> we see something very similar in european traditions related to the wild hunt. in celtic and germanic traditions, the wild hunt is a horde of ghostly specters that cross the night led by the king of the wild hunt, cernunnos/herne the hunter, the horned god, who blows a horn as if calling the spirits and announcing the subversion of the current order indians call witches daayans/dakinis, tantric female followers of shiva. interestingly, the greeks associated him with dionysus because they both are gods of liberation and madness. both have huge parties with wild, drunk followers half-human monsters/satyrs or ganas. both wear tiger skin. the bull and the snake are sacred symbols for them, etc. the greek epic dionysiaca even says that dionysius traveled to india which he conquered and became king. returning to the dakinis, these wild/drunk female followers of dionysus also practiced cannibalism like the dakinis. according to white in the kiss of the yogini and other tantric academic works it seems that what we know today as tantra came from native pre ie cults around witches who did rituals in cemeteries and caves involving the consumption of menstrual blood and semen mixed with drugs/alcohol to get powers and that eventually some hindus and buddhists were admited on them developing latter a "lite" version of tantra where explicit sexual practices were turned into metaphors and the "magic" as a way to achieve liberation (this not being the original purpose). the language and practices of tantras are similar to voodoo and european witchery (the latter also asociated to women, midnight wild parties full of half-man half-animaldemons, and cemeteries and also persecuted by the church like the yoginis were persecuted by brahmins). there's even mention that the dakinis/yoginis fly on sticks, which reminds of the medieval witch and the broom (possibly a stick used for sexual stimulation to reach mental states).
Brazil