https://archive.org/details/TheShamanCostumeAndItsSignificanceTHE SHAMAN COSTUME
AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
BY
UNO ITOLMBERG
TURKU 1922
Helsinki 1922,
Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Kirjapainon Osakeyhtio.
The Shaman Costume and its Significance.
It is unknown whether the ancient Finnish sorcerer, noiia,
who for the performance of his duties fell into »trances», pos¬
sessed any special magic equipment. The Finnish word kan-
nas, appearing in North-Finnish and Russian Carelian folklore
denotes the magic drum of the Lapps. Whether any other
Finno-Ugrians than the Lapps, and in addition, the Ostiaks
and Vog'ules in Siberia should have used these drums, we have
no information. Even in excavated graves no traces of them
have been found. Still more difficult is the tracing of a shaman
costume for the Finno-Ugrians, which costume, together
with the drum, formed the most important equipment of the
Siberian shaman.
It was believed, indeed, in Russian Carelia, that the pow¬
er of the noiia was transferred to his pupil, should the sor¬
cerer present the latter with his cap and tinder-box. Simul¬
taneously, the former owner of these articles lost his magic
powers. Also in some of the initiation ceremonies for a new
noiia, the!' head-dress had a certain significance attached to
it, therone performing the ceremony placing his cap on the
head of the one to be initiated. Further, attention is drawn
to the head-dress of the noiia by those folk-songs, in which
the word lakkipdd (’becapped’) is used as a variant for the
name of the sorcerer. Can it be possible that these slight items
of knowledge, in particular the last-mentioned, contain, as
Julius Krohn (Suomen suvun pak. jumalanpalv. 129) assu¬
med. »a memorial of a special shaman costume in Finland))?
The belief that a person could transfer his powers to an¬
other along with some object with which he has for a longer
period been in close connection is based on a very common
magical conception, and need not as such presuppose any¬
thing out of the common in the article itself. The term, also,
lakkipaa, as a name for the sorcerer, need not imply the exis¬
tence of a special head-dress for the shaman, in some manner
connected with his activities. It may mean only that the noita
wore his cap in the performance of his duties. In this way we
know the Lapps to have acted. Among the old people in Fin¬
nish Lapland a memory still exists of the covering of the sor¬
cerer’s head each time he began his incantations (Appelgren,
Muinaism. Ylidist. Aikak. V, 60)./ But in spite of this there are
no traditions among the Lapps regarding the existence of a
special shaman-cap or costume. I he latter are unmentioned
in the accounts of missionaries dating from the close of the
seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth,
neither is there any note of them in the earliest account of
all, written in the thirteenth century, which otherwise desci i-
bes in detail the magic ceremonies and the magic drum of the
Western Lapps, even to the pictures on the latter (P. A. Munch,
Symbolae ad historian! antiquiorem rerum norvegicarum, 4—5,
De finnis). All that is mentioned is that when the sorcerer
made his preparations for the task imposed on him by his posi¬
tion, he placed himself Hinder an outspread cloth» ( magus ex-
tenso panno sub quo se ad profundus veneficas incantationes
praeparet), which in all probability covered his head and fea¬
tures. The spread cloth cannot mean a regular shaman costume;
there is no doubt but that the alien eye-witness would have
mentioned the fact, had the Lapp shaman actually r dressed
himself in a special costume. On the base of information from
Russian Lapland, Satkov (Izv. Arkhang. O. d. Iz. R. Seveia,
1911, 486—7) speaks of a kind of shaman-belt in three colours
used there, which was girded on by the sorcerer before falling
asleep, in the belief that he would obtain desired information
The shaman costume and its significance.
5
during his sleep. The habit, of all to judge an isolated, private
one, is probably a later invention, as it is in conflict with at
least that conception of other Lapps, viz., that the noidde,
and even his assistant, as related by Leem (Beskrivelse, 475),
must take off their belts, which were obviously believed to
prevent the soul of the shaman from leaving his body. A simi¬
lar belief is met with in Siberia, e. g., among the Yakuts, whose
shaman Solovyev (Sbornik gaz. »Sibir» I, 410) says he lets
loose the bands of belts and even of hair. If thus we find no
trace or mention of any kind of shaman costume among the
Lapps, amongst whom the shaman with his drum has existed
up to a quite recent time, there is still less reason to suppose
the Finns proper, or the other Baltic Finns, to have preserved
a memory of a shaman costume, which in the mists of anti¬
quity may have been in use among them.
