Topic: Aboriginal Siberia : a study in social anthropology _ Shamanism - 1914

[Prometheus]

beard ; and foli, a inetul looking-glass with representations of
twelve animals on it ; this is hung round the neck and worn on
the breast ; sometimes it is sewed on the shaman's coat.

Occasionally the Buryat shaman has also a whip with bells, but
generally all these implements tend to disappear in modern times.
Two other ethical and linguistic groups, which, although they
live only partly in Siberia, yet belong to the Neo-Siberians, are
the Samoyed and the Finnic tribes, and a survey of their
shaman accessories is of special interest in connexion with those
of the Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic shamans.

The most important belonging of a fadibe/j (Samoyed shaman) is
his pcnser (drum), which he prepares according to a special set of
rules. He must kill a male reindeer-calf with his own hands,
and prepare the skin in such a way that no veins are left on it.
In these preparations inJca (i. e. a woman), being considered unclean,
cannot assist.^

The drums, which are ornamented with metal disks and plates,
and covered with transparent reindeer hide, are round in shape
and of various sizes. The largest drum seen by Castren was
nearly two feet in diameter and two and a half inches in height. -
According to Dr. Finsch's description, the drums of the Samoyed
and of the Ob-Ostyak are like the Altai drums, round, broad-
rimmed, covered on one side only, and with a diameter of from
30 cm. to 50 cm.

The shaman's costume consists of a chamois-leather coat called
samburzia, ornamented with red cloth. Eyes and face are covered
with a piece of cloth, since the tadihey is supposed to penetrate
into the spirit-world with his inner sight. Instead of a cap there
are two bands round his head to keep the cloth over the face in
position. An iron disk hangs on his breast.''

In certain jDlaces the tadihey uses a cap with a visor, and over
the leather coat jingling trinkets and little bells and strips of
cloth of various shades are hung. In this ornamentation the
number seven plays an important role.*

Among the Laj^ps. the drum, kanniis or Icvobdas, which is now
but an antiquarian curiosity, j^layed a most important part.' It

' V. Idavin, The Samoyed, 1847, pp. 112-13.

^ Castren, Reiseerinnerungen aus den Jahren 1838-1844 (Petersburg,
1853), p. 192.

I Op. cit., pp. 192-3. " Islavin, op. cit.. p. 113.

?' Scheft'erus, Lappland (Kunigsberg, 1675), p. 137, &c.



THE ACCESSORIES OF THE SHAMAN 227

was made of birch or pine wood, grown if possible in a sunny
spot, since such a tree would be acceptable to the sun and the
good spirits. There are two kinds of drum. One is composed
of a wooden hoop, with two cross-pieces of wood inside covered
with hide ; the other is an egg-shaped flat box, hollowed out
of the trunk of a tree, and also covered with hide. The most
significant ornaments are the drawings in red. They represent
good and bad spirits, the sun. the stars, various animals, lakes,
forests, and men. The division between this W'orld and the upper
is clearly shown. Among many other symbolic figures thei'e is
also the image of a noiida (shaman). Each drum has its metal
ring with small pendants and a drum-stick of reindeer horn.

The Lapps take gi-eat care of their drums, and when not in use
they and the drum-sticks are wrapped in furs. No woman dares
to touch the drum.



CHAPTER XI

THE SHAMAN IN ACTION

Since the performances of shamans as professionals called in
to treat diseases, to answer inquiries, for soothsaying and other
similar purposes, are very much the same among the different
tribes of Palaeo-Siberians, we shall confine ourselves to giving a
few typical examples of these performances. The same procedure
will be followed with regard to the Neo-Siberians.

Palaeo-Siberians.

Tlie Konjalc. Professional shamanism among the Koryak is at
a most primitive stage of development, yet at the same time,
thanks to the influence of European culture, it is also decadent.

Jochelson speaks ^ of the shamanistic performances which he
saw as follows : ' During the entire period of my sojourn among
the Koryak I had opportunity to see only two shamans. Both
were young men, and neither enjoyed special respect on the part
of his relatives. Both were poor men who worked as labourers
for the rich members of their tribe. One of them was a Maritime
Koryak from Alutor. He used to come to the village of
Kamenskoj'^e in company with a Koryak trader. He was a
bashful youth, his features, though somewhat wild, were flexible
and pleasant, and his eyes were bright. I asked him to show me
proof of his shamanistic art. Unlike other shamans, he consented
without waiting to be coaxed. The people put out the oil-lamps
in the underground house in which he stopped with his master.
Only a few coals were glowing on the hearth, and it was almost
dark in the house. On the large platform which is put up in the
front part of the house as the seat and sleeping-place for visitors,
and not far from where my wife and I were sitting, we could
discern the shaman in an ordinary shaggy shirt of reindeer skin,
squatting on the reindeer skins that covered the platform. His
face was covered with a large oval drum.

' Jochelson, The Koryak, p. 49.



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 229

'Sudilenly he commencetl to beat the drum softly and to sing
in a phiintive voice ; then the beating of the drum grew stronger
and stronger ; and his song — in which coukl be heard sounds
imitating the howling of tlie wolf, the groaning of the cargoose,
and the voices of other animals, his guardian spirits — appeared to
come, sometimes from the corner nearest to my seat, then from
the opposite end, then again from the middle of the house, and
then it seemed to proceed from the ceiling. He was a ventrilo-
quist. Shamans versed in this art are believed to possess
particular power. His drum also seemed to sound, now over my
head, now at my feet, now behind, now in front of me. I could
see nothing ; but it seemed to me that the shaman was moving
around, noiselessly stepping ujion the platform with his fur
shoes, then retiring to some distance, then coming nearer, lightly
jumping, and then squatting down on his heels.

'All of a sudden the sound of the drum and the singing ceased.
When the women had relighted their lamps, he was lying,
completely exhausted, on a white reindeer skin on which he had
been sitting before the shamanistic performance. The concluding
words of the shaman, which he pronounced in a recitative, were
uttered as though spoken by the spirit whom he had summoned
up, and who declared that the "disease" had left the village, and
would not return.'

The other shamanistic ceremony was performed by a shaman at
Jochelson's request for the purpose of divining whether he would
reach home safely.

During this ceremony ^ the shaman suddenly asked Jochelson
for his knife, saying, 'The spirits say that I should cut myself
with a knife. You will not be afraid ? ' ^

Jochelson gave him, not without some scruples, his travelling
knife, which was sharp and looked like a dagger. 'The light in
the tent was put out ; but the dim light of the Arctic spring night
(it was in April), which penetrated the canvas of the tent, was
sufficient to allow me to follow the movements of the shaman.
He took the knife, beat the drum, and sang, telling the spirits
that he was ready to carry out their wishes. After a little while
he put away the drum, and, emitting a rattling sound from his
throat, he thrust the knife into his breast up to the hilt. I
noticed, however, that after having cut his jacket, he turned the

' Op. cit., p. 51. 2 iijij^



230 RELIGION

knife downwards. He drew out the knife with the same rattling
in his throat, and resumed beating the drum.''

Then he said to Jochelson that he would have a good journey,
and, returning the knife to him, showed through the hole in his
coat the blood on his body. ' Of course, these spots had been
made before ', says Jochelson. ^ * However, this cannot be looked
upon as mere deception. Things visible and imaginary are
confounded to such an extent in primitive consciousness that the
shaman himself may have thought that there was, invisible to
others, a real gash in his body, as had been demanded by the
spirits. The common Koryak, however, are sure that the shaman
actually cuts himself, and that the wound heals up immediately.'

The CJiukcJice. Among the Chukchee, says Bogoras,'^ a typical
shamanistic performance is carried on in the inner room of the
house, when it is closed for the night. This room, especially
among the Reindeer Chukchee, is very small. Sometimes the
performance here descril)ed is preceded by another, held in the
outer room, in da)dight, and usually connected with a communal
ceremonial.

When the drum is tightened and moistened, and the light is
put out, the shaman, who is often quite naked down to the waist,
begins to operate.

In modern times Chukchee shamans imitate the Tungus
shamans in smoking a pipe filled with strong narcotic tobacco.

The shaman beats the drum and sings tunes; at first slowly,
then more i-apidly. His songs have no words, and there is no
order in their succession. Though the audience take no actual
part in the ceremony, they are in fact of some assistance, as
forming a very primitive * chorus '. Their frequent exclamations
encourage the shaman's actions.

Without an ocitJcGlin {' to give answering calls," participle) a
Chukchee shaman considers himself unable to perform his office
fittingly ; novices, therefore, while trying to learn the shamanistic
practices, usually induce a brother or a sister to respond, thus
encouraging the zeal of the performer.'*

' Among the Asiatic Eskimo, the wife and other members of the
family form a kind of chorus, which from time to time catches up
the tune and sings with the shaman. Among the Russianized
Yukaghir of the lower Kolyma, the wife is also the assistant of

1 Op. cit., p. 52. " Ibid. ' The Chukchee, p. 433.

* Op. cit., p. 434.



I



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 281

her sli.iman husband, ami during the performance she givos him
encouraging answers, and he addresses her as his ''supporting
staff"".' •

When the IrJct come to the shaman, he acts in a different way,
according to whether he has or has not a ventriloquistic gift.

If tlie shaman is only 'single-bodied', the kcht Avill sing and
beat the drum through his body, the sound only of the shaman's
voice being changed. "SVhen he is a ventriloquist, the At?c/ appear
as ' separate voices '.

Bogoras says that shamans could, with credit to themselves,
carry on a contest with the best practitioners of similar arts in
civilized countries. The voices are successful imitations of
different sounds : human, superhuman, animal, even of tempests
and winds, or of an echo, and come from all sides of the room ;
from without, from above, and from underground. The whole of
Nature may sometimes be represented in the small inner room of
the Chukchee.

Then the spirit either l)egins to talk or departs with a sound
like the buzzing of a fly. Wliile it stays, it beats the drum
violently, speaking in its own language, if it happens to be any
animal except the wolf, fox, and raven, which can speak in the
language of men ; but there is a peculiar timbre in their voices.

Usually it is not only one spirit which appears, and this part of
the performance might be called a dialogue. Sometimes the
shaman does not himself understand the language he is using, and
an interpreter is necessary. There are cases when spirit-language,
comprising a mixture of Koryak, Yakut, and Yukaghir, has to be
translated into Russian for the Russianized shamans and natives,
especially those of the Kolyma district.

Jochelson tells of a Tungus shaman nicknamed Mashka, whose
' spirits ', being of Koryak origin, spoke through him in that
language : ' I asked him several times to dictate to me what his
spirits were saying, and he would invaribly reply that he did not
remember, that he forgot everything after the seance was over, and
that, besides, he did not understand the language of his spirits.
At first I thought that he was deceiving me ; but I had several
opportunities of convincing myself that he really did not under-
stand any Koryak. Evidently he had learned by heart Koryak
incantations which he could pronounce only in a state of
excitement.'^

' Op. cit., p. 435. * Jochelson, The Koryak, p. 52.



232 RELIGION

There is no regular shanianist language among the Cliukchee,
merely a few special expressions.

'Among the north-western branch of the Koryak, the "spirits"
are said to use a special mode of pronunciation, similar to that
used by the south-eastern Koryak and the Chukchee. A few
words are also said to be peculiar to them. Among the Asiatic
Eskimo the '* spirits " are said to have a special language. Many
words of it were given me by the shamans, and most of them are
analogous to the '' spirit " language known to various Eskimo
tribes of America, both in Alaska and on the Atlantic side.'^

Sometimes the spirits are very mischievous. In the movable
tents of the Reindeer people an invisible hand will sometimes turn
everything upside down, and throw different objects about, such
as snow, piece? of ice, &c.

* I must mention '. says Bogoras,- ' that the audience is strictly
forbidden to make any attempts whatever to touch the " spirits ".
These latter highly resent any intrusion of this kind, and retaliate
either on the shaman. Avhom they may kill on the spot, or on the
trespassing listener, who runs the risk of having his head broken,
or even a knife thrust through his ribs in the dark. I received
warnings of this kind at almost every shamanistic performance.'

After the preliminary intercourse with the ' spirits ', the shaman,
still in the dark, gives advice and utters prophecies. For example,
at one ceremony, where Bogoras was present, the shaman Galmu-
urgin prophesied to his host that many wild reindeer would be at
his gate the following autumn. ' One buck ', he said, ' will stop on
the right side of the entrance, and pluck at the grass, attracted
by a certain doe of dark-grey hair. This attraction must be
strengthened with a special incantation. The reindeer-buck,
while standing there, must be killed with the bow, and the arrow
to be used must have a flat rhomboid point. This will secure the
successful killing of all the other wild reindeer.*''

After his introductory interview with the spirits, the shaman
sometimes * sinks ' ; he falls to the ground unconscious, while his
soul is wandering in the other worlds, talking with the ' spirits '
and asking them for advice. The modern shamans actually ' sink '
very seldom, but they know that it was done in the old days.

When shamanistic performances are connected with ceremonials,
they are carried on in the outer room. Veiitriloquism is not

1 Bogoras, Tlie Chuhcliee, p. 438. - Op. cit., p. 439.

=5 Op. cit., p. 440.



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 233

practised on tliose occasions, and tlie Icle ' is bent on mischief, and
among other thinj^s, seeks to destroy the life which is under
his temporary pcsver.'^ Many tricks are performed by shamans
even in daylight.

Upune. the wife of a dead Chukchee shaman, possessed won-
derful shamanistic power ; she herself declared that she had
only a small part of her husband's ability. In a shamanistic
performance " she took a largo round pebble of the size of a man's
fist, set it upon the drum, and, blowing upon it from all sides,
began to mumble and snort in the same kele-Yike manner. She
called our attention by signs — being in the possession of the Jccle, she
had lost the faculty of human speech — and then began to wring
the pebble with both hands. Then a continuous row of very
small pebbles began to fall from her hands. This lasted for fully
five minutes, till quite a heap of small pebbles had collected below,
on the skin. The larger pebble, however, remained smooth and
intact.' -

At the request of Bogoras the female shaman repeated this feat
with the same success, and all the upper part of the body being
naked, it was easy to observe her movements. The practice of
stabbing oneself through the abdomen with a knife is universal in
shamanistic performances ; Kamchadal and Eskimo, Chukchee
and Yukaghir, even the Neo-Siberian shamans of northern
Asia, are familiar with this trick.

It would be ditficult to describe all the tricks performed by the
shamans : some of the commonest are the swalloAving of burning
coals.^ setting oneself free from a cord by which one is bound, &c.

Neo-Siberians.

The Yakut. For comparison with the Palaeo-Siberian methods
of shamanizing, we shall take a Yakut shaman in action, as
described by Sieroszewski.* * Outwardly, shamanistic ceremonies
are very uniform,' says Sieroszewski. The ceremony now de-
scribed ' is the part of the shamanistic ceremony which remains
always and everywhere unchanged, and, sanctioned by custom,
forms, so to speak, the basis of the rite.'

When the shaman who has been called to a sick person enters
the yurla, he at once takes the place destined for him on the

' Op. cit., p. 442. 2 Op. cit., p. 444.

^ Sarytchetf, lite Voyage of Capt. Sarytcheff's Fleet along the N.E. Coast
of SOm-ia, through the Polar Sea and the Pacific, p. 30.
* Sieroszewski, 12 Lat w Kraju YakiUow, 1902, p. 639.



234 RELIGION

billiri/J; agon. He lies on his white mare's skin and waits for the
night, the time when it is possible to shamanize. Meanwhile he
is entertained with food and drink.

* When the sun sets and the dusk of evening approaches, all
preparations for the ceremony in the yurta are hurriedly
completed : tlie ground is swept, the wood is cut, and food is
provided in larger quantity and of better quality than usual.
One by one the neighljours arrive and seat themselves along the
wall, the men on the right, and the women on the left ; the
conversation is jieculiarly serious and reserved, the movements
gentle.

* In the northern part of the Yakut district the host chooses
the best latchets and forms them into a loop, which is placed
round the shaman's shoulders and held by one of those present
during the dance, in order to prevent the spirits from carrying
him off. At length every one has supper, and the household
takes some rest. The shaman, sitting on the edge of the hilliri/Jc,
slowly untwists his tresses, muttering and giving orders. He
sometimes has a nervous and artificial hiccough which makes his
whole body shake ; his gaze does not wander, his eyes being fixed
on one point, usuallj^ on the fire.

' The fire is allowed to die out. More and more deeply the
dusk descends on the room ; voices are hushed, and the company
talks in whispers; notice is given that anybody ?wishing to go out
must do so at once, because soon the door will be closed, after
which nobody can either go out or come in.

[Prometheus]

' The shaman slowly takes off his shirt and puts on his wizard's
coat, or, failing that, he takes the woman's coat called sangi/niah.^
Then he is given a pipe, which he smokes for a long time,
swallowing the smoke ; his hiccough becomes louder, he shivers
more violently. When he has finished smoking, his face is pale,
his head falls on his breast, his eyes are half-closed.

'At this point the white mare's skin is placed in the middle of
the room. The shaman asks for cold water, and when he has
drunk it he slowly holds out his hand for the drum prepared for
him; he then walks to the middle of the room, and. kneeling for
a time on liis right knee, bows solemnly to all the four corners of
the world, at the same time sprinkling the ground about him
with the water from his mouth.

^ Gmelin speaks of special embroidered stockings -wliich the shauian
dons in the yurta. {Reise (lurch Sibirien, pp. 351-6.J



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 235

'Now evorytliing- is silent. A handful of white horsehair is
thrown on the lire, putting it quite out ; in the faint gleam of the
red coals the black motionless figure of the shaman is still to be
seen for a while, with drooping head, big drum on breast, and
face turned towards the south, as is also the head of the mare's
skin upon which he is sitting.

•Complete darkness follows the dusk; the audience scarcely
breathes, and only tlie unintelligible mutterings and hiccoughs of
the shaman can be heard ; gradually even this sinks into a
profound silence. Eventually a single great yawn like the clang
of iron breaks the stillness, followed by the loud piercing cry of a
falcon, or the plaintive weeping of a seamew — then silence again.

' Only the gentle sound of the voice of the drum, like the hum-
ming of a gnat, announces that the shaman has begun to play.

'This music is at first soft, delicate, tender, then rough and
irrepressible like the roar of an oncoming storm. It grows louder
and louder and, like peals of thunder, Avild shouts rend the air ;
the crow calls, the grebe laughs, the seamews complain, snipes
whistle, eagles and hawks scream,'

' The ^ music swells and rises to the highest pitch, the beating
of the drum becomes more and more vigorous, until the two
sounds combine in one long-drawn crescendo. The numberless
small bells ring and clang ; it is not a storm — it is a whole cascade
of sounds, enough to overwhelm all the listeners. . . . All at once
it breaks off — there are one or two strong beats on the drum,
which, hitherto held aloft, now falls to the shaman's knees.
Suddenly the sound of the drum and the small bells ceases.
Then silence for a long moment, while the gentle gnat-like
murmur of the drum begins again.'

This may be repeated several times, according to the degree of
the shaman's inspiration ; at last, when the music takes on a
certain new rhythm and melody, sombrely the voice of the
shaman chants the following obscure fragments :

1. ' Mighty bull of the earth . . . Horse of the steppes ! '

2. ' I, the mighty bull . . . bellow ! '

3. ' I, the horse of the steppes . . . neigh ! '

4. "I, the man set above all other beings I '

5. • I, the man most gifted of all ! '

6. ' I, the man created by the master all-powerful ! '

* Sieroszewski, oi^. cit., p. 641.



286 RELIGION

7. * Horse of the steppes, appear ! teach me ! '

8. ' Enchanted bull of the earth, appear ! speak to me ! '

9. ' Powerful master, command me ! '

10. ' All of you, -who will go with me, give heed with your
ears ! Those whom I command not. follow me not I '

11. 'Approach not nearer than is permitted! Look intently!
Give heed ! Have a care ! '

12. ' Look heedfully ! Do this, all of you ... all together . . .
all, however many you may be ! '

13. ' Thou of the left side, O lady with thy staff, if anything be
done amiss, if I take not the right way, I entreat you— correct me !
Command ! . . . '

14. ' My errors and my path show to me ! mother of mine !
Wing thy free flight ! Pave my wide roadway ! '

15. ' Souls of the sun, mothers of the sun, living in the south,
in the nine wooded hills, ye who shall be jealous ... I adjure you
all . . . let them stay ... let your three shadows stand high ! '

16. * In the East, on your mountain, lord, grandsire of mine,
great of power and thick of neck — be thou with me ! '

17. "And thou, grey-bearded wizard (fire), I ask thee : with all
my dreams, with all comply! To all my desires consent . . .
Heed all ! Fulfil all ! . . . All heed ... All fulfil ! ' ^

At this point the sounds of the drum are heard once more, once
more wild shouts and meaningless words — then all is silent.

