenly god, who descended to Earth in the form of an eagle and created a shaman there.
However, local legends show us many different versions. According to one of the legends, an eagle flying between heaven and earth received a shamanic gift from heaven. It was difficult for him to receive this shamanic gift, so he had to go down to Earth and give it to an Evenk woman. She, in turn, presented it to her Buryat husband. And this pair is the progenitors of all the next generations of shamans.
Here's another version of the same tale. In the beginning there were only gods. They created people whose happy life was burdened with disease and death sent by evil spirits. And then the gods sent an eagle shaman to support people. Unfortunately, the people did not understand anything, and the eagle, which returned to the gods, was instructed to give a shamanic gift to the first person he met. Descending to Earth, the eagle saw a woman sleeping under a tree, then they had a common son, who later became the "first shaman."
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The indigenous inhabitants of Lake Baikal have a legend that the lake is a living creature, the spirit of the lake is a Burkhan that inhabits Olkhon Island and turns into an eagle, and that hedgehogs are his irreplaceable helpers. Some old people said that the bald eagle was the son of the owner of Olkhon Island, who lives on Cape Burkhan. Others said that the Olkhon master did not have sons born of his wife, so he adopted three eagles, who later became the ancestors of the Olkhon shamans.
Therefore, all visitors to the holy places of Baikal should know that this land welcomes and accepts only those who believe in the power of Burkhan, care about Baikal, respect local traditions and come to the Great Lake with pure thoughts.