Neither do we find among the Volga peoples or the Per-
mians (Sirians and Votyakes) any signs hinting at the use
of a special shaman costume by their sorcerers. Not even in
the Life of St. Stefan (f 1396), the converter of the Sirians,
which otherwise contains valuable information regarding the
beliefs and customs of those times, among other matters a
mention of the famous sorcerer, Pam, is there anything said
which could point to the existence of special equipment among
these shamans of the earliest stage. Not until we come to the
Ugrian dwelling-places in Siberia do we find any mention of
such. Even here, however, the reports of the use of a shaman
costume are restricted to the most northern and eastern Ostiak
territories, and it is difficult to be quite certain whether the
custom in question relates to the Ostiaks or their neighbours,
the Samoyedes. Should the Ostiaks in some districts have
made use of shaman costumes, the custom might still, as Kar-
jalainen (Jugral. usk. 554) points out, be explained as having
sprung from an alien, Samoyede example.
Among the Samoyedes, shaman costumes are met with
6
Uno Holmbekg.
already on the European side. Veniamin (Vestnik R. Geogr.
0. 1855, 118), whose account deals with the Yuraks of the
Mezen District in the Government of Archangel, relates that
Fig. 1. Yakut shaman costume seen from behind. Bird-type.
After E. Pekarskiy. (Note the ribs and the bones
of the arm hanging under the sleeves.)
the local shamans used a long chamois cloak of reindeer-skin,
which was »decorated with tassdls, iron figures, buttons, and
other pendants». As the most important feature of the shaman
costume he mentions a special head-dress, called the »eye-
coverer». Finscii (Reise, 55), who in his wanderings in the
The shaman costume and its significance.
7
seventies in Siberia saw a Samoyede shaman dressed in a soil¬
ed white cloak, decorated with galloons, relates having heard
that leather costumes fitted with iron plates were no longer
the fashion».
The Samoyede costume with »iron gewgaws» attached has,
however, in other places, been in use much later, although the
best preserved specimens are now perhaps collected already
in the museums. Closely related with these »iron costumes*)
is without doubt the one described by Beliavskiy in his work
»A Journey to the Arctic*), published in 1833. This costume,
called Ostiak by him, is »sewn of reindeer-skins, and is long
and fitted with sleeves. Its significance lies in the number
of metal hooks, rings, plates and rattles which, mostly of iron,
cover the costume so completely that it is impossible to see
of what material the latter is made*). In addition, he relates
of a special shaman head-dress, which was made of strips of
cloth of different colours. Sometimes the shaman would add
to the above an iron ring round his head »to show that other¬
wise the skull might burst with the power of his wizardry*
(Poyezdka, 115). Karjalainen (Jugr. usk. 552) assumed
that Beliavskiy no describes sights seen by him when he speaks
of »the iron material and the exaggerated number of gew¬
gaws*). However this may be, the foregoing description is
typical of the shaman costumes of many of the North Siberian
tribes.
Gazing at these costumes, the question arises — what
has been the original purport of these strange garments? Kar¬
jalainen discusses the question in his work »The Religion
of the Ugrians*) and comes to the conclusion that »the purpose
of the costume was apparently twofold; partly it was intended
to affect the spectator, but the main purpose was probably
directed towards the spirits. The effigies of animals are the
shaman’s assistants, containing thus his magic powers, the
rings and metal figures, little bells etc., give forth music.
8
But m addition, according to the views prevalent in many
districts, it was essential for
Fig. 2.
Covering for the breast worn by
Yakut shaman. After
E. Pekarskiy.
a shaman to hide his everyday
apparition when performing his
duties, in order to be left in
peace at other times by the
spirits which he had called to
his assistance while practising
his art; the purpose of the co¬
stume was thus also to deceive
the spirits*) (Jugr. usk. 552; cfr.