Adjurations similar to the above are used in all the Yakut
districts and all ceremonies begin with them. There is, however,
another formula still longer and more complicated, which Sieros-
zewski sa5's he could not procure. The ritual which follows
this formula consists of an improvisation appropriate to each
person and occasion.

In the ensuing prayers the shaman addresses his umagyat and
other protective ' spirits ' ; he talks with the Jcaliani/, asks them
questions, and gives answers in their names. Sometimes the
shaman must pray and beat the drum a long time before the
spirits come ; often their appearance is so sudden and so
impetuous that the shaman is overcome and falls down. It is a
good sign if he falls on his face, and a bad sign if he falls on his
back.

'When the (imagyat comes down to a shaman, he arises and

^ Sieroszewski, op. cit., pp. 641-2.



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 237

begins to leap and dance, at first on the skin, and then, liis move-
ments becoming more rapid, he glides into the middle of the
room. Wood is (quickly piled on the fire, and the light spreads
through the ijurta. which is now full of noise and movement.
The shaman dances, sings, and beats the drum uninterruptedly,
jumps about furiously, turning his face to the south, then to the
west, then to the east. Those who hold him by the leather
thongs sometimes have great difficulty in controlling his move-
ments. In the south Yakut district, however, the shaman dances
unfettered. Indeed, he often gives up his drum so as to be able to
dance more unrestrainedly.

"The head of the shaman is bowed, his eyes are half-closed ;
his hair is tumbled and in wild disorder lies on liis sweating
face, his mouth is twisted strangely, saliva streams down his chin,
often he foams at the mouth.

' He moves round the room, advancing and retreating, beating
the drum, which resounds no less wildlj' than the roaring of the
shaman himself ; he shakes his jingling coat, and seems to become
more and more maniacal, intoxicated with the noise and move-
ment.

* His fury ebbs and rises like a wave ; sometimes it leaves him
for a while, and then, holding his drum high above his head,
solemnly and calmly he chants a prayer and summons the
"'spirit".

'At last he knows all he desires; he is acquainted with the
cause of the misfortune or disease wuth which he has been
striving ; he is sure of the help of the beings whose aid he needs.
Circling about in his dance, singing and playing, he approaches
the patient.

' With new objurgations he drives away the cause of the illness
by frightening it, or by sucking it out with his mouth from the
painful place: then, returning to the middle of the room, he
drives it away by spitting and blowing. Then he learns what
sacrifice is to be made to the " powerful spirits ", for this harsh
treatment of the spirit's servant, who was sent to the patient.

'Then the shaman, shading his eyes from the light with his
hands, looks attentively into each corner of the room ; and if he
notices anything suspicious, he again beats the drum, dances,
makes terrifying gestures, and entreats the "spirits".

' At length all is made clean, the suspicious " cloud '' is no
more to be seen, which signifies that the cause of the trouble has



238 RELIGION

been di'iven out ; the sacrifice is accepted, the prayers have been
heard — the ceremony is over.

* The shaman still retains for some time after this the gift of
prophecy ; he foretells various happenings, answers the questions
of the curious, or relates what he saw on his journey away from
the earth.

' Finally he is carried with his mare's skin back to his place of
honour on the hillirijJc'.^

The sacrifice offered to the ' spirits ' varies according to the
importance of the occasion. Sometimes the disease is transferred
to the cattle, and the stricken cattle are then sacrificed, i.e. ascend
to the sky.- It is this journey to the sky, together with the
spirits and the sacrificed animal, which the dance symbolizes.
In the old days (according to the native accounts) there were, in
fact, shamans who really did ascend into the sky while the
spectators saw how 'on the clouds there floated the sacrificed
animal, after it sped the drum of the shaman, and this was
followed by the shaman himself in his wizard's coat'."^

There were also wicked and powerful shamans who. instead of a
real animal, carried up into the sky a mare formed of cloud, but
the evidence for the existence of these shamans is indefinite.

During this difficult and dangerous journey every shaman has
his places of rest, called ounM [ololcli) ; when he takes a seat
during the dance, this signifies that he has come to an ouokh;^
w^hen he rises, he is ascending further up into the sky ; if he falls
down, he is descending under the earth.

Every shaman, however far he may have proceeded on his
journey, knows where he is, on which ouoJcli, and also the route
taken by every other shaman who is shamanizing at that moment.

Sometimes the leading of the * spirit ' and the sacrificed cattle
into the sky forms a separate ceremony performed a few months
after the first, in which they had promised this sacrifice. The
sacrifices are either bloody, when the shaman tears to pieces the

' Sieroszewski, op. cit., p. 644.

^ Troshchanski says (p. 105): 'Instead of the human kut whicli the
ahassy had captured, he receives an animal kut. Usually, between the
spirit who took away the kut of the man and the representative of
the latter, there takes place (through the shaman) a keen bargaining, in
which the spirit gives up some of its demands.'

^ Sieroszewski, op. cit., p. 645.

* These ouokh occur in a series of nine, in conformity with the usual
arrangement of objects in nines which characterizes the whole religious
and social system of the Yakut. (Sieroszewski, op. cit., p. 472.)



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 239

body of the animal with rage and fury, or l)loodless ; e.g. when
some grease or meat, or other material, such as hair, «S:c., is
offered up.

The Samoyed. The shamauistic ceremonial among the Samoyed
of the Tomsk Government has been described by Castren,' from
whose account we take the following picture.

On arriving at the ijurta the shaman takes his seat on a bench,
or on a chest which must contain no implement capable of inflicting
a wound. Near him, but not in front, the occupants of the jiiaia
group themselves. The shaman faces the door, and pretends to be
unconscious of all sights and sounds. In his right hand he holds
a short staff which is inscribed on one side with mystic symbols ;
and in his left, two arrows with the points held upwards. To each
point is affixed a small bell. His dress has nothing distinctive of
a shaman ; he usually wears the coat either of the inquirer or of
the sick person. The performance l^egins with a song summoning
the spirits. Then the shaman strikes the arrows with his staff, so
that the bells chime in a regular rhythm, while all the spectators
sit in awed silence. When the spirits appear, the shaman rises
and commences to dance. The dance is followed by a series of
complicated and difficult body-movements. While all this is
going on the rhythmical chiming of the bells never ceases. His
song consists of a sort of dialogue with the spirits, and is sung
with changes of intonation denoting different degrees of excite-
ment or enthusiasm. When his enthusiasm rises to a high pitch,
those present join in the singing. After the shaman has learnt all
he wishes from the spirits, the latter communicate the will of the
god to the people. If he is to foretell the future, he employs
his staff. He throws it on the ground, and if it falls with
the side inscribed with mystical signs turned upward, this is
a good omen ; if the blank side shows, ill-fortune may l>e
looked for.

To prove his trustworthiness to those present, the shaman uses
the following means. He sits on a reindeer skin, and his hands
and feet are Ijound, The room is completely darkened. Then, as
if in answer to his call to the spirits, various noises are heard both
within and without the yxirta : the beating of a drum, the grunting
of a bear, the hissing of a serpent, the squeak of a squirrel, and
mysterious scratchings on the reindeer-skin Avhere he sits. Then

' Castren, Reiseben'chte unci Briefe, 1845-9, pp. 172 4.



240 RELIGION

the shaman's bonds are untied, he is set free, and every one is
convinced that what they heard was the work of the spirits.

The Altaians. The Mms (shamans) of the Turkic tribes of the
Altai have preserved with great strictness the ancient shamanistic
ceremonial forms. Potanin ' gives a curious description of the per-
formance of a young shaman, Enchu, who lived by the River Talda,
about six versts from Anguday. Four stages, each marked by
a different posture of the shaman, characterized his performance :
in the first, he was sitting and facing the fire ; second, standing,
with his back to the fire ; third, a sort of interlude, during which the
shaman rested from his labour, supporting himself with his elbow
on tlie drum, which he balanced on its rim, while he related
what he had learned in his intercourse with the spirits ; and fourth,
a final shamanizing, with his back to the fire, and facing the place
where the drum usually hangs. Enchu declared afterwards that he
had no recollection of what happened while he was shamanizing
with his back turned to the fire. While he was in that position he
had been whirling about madly in circles on one spot, and without
any considerable movement of his feet ; crouching down on his
haunches, and rising again to a standing posture, without inter-
rupting the rotating movement. As he alternately bent and
straightened his body from the hips, Ijackwards and forwards
and from side to side, with lively movements or jerks, the
manyalc (metal pendants) fastened to his coat danced and dangled
furiously in all directions, describing shining circles in the air.
At the same time the shaman kept beating his drum, holding it
in various positions so that it gave out different sounds. From
time to time Enchu held the drum high above his head in
a horizontal position and beat upon it from below. The natives
of Anguday explained to Potanin that when the shaman held the
drum in that way, he was collecting spirits in it. At times he
would talk and laugh with some one apparently near by, but in-
visible to others, showing in this manner that he was in the
company of spirits. At one time Enchu fell to singing more
quietly and evenly, simultaneously imitating on his drum the
hoof-beats of a horse. This was to indicate that the shaman,
with his accompanying spirits, was departing to the underworld
of Erlik, the god of darkness.

Mr. Potanin gives a description of this voyage which he heard
from a Russian missionary, Mr. Chivalkofl".

' Potanin, Sketches of N.W. Mongolia, vol. iv, pp. 60-2.



THE SHAMAN IN ACTION 241

The him directs liis way towaiils the south. He has to cross
the Altai Mountains and the red sands of the Chinese deserts.
Then he crosses a yellow steppe, such as no magpie can traverse.
• Singing, we shall cross it ', says the kam in his song. After the
yellow steppe there is a ' pale ' one, such as no crow can pass over,
and the Jcam in his imaginary passage once more sings a song full
of hopeful courage. Then comes the iron mountain of Tamir
Shayha, which 'leans against the sky'. Now the lam exhorts
his train to be all of one mind, that they may pass this barrier
by the united force of their will. He describes the difficulty of
surmounting the passes and, in doing so, breathes heavily. On the
top he finds the Ijones of many lams who have fallen here and died
through failure of power. Again he sings songs of hope, declares
he will leap over the mountain, and suits the action to the word.
At last he comes towards the opening which leads to the under-
world. Here he finds a sea, bridged only by a hair. To show the
difficult)' of crossing this bridge, the lam tottei-s, almost falls, and
with difficulty recovers himself. In the depths of the sea he
beholds the bodies of many sinful kams who have perished there,
for only those who are blameless can cross this bridge. On the
other side he meets sinners who are receiving punishment suited
to their faults ; e. g. an eavesdropper is pinned by his ear to
a stake. On reaching the dwelling-place of Erlik, he is confronted
by dogs, who will not let him pass, but at last, being appeased by
gifts, they grow milder. Before the beginning of the shamanistic
ceremony gifts have been prepared for this emergency. Having
successfully passed these wai-ders, the Jiam, as if appi-oaching the
7/urta of Erlik and coming into his presence, bows, brings his drum
up to his forehead, and says, ' Jlergu 1 mergu!' Then he declares
whence and why he comes. Suddenly he shouts ; this is meant to
indicate that Erlik is angry that a mortal should dare to enter his
ijurta. The frightened kam leaps Ijackward towards the door, l)ut
gathers fresh courage and again approaches Erlik's throne. After
this performance has been gone through three times, Erlik speaks :
'Winged ci-eatures cannot fly hither, l)eings with bones cannot
come : how have you, ill-smelling blackbeetle, made your way to
my al>ode ? '

Then the kam stoops and with his drum makes certain movements
as if dipping up wine. He presents the wine to Erlik ; and makes
a shuddering movement like that of one who drinks strong wine,
to indicate that Erlik has drunk. When he perceives that Erlik's

1679 R



242 RELIGION

humour is somewhat milder under the influence of his draught he
makes him off'erings of gifts. The great spirit (Erlik) is moved by
the offerings of the Icam, and promises increase of cattle, declares
which mare will foal, and even specifies what marking the young
one will have. The Tiam returns in high spirits, not on his horse
as he went, but on a goose — a change of steeds which he indicates
by moving about the jiurta on tiptoe, to represent flying.



CHAPTER XII

SHAMANISM AND SEX.

In this chapter I propose to deal not only with the male and
female shamans and their relation to each other, but also with
a curious phenomenon— the mystical change of sex among
shamans, by which a male shaman is ' transformed ' into a female,
and vice versa.

Nearly all writers on Siberia agree that the position of the
female shaman in modern days is sometimes even more important
than that occupied by the male.

[Prometheus]

Krasheninnikoff ascribes the shamanistic gift among the Kam-
chadal almost exclusively to women ; Steller, who travelled
through Kamchatka after him, states, however, that there were
also men-shamans among the Yukaghir, Koryak, and Chukchee.
Bogoras, Jochelson, and others saw as many notable women-
shamans as men. Tretyakoff (op. eit., p. 213) affirms the
existence of women-shamans side by side with men-shamans
among the Samoyed of Turukhan, and the same, according to
Bielayewski,^ is true of the Ostyak. Among the Tungus of
Baikal - the woman can be a shaman as well as the man ; and
Gmelin" met among them a woman eighteen years of age who
was held superior to any man-shaman. Among the Yakut and
Buryat there are shamans of both sexes.'* Solovieif ' thinks that
among the Yakut the female shamans are considered less impor-
tant than the male, and the people ask their help only when there
is no man-shaman in the neighbourhood. The shamanesses,
according to him, are especially good in foretelling the future,
looking for things that are lost, and curing mental diseases.

Among the Palaeo-Siberians, women receive the gift of shaman- !f
izing more often than men. " The woman is by nature a shaman,'



' A Jouniey to the Glacial Sea, p. 114.
2 Siberian News, 1822, pp. 19-39.
* Sieroszewski ; Potanin.



eroszewski ; Potanin.

mains of Paganism among the Yahiit, 'Siberia' (Annual), i. 414.

R 2



244 RELIGION

'declared u Cliukchee shaman to Bogoras. She does not need to
be specially prepared for the calling, and so her novitiate is much
shorter and less trying. Ventriloquism, however, is not practised
among female shamans.

Taking into account the present prominent position of female
shamans among many Siberian tribes and their place in tra-
ditions,^ together with certain feminine attributes of the male
shaman (such as dress, habits, privileges) and certain linguistic
similarities between the names for male and female shamans,^
many scientists (Troshchanski, Bogoras, Stadling) have been led
to express the opinion that in former days only female shamans
existed, and that the male shaman is a later development which
has to some extent supplanted them.

Concerning the supposed evolution of the shaman from female
to male there is no certain knowledge ; one can only surmise.
The different views of the origin of shamanism naturally affect
the theory that shamans were originally female.

^ Among several tribes traditions exist tliat the shaman's gift was first
bestowed on woman. In Mongolian myths goddesses were both shamans
themselves— like the Daughter of the Moon — and the bestowers of the
shamanistic gift on mankind.

^ Neo-Siberians nearly all have a common name for the woman-shaman,
while each of these tribes has a special name for the man-shaman. The
Yakut call him «(/»>) ; the Mongols, ?>»(/e ; the Buryat, fcw(/f and lio ; the
Tungus, samnian and l-hamman ; the Tartars, l-am ; the Altaians, lam
and yam; the Kirgis, halsy; the Samoyed, tadiheij. The Yakut, it is curious
to note, though they have the word l-hamna, nevertheless do not call the
shaman by a name similar to that in use among other Neo-Siberians, but
give him a special appellation. This, according to Troshchanski (p. 118),
may be explained by the fact that when the Yakut appeared in the
present Yakut district they did not possess a man-shaman, but they had
already a woman-shaman, for whom all these tribes have a name in
common. Among Mongols, Buryat, Yakut, Altaians, Turgout, and Kir-
gis, the following names for the woman-shanian occur, tdagan, udctycni,
ithakhan, iitygan, utiUjini, i<hiaii, cluana. All these words come from
a root the meaning of which has not been certainly determined. In
some Tartaric dialects ildecfe, 'female shaman', means also 'housewife'
and 'wife'. In Tungus, titalan means 'sorcerer' and 'cannibal'; but
ittctfjaii seems to be a Mongol word in origin. According to Potanin
and Banzaroff, the term in question is otymologically connected with
the Mongol word Eiiigen, 'earth-goddess' (Etiigen-eke, 'mother-earth').
Potanin further connects the word for p]arth-Goddess among different
Altaic and Finno-Ugric tribes with the names of constellations, espe-
ciall}- with the two bear constellations. In one Tartaric dialect utygan
means 'bear'. According to ancient Mongol and Chinese myths, the gods
of certain constellations are connected with the protective spirits of the
family hearth, just as they are connected with the goddess of the earth.
Thus these terms for female shamans are related to the genesis of certain
ijoddesses.



SHAMANISM AND SEX 245

Jochelson ' expresses the opinion that there is no doubt that
professional shamanism has developed from the ceremonials of
family shamanism. The same author- also states that in family
shamanism among the Koryak some women possess a knowledge
not only of those incantations M'hich are a family secret, but of
many others Itesides, of which they make use outside the family
circle on request. From this we can see very clearly how family
shamanism among the Korj'ak has developed into professional
shamanism.

Some one with unusual gifts, often a woman, is requested to
use them on liehalf of a larger circle outside the family, and
thus becomes a professional shaman. This is especially true of
the Koryak. There is, however, no evidence that among them
the woman-shaman preceded the man. In the old days, as at the
present time, the women-shamans were considered as powerful
as the men. sometimes, indeed, an individual female shaman is
even cleverer than a man. The ' transformed ' shamans are
considered very powerful also, though they exist merely in
Koryak traditions. But since the change of sex is ' in ol)edience
to the commands of spirits','^ it seems to belong to another
category of facts and to have no connexion with the theory of an
originally universal feminine shamanism.

Among the Chukchee,^ family shamanism, being quite simple
and primitive, probably preceded individual shamanism, and the
latter seems to have grown out of the former. The mother shares
with the father the role of shaman in the family ceremonials ; she
has charge of the drum and amulets, and in exceptional cases it is
she, and not the father, who performs the family sacrifice. Thus
shamanism is not restricted to either sex, l>ut ' the gift of inspi-
ration is thought to be bestowed more frequently upon women,
though it is reputed to be of a rather inferior kind, the higher
grades Ijelonging rather to men. The reason given for this is
that the Ijearing of children is generally adverse to shamanistic
inspirations, so that a young woman with considera])le shamanistic
power may lose the greater j^art of it after the birth of her first
child. '-^

The above statements of the two best authorities on the Koryak
and the Chukchee make it clear that among these people there
are visible traces that family shamanism preceded the individual,

' The Koryak, i. 78. ^ Qp. cit., p. 47. ^ Qp. cit., p. 52.

* Bogorud, The Chukchee, ii. 41o. '" Op. cit., p. 415.



246 RELIGION

or professional, kind ; and although woman plays an important
role in both, there is no sufficient reason to suppose that in
former times she alone could shamanize. Of course, the adherents
to the theory of universal mother-right would try to see in this
case a proof of the former higher position of woman in society,
her moral supremacy, tVc. As far as our materials go, we do not
see evidence either of a superior position in the social structure or
of the moral supremacy of women in these societies, but only of
the superiority of individuals of either sex.

A similar state of things may be observed among other Palaeo-
Siberians and Neo-Siberians, although among the latter a woman-
shaman is not very often met with.

In spite of the low social position of women among these
natives, it is personal ability, irrespective of sex, which is the
decisive factor in the case of the shamanistic vocation.

As proof that women were the original shamans, certain
authors adduce the fact that the professional shaman does not
possess his own drum. But neither is this the case with women-
or men-shamans among those peoples where professional shaman-
ism is not yet clearly differentiated from family shamanism. As
regards the female dress and habits of the shaman, I shall have
opportunity to discuss this point when dealing with tribes whose
shaman's garment is more elaborate, i. e. the Neo-Siberians.

