I took a picture of an Bushmen, probably 8000 years old.
Maybe he was doing the trance dance, one of the best-known hunter-gatherer rituals. Also the dance solved many problems and relieved much tension in the community. Dances were generally held at night and were more frequent during winter months. Everyone joined in the dance; to not participate made one vulnerable to malicious spirits of the dead.
To enter the spirit world, a shaman would dance around the fire to the accompaniment of clapping and singing women. In the physical world, the shaman would draw the sickness from an ill person by laying hands on him or her and thus absorbing it into his or her body.
Next time I have to dance around the fire...
In Citrusdal, Western Cape, South Africa.