Miiiailovskiy, Samanstvo, 72
—3). This explanation by Kar-
jalainen undoubtedly hits the
mark in its reading of the purp¬
ort of the animal effigies at¬
tached to the costume, but the
significance of the costume it¬
self would seem to be unclear
to him.
A closer insight into the mat¬
ter is possible only after the
sifting of a wide field of com¬
parative material. And for this
reason we will examine all the
shaman costumes which have
been in use among the large
Altaic race of Siberia. To this
same civilization, embracing the use of the shaman costume,
belong also the Yenisei-Ostiaks, the Samoyedes, and the Ug-
rians living in the vicinity of the latter, as far as they can
actually be said to have made use of shaman costumes. The
most eastern tribes of North Siberia, such as the Chukchee,
the Koriaks etc., who have also possessed shamans, but who
form another circle of civilization, fall outside of the bound¬
aries of this investigation. The tribes belonging to the Altaic
The shaman costume and its significance. 9
race whom we know to have used shaman costumes are thus:
the various Tungus tribes, the Yakuts and the Dolganes, small
Tartar tribes living in the vicinity of Altai mountains, the north¬
ern Mongols and the Buriats. Most probably these costumes
have earlier been used also by Kirghis and the other southern
Tartar tribes before their conversion to Islam, and similarly,
by the Kalmucks, before these went over to the religion of the
Thibetans. Many even of the Tartar tribes from around the
Altai have given up the use of shaman costumes, nor have the
Buriats preserved theirs, but the iron objects found in the
burial-places of the shamans show the latter to have dressed
themselves in earlier times in costumes similar to those used
even to-day among the more northern tribes.
Generally, shaman costumes are beginning to decline
everywhere, although the belief in shamanism still prevails.
Certain older sources already relate of Siberian shamans who
practised their art in everyday dress. These reports may pos¬
sibly have their foundation in the unwillingness of primitive
peoples, more especially their shamans,. to show their most
sacred possessions when this can be avoided, but it is also
known with certainty that the old costumes had in some di¬
stricts already at an early date lost their earlier importance,
as soon as their purpose had been forgotten. The other
magic instruments, such as the drum, would seem to have
been more essential to the shaman, and their use has there¬
fore been able to survive that of the costumes.
The development from a costumed shaman to one with¬
out. special garments has however proceeded, and still pro¬
ceeds, gradually. In the twinkling of an eye no old beliefs
or customs can altogether disappear. While the complete
shaman costume was composed earlier of many separate art¬
icles of clothing: the cloak itself, a covering for the breast
hung round the neck under the opening of - the cloak, high
footwear, these reaching at times high enough to cover the
thighs, gloves or gauntlets and a head-dress, one can observe
10
Uno Holmbeeo.
during the degeneration of the costume how generally first the
gauntlets — if these have actually been everywhere in use —
and then the boots disappear. The cloak
# and the head-dress seem able to contend
for themselves longer, sometimes the
former, sometimes the latter remaining
behind as a memento of the ancient
costume of the shaman. The earlier head¬
dress has in some places been supersed¬
ed by gewgaws hung round an ordinary
cap or, as is the case with the Lebed-
Tartars, simply by a woman’s veil
wound round the head while practising
Bpdte the art of shamanism (Fig. 3; K. Hilden,
BP fpyt. Terra, 1916, 136 ff.). The Buriats have
,S' I:;'‘ r. . begun, in the place of the former co-
J stumc and drum, to use two sticks,
which they call »horses» (hobbyhorses),
Lebed-Tartar 3 ' shaman the handles of which they sometimes
in his present attire, carve into the shape of a horse’s head
After a photograph by an( j phe lower ends to resemble hoofs
(Fig. 14). At times, the middle of the
stick is made to look like a »knee» (Agapitov and Kiiangalov,
Izv. Yost.-Sib. 0. R. Geogr. 0. XIV, 1 —2, 42—3). A similar
method of communication has been known also to the Black-
forest Tartars, who called however only one of the sticks the
’horse’ (Potanin, Ocerki, IV, 54). Generally, small bells, the.
skins of small wild animals, etc., have been tied to these hobby¬
horses (cfr. Scand. ganritf).