Troshchanski ^ and, following him, Stadling- believe profes-
sional shamanism to be a special institution which has no direct
connexion with the communal cult, though in the latter there are
also shamanistic elements. In the later stages of its development
the office of shaman is connected in certain cases with the
communal cult, and thus ' white ' shamanism came into existence.
Troshchanski develops his theory chiefly on Yakut evidence, and
though he tries to apply it to the whole of Siberia, we shall
confine ourselves to what he says about the Yakut. '^

Among them, where there are two categories of shamans, the
* white ', representing creative, and the * black ', destructive forces,
the latter tend to behave like women, since it is from women-
shamans that they derive their origin. In support of this theory
of theii' origin Troshchanski puts forward the following argu-
ments :

1 Tfie Evolution of the Black Faith, 1902, pp. 123-7.
^ Sliamanismen i Norm Asien, 1912, pp. 82-92.
' Op. cit., pp. 123-7.



SHAMANISM AND SEX 247

1. The shaman has on liis coat two iron circles representing
the breasts.

2. He parts his hair in tlie middle like a woman, and braids it,
letting it fall loose during the shamanistic ceremony.

3. In the Kolyma district neither a woman nor a shaman lies
on the right side of the horse-skin in the i/urta, because, as they
say, it is on this side that one beats a horse.

4. It is only on very important occasions that the shaman
wears his own garment ; on lesser occasions he wears a girl's
jacket made of foal's hide.^

5. For three days after the l)irth of a child, at which the
goddess of fecundity, Aiasyt, is present, no man may enter the
room where the mother is lying, but only women and shamans.

Finally, according to Troshchanski, the female ' black ' shaman
was replaced by the male * black ' shaman. This transition was
effected by means of the smith, who, as the maker of the woman-
shaman's garment, held an influential position, and whose power
increased in proportion to the length of his ancestry.^ Through
their contact with shamanistic implements they acquired mana
and themselves became sorcerers and shamans.

The evolution of the ' white ' shaman took place, he opines, on
different lines. In family ceremonial the cleverest head of a
family or member of a community was chosen ; he was elected
anew for each ceremony until eventually his tenure of the office
became permanent.^

This theory of a dual evolution of shamans is not easy to sub-
stantiate. In the first place, we find that the ' white ' shaman's
garment is made by a 'white' smith ; which fact, by Troshchanski's
mode of argument, would seem to imply a line of development
for 'white' shamanism parallel to, and not divergent from, that
of ' black ' shamanism.

Again, all the supposed feminine habits of the shaman of to-
day would not go to prove that the earlier female-shaman was the
servant of ahassi/ alone. We find in the past as well as in the
present that the woman can be the priestess of the family cult
and a professional shamaness, the servant of either a'ii/ or ahass/j.
Among the Yakut, however, where the worship of abassjj is more
developed than that of ai[i, the ' black ' shamans, both men and



' Jochelson (The Konjalc, i. 53) was present at a ceremony in the
Kolyma district where the shaman wore such a costume.
'^ Troshchanski, op. cit., p. 125. ' Op. cit., p. 124.



248 RELIGION

women, ])i-e{loniinnte. On the otlior hand, among the Votyaks,
where the cult of a'i/i is more developed than that of ahassij, the
* white ' shamans are much more numerous, and form the whole
hierarchy.^

All that has been cited concerning the feminine habits of the
present-day shaman was taken by Troshchanski as proof of his
theory of the evolution of the ' black ' shaman from the ' black '
shamaness and by Jochelson as ' traces of the change of a
shaman's sex into that of a woman '.-

Jochelson thus binds together the two questions dealt with in
this chapter — the relation of the shamaness to the shaman, and
the ' transformation of shamans ', called also ' the change of sex '.
This latter phenomenon, following J. G. Frazer,^ I should prefer
to call 'the change of dress', since (with the exception of the
Chukchee, perhaps) the change of dress is not nowadays, at least,
followed ])y what the physiologists would call ' change of sex '.

Frazer'* says that the interchange of dress between men and
women is an obscure and complex problem, and thinks it unlikely
that any single solution would be applicable to all cases. In
enumerating instances of such cases among the priests of Khasis ^
and the Pelew Islanders'"' — instances, that is, of men dressing
and acting like women throughout life — he ascribes these pheno-
mena to the inspiration of a female spirit, which often chooses
a man rather than a woman for her minister and inspired mouth-
piece."

As to the people of Siberia, the ' change of sex ' is found chiefly
among Palaeo-Siberians, namely the Chukchee, Koryak, Kam-
chadal, and Asiatic Eskimo.^

Even the earliest travellers record instances of this pheno-
menon. Thus Krasheninnikoff in 1755,'^ Steller in 1774,^" Wrangel



^ Bogayewski, p. 123. - Jochelson, op. cit., i. 53.

3 J. G. Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Ozirin, ed. 1907, pp. 384-433.

* Op. cit., p. 433. ^ Major Gurtlon. ^ J. Kubary.

'' Effeminate sorcerers and priests are found among the Sea-Dyaks
of Borneo (Ch. Brooke, Schwaner) ; the Bugis of South Celebes (Capt.
Mundy); Patagonians of South America (Falkuer); the Aleutians, and
many Indian tribes of North America (Dall, Langsdorff, Powers, and
Bancroft). Frazer, Adonis, d-c, p. 429.

'^ Similar changes of sex were observed by Dr. Karsch (Uranismus oder
Pddernsfie und Tribadie hei den Natiordlhern. 1901, pp. 72-201) all over
the American continent from Alaska to Patagonia.

' Description of the Countnj of Kamchatka, ii. 24.

*° Beschreibioig von dein Lande Kamtschatka, p. 289.



SHAMANISM AND SEX 249

in 1820,' Liidke in 1837,'- ami others. They do not give complete
accounts, but merely mention the fact. It diflers, however, in
their description from ordinary homosexualism in that there is
always reference to shamanistic inspiration or evil biddings.

More detailed descriptions are to be found in the excellent
modern works of Bogoras and Jochelson. Bogoras describes the
facts relating to the Chukchee in a chapter on 'Sexual Perversion
and Transformed Shamans '.

'The sexual organs play a part in certain shamanistic cere-
nionies.' says Bogoras.'' Tlie shaman is said to be veiy often
naked during his incantations, e.g. that used to invoke the moon,
and to mention his genital parts. ^ The change of sex is called
in Chukchee ^ sofi-nmn-heing'. i/irla-Jaid-rairgin, 'soft man' {i/irka-
laul) meaning a man transformed into a being of the weaker sex.
A man who has ' changed his sex ' is also called ' similar to
a woman' [neuchka). and a woman in like condition 'similar to
a man ' {qa cilicJieca). These latter transformations are much
rarer.

Bogoras distinguishes various degrees of 'transformation' among
the Chukchee :

1. The shaman, or the sick person at the bidding of a shaman,
arranges and braids his hair like a woman.

2. The change of dress : Kimiqai, for instance, wore woman's
clothes by order of the spirits. In his youth he had been
afflicted by an illness and had been greatly benefited by the
change of dress. At the time described he Avas an elderly man
with a beard, and had a wife and four children."'

3. The change in the habits of one sex is shown when the man
'throws away the rifle and the lance, the lasso of the reindeer
herdman, and the harpoon of the seal-hunter, and takes to the
needle and the skin-scraper ".'' He learns the use of these quickly,
because the 'spirits' help him all the time. Even his pronun-
ciation changes from masculine to feminine. His body loses its
masculine appearance, and he becomes shy.

4. In rare eases the 'soft man' begins to feel himself a woman ;
he seeks for a lover, and sometimes marries.

^ Heise Idnrjs der Xonlkilste von Sibirien tind auf dem Eismeere, ed. 1841,
p. 227.

2 Journey Around the World, 1834-6, p. 143.

^ The Chukchee, ii. 448. < Op. cit., p. 449.

' Op. cit., p. 450. « Op. cit., p. 451.



250 RELIGION

The marriage is performed with the usual rites, and tlie union
is as dural)le as any other. The ' man ' goes hunting and fishing,
the ' woman ' does domestic work. Bogoras thinks they cohabit
modo Socratis, though they are sometimes said to have mistresses
in secret and to produce children by them.^ The wife does not,
however, change her name, though the husband sometimes adds
the name of his wife to his own.

Ihihlic opinion is ahcays against them,'- but as the transformed
shamans are very dangerous, they are not opposed and no out-
ward objections are raised. Each ' soft man ' is supposed to have
a special protector among the 'spirits', who is usually said to
play the part of a supernatural husl)and, the ' Z:e?e-husband ' of the
' transformed ' one. This husband is supposed to be the real head
of the family and to communicate his orders by means of his
* transformed' wife. The human husband, of course, has to execute
these orders faithfully under fear of prompt punishment. •'

Sometimes the shaman of untransformed sex has a 'kdc-wife'
in addition to his own.

Bogoras himself was best acquainted with a ' soft man ' called
Tiluwgi, who, however, would not allow himself to be inspected
fully. His human husband described him as a normal male
person. In spite of this, his habits were those of a woman. The
husband of Tiluwgi was an ordinary man and his cousin. The
' transformed shamans ' generally chose a husband from among
their nearest relations.

Bogoras never met a woman transformed into a man, but he
heard of several cases. One transformed shamaness was a widow,
who had children of her own. Following the command of the
' spirits ', she cut her hair, donned the dress of a man, adopted the
masculine pronunciation, and even learned in a very short time
to handle the spear and to shoot with a rifle. At last she wanted
to marry and easily found a young girl who consented to become
her wife.^

Jochelson '' states that he did not learn of the transformation
of women-shamans into men among the Koryak of to-day ; we
find, however, accounts of such transformation in legends. Neither
did he meet any men-shamans transformed into women.

' The father of Yulta, a Koryak from the village of Kamenskoye,
who died not long ago and who had been a shaman, had worn

^ Op. cit., p. 451. ^ The italics are mine.

^ Op. cit., p, 452. * Op. cit., p. 455. ^ The Kori/ak, p. 53.

[Prometheus]

SHAMANISM AND SEX 251

women's clothes for two years by order of the sjnrits ; but since
he had been unable to obtain complete transformation he implored
his spirits to pei'mit him to resume men's clothes. His request
was granted, l)ut on condition that he should put on women's
clothes during shamanistic ceremonies."^

This is the only case familiar to Jochelson of the change of sex,
or rather change of dress. The Koryak call the transformed
shaman Jcavau or Kevcu ; they are sui>posed to be as powerful as
women-shamans.

The narratives concerning the Kamchadal JcoeJiChuch are much
confused, for Krasheninnikoff does not rightly explain either who
they were, or whether they were men or women. The hockchuch
wore women's dress, did women's work, and were treated with
the same lack of respect as is shown to women. They could
enter the house through the draught-channel, which corresponds
to the opening in the roof of the porch of the Koryak underground
house,- in the same Avay as the women and the Koryak qavau.
Piekarski ^ finds that Krasheninnikoff contradicts himself in his
statements concerning ^ JcoeJicJiiich women, who do not come into
contact with men '.

Krasheninnikoff's descrii^tions of lioelxclmch are as follows : ' The
Kamchadal have one, two, or three wives, and besides these some
of them keep JcoeJcckuch who wear women's clothes, do women's
work, and have nothing to do with men, in whose comjDany they
feel shy and not at their ease ' (p. 24, ed. 1755).

' The Kamchadal women are tailors and shoemakers, which
professions are considered useless to men, who are immediately
regarded as kockclmch if they enter these vocations ' (p. 40, ed. 1755).

' The women are not jealous, for not only do two or three wives
of one man live together in peace, but they do not even object to
the Icockchuch, whom some Kamchadal keep instead of concubines '
(p. 125, ed. 1755). * Every woman, especially an old one, and every
koekcJmcJi , is a sorcerer and interpreter of dreams ' (p. 81, ed. 1755).'*

From the alcove quotations the Jcockchuch seem rather to be of

' Op. cit., p. 53.

- Krasheninnikoff, ii. 114 ; see Troshchanski, op. cit., p. 120.

^ See Troshchanski, op. cit., p. 120.

* 'The female sex being more attractive and perhaps also cleverer,
more shamans are chosen from among women and koekchiich than from
among men,' p. 15. ' The natives of the Kuril Islands have two or three
wives each ; . . . they have also koekchuchs, like the Koryak and Kam-
chadal' (p. 183, ed. 1755).



252 RELIGION

the eunuch typo, though sometimes they play the role of con-
cubines.

The hoekcliuch who was regarded by the community as being of
an unusual type probably enjoyed special privileges higher than
those of a sorcerer or a shaman. The worship of the pathological
may have verged here into the worship of the supernatural.

The ' change of sex ' is met with only among the Palaeo-
Siberians,^ whilst among the Neo-Siberians only does the shaman-
istic dress more often resemble female garments. It is true that
among Yakut men-shamans traditions exist of their bearing
children,^ but this is connected rather with the idea of the power
of shamanistic spirits which makes such miracles possible. As
a rule, child-birth among the Palaeo-Siberian shamanesses results
in either a complete or at least a temporary loss of the shamanistic
gift. In a Koryak tale ^ the shamanistic power of Ememqut, son
of Big-Raven, 'disappeared after the mythical Triton had be-
witched him and caused him to give birth to a boy. His power
was restored to him after his sister had killed the Triton's sister,
by which deed the act of giving birth was completely eliminated.'

We observe also that in many Siberian communities a woman-
shaman is not permitted to touch the drum.

The question of the change of sex, especially as it concerns the
most powerful shamans, cannot l)e explained on a purely physical
basis. Several perversions occur among these j)eople, as they do
in all primitive and even in more civilized societies ; but it does
not follow that every pathological individual is the subject of
^magical worship. On the contrary, when reading the detailed
description of the transformed shamans in Bogoras and Jochelson,
we see that in nearly every case these shamans are at first normal
people and only later, by inspiration of spirits, have to change
their sex. As described in previous pages, some of them have
secretly, along with an official husband of the same sex, normal
sexual relations Avith a person of the other sex, and we may even
assume that some of them actually became sexless, although in
certain cases the outward show required by religious considerations
may cover abnormal passions.

It is scarcely possible to see in these cases a religious con-

^ The Yukaghir form an exception. Jochelson saj^s : * I found no
indications of sucli an institution among the Yukaghir, except in the
dress of the shamans, which includes articles of female attire.' {TJie
Yukaghir and Yukaghirized Tiingits, p. 11'2.)

^ Sieroszewski. ^ Jochelson, op. cit., p. 55.



SHAMANISM AND SEX 253

ception of a divine two-sexeil shaman embodying in one being
n perfect man- and woman-nature. We do not find such gods or
spirits among the Palaeo-Siberians, though we encounter this
idea among tlie more advanced Neo-Siberians. In the religion of
the natives of the Altai this idea is expressed by the name ' mother
and father of the man '. given to the Supreme Being.

It may l)e that the most satisfactory basis for an attempt at the
solution of this problem would be the sociological one.

The extraordinaiy rights granted by the community to the
shaman are clearly evident in the exceptional position he occupies.
Shamans (male and female) may do what is not permitted to
others, and indeed they must act differently, because they have
a supernatural power recognized by the community.^

Taking some of the characteristics ascribed to shamans in
previous chapters, we see that, inspired by the spirits. ' they may
cut and otherwise injure their bodies without suffering harm.'-
They may. during shaman istic performances, 'ascend to the sky
together with the shaman's drum and sacrificial animal.'^

They may give birth to a child, a bird, a frog, &c.,"^ and they
may change their sex if they are ' real shamans ', with super-
natural powers, with a true vocation. —

Socially, the shaman does not belong either to the class of
males or to that of females, but to a third class, that of shamans.
Sexually, he may be sexless, or ascetic, or have inclinations of
homosexualistic character, but he may also be quite normal.
And so, forming a special class, shamans have special taboos
comprising both. male and female characters. The same may be
said of their costume, which combines features peculiar to the
dress of both sexes.

The woman-shaman is not restricted to taboos specifically
female, for her social position is much higher than that of the
ordinary woman : whilst purely male taboos are not applied to
the man-sliaman, who has, together with certain male taboos,
some privileges of a woman ; e.g. among the Yakut, access to the
house of lying-in women during the first three days after the
birth of a child.

' From this point of view it would appear that the high respect shown
in individual cases to the female shaman is due to the position which
a shaman, as such, of whatever sex, occupies in society, and does not
imply an earlior general female shamanism,

"^ .iochelson, 'H^e Koryak.

' Sieroszewski, 12 Lat w Krajn Y(il-ii(6ir, p. 403. ?* Op. cit., p. 399.



254 RELIGION

Shamanhood is separated from society by a boundary-line of
many taboos. When the shaman cannot keep those taboos he or
she ceases to be a shaman ; e. g. the woman during the period
of child-birth and menstruation, when she again belongs to the
community of women.

The class of shamans, in which the woman acquires certain
attributes of a man, and the man certain attributes of a woman,
seems in Siberia to be independent of father- or mother-right. It
would be interesting to ascertain whether the ' spirits ' inspiring
the change of sex are of opposed sexes, as was suggested by
J. G. Frazer.^

The shaman class, through the exclusion of its members from
both the male and the female sections of society, may in some
cases be pathological, but this is in no sense a significant or
indispensable characteristic, since in the only instances where the
* marriage ' of transformed shamans with persons of the same sex
has been observed in our time (i.e. among the Chukchee) it is
always disapproved by public opinion. -

The magico-religious and sociological explanation of the change
of dress among shamans does not, however, apply satisfactorily to
the koekchiich, for professional shamanism among the Kamchadal
W'as not organized and developed to the point of producing
a distinct section of society inspired bjj- shamanistic spirits.
Neither does this explanation cover cases in which men are
dressed in women's costume without being shamans at all.
Perhaps we may here find aid in the suggestions put forward by
Mr. Crawley^ in treating of the belief, very widespread among
primitive jjeoples, in the possibility of the transmission of
feminine qualities, especially weakness, by contagion. He cites

' Op. cit., 1907, pp. 384-433.

^ Since this chapter was written I have been able to familiarize m3'self
with a very interesting pamphlet by the prominent Russian sociologist,
A. Maksimoff, dealing with the same subject under the title 'The Change
of Sex', Russian Anthrop. Journ., xxix. I was glad to see that Mak-
simoif also is not satisfied with the physiological explanation of this
phenomenon. He gives two reasons for his doubts : (1) The phenomenon,
in common with the shamanistic practices, is in decadence everywhere
in Siberia ; and if it were only due to sexual perversions it would
probably be rather on the increase during the present period of coloniza-
tion, when we know that all sorts of diseases and every kind of sexual
licence have increased among the Siberian natives. (2) In many similar
cases among other peoples we can see that this phenomenon is purely
ritualistic, e.g. in the case of the Mujerados of New Mexico (pp. 17-18).

* 'Sexual Taboo : a study in the Relations of the Sexes,' Journal of the
Anthrop. Inst., xxiv. 124-5.



SHAMANISM AND SEX 255

many instances of 'the custom uf degrading- the cowardly, infirm,
and conquered to the position of females" by putting women's
clothes on them. Quoting from L. Morgan {The League of the
Iroquois, p. 10) he says: 'When the Delawares were denationa-
lized by the Iroquois and prohibited from going out to war, they
were, according to the Indian notion, "made women", and were
henceforth to confine themselves to the pursuits appropriate to
women.' Is it not reasonable to suppose that we have in the
loekchuch of the Kamchadal simply another instance of a similar
practice, especially when we consider the accounts given by
Jochelson, Bogoras, and others of the treatment of slaves
among some other Palaeo-Siberians ? The object aimed at in the
treatment referred to by Mr. Crawley is the weakening to the
point of emasculation of the character of enemies held captive or
in subjection, so as to reduce their capacity for working mischief
to the conquerors to a minimum. Jochelson, speaking of slavery
as it formerly existed among the Yukaghir, says: 'The slave
(captive) stayed in the house with the women . . . and did the
housework on equal terms with the women.' ^ He makes a simi-
lar statement about the status of the captive slaves formerly held
by the Koryak.- Close association with women, the primitive
argues, produces effeminacy in a man, by contagion. Keep him
with the women, put their clothes on him, and he is no longer
dangerous, if hostile, and may be made useful in occupations
suited to females. In the absence of satisfactory evidence for the
other hypothesis put forward, and taking into consideration the
attitude towards captive slaves of other Palaeo-Siberians as ex-
hibited above, it would seem at least probable that the JcoeJcchuch
of the Kamchadal were, or had developed from, a class of captive
slaves.

