Tungus shamans received iron bones during violent trances

A closer look

Getting promoted in the corporate world is tough, but Siberian shamanic initiations required literal metaphysical dismemberment. Tungus shamans reported terrifying initiatory trances where ancestral spirits would rip them apart, boil their flesh, and count their bones to ensure they had the 'extra' mystical bone required for magic. The spirits would then forge a new skeleton out of indestructible iron before sewing them back together. You didn't just wake up a shaman; you woke up as an invincible psychopomp with a freshly minted metal frame.