The arrival of a new American president triggered joy and jubilation Tuesday in a world made weary by warfare, recession and fear. Bulls and goats were slaughtered for feasts in Kenya, toasts were offered at black-tie balls in Europe and shamans in Latin America chanted Barack Obama’s name with reverence.

From Kenya and Indonesia, where Barack Obama has family ties, to Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, Obama’s inauguration sparked a volcanic explosion of hope for better days ahead.

Lima, Peru

A dozen faith healers gathered for Barack Obama’s inauguration, stomping their feet, dancing, shaking rattles, blowing smoke and chanting the new president’s name while throwing flower petals and coca leaves at his photograph.

The ancient Andean ritual is known as Jatun Sonjo, or “Big Heart” in the Quechua language spoken during Peru’s Inca empire.

“In ancient times it was one of the rituals dedicated to Inca and pre-Inca rulers. Today we dedicate it from Peru to Obama because he is the first black president and his heart is big for the whole world,” said lead shaman Juan Osco of the Apus-Inka association.

The shamans, who came together Tuesday from Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia, said they hoped to protect Obama and give him the strength to pull U.S. troops from Iraq, close the Guantanamo Bay prison and usher in world peace.

London, England

The Madame Tussauds museum unveiled a wax statue of Barack Obama on Tuesday in honor of the new American president.

A red sheet covering the statue dropped as “Hail to the Chief” played in the background. Mounted in front of a U.S. flag surrounded by red, white and blue balloons, the sculpture depicts Obama in a dark suit and tie with red stripes, arms folded and flashing his trademark smile.

Louise Darko from Atlanta was standing in line to be photographed with the Obama waxwork. She was thrilled with Obama’s inauguration because of the difficulties her great-grandfather faced when he was one of the first blacks to attend university in the American south.

“Now when I tell my children you can grow up to be anything, I really mean it,” said Darko, 44.

Jakarta, Indonesia

In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, where Obama spent four years as a boy, students from his former school swayed and spun in traditional costumes representing Indonesia’s ethnically diverse islands.

Old classmates gathered to watch his speech at the SDN Menteng 01 elementary school, where he is remembered as a chubby kid called Barry.

“I’m proud that the next president is someone who I have shared time with,” said Rully Dasaad, a fellow Boy Scout with Obama. “It is when we learned tolerance, sharing, pluralism, acceptance and respect of difference in cultures and religions.”

Nairobi, Kenya

From the shantytowns of Kenya’s capital to the rural homestead of Barack Obama’s relatives, thousands of Kenyans slaughtered goats, hoisted American flags and partied into the night Tuesday as a man they see as one of their own ascended to the world’s most powerful office.

In Nairobi’s sprawling Kibera slum, residents raised a U.S. flag and declared Kenya to be America’s 51st state. In the village of Kogelo, where Obama’s father was born and some family members still live, 5,000 people gathered as 10 bulls and six goats were slaughtered for a luxurious feast at a time when the country is enduring a crippling food crisis. Women dressed in colorful print cloths performed traditional dances to the rhythms of cowhide drums.

Halifax, Canada

The moment Barack Obama completed the oath to become the first black president of the United States, 50 members of a predominantly black congregation in a small Halifax church hooted, hollered, popped balloons and embraced in an outpouring of raw jubilation.

So ecstatic were those inside Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, they missed the first few minutes of Obama’s inauguration speech as they danced and cheered.

“If you’re a person of color, you know what it means to be left out, (but) Barack keeps emphasizing that nobody will be left out,” Wanda Lewis of Halifax said earlier. “It’s very significant for us because, in many ways, we’ve felt left out. Today, we feel alive. We feel free.”

The small but exuberant event was one of many gatherings held across Canada.

Kabul, Afghanistan

Obama promised to “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.” That’s in line with his pledge to end the war in Iraq.

The U.S. must pull out all forces from Iraq by the end of 2011 according to a new security agreement that took effect on Jan. 1.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh welcomed Obama’s pledge but said any decision should be made jointly.

Baghdad, Iraq

Hussein Mohammed Ali, a teacher in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, took special pride in watching Barack Obama take office as president of the United States. “He’s a black man like me,” the jubilant Ali said.

Ali is among about 350,000 Iraqis with African ancestry – descendants of slaves brought to Iraq when it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Many of them live in the Basra area, where they feel marginalized in Iraqi society.

“I feel so proud and happy today because Obama, a black man like me, will assume the post of president of the world’s most powerful country,” Ali said. “The great event taking place today represents compensation for all the years of deprivation and denial that black people lived through.”

Like many Iraqis, the 28-year-old is looking to the Obama administration to bring changes to U.S. policy in Iraq, where nearly six years of conflict have left society traumatized and anxious for peace.

“Obama will bring positive changes to Iraq by changing American policy toward our country,” Ali said.

From Associated Press Reports