Though Bogoras, in his account of the slave-class which existed
until comparatively recent times among the Chukchee, does not
refer to any definite attempt made by these people to feminize
their captives, his statement that the word amulin applied to such
slaves means primarily 'weakling', and that all the other terms
applied to captive slaves have an implication of contempt, sup-
ports the assumption that the Chukchee held the same view as
other Palaeo-Siberians, including the Kamchadal, of what was the
ideal condition of a slave-class.

' Jochelson, TJie Yul-rn/hlr, p. 133. ^ 77/e Konjal; p. 766.



CHAPTER XIII

GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL.

I. The Chukchee.

Benevolent supernatural beings are called by the Chukchee
vairg'tt, i. e. ' beings '. The most important are the ' benevolent
beings sacrificed to ' {taaron/jo vairgit), those to whom the people
l)ring sacrifices. They live in twenty-two different ' directions '
of the Chukchee compass. The chief of these brings is the one
residing in the zenith, which is called ' being-a-crown ' {kanoirgin),
or ' middle-crown ' (glnon-lunon). Mid-day, the Sun, and the Polar
Star are often identified with the ' middle-crown '. The Dawn and
the Twilight are ' wife-companions ', several of the tales describing
them as being married to one wife. The ' directions ' of the evening
are together called ' Darkness '. Sacrifices are made to them only
on special occasions, and are often mingled with those offered
to the kelet ('evil spirits') of the earth. ^

The sun, moon, stars, and constellations are also known as
vairgit; but the sun is a special vairgin, represented as a man
clad in a bright garment, driving dogs or reindeer. He descends
every evening to his wife, the ' Walking-around-Woman '. The
moon is also represented as a man. He is not a vairgin,- however,
but the son of a Ae?e of the lower worlds. He has a lasso, with
which he catches people who look too fixedly at him. Shamans
invoke the moon in incantations and spells.

Among the stars, the pole-star is the principal vairgin, and
is most often referred to as unpencr, ' the pole-stuck star ', a name
which, Mr. Bogoras asserts, is universal throughout Asia.''

There are several other vairgit beneficent to man, wdiich Bogoras
supposes to be merely vague and impersonal names of qualities.
'They represent a very loose and indefinite personification of
the creative principle of the world, and are similar to Vakanda
or Great Manitou of the Indians,' he says.^ Their names are

^ Bogoras, TJie Chukchee, 1907, J. N. P. K., pp. 303-5.

^ Vf(ir(/i)i, 9.[ngu\av ; niiiyif, ]Anva\. KeJe, t^ingnVciv ; Zr^f^ plural.

=* Op. cit , pp.'305-7. ' Op. cit., p. 314.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 257

Tenan-tomgiu ('Creator', lit. 'One who induces things to be
created'); Girgol-Yairii:in ('Upper-Being'); Marginen ('World',
literally ' The Outer-One ') : Yaivac-vairgin (' Merciful-Being ') ;
Yagtac-vairgin ('Life-giving Being'); Kinta-vairgin ('Luck-giving
Being '). These do not receive special sacrifices, but are all, except
'Creator', mentioned at the sacrifices to the Dawn, Zenith, and
Middaj-. The ' Luck-giving Being ' is sometimes represented as
a raven, but the Creator is never so represented by the Chukchee
(as he is among the Koryak), although he is sometimes known as
'the outer garment of the Creator'. The Chukchee, however,
have many tales about Big-Eaven, whom they call Tenan-tomgin.

Besides these 'Beings', the Reindeer Chukchee have also
a 'Reindeer-Being' {(^orcn-vairgin), who watches over the herds;
and the Maritime people have their ' Beings of the Sea ' [Anqa-
vairgit), of whom the most important are Keretkun and his wife,
sometimes called Cinei-new. ' They live on the sea-bottom or in
the open sea, where they have a large floating house. They are
larger than men, have black faces, and head-bands of peculiar
form, and are clad in long white garments made of walrus-gut
adorned with many small tassels.^ Another sea-spirit is the
' Mother of the Walrus ', living at the bottom of the sea, and
armed with two tusks like a walrus. Besides her, there is still
another sea-spirit like a walrus, which is believed to work harm
to people, crawling into their houses at night. These walrus-
beings do not receive regular sacrifices, and sometimes assist the
shaman in the capacity of Iclet. Keretkun, however, is the
recipient of sacrifices at the autumn ceremonials. The Asiatic
Eskimo have sea-deities similar to those of the Maritime Chukchee.'-

The Chukchee classify the winds also as ' Beings ', whose names
are mentioned in incantationsptEe local prevailing wind being
always regarded in a given locality as the chief of these ' Beings '.•'

Spirits of tents and houses are called 'House-Beings' [Yara-
vairgit). They are attached to houses, not to people, and if a house
is destroyed they cease to exist with it. If the inhabitants of
a house abandon it, the house-spirits turn into very dangerous
earth-sinrits.^ A small share of eveiy important sacrifice is
placed for them on the ground in the corners of the sleeping-
room.

Other spirits, which are neither hclet nor vairgit, also exist ;

' Op. cit., p. 316. 2 Op. cit., pp. 316-18.

' Op. cit., p. 320. * Op. cit., p. 318.



258 RELIGION

e. g. the spirits of intoxicating mushrooms, which form a ' Separate
Tribe' (j/anra-varat).'^

Some 'Beings' have so called ' assistants ' (vi^oZef) which receive
a share of the sacrifices. The ' assistant ' is very often represented
as a raven or as half a raven. Even the Jielet have ' assistants '.-

All the forests, rivers, lakes, and the classes of aninials are
animated by 'masters' [awiralit) or 'owners' {etinvif). Some-
times the Chukchee call these Met— a, word which, though it
usually means ' evil spirits ', sometimes is used in the simple
sense of ' spirits \^ Wild animals are said to have the same sort
of households as the Chukchee themselves and to imitate men
in their actions. For instance, ' one family of eagles has a slave,
Eirultet, whom they stole from the earth a long time ago. He
prepares food for all of them, and his face has become blackened
with soot.'^ Animals, like spirits, can take the form of men.
The ermine and the owl become warriors on certain occasions ;
the mice become hunters. ' In most cases, animals, while im-
personating human beings, retain some of their former qualities,
which identify them as beings of a special class, acting in a human
way, but different from mankind.' So the fox-woman retains her
strong smell, and the goose-woman does not take animal food.^

Lifeless objects, especially if they have originally been parts of
living organisms, may become endowed with life ; e. g. skins ready
for sale may turn at night into reindeer, and walk about.'''

These various ' owners ' are very often of the lelet class ; but,
according to Bogoras, no Chukchee will confess to having made
sacrifices to evil spu'its, except under extraordinary circumstances."

[Prometheus]

Bogoras divides the ]:elef of the Chukchee into three classes :
(a) invisible spirits, bringing disease and death ; (b) bloodthirsty
cannibal spirits, the enemies of Chukchee warriors especially ;
(c) spirits which assist the shaman during shamanistic per-
foimances.

Kelet of the class (a) are said to live undergi'ound, and to have
also an abode above the earth ; but they never come from the sea,
for, according to a Chukchee proverl> ' nothing evil can come from
the sea'.^

' Op. cit., p. 333. 2 Op. oit., p. 319. ^ Op. cit., p. 286.

' Op. cit., p. 283. 5 Op. cit., p. 284.

« Op. cit., p. 281. ' Op. cit., p. 2'JO.

^ Op. cit, p. 292. In apparent contracliction to the belief expressed
in this proverb is the existence of the kele in the form of a walrus, men-
tioned by Mr. Bogoras on p. 316, which is harmful to men.



GODS. SPIRITS, SOUL 259

The kekt do not remain in their homes, but ^Yander abroad and
seek for victims. They are too numerous to be distinguished by
special names. Some of them are one-eyed ; they have all sorts of
strange faces and forms, most of them being very small. They are
organized in communities resembling those of men. On the Pacific
shores they are often known as rchieiiit (sing, rckken). These have
various monstrous forms, and animals which are born Avith any
deformity are sacrificed to them. The kekt have an especial fond-
ness for the human liver. This belief is the origin of the Cluikchee
custom of opening a corpse to discover from the liver which spirit
has killed the deceased.' The class {h), which is especially inimical
to warriors, is spoken of chiefly in the tales. While incantations
and charms are employed against spirits of the first class, against
the giant cannibal kekt of the second category ordinary weapons of
war are used. These spirits once formed a tribe of giants living on
the Arctic shore, but being much harassed by the Chukchee, they
changed themselves into invisible spirits. -

The third class (c) is that of shamanistic spirits, sometimes
called 'separate spirits' or 'separate voices'. They take the
forms of animals, plants, icebergs, &c., and can change their
form very quickly — and also their temper; on account of tliis
last peculiarity the shaman must be very punctilious in keeping
his compact with them. The shaman says of them, ' These are
my people, my own little spirits.''^ We do not find in Bogoras
any reference to benevolent shamanistic spirits or assistants of
the shaman.

Besides these tj'pical evil spirits, there is also a class of
'monsters". Among these the chief is the killer-whale, which
is surrounded by a taboo among all Arctic peoples: any one who
kills a killer-whale is sure to die very soon. These monsters in
winter are transformed into wolves and prey upon the reindeer of
the Chukchee. An exaggerated rejjresentation of a polar bear also
appears as one of the ' monsters '. The mammoth plays an impor-
tant part in Chukchee beliefs. It is said to be the reindeer of
the keUt. If the tusks are seen above ground, this is a bad omen,
and unless an incantation is uttered something untoward will
happen.

'According to one story, some Chukchee men found two mam-
moth-tusks protruding from the earth. They began to beat the

' Op. cit., pp. 292-8. 2 Op. cit., pp. 298-300.

' Op. cit., pp. 300-2.

s 2



260 RELIGION

drum and performed several incantations. Then the whole carcass
of the mammoth came to sight. The people ate the meat. It was
very nutritious and tliey lived on it all winter. When the bones
were stripped of all the meat, they i)ut them together again, and
in the morninj^ they were again covered with meat. Perhaps this
story has for its foundation the finding of a mammoth-carcass good
for eating, as happened on the Obi in the eighteenth century, and
also more recently in the Kolyma country.

' Because of these beliefs, the search for ivory of the mammoth
was tabooed in former times. Even now, a man who finds a mam-
moth-tusk has to pay for it to the ''spirit" of the place by various
sacrifices. The search for such tusks is considered a poor pursuit
for a man, notwithstanding the high price which the ivory brings.' ^
In the pictorial representations of these ' monstars ', oi*, rather,
exaggerated animals, all which have a reindeer as the foremost
figure are intended to represent benevolent spirits ; while others
in which a dog, horse, or mammoth stands in front, represent
lielet.

Monstrous worms, blackbeetles, birds, and fish are the other
exaggerated animal forms which Bogoras calls ' monsters '.-

Soul. The soul is called uvint or uvekhirghi (' belonging to the
body '). Another term is tctheyun, meaning " vital force of living
being'. The soul resides in the heart or the liver, and animals
and plants as well as men possess it. One hears, however, more
about other 'souls' — those which belong to various parts of the
body : e. g. there is a limb-soul, nose-soul, &c. And so a man
whose nose is easily frost-bitten is said to be ' short of souls '.
Very often the soul assumes the form of a beetle, and hums like a
bee in its flight. When a man loses one of his souls, he may
obtain its return through a shaman, who, if he cannot discover
the whereiibouts of the missing soul, can send a portion of his own
into the person who has suffered this loss. If a hclc steals a soul,
he carries it into his own dark abode, and there binds its limbs to
prevent its escaping. In one of the tales ' a Icelc forces a stolen
soul to watch his lamp and trim it '. Bogoras knew of a case of a
a man who struck liis ^vife with a firebrand, and when the woman
died after two days, and her relatives had examined her body and
found no injury to any organ, they said that the husband's blow
had injured her soul.

1 Op. cit., p. 326. 2 Op. cit., pp. 323-30.



GODS. SPIRITS, SOUL 261

^ Kdd also have souls of their own, which may be lost or
spirited away by shamans.' ^

C/iidiChec View of the Universe. According to the Chukchee
belief there are several worlds, one above another. Some reckon
five such worlds, others seven or nine. A hole, under the pole-
star, forms a passage from one world to the other, and through
this hole shamans and spirits pass from one to another of the
worlds. Another way to reach the otlier world is to take a step
downwards in the direction of the dawn. There are also other
'worlds' in the 'directions' of tlie compass, one under the sea.
another small dark ' world ' vaguely described as being above,
which is the abode of the female A;e?e-birds. Some of the stars
also are distinct 'worlds' with their own inhabitants. The sky,
they say, is a 'world ' too, jhkI touches our earth at the horizon,
where at four points there are gates. When the wind IjIows these
gates are believed to be opening. -

II. The Kokyak.

In contrast to the Chukchee and the Eskimo, who have whole
classes of Supreme Beings [vairgit, Chukchee ; Idijaniarak, Asiatic
Eskimo), the Koryak, as Jochelson thinks, have a tendency to
monotheism ; although he considers it ' possible that all names
now applied l)y them to one deity may have formerly been
applied to various beings or phenomena of nature, and that,
owing to their intercourse with the Russians, a monotheistic
tendency of uniting all names of the various deities into one may
have developed *.'' That the Koryak conception of one Supreme
Being is not indigenous, or at least not very old, may be judged
from the very vague account of his nature and qualities which was
all that Jochelson was aide to obtain from these people, and also
from the fact that he takes no active part in shaping the affairs of
men. He is, of course, a lienevolent anthropomorphic being, an
old man with a wife and children, dwelling in the sky. He can
send famine or abundance, but seldom uses his power to do either
good or evil to men.

Jochelson says that the abstract names given to him are hardly
consistent with the conception — distinctly material, as far as it
goes — which the Koryak seem to have of his nature. Some of

1 Op cit., pp. .332-3. "- Op. cit., pp. 330-2.

' Jochelson, The Konjak, p. 24.



262 KELIGION

these names are : * Naininen (Universe, World, Outer one) ;
Inahitelan or Ginagitelan (Supervisor) ; Yaqhicnin or Caqhicnin
(Something-Existing), called )jy the Paren people Vahicnin, by
those of Kanienskoye, Vahitnin, or by the Reindeer Koryak,
Yahiynin (Existence, also Strength) ; Gicholan (The-One-on-High) ;
Gicholetinvihm (The-Master-on-IIigh) or simply Etin (Master);
Thairgin (Dawn). In Tale 113 we meet Avith the name Kihigilan
(Tliunder-Man) for the Sup'-eme Being.' ^

The Supreme Being is propitiated for purely material reasons,
such as the i)rocuriiig of a food-supply by hunting land and sea
animals, the i)icking of berries and roots, and the tending of the
leindeer herds. If the Supreme Being ceases to look upon the
earth disorder at once begins ; e. g. Big-Raven is unsuccessful in
his hunting when Universe (Naininen) has gone to sleep (Tale 9).
In like manner, failure to ofifer sacrifices may bring some such
misfortune on a man. In one of the tales (111), when young
Earth-Maker (Tanuta), the husband of Yineaneut, Big-Raven's
daughter, fails to make the customary sacrifice to Inahitelan's
(Supervisor's) son Cloud-Man (Yahalan) at his wedding, Supervisor
forces Yineaneut, or rather her soul, to the edge of the hearth,
where her soul is scorched by the fire, and she v.'astes away.

Though the Supreme Being does not interfere actively in the
aflfaiis of men, their souls [uykit or iiyirit) go to him after death
and hang in his dwelling on posts or beams, until the time comes
when they are to be re-born. The duration of the future life of
each soul is marked on a thong fastened to it, a short thong
indicating a short life. Supervisor dwells in the clouds or the
sky or the heaven-village. His wife is known variously as
Supervisor-Woman, Rain-Woman, or Sea-Woman. His son,
Cloud-Man (Yahal, or Yahalan), is the patron of young couples,
and if a lover, young man or woman, desires to conquer the
heart of the one beloved, this is accomplished by beating the
drum ; and the propitiation of this patron is also the reason why
the bridegroom sacrifices a reindeer to Cloud-Man after marriage.

Jochelson found only one tale (9) relating directly to the
Supreme Being, though there are references to him in some
others. In this tale, which is full of coarse details, Universe
sends heavy rain uj^on the earth from the vulva of his wife. Big-
Raven and his son are obliged to change themselves into ravens,

1 Op. r.it., p. 24.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 263

fly up to heaven, aiul put a stop to the incessant rain by a trick.
This tale must not be tokl in line weather, but only to put an end
to rain or a snow-storm.

As stated above, the Supreme Being sends Big-Kaven to order
human aflfaiis. The native name for Big-Raven is Quikinnaqu or
Kutkinnaku, Avhich are augmentative forms of the words for
'raven'. He is also known as Acicenaqu (Big-Grandfather), or
Tenantomwan (Creator). The tales about Big-Raven form part of
the Pacific Coast cycle of raven myths, for we find this figure in
the mythology of the north-western Amerinds as well as in that
of the Siberians of north-eastern Asia. But, among the Koryak,
Big-Raven plays a part also in the ritual of their religious
ceremonies. 'Creator' is really a misnomer, for this being did
not exercise any truly creative function : he was sent by the
Supreme Being to carry out certain reforms in the already
organized universe, and was therefore, so to speak, a reorganizer
and the first man. He is also a supernatural being and a
powerful shaman ; and his name is mentioned in almost every
incantation in shamanistic performances. ' When the shamans
of the Maritime Koryak commence their incantations they say,
•'There, Big-Raven is coming!" The Reindeer Koryak told me
that during shamanistic ceremonies a raven or a sea-gull comes
flying into the house, and that the host will then say, " Slaughter
your reindeer, Big-Raven is coming ! " ' '

The personage known by this name turns into a bird only when
he puts on a raven's coat. The ordinary raven also figures in the
mythology as a droll and contemptible character, a scavenger of
dogs' carcasses and of excrement. One of the tales (82), about the
swallowing of the sun by Raven (not Big-Raven) and the rescue
of the luminary by Big-Raven's daughter, recalls a tale of the
setting free of the sun told by the Indians of the North Pacific
coast. The Koryak do not count it a sin to kill a raven.

Various contradictory accounts are given of the origin of Big-
Raven. Some say that he was created by the Supreme Being ;
others that they do not know whence he came, although ' the old
people ' knew it.

Most of the Koryak tales deal with the life, travels, and
adventures of Big-Raven, his wife Miti, and their children, of
whom the eldest, their son Ememqut, is the best known. In

' Op. cit, p. 18.



264 KELIGION

these tales, Big-Raven sometimes appears as a being of very low
intelligence, who is often outmatched in cunning, not only by his
wife, but even by mice, foxes, and other animals. Transforma-
tions, especially of the sexual organs of Big-Raven and his wife
(allusions to whicli figure very largely throughout), supernatural
deeds, and indecent adventures, form the subject of the gi'eater
part of the tales. ' The coarseness of the incidents does not
prevent the Koryak from considering the heroes of these tales as
their protectors.'^ Many of the tales serve no other purpose than
the amusement of the people.

In spite of the frivolous character ascribed to Big-Raven in
some of the tales, he is said to have been the first to teach the
people how to catch sea and land animals, the use of the fire-drill,
and how to jn-^tect themselves against evil spirits. He lived on
earth in the manner of the Maritime Chukchee, but some of his
sons were reindeer-breeders. It is not certain how he disappeared
from among men. According to some, he and his family turned
into stones ; others say that he wandered away from the Koryak.
Traces of his having lived among them are still pointed out by the
Koryak : on a sea-cliff in the Taigonos Peninsula are some large
stones which are said to have been his house and utensils. His
foot-prints and the hoof-marks of his reindeer are to be seen, say
the Koryak, in the village of Kamenskoye.^

The Koryak, in common with other Siberian peoples, believe in
another class of supernatural beings, known as ' owners ' or
'masters' (etln) of certain objects in which they are supposed to
reside. Jochelson thinks that this conception among the Koryak
is ' not 3'et differentiated from a lower animistic view of nature '.
He finds the idea more highly developed in the inna of the
Eskimo, the 2)ogil of the Yukaghir ; and especially so among the
Neo-Siberians, e. g. in the Yakut iccl and the Buryat ecen or isin.
That the conception of a spirit-owner residing in * every important
natural object ' is not so clear and well defined among the Koryak
as among the other tribes mentioned, Jochelson considers to be
proved by the vague and incoherent replies he received in answer
to questions about the nature of these 'owners'.

The Koryak word for ' master of the sea ' is anqdken-etinvUan
{anqa, sea). A Reindeer Koryak who had gone to the sea for
summer fishing, and had offered a reindeer as a sacrifice to the sea,

^ Op. cit., p. 20. - Op cit., pp. 20-3.



