The chairman of a northern Michigan Indian tribe says he’ll sign a same-sex marriage bill Friday, then preside at the wedding of two men.

The myths of Jeju are the bones of its shamanist tradition. It is the myths that support the practice, the flesh, just as the skeleton supports the body. The spirits, the purpose of shamanism being the relationship between mortal and immortal worlds, provide the life force.

DNA evidence has revealed that the oldest known common male ancestor is 340,000 years old, more than twice as old as previous estimates.

Nozolile Zintoyinto’s 82-year-old eyes widened when she looked up at the corrugated iron ceiling of her mud hut. “I hope it does not collapse!” she exclaimed. A thunderstorm, accompanied by pounding rain, was lashing the Bulungula district in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

In the Isthmus of Panama, in the archaeological mound of Casita de Piedra, a group of a dozen of stones was discovered. The discovery became the earliest evidence of practicing shamanism in Central America. About 4,000 years ago, the stones were brought here in bags or baskets, which eventually turned into ashes.