Mystery Picture of Shaman Feeding Stone - Please Help!

Some weeks ago I stumbled upon this picture on the website of danish researcher Claus Emmeche (original link here).

Apparently, what we see here is a (female?) shaman ‘feeding’ a stone. But what is going on in the picture? Is that a stone circle in the background? From which direction is the sun shining and is it actually shining at all? What’s with the pirate skull on the standing stone? Where was this picture taken? When? And why?

The picture was originally lifted from a russian website a few years ago by ethnographer Roslyn M. Frank, Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa.

I have corresponded with Professor Frank and she has kindly allowed me to post the picture here in the hope that my learned readers may contribute to solving some of the riddles connected to this picture.

Actually, what’s going on in the picture?

I will admit at once that I know next to nothing about shamanism, the origins of the picture or the people depicted in it.

But I did notice at once the rather fake light in the scene which gives it an overall appearance of a ’staged production’ or, indeed, a silent movie.

The shadows of the stone and the two persons clearly visible on the ground indicate that bright sunlight is coming from behind the left of the observer, and yet the right hand side of the stone as well as the back of the shaman(ess?) are brightly lit, as if another (even brighter) sun is shining from the far right of the observer. How many suns are there?

If you look closely on the lower right hand side of the stone (click above pic to enlarge), you’ll see a narrow, dark stripe where two shadows cast by the shamaness overlap. So, by implication, there must be two suns to the right hand side of the observer, slightly offset from each other, and then the aforementioned sun to the left. Right?

One may notice that the (right hand side of the) back of the sitting person is not quite as clearly lit as the shaman’s back, rather it lies in shadows as would be expected with light coming from the first (left hand) sun.

In the background, just behind the tree, the ground seems to give way to a painted backdrop of some kind. To me, the stone circle behind the tree is clearly a painting. And isn’t it a bit strange that the sun should shine brightly (from three directions, no less!) on such an overcast day?

What really riddles me is the fact that someone has carved a rather large skull relief into the upper right hand side of the sacrificial stone. Is this indeed a traditional siberian shaman stone carving? As I said, I know nothing about this subject, but it looks rather Mickey Mouse to me.

All in all I get the feeling that this is indeed a still picture from a movie production from, let’s say, roughly sovjet era before 1970? If it was hollywood I’d maybe say first half of the 20th century.

Do you know this picture?

Is this a movie still? Is it sovjet propaganda? Does it speak for or against shamanism? Dear reader, you are welcome with any suggestions, interpretations, facts and speculations on this picture!