GODS. SPIRITS, SOUL 265

on being asked by Jochelson whether his offering was made to
the sea or to the master of the sea, replied, 'I don't know. We
say "sea " and ''owner of the sea " ; it 's just the same,' Similarly
some of the Koryak say that the ' owner * of the sea is a woman,
and others consider the sea itself as a woman. Certain hills,
capes, and cliffs are called apapcl {apa, 'father' in Kamenskoye
dialect, 'grandfather* in that of Paren), These are protectors of
hunters and travellei-s, but it is doubtful whether the term is
applied to the hill itself or to the spirit residing in it.^

The sk}^ is considered as a land inhabited by a stellar people.
The sun (' sometimes identified with The-Master-on-IIigh '), the
moon, and the stars are animated beings, and sacrificial offerings
are made to the sun. ' Sun-Man (Teikemtilan) has a wife and
children, and his own country, which is inhabited by Sun people.'^
Marriages are contracted between his children and those of Big-
Raven (Tales 12, 19, 21).

Mention is also made in the tales of a Moon-Man (or woman),
and a Star-Man.'^

The Koryak ' guardians ' and ' charms ' sei-ve as protectors to
individuals, families, or villages, whereas such greater supernatural
beings as The-Master-on-High, Big-Raven, and the malevolent
lalau are deities or spirits of the entire tribe — excepting those
kalau that serve individual shamans. ' Guardians ' form a class of
objects that avert evil from men. Those about which Jochelson
was able to ol)tain information include the sacred implements for
fire-making, which comprise a fire-board {gicgic or gecgei), a bow
[eiiel), a wooden drill {maxem, ' arrow '), and a headpiece of stone
or bone (ceneijinc).'^

The fire-board is of dry aspen wood, which ignites easily, and
has holes in it for receiving the drill. It is shaped roughly to
resemble a human being. The consecration of a new fire-board to
the office of jirotector of the hearth and herd is accompanied with
the sacrificing of a reindeer to The-Master-on-High, the anointing
of the fire-board with the sacrificial blood and fat, and the
pronouncing of an incantation over it. It would thus appear,
Jochelson thinks, that the power to direct some vaguely con-
ceived vital principle residing in a crude inanimate object to an
activity beneficiol to man lies in the incantation pronounced overit.'*

The headpiece has a hollow socket, which is placed upon the

' Op. cit., pp. 30-1. 2 0]i. cit., Tales 12 and 21.

Op. cit., p. 31. " Op. cit., p. 33. ^ Ibid.



266 RELIGION

thin upper end of the drill. ' The headpiece is held by one
person, the l)oard by another, while the bow is turned by a third
person,' the drill rotating on its thick lower end in one of the
holes of the fire-board. The charcoal dust produced by drilling is
collected in a small leathern bag, for 'it is considered a sin to
scatter' this dust.^

[Prometheus]

Evil Spirifs.^ Evil spirits are called lakm (sing. JcaJa), corre-
sponding to the Chukchee Icdct.'' In the time of Big-Raven they
were visible to men, but now they are usually invisible. In most
of the myths which refer to them they are represented as living in
communities like human beings. They are very numerous, and
have the power of changing their size, so that sometimes they are
very large and then again very small. Sometimes they seem to
be ordinaiy cannibals and not sui^ernatural beings at all. ^ When
ih.elalau are visible they appear sometimes in the form of animals,
or as dogs with human heads, or as human beings with pointed
heads. * Their arrows are supplied with mouths, and they can be
shot without the use of a bow, and fly Avherever they are sent.'^
Some of the Ixolau live underground and enter the houses of men
through the fire on the hearth ; others dwell on the earth, in the
west. Although invisible, they can make their approach felt.
' Thus, when Big-Raven's children begin to ail, he says : '' The
Tiolau must be close by.'"''

Kalau are divided into Maritime and Reindeer kalcm. Some
live in the forests, others in the tundra. Human beings are the
spoils of their chase, as reindeer and seals are those of human
hunters. The Jialau of diseases form a special class, and the most
prominent of these evil spirits have special names.

We do not find among the Koryak a class of spirits well
disposed towards men, who will fight with the Imlau. There is no
generic name for good spirits. But the natural enemies of the
Icalau appear to be Big-Raven and his children. Some myths
represent Big-Raven and his children as being destroyed by the
Mlmt, or, again, the l-alau are destroyed or made harmless by Big-

1 Ibid. - Op. cit., pp. 27-30.

^ ' The people of Paren call them also kaJcik or kamak, and among the
Reindeer Koryak tliey are frequently called neuveticnin or niuvit.' (Op. cit.,
p. 27.)

* Jochelson thinks that in this respect they resemble certain male-
volent beings of the Yukaghir, called Mythical-Old-Men and Mythical-
Old-Women. (Op. cit., p. 28.)

^ Jochelson, op. cit., p. 28. " Ibid.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 267

Raven : 'lie oausos them to fall asleep ; he takes out their canni-
bal stomachs during their sleep, and puts other ones in their
places, usually those of some rodents. At still other times he
devises some other means of protecting himself and his children
against the invasion of tlie cannibals. In one story it is told that
he heated stones in his house until they were red-hot, invited the
lalau to sit on them, and thus burned them. At another time he
got rid of them by making a steam Ijath for them, in which they
were smothered. At times an incantation serves him as a means
of rescue. In another story Big-Raven appealed to the Master-on-
High for help against the mouthed arrows of the Mlau with
whom he had been at war ; and the deity gave him an iron
mouth, which caught all the arrows sent by the lalau.' ^ It will
be seen, however, from the above that Big-Raven defends him-
self and his family rather than men from the attacks of Icalau ;
and, as Jochelson says in one place, * Men seem to be left to their
own resources in their struggle with evil spirits, diseases, and
death.'- For, as we have seen, even the Supreme Being plays no
active part in the protection of men. ' On the contrary, he sends
kalau to men ' that they may die, and that he may create other
people'.^ An old man called Yulta, from the village of Kamen-
skoye, told Jochelson that the lalau formerly lived with The-
Master-on-IIigh, but he quarrelled with them and sent them
down to our world.' Another version has it that Big-Raven
sent the lalau down to the people to give the latter a chance to
test the power of the incantations he had taught them against the
lalau. One of the tales relates that ' the dead ancestors send the
lalau from the underground world into the village of their descen-
dants to punish the young people for playing games at night and
thus disturbing the rest of the old people '.'"'

Kalati are, however, not always only harmful to men.
' Although ', says Jochelson, ' on the whole the -word lala denotes
all powers harmful to man. and all that is evil in nature, there
are numbers of objects and beings known under the name of
lalak or lamal that do not belong to the class of evil spirits.
Thus, the guardian spirits of the Koryak shamans, and some
varieties of guardians of the village, of the family, or of indi-
viduals, are called by this name.'"

In the Koi^ak cosmogony there are five worlds—tsvo above

^ Op. cit., p. 29. - Op. cit., p. 2.5. ' Op. cit., pp. 24-6.

* Op. cit., p. 27. 5 ii,ij_ c ]ijij_ 7 Op. cit., p. 30.



268 RELIGION

and two below the earth. Tlie uppermost is the seat of the
Supreme Being, the next is inhabited l)y Cloud-People (Yahalanu) ;
next comes our earth ; of the two worlds below, that nearest ours
is the dwelling of the J.-almi ; and, lowest of all (Ennanenak or
Nenenqal — ' on the opposite side '), is the abode of the shades of
the dead (Peninelau, 'ancient people').^

At the present day only the shamans can pass from one world
to another ; but in the ancient days of Big-Raven (comparable to
the Arunta age of Alcheringa) this was possible for ordinary
people.^

The luminaries, the wind, fog, and other phenomena of nature,
as well as imaginary phenomena, are supposed to l)e endowed
with anthropomorphic souls ; hence, all the wooden images of
spirits have human faces. In the time of Big-Raven men could
transfoim themselves either into the form of animals, or into that
of inanimate objects,-'' by donning an animal's skin or some
covering of the shape of the object into which they desired to be
transformed.^

' In the time of Big-Raven there was no sharp distinction
between men, animals, and other objects ; but what used to be
the ordinar)-, visible state in his time became invisible afterwards.
The nature of things remained the same ; but the transformation
of objects from one state into another ceased to be visible to men,
just as the Jcalau became invisible to them. Only shamans, that
is, people inspired by spirits, are able to see the lalau, and to
observe the transformation of objects. They are also able to
transform themselves by order of the spirits, or in accordance with
their own wishes. There is still a living, anthropomorphic
essence concealed under the visible inanimate appearance of
objects. Household utensils, implements, parts of the house, the
chamber-vessel, and even excrement, have an existence of their
own. All the household effects act as guardians of the family to
which they belong. They may warn their masters of danger,
and attack their enemies. Even such things as the voice of an
animal, sounds of the drum, and human speech, have an existence
independent of the objects that produce them."'



' Op. cit., p. 121. 2 jiji^|_ 3 Op. cit., pp. 115-16.

* Jochelson thinks that the transformation of men into women after
putting on women's clothes, and vice versa, is closely related to this
group of ideas. (Op. cit., p. 116.)

* Jochelson, op. cit., p. 117.



GODS. SPIRITS, SOUL 269

Tlie Korynk word for the soul is iii/icit. They appear to have a
conception also of * some other vital principle or a secondary soul V
whose name Jochelson was not able to learn, nor could he ascer-
tain anything definite relating to it, 'Some vital principle', he
thinks, * is implied in the words iviii/ivi {'' breathing "') and ivuy'il-
tcuyil C' shadow ").' - They draw no very sharp line of demarcation
between life and death. A corpse is not ' deprived of the ability
to move. The deceased may arise, if he is not watched \"' How
death occurs, according to their belief, is explained by Jochelson
as follows : ' The soul (ui/icit), or, to be more exact, the chief soul
of the man, frightened by the attack of hdau upon it, deserts the
body, and rises to the Supreme Being. According to some tales,
the kala himself pulls the soul out of the body, and sets it free to
go oif to the sky, in order to possess himself of the body, or of the
other souls * of the deceased.' ''

The soul of a deceased person does not leave the earth at once,
but hovers high above the corpse. It is like a flame. During
illness it is outside the body, hovering low over it if the illness is
slight, higher if it is severe. A powerful shaman is believed to
be able to bring back the soul to the body of a person recently
dead. When the soul of the deceased rises to the Supreme Being,
the deceased himself and his other soul, or his shadow, descend
underground to dwell with the Peninelau — * the ancient people,
people of former times'.''

III. The Kamchadal.

At the time of Krasheninnikoff and Steller the Kamchadal had
several names for the Supreme Being, but these writers do not
give any detailed descriptions of the Kamchadal's relations to
their deities. On the contrar}', Krasheninnikoff thought that
they paid no religious worship to their god Kutchu or Kutkhu ;
and Steller, taking into account their rude and indecent mytho-
logy, calls the Kamchadal gchorcne Gottesliistercr.' The following

» Op. cit., p. 101. 2 Op. cit., p. 102. » Ibid.

* Bogoras {Chukchee Materials, p. 17) says that the Chukchee attribute
to a man the possession of five or six souls (uiririt). Many North-
American Indians have a similar belief. The Yukaghir belief that a man
has three souls is said to be borrowed from the Yakut, who give a sepa-
rate name to each of the three (ibid., footnote).

•> Op. cit., p. 101. « Op. cit., pp. 102-3.

^ Steller, lieiie von Kamtschatka iiach Amerika, p. 253.



270 RELIGION

names of deities are recorded by Krasheninnikoff : ^ Kutklui
(Kutclui), liis wife Ilkxuni, his sister Xutlizic, his sons Simskalin
and Tizil-Kutkhu, and his daughter Siduku. Tizil-Kutkhu
married Siduku. They had a son Amlei, and a daughter, who
also married each other, and the Kanichadal are the descendants
of this last pair. Neither Steller nor Krasheninnikoff describes
the functions of these gods. Kutkhu is called by Steller 'the
greatest deity of the Kamchadal, who created the world and every
living being'.- He mentions also another name for the Supreme
Being, Diistechtschitsch, and Jochelson thinks that this deity may
have corresponded to the benevolent Supreme Being of the
Koryak. The Kamchadal of the present day call the Christian
God by a similar name."'

According to other Kamchadal tradition?, the earth was
created by Kutq (Raven). In one such legend he makes it out
of his son Simskalin : another has it that he brought the earth
down from the sky with the lielp of his sister and fixed it immov-
ably in the sea."*

The Koryak say that Big-Raven went away from them. The
Kamchadal have a similar tradition ; but according to them,
Raven (Kutq) left them to go to the Koryak and Chukchee."'

Volcanoes and hot springs were regarded as the habitations of
evil spirits called lamuli. Heaven and earth were densely
populated by spirits, some of whom were good, but most were
evil ; sacrifices which are not offered to the gods were made to the
spirits.''

When the Kamchadal feared being attacked by the whale or
the walrus, they used special incantations to appease them and
induce them to spare the boat and its crew. They venerated also
the bear and the wolf, and never pronounced tlie names of these
animals." They offered sacrifices of fire at the holes of sables and
foxes.'^

They believed that animals and men lived on after death in
another world.'

' Krasheninnikoff, The Deso-'qition of the Coitnfii/ of Kamchatka, ed.
1755, p. 100.
2 Op. cit., p. 253.
^ Jochelson, Ttte Kori/ak, p. 18.

* Op. cit., p. 121. " Op. cit., pp. 23-4.

* Krasheninnikotf. op. cit., pp. 73-5. ' Op. cit., p. 80.
" Ibid. '•' Ibid.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 271

IV. The Gilyak.

The highest benevolent deity of the Gilyak is known as Ytsigy,
according to Schrenck.^ But Sternberg - says that they call
the universe Kurn, and apply the same name to their highest
anthropomorphic deity. The ' owner ' spirit of the mountain, and
the mountain itself, is named Pal, and the sea and its ' owner'
they call Tol. Their name for the island of Sakhalin is Mif,
literally 'earth', and they believe that the island is a sort of
covering for a certain immense god.'' Natural objects all have
a life of their own, and if one commits violence of any kind upon
them sacrifice must be made to the injured ' owners '. Thus, when
cutting down a tree, the Gilyak, lest they might hurt its 'owner',
place upon it an inau^ {chelduiJiun-inau), into which the spirit can
pass and retain its life.

Visible objects in general are merely masks or coverings for
various anthropomorphic spirits which reside in them, and this is
especially the case with objects such as stones or roots which have
an outward resemblance to the human form.-' Animals, though
outwardly differing in form from man, are in reality human beings,
with human feelings and souls, and human institutions, such as the
clan. Some of them, indeed, are superior to man, with higher
qualities of mind and body. Such are the bear, on land, and
a certain large bird at sea. Both these cause all other animals
to avoid their neighbourhood. The bear is not dangerous to man
in the wilderness, except for a short time in the spring ; and the
bii'd is not only not harmful to men, Init beneficent, for when he
appears the terrified fishes, fleeing before him, are an easy prey for
the fishermen. It is not the animal, however, which is the object
of their cult, but only its ' owner ', i/s. The ' owners ' of the tayga,
of the mountain, of the sea, and of the fire, are, of course, the most
important for men from the economic point of view. The gods of
the sky are regarded as less important, for men do not come into
direct contact with them. These live in the sky in clans, and are
called thj nlvulch. Of less importance, too, are the gods of the sun
and moon ; and nearly all sacrifices are offered to the ' owners ' of
the taijga, mountains, sea, and fire.**

' Natives of the Amur Count) ij, vol. iii, p. 107.

2 The Gilyak, p. 42. » Op. cit., p. 4-3.

* Sternberg says that the cult of inau is borrowed from the Ainu (ibid.).

" Op. cit., p. 44. « Op. cit., pp. 45-9.



272 RELIGION

Sacrifices, says Sternberg, are not usually accompanied by any
elaborate ceremonials. They are based on the principle of ex-
change, i. e. one does not offer fish to the god of the sea, or game
animals to tlie god of the taijga. When a Gilyak at sea fears the
oncoming of a storm, he throws some tea-leaves into the water,
and says : ' I pray thee see to it that the sea be not angry and that
I return home safe and sound.' ^ Wherever a Gilyak goes he
carries with him certain objects intended for sacrifices, such, for
example, as roots and leaves of certain plants, especially of the
martagan. They also make bloody sacrifices. In this case the
victim is a dog. Offerings of dogs are made chiefly at the begin-
ning of the season for the trapping of sables and at the bear-
festival. On these occasions the victims are killed by strangling,
and as the dogs are dispatched they ask them to make intercession
to the gods for them.'''

Clan-gods form a special category. They are the spirits of
clansmen who have died by drowning or fire, or have been killed
by bears. To them periodical sacrifices are made by the clan.
The bear-festival belongs to this class of sacrifices.

Besides all these benevolent deities there are classes of less
important good spirits — hoi, lot, and urif. The malevolent beings
are called mill: or linr {knin). They are very numerous, have
various forms, and cause all sorts of misfortune, illness, and
death. Many incantations and shamanistic ceremonies are prac-
tised to ward off their attacks ; but even a shaman cannot deal
with them by his own unaided power. He has to call to his
assistance two spirit-helpers, TieJchn and Ja'ncJilh. These assistants
of the shaman are exceedingly clever and sometimes very wicked. •'

The Gilyak believe that an ordinary man has one soul, a rich
man two, while a shaman may have as many as four. Thus the
shaman Chamkh had four souls, one of which he received from
the mountain, another from the sea, the third from the sky, and
the fourth from the undervrorld. His son Koinit, who had been
chosen by the spirits to be a shaman, had already two souls,
although he was only twelve years old, and Chamkh was a very
poor man. Besides these jirincipal souls, every one has a lesser
soul, which they imagine as being like an egg, residing in the head
of the principal soul. All that a man sees in dreams is the work
of this lesser soul. After a man's death, which they believe to be

> Op. cit., p. 50. "" Op. cit., pp. 50-2. ' Op. cit., p. 70.



GODS, SPIRITS. SOUL 273

caused by his body being devoured by evil spirits, the soul, also
attacked by the same spirits, may escape from them, and goes
to the land of the dead called niiflvo. Here it has the form of
a man, and leads the same kind of life as on earth, except that
a poor man becomes rich, and a rich man poor. From this place
the soul goes to another land, and so on from land to land, turning
into smaller and smaller beings in transit — a bird, a gnat, and at
last a speck of dust. Some souls return to earth and are born
again. The lesser soul continues to live for some time in the
best-beloved dog of the deceased, which is especially cherished and
cared for (see chapter on ' Death ').^

V. The Ainu.

Batchelor says that the Ainu believe in one Supreme Being,
Creator of all worlds, whom they call Kotan Kara Kamui, Moshiri
Kara Kamui, Kando Koro Kamui — 'the maker of places and
worlds, and possessor of heaven '. Kamui means, in the first place,
' he who ' or ' that which is greatest ' or ' best ' or ' worst " ; a
secondary (or more modern) meaning is ' he who ' or ' that
which covers ' or * overshadows '. In both meanings the word
is akin to that for ' heaven '. which itself has for its root a word
signifying 'top ' or ' above '. When applied to good powers lamiii
is a title of respect ; and when the evil gods are called by this name
it implies the fear or dread inspired by them. Besides these names,
the Ainu sometimes refer to their Supreme Being under the title
Tuntu, which means 'pillar', 'support', 'upholder'. He is the
Creator, ' the summit, centre, and foundation (of the world), its
originator and mighty "support".'-

Batchelor thinks that the Ainu regard this being as (i) the
creator and preserver of the world ; (ii) the sustainer of men
in general ; (iii) the special protector of every individual, with
whom men can communicate in prayer.''

There is, according to the Ainu belief, also a multitude of
less important deities, who are subject to the highest, and carry
out hLs decrees. By their means he created and still sustains
the world and mankind. Some of these gods are benevolent
and have a double who is malignant. E. g. there are two gods
of the sea called Hep un kamui. They are brothers. The younger,

' Oi). cit., pp. 75-7.

"^ Batchelor, The Ainu ofJayan, pp. 248 51, 258. ^ Op. cit., p. 261.

