reporter: back in the atay mountains, the spiritual guide yelena gamayun insists healers are more thana rural phenomenon. she says her clients from moscow couldn't get by without people like her. in a country where reality is a painful experience for many, russians cope by hoping for miracles. host: russians aren't the only ones who believe in higher powers. so do people who practice voodoo -- an ancient religion rooted in western africa. believers pray to a supreme being and around 400 other spirits like the gods of thunder or water. benin is considered the cradle of voodoo. in the 16th century, the religion spread to the americas with the slave trade -- particularly brazil, haiti, the dominican republic, and the u.s. state of louisiana. voodoo has around 60 million adherents worldwide. in benin, around one in five people hold the belief. but some of the practices common in voodoo are highly controversial. reporter: performing a dance for the thunder-god. houndedji is among the few villagers to master the dance. she learned it while she was confined to a voodoo convent. for houndedji,

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