When visiting the planet’s more remote corners, it’s almost reassuring to see that some traditions have stood the test of time. Few people treasure their centuries-old rites more than the nomadic tribes of Mongolia’s steppe. Without cities and monuments to recall their past, it’s these rituals that bind their society, with the role of the shaman central to their remembrance. Hamid Sardar immersed himself in the tribes’ way of life for 16 years for his debut book Dark Heavens – a visual account of a people who continue to defy the tick of modernity.