[Prometheus]

274 RELIGION

3Io uclta, 'uncle of peace', is beneficent to man, bringing fivir
weather for fishing: while his elder brother, Slii acha. is an evil
deity who chases 3Io acha from the seaside, and brings bad
weather to spoil the fishing and wreck the boals.^ Similarly
with other deities of the waters, W<{lla-ush hiinul. These are
female, and have charge of springs, streams, waterfalls, lakes, and
ponds, Chiwash ekot mat, 'female possessor of places Avhere fresh
and salt waters mingle '. watches over river-mouths and allows the
fish to go in and out. Nusa, i.e. clusters of Icma-ush-inao, or
'legged inao' (i. e. iiiao tied to stakes thrust into the ground), are
set up by the water as sacrifices to these gods. Fet-ru-ush mat,
' females of the waterways ", have oversight of all streams from
the source to the sea. They, too, are worshipped with offerings of
niisa, and appealed to for protection in descending the rapids, and
for good fortune in fishing.- SaraJc Icamui, on the other hand,
is the evil god of the rivers. The word sarah denotes accidental
death, and this god is said to bring about death not only by
drowning, but also by mishap of any kind.^

The goddess of the sun is generally regarded as the chief of
the secondary gods, for she is considered to be the special ruler of
all good things in the universe. There is also a god of the moon.
Some consider the moon a female, and the sun a male ; but
the majority speak of the sun as being female. These luminaries
would seem to be regarded rather as the dwellings of deities than
as being deities themselves. If the god of the sun or of the moon
depart from their dwellings, the day or the night is darkened.
Hence the fear which the Ainu have of eclipses.^

The stars are not worshipped, though the term lamui {' god ') is
sometimes applied to them. The Milky Way, or 'river of the gods',
' crooked river ', is a favourite resort of the gods for fishing. '

Next in importance to the deity of the sun is the goddess of
fire. She warms the body, heals sickness, enables man to cook
his food. Slie is especially to be feared because she is a witness
to note the acts and words of men. Hereafter they are punished
or rewarded, says Batchelor, according to her testimony con-
cerning their actions in life. It appears that it is not the fire
which is worshipped, but the goddess residing in the fire.*^

' Every Ainu hut is supposed to have its special guardian god
who is thought to rest upon the roof when the master is at home,

» Op. cit., p. 92. 2 Op. cit., pp. 93 4. =* Ibid.

* Op. cit., pp. 273-4. ' Op. cit., \\ 276. « Op. cit., p. 277.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 275

:ind give warning of approaching dangoi-. and who accompanies
the head of a family when he goes forth to his wars and on liis
liunting expeditions.' ' Batchelor says also that they believe that
every person has his own protecting spirit.-

'Traditions inform us that the gods gather themselves togetlier
and consult with one another as to ways and means before they
act, the Creator, of course, acting as president, just in the same
way as the Ainu chiefs used to meet together for consultation
before they acted.' ^

If an Ainu finds that the particular god worshipped does not
answer his prayer, he appeals to the Creator, sometimes even
accusing the lesser god to him of neglecting his duty.^

They believe that their first ancestor, whom they call Aioina
hinud, became divine, and, as Batchelor says, 'has now the
superintendence of the Ainu race '. '

The Ainu believe in evil as well as in good spirits. The chief
evil spirit is j.V//;^e kamui, and there are also other malignant
beings who preside over accidents and diseases of the body and
mind.''

The souls both of animals and men are believed to survive
bodily death ; and, according to Batchelor, the Ainu belief in
a judgement of souls is strong and well defined."

The Ainu believe that the soul will inhabit after death a body
almost exactly resembling that which it has occupied in life ; and
that the community of souls in the future life, in its pursuits and
enjoyments, is practically the same as the Ainu community on
earth. Souls can revisit this earth as ghosts whenever they
desire to do so; and some of the living also have the jiower to go
among the ghosts in their dwelling-place. In neither case can the
visitor make himself heard, but he himself can both see and liear."*

The ghosts of deceased women are greatly feared, and that of
an old woman especially is believed to have an extraordinary
capacity for doing harm to the living. Even while alive on earth
old women have great power over men, and children are much
afraid of them. Formerly the hut in which the oldest woman of
a family died was burnt after her death to prevent the spirit
returning to work mischief to her oilfspring and to her sons- and
daughters-in-law. The soul returning from the grave to exercise

' Op. cit., p. 261. 2 iijij_ 3 Op. cit , p. 263.

' Op. cit., p. 26-t. ' Op. cit., p. 252. « Op. cit., p. 217.

' Ibid. « Op. cit., p. 225.

T 2



27G RELIGION

its spells upon the living was thus unable to find its former home,
and wandered about for a time in a furious rage. During this
period the grave was carefully avoided.^

All souls go first to Pokna-Moshiri, the underworld. Here
there are three roads, one leading to Kanna-Moshiri, ' the upper
world ', our world ; another to Kamui-Kotun, 'the place of god',
or Kamui-Moshiri, ' the kingdom ' or ' woild of god ' ; and the
third to Teinei-Pokna-Shiri, ' the wet underground world '. On
reaching Pokna-Moshiri, the soul is sent, on the testimony of the
goddess of fire, either to Kamui-Kotan or to Teinei-Pokna-Shiri,
to be rewarded for a good life, or punished for an evil one. If
the spirit denies having done evil, he is confronted by a picture
representing his whole life which is in the possession of the fire-
goddess. ' Thus the spirit stands self-condemned ' to punishment
in Teinei-Pokna-Shiri. -

Some of the Ainu hold that women, who are considered
inferior to men ' both spiritually and intellectually ', have * no
souls, and this is sometimes stated as a reason why women are
never allowed to pray'. But Batchelor thinks that the real reason
for this prohibition is that the Ainu are afraid that the women
will appeal to the gods against their ill-treatment by the men.''

Such are the views attributed by Batchelor to the Ainu about
a future judgement, heaven, and hell. According to Chamber-
lain,"* these conceptions are not original with the Ainu. He says :
' Some of the Ainos say that Paradise is below the earth, and
Hell Ijelow that again. But as they use the modern Japanese
Buddhist names for those places, they would appear to be, con-
sciously or unconsciouslj'', giving a foreign tinge to their old
traditions. The fact that many Aino fairy-tales mention Hades
under the name of Pokna Moshiri, while none seemingly mention
Heaven or Hell, favours the view that no moral thread was
woven into the idea of the next world as originally conceived by
the Aino mind.'

I Op. cit., p. 223. 2 Op. cit., pp. 237-8.

" Op. cit., pp. 234-5. This statement of Batchelor's implies that the
Ainu women have a very low social position. On the other hand, both
Sternberg and Pilsudski, who have an intimate acquaintance with Ainu
life, say that the social position of women among the Ainu is better than
in any other of the tribes of Siberia, and consider that this is probably
due to the existence of a matriarchate among the Ainu in comparatively
recent times.

* The Languoge, Mythology, and Gcogvaphudl yoiiiencJafure of Japan
viewed in the Light of Aino Studies, p. 19.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 277

VI. The Turkic Tribes.
(1) The Yakut.

According to Troshclianski, the chief l)enevolent god of the
Yakut is Uriin-Aiy-Toyon, the white lord and creator of the earth
and man. This writer thinks that Ihun-Aiy-Toyon was regarded
as the father of light, and since among all the Turkic tribes tlie
sun is considered the father of light, his opinion is tliat this god
was originally the Yakut god of the sun. When the Yakut
migrated northward, where the sun is not so much in evidence as
in the south, they kept the name Urun-Aiy-Toyon as that of their
principal * white ' god, and gave a new name to the sun — Kun-
Toyon, ' Sun-Lord ', or simply Kun, the latter being the ordinary
word for ' light ', ' day '. However, ai>/ and Jatn are often used
sj^nonymously. ^ AVhile Troshchanski,'-^ following Piekarski, says
that Urun-Aiy-Toyon is sometimes called Art-Toyon-Aga, ' Father-
Euler-of-All ', or Ar-Aiy-Toyon, Sieroszewski •' and Priklonski
think that Art-Toyon-Aga is the highest god, living in the Ninth
Sky, and that Urun-Aiy-Toyon, who lives in the Third Sky, is
next to him in dignity. Sieroszewski says that the Yakut
Olympus is organized on the j^lan of the clan-system of the
Yakut. The sky-gods are divided into nine bis or agas, and the
gods of the lower world into eight. The sky-gods are arranged
in the following order :

(i) Art-Toyon-Aga, the powerful ruler of light and life, speaking
in the storm and thunder, somewhat indifferent to human affairs,
and to be appealed to only in exceptional circumstances. In his
honour are celebrated the great clan ceremonies, ysyakh, in which
sacrifice of kumys is made to him. Generally speaking, bloody
sacrifices are not made to the benevolent deities. Only to the
god of hunting, Bay-Nay, is sacrifice involving bloodshed offered,
and even in this case such sacrifices are limited in the quantity of
blood that may be shed.

(ii) Urun-Aiy-Toyon, ' White-Lord-Creator '.

(iii) Nalban-Aiy, Kiibay-Khotun-Lii, ' Kind-Mother-Creatress '.

(iv) Nalj'gyr-Aissyt-Khotun, the benevolent goddess who pre-
sides over child-birth.

' The Evolution of the Black Faith {Shamanism) among the Yakut,
pp. 33-7.

* Op. cit., p. 37.

^ Sieroszewski, 12 Lut w Krajit Yukutow, pp. 388-9,



278 RELIGION

(v) An-Alay-Khotun, the tutelary goddess of the earth, fields,
and valleys, with her children, the spirits of iiraha-djuruM.

(vi) Silttii-kiirJi-Djasagai-Aiy, seven brothers, godsof light, war, &c.

(vii) Mogol-Toyon and his wife, the deities of the cattle.

(viii) Bay-Nay, god of hunting.

(ix) Gods who guard the roads to the sky,^

Sieroszewski says that the natives are quite ready to give
information about the clan arrangement of the sky-gods, but that
it is very difficult to get similar information about the gods of the
underwoild, since very few of the ordinary people know anything
about them, and the shamans are afraid of betraying the secrets
of these formidable beings. The chief of the ' dark ' spirits
is Ulutuyer-Ulu-Toyon, 'Omnipotent Lord'. He is always
described as living in the western sky, and, in contrast to the
inactive Art-Toyon-Aga, he is the personification of action and of
the passions. Ulu-To3'on is not always harmful to men, for he
gives to them one of his souls, silr, and defends them from the
attacks of ahassylar. In some descriptions he appears as the
highest of the active supernatural powers, and not necessarily
evil ; Init in other accounts he is described as a ' dark ' spirit, the
ruler of abassylav, just as Art-Toyon-Aga is the ruler of aiy, who
inhabit the eastern sky.-

The ohass>/lar are divided into ' Upper ', living in the western
sky; 'Middle', living on the earth; and 'Low^er', inhabiting the
subterranean world ; but, wherever they live, they are all harmful
to men.''

Ichchi, literall)'^ "owner', signifies an ' owner '-spirit of various
objects. Every river, lake, stone, and sometimes even parts of
these, has its own ichchi, who controls it. Movable objects and
those which can produce sounds also have their iclichi. Ichchi do
not belong either to the aiy or to the ahassylar, though in many
cases, like the ahassylar, they are harmful to men. Thus, for
example, Kurar-Ichchi, the ' owner ' of the wind, is by many
writers considered as a ' black ' spirit, since the wind is very often
dangerous and harmful.^ In the wanderings of the tribe through
difficult country, by dangerous roads, or through trackless regions,
accidents may often happen to a cart or some part of its equip-
ment. Such misfortunes are attributed to the local ichchi, who
must therefore be placated bj'^ sacrifices. The Yakut have a

1 Op. cit., p. 390. ^ Op. cit., p. 391.

^ Jochelson, The Koryak, p. 190. * Troshchauski, op. cit., pp. 26-80.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 279

special languago for use during those journeyings. In this
language, implements oi- i)tiier valuable objects are given certain
nicknames instead of names proper to them, in order that the
ichcJii may not know that the ol)ject3 in question are referred to —
for if they did. they would destroy or harm them. For the same
reason the Yakut often employ Russian names for things they
value, being certain that the icJirhi will not understand tliese.^

The Yakut division of the universe is mainly horizontal,
comprising two parts — east and soutli, the habitation of good
spirits, and west and north, of evil spirits. The great evil
spirit, Allara-Ogoniir, * Underground-Old-Man ', lives in the far
north. There is also a vertical division into upper, middle, and
lower worlds, but this is less precise and not so important as the
horizontal division, since dbassylar, or evil .spirits, are found in all
three divisions, so that no one of the vertical worlds is restricted
to the ' white ' or good spirits, u'iij.

The Yakut believe that man is composed of (i) fijn, 'life',
'breath'; (ii) Icut, the physical soul ; and (iii) si\r, the j^sychic soul.^
Tijn is common to men, animals, and plants, as among the
Altaians. Kut is common to men and animals, and is composed
of three parts: {a) huor-lait, literally 'earth-soul', i.e. soul com-
posed of earthly elements; [h) salgi/n-lut, literally 'air-soul',
i. e. composed of air ; (c) uja-lcut, ' mother-soul ', the maternal
element. It might seem, says Troshchanski, that there are here
three souls, but in fact lad is one soul composed of these three
elements. A Yakut woman is always delivered of her child on
the bare ground within the yurta, for the Yakut believe that the
huor-lcut is communicated to the infant from the earth at the
moment of birth. Salgyn-lad it receives from the air shortly
afterwards ; while the third element, iijd-lut, comes to the child
from the mother."' Troshchanski considers that the proof of Jcut
being but one soul composed of three parts is found in the fact
that the Yakut believe that fishes have no Jad, being cut off from
both air and earth and not being viviparous.

The Altaians also have a conception of a Jcid, )>ut theirs does
not comprise three elements as does that of the Yakut.

Kid is a physical conception of the soul, while silr, although in
some degree a material conception, has more of a psychical

' Op. cit., p. 54. ^ Troshchanski, op. cit., p. 72.

=> Op. cit , p. 74.



280 RELIGION

character than lut. Tlie sitr enters the mother by way of her
temples at the moment of conception. The Icut is sent by Art-
Toyon-Aga, and the siir by Uhi-Toyon. Siir is connected with
the liead, and has no shadow ; lut with the abdomen, and has
three shadows. After death lait is devoured by the ahassjflar ;
though there is also a belief that the lut remains for some days
near the body of the deceased, and then departs to the other
world. ^ Si'ir is common to man and the animals, and is even
possessed by fishes.^ Troshchanski •' says that the word siir is also
used to denote unusual psychic powers, such as are possessed by
shamans; and, indeed, according to the legend,"* shamans receive
their heads (the seat of siir) from heaven. If, as Troshchanski
thinks, the siir is primarily connected with the shaman as his
distinctive familiar spirit, and does not perish after death like the
///«, nor go to the other world like the 'kut.^ then it would seem
clear that the amdfj/jat, which according to some is a shamanistic
spirit passing from one shaman to another, usually by heredity,
is not in fact a spirit at all, but simply an impersonal power
invariably associated with shamans.^

(2) The Altaians.

According to the belief of the Altaians' the good spirits {aru
neme) are all subjects of the good god Yulgen, and the bad spirits
[kara neme) of the evil god Erlik. Yulgen is so kind and generous
that he never does harm to men. Sacrifices are offered to him
by all, but no one fears him. Every bridegroom must sacrifice to
him a horse ((//,) of a light colour after his marriage. The lik is
surrounded with every mark of respect, red ribbon is tied to its
mane, and no woman must mount upon its back. This sacrifice
is offered in spring, in a birch thicket ; no woman must be
present at the ceremony, and even the shaman must of necessity
be a man. The sacrificial meat may be partaken of by women,
but only unmarried girls may share the feast at the spot where
the sacrifice was offered ; married women must not approach
nearer than sixty feet from this spot.

' According to Mikbailowski, the Samoyed believe that the souls of
ordinary men perish some time after the death of their possessors
[Shamanism, p. 7), only the souls of shamans surviving.

« Op. cit., pp. 75-6. 3 Op. cit., p. 79.

* Op. cit., p. 78. ^ Op. cit., p. 77.

^ A similar hypothesis concerning cnmigijai is put forward in the
chapter on ' The Shaman — his Vocation '.

^ Wierbicki, Tlie Nafires of the Altai, p. 43.



f



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 281

Sacrifice is made to Eriik — usually of some animal — when an
evil spirit attacks some one. The ceremony is performed either
in the yurdt. in the courtyard, or wherever the attack was made.
Propitiatory sacrifices are otTered, not only to Yulgen and Erlik,
but also to secondary good sjjirits, such as aru none and ah nemc,
and to secondary evil spirits {kara ncme), which are known to the
Tartars of Chern as sJiaitan, ahn//s, IJiawa, Jciircmcs. The sun, the
moon, as well as the mountains, rivers, and forest, are also pro-
pitiated, or rather the propitiation is offered to their 'owner'
{eezi). Besides these superior beings, every clan (seoh) has its
own deity, and every family its own family god of the ijurta,
called hashtut-lhan (or among the Tartars of Chern, crhe).

Images of gods are called by the Yenisei Turks tijns, and by
the Altaians, lurnies. These are made of various materials, often
skin or wood.

There exists, apparently, some understanding between Yulgen
and Erlik. As the Altaians say, ' Yulgen and Erlik have one
door.'i Sometimes, when Yulgen has been expecting a sacrifice
and fails to receive it, being too kind-hearted to punish the
culprit himself, he informs Erlik, and then sacrifices have to be
made to both. In such cases Erlik commands Kagyr Khan to
punish the culprit until he makes the expected sacrifice. Kagyr
Khan has power over every yurta, and hence minor libations are
made to him at all festivals.

The intermediary between gods and men at all sacrifices, and
the priest at these ceremonies, as well as the prophet, is the Team
or shaman. His power is greater or less according to the degree
oitcs hazi/n-yat- (probably 'ancestor-spirit' or 'power of ancestor-
spirit') possessed bj'^ him.^

[Prometheus]

The local division of the universe is partly horizontal, partly
vertical ; and the good spirits live in seventeen floors above the
earth, while the bad occupy seven or nine under it. Erlik Khan,
the chief of the bad spirits, lives on the lowest floor, where the
sun and moon are supposed to give only a very feeble light. This
Erlik Khan is held to have been originally a heavenly spirit,
which shows that even in the past the 'white' spirits were
predominant.*

The Altaians believe that the soul of man is composed of

' Il^id.

^ This conception is similar to that oi umagijut among the Yakut.

^ Wierbicki, The Natives of the Altai, p. 43. * Ibid.



282 KELIGION

several paits, or rather exists in several conditions or stages.
"When a man is ill/ they consider that one of his souls, suzy. is
absent, but that another soul, called (>in, still remains in the
body, so that the sazy can be recalled.

(a) Tim'- signifies vitality, i.e. a soul common to plants, animals,
and man. If the suzy does not return soon to the body, the tyn
perishes. The soul of a dead man is called uzhtp-tyn. The word tyn
comes from tynip, '1 breathe', or tynit, 'breath'. The Altaians
say that one can hear a sound as of the snapping of a string when
the tyn is departing. One must not approach too near to a dying
man, for the belief is that in such a case the tyn of a living
person can pass into the latter.

{I)) Suzy is derived from su, 'water', 'river', and uzak; 'long'.
The word siiuza/c means ' long-lived ', ' healthy ' ; and sxzy signifies
primarily the strength necessary for a man or animal in order
that he may be healthy and live long.

(c) Kut is almost the same as suzy, or is, so to speak, the next
stage of suzy. This word is derived from kudiip, ' I vanish '. Kut
connotes, in fact, the destruction of some vital principle. The
expression cr Iciidup panly means 'the earth has lost its vitality '
or ' has become barren '.

{(T) Tula is probably derived from tulup, ' I tear '. Animals
have no ttda, it belongs only to men. During a .shaman's per-
formance he represents this soul as a small white bullet con-
tinually in motion like quicksilver.

(e) Si'ir, from sump, ' I pursue ', ' I drive away '. This soul
separates from a man at death, and is banished from the dead
man's habitation forty days after his death. Siirmet means
a ' picture ', ' representation '. The Altaians believe that both men
and animals, or their siinnet. continue to exist after bodily death,
and have the same relations to one another as on earth.

(/) Siine, denoting a phase of the soul also peculiar to man,
comes from siinep, ' I advise ", ' discuss '. The word refers to the
intellectual powers of man. It is this soul which assumes after
death the living likeness of its possessor, and wanders in the
dwelling of the dead man, sometimes calling out to his relatives.^

1 Op. cit., p. 77.

"^ Tyndu-agash, fi*esb, growing tree ; iyndu-eleu, fresh grass (ibid.).

