"Aberima volunteered to be shot to check if the spell had worked."

If he had truly believed that the spell had worked, it might have. Given that they all had some doubt (why test it otherwise) why didn't they shoot him in the toe?
Although I admit to disbelief when hearing a story like this, I don't find it funny. Any more than I am amused when some child in the U.S. dies of pneumonia because his parents refused medical attention insisted he could be healed by prayers.

kat - I have always been fascinated by the "ghost dance". While ridiculing the indians for their "stupidity", local authorities banned the dance. It frightened them. The power of a tribe believing in its ability to survive frightened them. "Stupidity" frightened them. I wonder who believed in the power of the dance more - the indian or the white man.