Soul Hunt by Abbas – Courtesy Magnum in Motion. Black and white, Sound, 4mins.

Starless is the sky where I was born
And as I turned into a breeze
I flew down…
– Chaman Incantation

FIRE, WATER, AIR, and EARTH are the four elements used in pagan rituals, be they by the shamans of Siberia, the Voodoo in Haiti, the Dogon of Mali, the Shinto in Japan, or the Bari of the Amazon. In this photographic portrait, Iranian photojournalist Abbas documents the ceremonies and practices of diverse spiritualities from around the world.

Abbas has covered wars and revolutions in Biafra, Bangladesh, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, the Middle East, Chile, Cuba, and South Africa during apartheid. He photographed the revolution in Iran, to which he returned in 1997 after seventeen years of voluntary exile. His interest in religion led him in 2002 to start a new long-term project about the clash of religions in today’s world.

Text Sophie Pinchetti