^ Op. cit., p. 78.



GODS, SPIRITS. SOUL 283

VII. The MoxtiOLic Tribes.
The Bukyat.

Tlie Buryat religion is a fonu of polytheism. They have classes
of supernal l>eings, each class having at its head one who is above
the rest, l)ut they have no conception of a Sui)reme Being over all.
The highest spirits are called teugcri or (engerini/. They inhabit
the sky.^ There are ninety-nine kngcrl each with a name of its
own, divided into two groups — western, haruni, and eastern, zioti.
Those of the west are kind, they predominate in numbers, being
fifty-five, and are called sagani tengcri — "White Tengeri. The
eastern (forty-four in number) are mischievous, and are known as
kharan tcngcri, or Black Tengeri.-

Banzai'off' speaks of the old Mongols as being heaven-wor-
shippers, and this may be true of former times ; now, however,
we find among them a curious conception of heaven not as an
indivisible whole, but as a collection of distinct bodies.

Following what Mr. Klementz* calls the theory of the atmo-
spheric explanation of myths, Agapitoff and Khangaloff, in their
Materials for the Stuclij of Shamanism in Siberia, explain the ninety-
nine tengeri as being each a personification of some atmospheric
state, dull, bright, cold, stormy, &c.

The chief of the west tengeri is Khan-Tiurmas Tengeri among
the Buryat of Balagansk, and Zayan-Sagan-Tengeri among the
Buryat of Kudinsk.'' Not only the west tengeri, but also certain
secondary spirits called litrkhans or Ihats, and generally all the
western or good zagans, are subordinate to this chief.

The east tengeri.'' in contrast to those of the west, are hostile to
men, among whom they send misfortunes, quarrels, sickness, and
death. In the beginning there was no difference between these
two classes of tengeri ; but in consequence of a quarrel which arose
among these spirits, some separated themselves and went to the
east, where they have since remained as east tengeri, permanently
hostile to the others and to men. There is a tradition among
some of the Buryat, e. g. those of the Kuda Eiver, that the white

^ The sky as seen by daylight is called tengeri; the night sky is oktorgo.
? Khangaloff, 1895. pp. 1-2. ' Banzaroff, pp. 6, 26.

* ' The Buriat,' E. R. E., p. 2.

^ In Buryat the word zagan means literally 'creator', and sagan,
'white '. Colloquially the former word has the meaning ' god ', ' deity ',
" Khangaloff, op. cit., p. 10.



284 RELIGION

tengcri are older than the bhick— a tradition which may not be
unconnected with the other just mentioned. The chief of the
east tengeri is Ata-Ulan-Tengeri among the Balagansk Buryat,
and among the Kudinsk Buryat. Khimkhir-Bogdo-Tengeri. Not
only the black toir/cri but also other lesser scvjans are subordinate
to him.

The Buryat believe that the visible sky has a door through
which the western tengcri look from time to time, to see how
human affairs are going. If they behold some misfortune they
send to the aid of men certain of their children, called Ihats. If
a man should happen to look up at the sky when this i\oov [tengc-
r'm-uden) open.s, he will be very lucky, and all that he may then
ask from heaven will be granted him. During the brief moment
when this door is open, a glory falls upon the earth and trans-
figures it to unwonted beauty.^

The most important of the western llials arc Khan-Shargan-
Noyon and Bukha-No)^on-Babai.

The other benevolent spirits are known among the Kudinsk
Buryat as satim-burlJiaf. They are held in great reverence, because,
as their name shows {sa, ' tea '), they are tutelary spirits of tea-
planting, and the offering made to them consists always of tea,
never of tarasim.'^

The Balagansk Bur3'at include among their benevolent spirits
a dagda-delkha-ijin, that is, the 'host or owner of the whole earth',
who is represented as an old man with grey hair. His name is
Daban-Sagan-Noyon. His wife is also old and white-haired, and
her name is Delent-Sagan-Khatun. The Buryat arrange failgans
to this zatjan in the autumn after the harvest.

The Buryat of Olhonsk offer sacrifice to the ' hostess ' of the
sea, Aba-Khatun.

The Buryat of Balagansk have also important deities called
sagani-Txliordut?

Speaking generally, every feature of the whole landscape has
its ' owner ' {jjin). E. g. in the lakes and rivers there are spirits
known as uJcJmn-Jihat ; and in the forest lives oin-ijin, the ' owner '
of the forest, a spirit harmful to men.'*

The attitude of the Buryat towards the many ' owners ' whom
they see in nature is shown in the following prayer : * Ye keepers
of the echo in the high mountains, ye keepers of the winds of the

> Op. cit., p. 18. 2 Op. cit , p. 30.

^ Op. cit., p. 44. * Shashkoff, 1864, p. 49.



GODS. SPIRITS, SOUL 285

wide sea ; my lords who lodge in the high mountains, my gods
who live in the wilderness ! Be our support in our need ! In
tlie evil years be generous, grant us fertility in the lean months!
When we sit within t)ur i/urtas ye are not a danger to us ; when
we are without, there is no hindrance to your power. In the
warm night ye give us light, in the hot midday ye send us shade.
Banish from us evil, bring near to us the good ! Since ye have made
yourselves Creators, save us from all perils ! Ye suffer not our
plate-like faces to sweat, nor our hearts, like buttons, to flutter.
Guardians of our heads, ye who prej^are food for our mouths !
Through the doors of our yutias send us rays of light, through
our smoke-holes let us see the sun ! ' ^

A special class in the spiritual world is formed of ' smiths ',
who are also western, or white, and eastern, or black. The
former protect men and heal them of ills. They ai*e subordinate
to the western icngeri, and they have given to men knowledge of
their art. The first white smith was Bojintoy, a heavenly zaijan.
When, at the behest of the western tengeri, white smiths and
black descended to earth, Bojintoy remained in the sky. He
had one daughter and nine sons, all of whom were smiths. -

The eastern Mats are of the same number as the western.
Their head is Erlen-Khan and his family. Although they do
nothing but mischief to men, they have communication some-
times with the western Ihats, the intermediaries, who have no
other function to perform, being called Ushi or hydel: There are
also nine 'cow' JJiats, who also belong to the eastern zai/ans but
are not sul^ject to their power.-'

In the I'egion of the evil spirits there are two dungeons, one of
which, the larger, is known as Khalga, and to this the greatest
black shamans go after deatli. It is under the rule of Khara-
Eren-Noyon, and a soul can only leave the dungeon if the
governor is well disposed towards it. The other dungeon is
smaller, and is called Erlen-Tama. It is not accessible to
shamans, and is under the direct control of Erlen-Khan.^

Eastern or black 'smiths' are called Jcara-darlJiat' They are
si>ecially protected by the eastern tengeri, who taught the smith's
art to the first 'black' smith on earth, Khojir-Khura-Darkhan.
The latter has seven sons, all of whom are great black ' smiths '.^

' Op. cit., p. 47. - Op. cit., pp. 38-y.

I Op. cit., p. 47. * Op. cit., p. 51.

^ Darkhan, singular — 'a smith '. Darkhat is plural.
« Op. cit., p. 53.



286 EELIGION

The Buryat of Balagan believe tliat every disease has its zayan.
Thus the disease common in their district, Sibi>sJcai/a yazva
(called in Buryat homo), has as its 'owner' Bolot-Sagan-Noyon.^

In the clan Olzoyev, in the district of Unginsk, there are two
large white stones, Bumal-Sagan-Shulun (literally, 'descending
Avhite stones'), which are believed to have fallen from the sky,
and are worshipped by the natives.^

The souls of the greatest shamans after death become scujans
and protectors of men. Even the souls of black shamans are said
to arranL;e human business with the l>lack zayans. Every ulus
and clan has its own zai/uns — the souls of deceased shamans and
shamanesses. Their bodies are burned or placed in coffins, which
are put on trees in a neighbouring forest or on a mountain,
whence they are called ' the old people of the mountain ', khada-
ulan-obokhocl. In every district there are such ' old people of the
mountain ', for M'hom are made tailgans and kiriks, with other
lesser propitiatory offerings. These ' old people ' are purely local
divinities, and are not worshipped outside of the particular
locality to which they belong.-^'

There are also two classes of onyons or fetishes — 'black 'and
* white '. They represent different spirits and are made of various
kinds of material, usually of skins, and are of different forms, but
generally have human fiices. One kind of onyons serve only for
the amusement of people. These are known as nadanl ongon,
nadani being the name given to an evening's amusement. The
shaman calls upon the spirits represented by these onyons to
amuse the young people during an evening party. When the
spirit invoked arrives, the shaman himself pretends to be its
onyon, and begins to make jests at the expense of the people
present, who must not make any objection, but affect to be
amused, for these onyons must be welcomed with merriment, and
are annoyed otherwise.^

Although the Buryat have many legends about animals, which
figure largely in their mythology, animals never rise to the rank
of deities. Some are even said to have a future life, e. g. the
horse, eagle, hedgehog, swan, fox, and even the worms in the
fields. The snake is often represented in ritual as well as in
mythology. It is a curious fact that the bear, which plays such
an important part in the beliefs and ceremonies of other

^ Op. cit., p. 54. ^ Op. cit., p. 45.

=> Op. cit., pp. 82-4. * Op. cit., p. 76.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 287

shamanists, does not enter into the myths and litunl of the
Buryat.

The sun and the moon are among the principal tutehuy spirits.
In most of the tales they are represented as being of the male sex
and as taking women for wives. "SYhen there is an eclipse of the sun
or moon, said a Balagansk shaman, this is because they have been
swallowed by an aJkJta, a monster without trunk or limbs, having
only a head. The sun, or the moon, then cries 'Save me!' and
all the people shout and make a great noise to frighten the monster.^

The Buryat believe that man is composed of three parts : oifeye,
material body; amin, lower soul, breath; and sunycsun, soul
belonging to man only. Amin is connected with death ; when it
leaves the body, death occurs. Sunyestm has a similar connexion
with sleep, leaving the body when one is sleeping. Batoroff-
relates the history of the soul after death as follows : When the
time comes for a man to die. erlils capture one of his souls, and
bring it before Erlik-Nomon-Khan for judgement. After this
soul has been captured, it sometimes happens that a man may
live on for as long as nine years, but he never enjoys his former
health and strength.

The second part of the soul does not leave the earth, but
changes at the death of the man into a boJcJioldoif. which continues
to live in a dwelling on earth and in a manner exactly similar to
that which the man formerly' followed. There are different
classes of bolJioldoys.

The third part of the soul is born again in the form of a human
being, but Batoroff ^ does not tell us when and how this reincar-
nation takes place/*

Bolhohloi/s are sometimes the souls of deceased shamans, to
whom the Buryat bring sacrifices, says Batoroff; "' these holholdai/s,
then, form the class of zayans to which reference was made above.
Bohholdoys are more or less powerful, according to the quality of
tjie shamans in life. This depends, Batoroff thinks,-' on the
utkhu of the deceased shaman, which means literally, his descent
or genealogy ; but from other references to a shaman's uWia it

' AgapitofF and KhangalofF, p. 17.

- ' Buryat beliefs on the hokholdoys and anukhoija,' E. S. S. I. R. G. S.,
vol. ii, part ii, p. 13.

' Op. cit., p. 14.

* For further information as to peculiar Buryat beliefs about the soul,
see the chapter on ' Death '.

^ Op. cit, p. 10. « Ibid.



288 RELIGION

seems clear that the word denotes supernatural, shamanistic
power, like the Yakut amiigyat^ The less important hoMoIdoi/s
do not receive any propitiatory offerings other than an occasional
libation, which may be performed by any one, not necessarily by
a shaman.

Ada or anahhai/ are, according to some traditions, souls of
wicked persons or of women who have died childlpss. No sacri-
fices are made to them and they are represented as one-eyed, evil,
malicious spirits, who always remain in the same ulus or house.
They sometimes take the form of a dog or cat, always one-eyed ;
they wander at night, but not every one can see them, though
any one can smell their disagx-eeable odour. They are afraid of
being seen, of angry men, of fire, of metals, of weapons, and of the
smell of heath. Though easily frightened, they are not easily
banished from a house, and as they are especially harmful to
young children under the age of seven, parents frequently arrange
nai/dji" with the shamans for their children's protection.^

The less important kind of hokholdoys are called iilclier-ezy ;
these ai-e the souls of sinful women who have died a violent death.
No sacrifices are made to them, and nobody fears them. They
can be seen by the same people as can see analchay, but other
people can perceive their odour. They come to wander on earth
at the time when these women would have died in the ordinary
course of events but for the violence which in fact ended their
lives.* Klementz mentions also two other kinds of malicious
spirits who originated from human souls, namely, mu-shuhu — in
the form of an evil-di.sposed bird — and ddlxlnds.''

VIII. The Finnic Tribes.

In his account of the natives of north-western Siberia, the
Ugrian Ostyak, Vogul, and Samoyed, Gondatti,'' in speaking of
their religion, pays most attention to the Vogul mythology. He
says that the gods of the Vogul are divided into two classes, viz.
of good and bad gods. The chief of the beneficent deities is
Yanykh-Torum (called also Numi-Torum or Voykan-Torum).

' Sec chapter on ' Rluunan's Vocation '.
^ This term is explained in the chapter on ' Birth '.
' Op. cit, pp. 10-11. ?» Op. cit., p. 13.

"• ' The Buriats,' E.Ii.E., p. 3.

" Gondatti, Traces of rcKjanism amony the Aboriijines of North-Westeitt
Siberia, 1888, pp. 6-7.



GODS, SPIRITS, SOUL 289

The principal evil deit}' is Khul. Yunykh-Toium is, however,
not the highest of the gods ; there is another, higher than he,
Kors-Toruni (The Creator), the progenitor of all the gods. Kors-
Torum has never revealed himself to man, and the Vogul say
that they cannot picture to themselves what he is like, that what-
ever they know of him is only known through the lesser gods.^
He never descends to earth, but sometimes sends thither his
eldest son, Yanykh-Torum. Yanykh-Torum has the form of
a man. but from the splendour of his raiment he shines like gold.
Like his father he never carries any weapon. About once a week
he descends to earth to see how men's affairs are going on. If
they pray to him to send rain or fair weather he gives commands
to his younger brother, Sakhil-Torum, who dwells in the dark
clouds, to do what is required. Sakhil-Torum, like his brother,
has the form of a man, and drives reindeer, which have tusks like
a mammoth, in the clouds. His reindeer are laden with casks of
water. When they are sluggish he whips them up, and as they
plunge under his strokes the water in the casks is spilled and
falls on the earth as rain.

The following tale is told about the sons of Yanykh-Torum :
When they were grown up their father sent them down to earth.
On their arrival, they began to fight with the heroes who lived on
earth in those days. To bring about peace, Yanykh summoned
his sons and said to them, 'He among you who can first tie his
bridle to-morrow to the silver post which stands before my house,
shall be made elder and ruler over his brothers and over men.'
The next day the first to appear was the youngest son, Mir-
Susne-Khum. Since that time he has been the ruler of his
brothers and of men, whom they try to keep in peace. ^

[Prometheus]

' The Samoyed chief god Nim, or Ileumbarte (literally, 'giver of life'),
although he is ruler both of earth and heaven, never descends to the
unclean earth lest he might soil himself upon it, but communicates with
man only through the tadehtsy (spirits), who for this jjurpose choose
tadibeij (shamans) from among men. (Islavin, The Samoyed, p. 109.)
Lepekhin says that the tadehtsy of the Samoyed are not divided into bad
and good spirits, but that they can harm or help men according to circum-
stances. These tadehtsy are so numerous that there is no place on earth
where they are not found. (Lepekhin, Full Collection of Scientific Travels in
Russia, I. R. A. S., 1818, pp. 260-2.) Jackson says that the Samoyed
regard atmospheric phenomena — storms, rain, snow — as the ' direct ex-
pressions ' of the • great god Num ', and that his attitude towards men is
one of complete indifference. (Notes on the Samoyeds of the Great Tundra,
Journal of the Anfhropoloyical Institute, vol. xxiv, p. 398.)

^ Op. cit., pp. 17-18



290 RELIGION

Yanykh-Torum has seven sons, but neither he nor Kors-Torum
has any daughters. Besides Yanykh and Kors-Torum and their
sons there are many other gods. These hitter are of secondary I'ank,
and are specially connected with individuals, the family, or the clan.

Each category of gods has its own special sacrificial places.^

Kul-Odyr, or Kul, is the chief of the spirits of darkness, and
the secondary dark spirits are known as menJcva. These resemble
the Koryak Jcelct in having the power of changing their forms.
They are represented as being very tall, with heads of a conical
shape. They sometimes kill and devour human beings. Other
malicious spirits, called ucJicJii, inhabit the forest. They have the
paws and teeth of a dog. In the forest, too, lives Mis-Khum.
He has many daughters, who try to entice men to live with them
as their husbands. If they succeed, this bring? good fortune to
the fathers of the men thus captured. -

In the water lives the good god Vit-Khon, as well as a dark
spirit, Vit-Kul. The first was sent by Numi to have charge of the
fishes.

The mythology of the Finnic tribes is very rich in tales about
heroes, called in Vogul pol'Jiatur or odi/r. These heroes were
continually quarrelling and fighting among themselves, especially
about women, therefore Numi punished them by sending a deluge
upon the earth. ^

Eepresentations of gods and fetishes are made of wood, metal,
or bone. They are usually very rude in form, and now that
these people can obtain children's dolls very cheaply from Russian
traders they are ceasing to make their own fetishes.*

A man, according to the belief of the Finnic tribes, is composed
of three parts : body, shadow (isi), and soul [lili l-JiclmMiolas).
lAli IhelmkJiolas passes, after the death of a man, to an infant of
the same clan, or, if the clan has become extinct, to one of
another clan, but never to an animal. The shadow goes to a cold
underworld, situated in the icy seas beyond the mouth of the Obi,
and ruled over by Kul Odyr. Here it lives for as long as the
term of the dead man's former life on earth, and follows the
same pursuits — reindeer-breeding, fishing, &c. Then the shadow
begins to grow smaller and smaller, until it is no larger than
a blackbeetle, l:er-l;homlalh (according to some, it actually does
turn into a blackbeetle), and finally disappears altogether.'"'

1 Op. cit., p. 7. 2 Op. cit.. p. 35. ^ Qp. cit., p. 36.

* Op. cit., p. 16. s Op. cit , p. 39.



CHAPTER XIV

SOME CEREMONIES
I. The Chukchee.

Chukchee ceremonials have a.s the only object of their per-
formance the material welfare of the community, and incantations
are the main substance of their rites.

The Reindeer Chukchee's only regular ceremonials are those
connected with the herd ; these they call ' sacrifices ' or * genuine
sacrifices'. "Strictly speaking,' says Bogoras, 'every slaughtering
of reindeer is a sacrifice and is performed according to certain rules.
After the animal is stabbed the Chukchee watch carefully to see on
which side it falls. To fall on the wounded side is a less favourable
omen than to fall on the other ; and to fall backwards is still worse,
and forebodes misfortune.'^

Besides reindeer, dogs are also slaughtered, and sometimes
substitute sacrifices are offered, of reindeer made of Avillow-leaves
or even of snow. Most sacrifices are offered to the good spirits.
Evil spirits are also sacrificed to, but the offerings to these are
made at midnight, in darkness, and are never spoken of.^

The most regular sacrifices are the Autumn Slaughtering,^
Winter Slaughtering,* the Ceremonial of Antlers, ' the Sacrifice
to the New Moon, the Sacrifice to the Fire, the Sacrifice for
Luck in Hunting,^ and a ceremonial connected with the killing
of wild reindeer bucks. "^ Besides these seasonal ceremonials there
is also a Thanksgiving Ceremonial, which each family must
perform once or twice a year, on different occasions.'^

Bogoras gives a summary account of the ceremonials of the
Maritime Chukchee as follows: 'The cycle of the ceremonials
with the Maritime Chukchee opens with two short ceremonials in
the beginning of the autumn, which are often joined together.
One of them is a commemorative sacrifice to the dead. The

^ Bogoras, The Chukchee, p. 368. ^ Oj,. cit., pp. 369-70.

3 Op. cit., p. 372. * Op. cit., p. 376. " Op. cit., p. 377.

« Op. cit., p. 378. ' Op. cit., p. 379. « Op. cit., p. 381.

u 2



292 EELIGION

other i« a sacrifice to the sea, in order to ensure good fortune
in subsequent sealing on the sea-ice in winter.