The degeneration of the shaman costume among even
the northern tribes implies not only the disappearance of vari¬
ous parts of the costume, but also the falling-away and loss
of the articles made of iron and other materials which formerly
were hung on the costume. In older times the usual custom
on the death of a shaman was to array the latter in the costume
The shaman costume and its significance.
11
in which he had practised his art, the body being then placed
either in a burial-place on the ground or more often in the
aerial tomb generally used by Siberian tribes. Later, it has
become the habit in many places for the relatives to rip off
all the metal figures and gewgaws from the shaman’s costume
at his death, and to preserve them until a new shaman of the
same family appears, when the gewgaws are attached to his
costume, if possible, in their right places. It is possible, how¬
ever, for small mistakes to occur,(which are then handed down
in the family to the following costumes. The investigator need
not be led astray by these accidents, provided he has a suffi¬
ciency of costumes as material and can compare- these.
Fully complete shaman costumes with all the essential
parts intact and the various objects belonging to the same are
seldom met with nowadays even in the remotest districts of
Siberia. But in the museums at Yakutsk, Irkutsk, Minusinsk,
Krasnoyarsk etc and, above all, in the great museums at Petro-
grad, we can become acquainted with wealthy and invaluable
collections of costumes and objects, including complete sha¬
man costumes, the whole forming a material widely illustra¬
tive of shamanism. And with the help of these complete cos¬
tumes we can use for our investigation also other costumes,
more or less affected by the tooth of time; and in their light,
the scanty descriptions of shaman costumes met with here
and there in literature relating to Siberia become possessed
of great importance.
Starting from these different sources of information, our
collection of facts is wide enough to admit of an attempt at a
reconstruction of the intention of the said costumes. To reach
down to the marrow of the question we must first establish
the fact that not all of the many »gewgaws» with which the
costume was hung are as common or as essential. Many of
them are accidental, and these have each their own history.
But even those objects, which over a wide area, in the cos-
12
UNO H O L M B E R G
tumes of different peoples, would seem to play an important
part, are not always so closely connected with the costume
as a whole as to throw light on the nature of this peculiar gar¬
ment. Of these secondary objects, as they might well be ter¬
med, which are usually made of iron, may be mentioned the
sun and moon, a kind of metal mirror with figures of twelve
animals representing the twelve signs of the Zodiac (some¬
times roughly imitated also by certain northern tribes), a round
flat ’earth-disc’, through the hole in the centre of which the
shaman is said to visit the underworld, and further, figures
representing certain species of assistant-animals to the shaman,
quadrupeds, reptiles, fish, snakes and, in special measure
birds, mostly the loom and other diving birds, which are regard¬
ed as sacred] and are believed to assist the shaman on his
spirit-journeys (Figs. 1, 2, 11). The more assistant-animals
a shaman possessed, their effigies in iron or brass or their skins
being sometimes hung also from the head-dress of the shaman,
the more mighty was he in the eyes of his tribe. Altogether
for the sake of this outward reputation, however, these effi¬
gies Avere not attached to the costume, each having its oavii
significance. In many costumes the effigies of human-like
spirits e\ r en are seen.
Besides these objects, important enough from the sha¬
man’s point of vieAV, but secondary in importance compared
with the costume itself, and A\ r hose intention we do not intend
to study in detail, their significance being often independant of
the costume, the latter contains, especially among the northern
tribes, many other objects of iron, which are an integral part
of the costume and tend to make the same heavy and uncom¬
fortable. Generally, the costumes are also in this respect not
ahvays as perfect, iioav this and now that iron plate or hanging
having dropped off; often, they have strayed from their orig¬
inal site, sometimes only one or two being left to shoAV the
origin of the costume. In this state, as individual phenonema,
The shaman costume and its significance. 13
their meaning cannot be divined. Not until Ave liave before
us a Avell-preserved shaman costume with all its parts from
head-dress to footAvear, not set together of parts of different
costumes, as is sometimes the case in museums, and has pos¬
sibly also happened in practice, but forming a whole, then
only does the secret of these mysterious costumes seem to
solve itself. They are seen, not as products of the temporary
whims of individual shamans or as the result of accidental