'Late in the autumn, or rather in the l^eginning of the winter,
the chief ceremonial of the year is performed. It is consecrated
to Keretkun, or is made a thanksgiving ceremonial to the spirits
of sea-mammals killed since the fall. Early in spring there follows
the ceremonial of boats, which are made ready for the approaching
season. In the middle of s'lmmer the ceremonial of heads is per-
formed. This is for thanksgiving to the spirits of sea-animals killed
since early in the spring.

'These four ceremonials are performed with varying similarity
by both the Maritime Chukchee and the Asiatic Eskimo. To
these must be added some slight ceremonials effected while
moving from the winter lodging to the summer tent.

'Most of the Maritime Chukchee offer sacrifice also in mid-
winter to the star Pehittin, and perform in the middle of spring
a ceremonial analogous to the ceremonial of antlers of the reindeer-
breeders, which is called by the same name, Kilvei. The sacrifice
to the whale is performed, in addition, each time after a whale has
been killed or has drifted ashore,

'Bloody and bloodless sacrifices are offered during these cere-
monials. The Maritime Chukchee, of course, can slaughter only
dogs for their bloody sacrifices. In comparison with the Koryak,
however, they are merciful to their dogs and kill them in no very
great numbers. In this, as in other respects, they occupy a middle
ground between the American Eskimo, who do not sacrifice dogs,
and the Koryak, who often kill almost all the animals of their
single team. ' ^

The ceremonial dedicated to Keretkun,'- the sea-god, is especially
important among the Maritime Chukchee. When the seal-gut
overcoats for the family (which are said to be similar to those
worn by Keretkun and his family), the ceremonial head-dresses,
and the incantation-paddle, on which there are pictorial repre-
sentations of prayers, are ready, a net is suspended overhead, and
various images of birds and small paddles are hung from it. On
each side of the hearth is placed a reindeer-skin, the two skins
representing the inner rooms of the house. Keretkun, who is
represented bj' a small wooden image, enters the house and is
placed on a lamp, which is put either on one of the skins or

1 Op. cit., pp. 385-6. - Op. cit., pp. 392-401.



SOME CEREMONIES 293

in a sleeping-room. Here he remains until the end of the
ceremony. A fire is made before him and kept burning through-
out the three days of the ceremonial. Among those people, like
the Asiatic Eskimo, who have no wood, a second lamp is kept
l)urning before that on which Keretkun is placed. Puddings
made of various roots mixed with oil and liver are sacrificed
to the god. On the first day the household enjoys the festival
alone, singing and dancing and beating the drum.

'The second day belongs to the guests and particularly to
the shamans, who have to show, in turn, their skill in drumming
and singing.'^ It is on this day that, in many villages, the
so-ealled 'exchanging of presents' takes place. Usually, the guests
assemble at the entrance of the sleeping-room, bringing various
household articles, which they thrust under the partition, loudly
demanding what they wish in exchange. The mistress takes
whatever is offered and must give in exchange whatever is
demanded.

In some cases the exchange is made between relatives only,
and especially between those who are partners in the marriages
called by Bogoras ' group-marriage '. A man will send his wife to
one of his marriage-partners to ask for certain articles, and after-
wards the donor sends his wife to ask for an equivalent.

Another variety of ceremonial exchange, which also forms a part
of the second day's ceremonies, is what is called by Bogoras the
' trading-dance '.^ It takes place between the members of a * com-
pound marriage ', beginning with a dance in which a male member
of the group has one of the women for his partner. ' Frequently
the man looks on only, while the woman dances before him. He
must provide a reindeer-skin, howevei', to spread on the ground
under her feet while she is dancing. While the dance is being
performed the other dancers remain quiet, and look on together
with the other spectators. After the dance, the man must give
some i>resent to the woman ; and the following night they sleep
together, leaving their respective mates to arrange matters between
themselves. On the next day the husband of the woman and the
wife of the man perform a similar dance, in which the man gives
an equivalent of the present of the day before, and each newlj'-
mated couple sleeps together for another night. Such dances are

' Ibid.

^ A special meaning of 'trade' in the U.S.A. is the exchange of com-
uiodities in business; trading = bartenng, 'swapping'.



294 RELIGION

arranged chiefly among cousins or other relatives, who, among the
Chukchee, frequently assume the bond of compound marriage.
Conversely, a new bond of compound marriage may be concluded
through a trading-dance.'

The third day of the Keretkun ceremonial is the women's daj'.
This time it is they who act as drummers and dancers. 'A new^
detail is that of a night-watch, which must be kept for the sake of
Keretkun, who is supposed to stay in the house all the time.
This watch is kept by an old man or woman ', who is often
a shaman, invited specially for this purpose. The shaman sits on
a stool made of a w^hale's vertebra, and ' sings and beats the drum
in a subdued key, in order not to awaken the supernatural guest '.
The keeper of the watch on the last night must be a woman.

On the evening of the last day a reindeer is cooked, and the
meat distributed among the guests, who carry their shares home
with them on departing.

Finally, the image of Keretkun is burned over his lamp. Then
all the refuse of the sacrificed reindeer is gathered up and cast
into the sea, to symbolize the returning to the sea of all game
killed since the last ceremonial. This same S5'mbolic act is per-
formed at almost all of the Maritime ceremonials.



II. The Koryak.

The Korj'ak offer sacrifices to their Supreme Being to secure
prosperity for the future. At these sacrifices, some blood from
the wounds of the victim, dog or reindeer, are sprinkled on the
ground as an offering to the Ixila, with the words : * This blood is
for thee, kala ! ' - Thus Me see that bloody sacrifices among
these people are offered to malevolent as well as to benevolent
beings.

Besides occasional sacrifices, the Koryak have several sacrificial
ceremonies which are regular or seasonal, and all connected with
the cult of the animals on which their livelihood dei:)ends. Thus
the Maritime Koryak worship sea-animals, and the Reindeer

^ Differing, that is, from the custom of the Reindeer Chukchee, whose
procedure at the autumn ceremonial and the ' thanksgiving ' is in most
other respects similar to that described here.

^ Jochelson, The Konjal-, p. 93. ' Otherwise the lala might intercept
the sacrifice and prevent its reaching the Supreme Being' (ibid.).



SOME CEREMONIES 295

Koryak tlioir hcixl. This is illustrated by the following list of
festivals :

Maritime Korijalc : ^

1. Whale-festival.

2. The putting away of the skin-boat for the winter.

3. Launching the skin-boat.

4. Wearing of masks.

lieimlccr Kori/al- : -

1. Ceremony on the return of the herd from summer pastures.

2. The fawn-festival.
Ceremonies common to loth : •*

1. Bear-festival.

2. Wolf-festival.

3. Practices in connexion with fox-hunting.

Jochelson's description^ of the wolf-festival is here quoted as
being typical of the ritual practices common to both Eeindeer and
Maritime Koryak :

' After having killed a wolf, the Maritime Koryak take off its
skin, together with the head, just as they proceed with the bear ;
then they place near the hearth a pointed stick, and tie an arrow,
called ilJmn or elgoi, to it, or drive an arrow into the ground at its
butt end. One of the men puts on the wolf-skin and walks
around the hearth, while another member of the family beats the
drum. The wolf- festival is called elhogicnin, i.e. 'wolf-stick
festival '.

'The meaning of this ceremony is obscure. I have been unable
to get any explanation from the Koryak with reference to it.
" Our forefathers did this way ", is all they say. I have found no
direct indications of the existence of totemism among the
Koryak ; but the wearing of the skin of the wolf and of the bear
during these festivals may be compared to certain features of
totemistic festivals, in which some members of the family or clan
represent the totem by putting on its skin.

' The wolf-festival differs from the bear-festival in the absence
of the equipment for the home journey.'' The reason is this, that

^ Jochelson, op. cit., p. 65. ^ Op. cit., pp. 86-7.

3 Op. cit, pp. 88-90. " Op. cit., pp. 89-90.

® 'The essential part of the whale-festival is based on the conception
that the whale killed has come on a visit to the village ; . . . that it
will return to the sea to repeat its visit the following year' ; and that, if
hospitably received, it will bring its relatives with it when it comes



296 RELIGION

the bear is sent liome with much ceremony, to secure successful
bear-hunting in the future, bear's meat being considered a delicacy,
while the festival seizes at the same time to protect the people
from the wrath of the slain animal and its relatives. The wolf,
on the other hand, does not serve as food, but is only a danger to
the traveller in the desert. He is dangerous, not in his visible,
animal state — for the northern wolves, as a rule, are afraid of men
— but in his invisil^le, anthropomorphic form. According to the
Koryak conception, the wolf is a rich reindeer-owner and the
powerful master of the tundra . . . [ and] avenges [himself]
particularly on those that hunt [wolves].' The Reindeer Kor5^ak,
who have special reason to fear the wolf on account of their herds,
regard this animal as a powerful shaman and an evil spirit.

'After having killed a wolf, the Reindeer Koryak slaughter
a reindeer, cut off its head, and put its body, together with that
of the killed wolf, on a platform raised on jjosts. The reindeer-
head is placed so as to face eastward. It is a sacrifice to The-One-
on-High, who is thus asked not to permit the wolf to attack the
herd. Special food is prepared in the evening, and the wolf is fed.
The night is spent without sleep, in beating the drum, and
dancing to entertain the w^olf, lest his relatives come and take
revenge. Beating the drum and addressing themselves to the
wolf, the people say, " Be well ! " [Nimeleu (jatvanvota !), and
addressing The-One-on-High, they say, " Be good, do not make
the wolf bad ! '" ^

III. The Ainu.

Although the bear-festival is common to all the Palaeo-
Siberians and is celebrated also by some of the Neo-Siberians, it
has reached its highest development among the Ainu. We give
here a short description of the principal features of this festival,
following Kharuzin's account.-

Towards the end of winter the Ainu catch a bear-cub and bring
it into the village, where it is reared and fed by a woman. When
it is sufficiently grown to break out of its wooden cage, which
usually happens some time in September or October, this marks

again. Hence it is symbolically equipped with grass travelling bags
filled with puddings for its return to the sea. (Op. cit., pp. G6, 74, 76.)
A similar procedure is followed at the bear festival. (Op. cit., p. 89.)

1^ Op. cit., p. 89.

- N. Kharuzin, EOuiogmphy, 1905, vol. iv, pp. 371-2. For a more de-
tailed description see B. Pilsudski's Xiedziciedzie Swieto u A'uiou- (in
Sphinx, Warsaw, 1905).

[Prometheus]

SOME CEREMONIES 297

the time for the hoUling uf tlie I'ostival. Before the ceremonies,
apologies are made to tho spirits for the capture and detention of
the bear, assurances are given that the treatment of the bear has
been marked with the greatest tenderness, and it is explained
that, as they cannot feed the animal any longer, they are obliged
to kill it. The person entrusted with the conduct of the festival
invites all relations and friends, usually practically the whole
village. Before the ceremonies are begun, libations are made to
the family hearth-fire by the host and all his guests. Sacrifices
are made to the spirit-* owner ' of the dwelling in a corner of the
house sacred to him. The woman who has reared the bear
weeps to show her sorrow at its approaching fate. The company
approach the cage of the bear, libations are made, and some wine
is given to the animal in a special cup. The women and girls
dance round the cage, clapping their hands and singing. Then
the foster-mother of the bear, and women who have reared other
bears for former festivals, perform a dance of their own before the
cage, with tears in their eyes, stretching out their hands towards
the animal, and uttering endearing words. After some other
ritual observances, the bear is taken out of its cage, a cord is
fastened round its neck, and a stick is thrust down its throat by
the united force of several people, so that the animal is choked
to death. With much solemnity the body is laid out,
and surrounded with various embellishments, which are more
numerous and elaborate if the animal is a female. Food and
drink are offered to the spirit of the victim, and then follow much
feasting and merriment, which is intended to render the bear-
spirit joyous and gay. The body is flayed and disembowelled,
and the head cut off, the blood being collected in a pot and drunk
by the men only among the guests. The liver is also consumed,
and of this each woman and girl present receives a small portion.
The rest of the meal is preserved for the next day's feast, and all
the guests of both sexes partake of this.

IV. The Turkic Tribes.

(1) The Yakut.

There are among the Yakut two kinds of sacrificial ceremonies

— bloody and bloodless. The former is that made to ahassylars,

the latter to aiy and ichdd ; ^ so that if one does not know before-

^ Sieroszewski [12 Lett w Kraju Yakutdw, p. .389) says that to only
one «ry, Bay-Baynay, the god of hunting, are bloody sacrifices offered.



298 EELIGION

liand whether the sacrifice is being offered to black or to white
spirits, this can be ascertained from the nature of the ceremony.
Although bloody sacrifices are not made to Urun-Aiy-Toyon, yet it
is customary to dedicate certain animals to him. i. e. such
animals are not to be used for work, and mares so dedicated are
not to be milked. Formerly it was the custom to dedicate in this
manner all mares which had foals : they were let loose to wander
on the steppes.

There are some diu, which although they have this name, yet
are of the class of ulassy} Sacrifices of the choicest meat and
drink are made to them through the fire. The offerings to
dbassijlars have the character of a compromise or bargain. The
evil spirit wishes to have the lad (one of the souls) of a man, and
the shaman gives instead the lait of an animal.

There are two tribal festivals of the Yakut : a spring festival,
tt'l/'l/sijal-Ji, and an autumn festival, abassjj-iisijalxh. As the name
shows, the first is celebrated for the good spirits in general, and
for Urun-Aiy-Toyon in particular. ^ After the sacrifice, which is
followed by certain sports or games, a dramatic representation of
the struggle between spring and winter is given. One man,
called the aly-uola, is dressed in white and mounted on a white
horse to represent the spring, while another, ahassy-iiola, repre-
sents winter by being dressed in black or reddish garments and
mounted on a horse of corresponding colour.

The ahassi/-i/s>/al-h is held in autumn, and in the open air like
the first festival, but at night. It is dedicated to the black spirits,
and especially to Ulu-Toyon. While the first festival is conducted
by the clan-father, the second is under the direction of nine
shamans and nine shamanesses.^

(2) The Altaians.

Sacrifice to Bai-Yidgen. The description of this ceremony, as
given by Mikhailowski,'* is compiled from the works of the

1 Troshchanski, The Evolution of the Black Faith, 1902, p. 103.

^ Op. cit., pp. 105-6.

Sieroszewski (op. cit., p. 388) calls the highest good spirit, or god,
Art-Toyon-Aga (Uyun-Artoyen), -which literally means ' Master-Father-
Sovereign '. He lives in the ninth heaven, and is great and powerful,
but indifferent towards human affairs. The spring ysyakJi is primarily
in bis honour, says Sieroszewski, while Urun-Aiy-To^-on, ' White-Master-
Creator ', is next to him in dignity.

' Ibid. * Mikhailowski, SJiamauism, pp. 63-7.



SOME CEREMONIES 200

missionary Wieibicki and the woll-known linguist and traveller,
Eadloff. The ceremony lasts for two or three days, or rather,
evenings, the first evening being occupied by the preparatory
ritual. A spot is chosen in a thicket of birch-trees in a meadow,
and there the lam (shaman) erects a decorative i/iiyta. In this is
planted a young birch, crowned with a flag, and having its lower
branches lopped off, and nine notches cut in its trunk to represent
steps [fapti/]. The >/^(>•(a is surrounded by a penfold, and by the
entrance to this is set a birch-stick with a noose of horsehair.
A holder of the head {Bash-ti<il(ui-lisJii) of the sacrificial horse is
chosen from among those present. The lam flourishes a birch-
twig over the horse to indicate that its soul is being driven to
Bai-Yulgen's al)ode, whither the soul of the Bash-tutJian accom-
panies it. He then collects spirits in his tambourine, calling each
one by name, and answering for each as it arrives : * I also am
here, Kam ! ' As he speaks he makes motions with his tambourine
as if taking the spirits into it. When he has secured his assist-
ants, the kam goes out of the yurta, mounts upon a scarecrow
made to resemble a goose, and flapping his arms as if they were
wings, chants loudly and slowly: ^

Beneath the white sky,

Above the white cloud.

Beneath the blue sky,

Above the blue cloud.

Skyward ascend, bird !
The goose replies (through the shaman himself, of course) in
a series of quacks — 'Ungaigak, ungaigak, kaigaigak gak, kaigai
gak.' The lam, still on his feathered steed, pursues the pura
(soul) of the sacrificial horse, neighing in imitation of the un-
willing victim, until, with the help of the spectators, he drives it
into the penfold to the stick with the horsehair noose, the
guardian of the pura. After violent efforts, to the accompani-
ment of neighings and other noises produced by the shaman to
imitate the struggles of the jj^io-rt, the latter frees itself and runs
away. It is at last recaptured, and fumigated with juniper by
the shaman, who has now dismounted from his goose. Then the
real sacrificial horse is brought and blessed by the Jcam, who
thereafter kills it by opening the aorta. The bones and skin
form the actual sacrifice. The flesh is consumed by those present
at the ceremony, the choicest portion falling to the lam.

' Op. cit., p. 63.



300 RELIGION

'The most important part of the performance takes place on
the second day after sunset ; it is then that the Icam must display
all his power and all his dramatic art. A whole religious drama
is performed, descriptive of the Icartis pilgrimage to Bai-Yulgen in
heaven. A fire burns in the yurta, the shaman feeds the lords of
the tambourine, i. e. the spirits personifying the shamanistic
power of his family, with the meat of the offei-ing and sings : ^

Accept this, Kaira Khan!
Master of the tambourine with six horns,
Draw near with the sound of the bell !
When I cry ' Chokk ' ! make obeisance !
When I cry ' Me ' ! accept this !

The * owner ' of the fire, representing the power of the family of
the master of the yurta, who has organized the festival, is ad-
dressed in a similar invocation. Then the l;am takes a cujd and
makes noises with his lips to imitate the sounds of drinking made
by an assemblage of invisible guests. He distributes morsels of
meat to the company, who devour them as representatives of the
unseen spirits. Nine garments, on a rope decked with ribbons,
the offering of the host to Yulgen, are fumigated with juniper by
the shaman , who sings :

Gifts that no horse can carry —

Alas! Alas! Alas!
Gifts that no man can lift —

Alas! Alas! Alas!
Garments with triple collar-
Turn them thrice before thine eyes,
Let them be a cover for the steeJ,

Alas ! Alas ! Alas !
Prince Yulgen full of gladness!

Alas ! Alas ! Alas !

The laim next invokes many spirits, primary and secondary,
having first donned his shaman's garment, and fumigated his
tambourine, which he strikes to summon the spirits, answering
for each, as it arrives, ' Here am I, lam I ' Merkyut, the Bird of
Heaven, is invoked as follows :

Birds of Heaven, the five Merkyuts !
Ye with mighty talons of brass.
Of copper is the moon's claw,
And of ice its beak ;

' Op. cit., p. 64.



SOME CEREMONIES 301

Mightily llap the spi-eading wings,

Liko to a fan is the long tail.

The left wing veils the moon

And the right obscures the sun.

Thou, mother of nine eagles,

Turning not aside, thou fliest over Yaik,

Over Edil thou weariest not !

Draw nigh with song!

Lightly draw nigh to my right eye,

Of my right shoulder make thou thy resting-place !
The answering cry of the bird comes from the lips of the
shaman : ' Kagak, leak, kak ! Kam, here I come ! ' The lam seems
to bend beneath the weight of the huge bird. His tambourine
sounds louder and louder, and he staggers under the burden of the
vast number of spirit-protectors collected in it. Having walked
several times round the birch placed in the /jurta, the shaman
kneels at the door and asks the porter-spirit for a guide. His
request granted, he comes out to the middle of the ijuria, and with
convulsive movements of the upper part of his body and inarticulate
mutterings, beats violently upon the tambourine. Now he purifies
the host, hostess, their children, and relatives by embracing them
in such a way that the tambourine with the spirits collected in it
touches the breast and the drum-stick the back of each. This is
done after he has scraped from the back of the host with the
drum-stick all that is unclean, for the back is the seat of the soul.
Thus all are liberated from the malign influence of the wicked
Erlik. Then the people return to their places and the shaman
'drives all potential misfortunes out of doors V and, beating his
tambourine close to the ear of his host, drives into him the spirit
and power of his ancestors that he may understand the prophecies
of the shaman. In pantomime he invests each member of the
family with breastplates and hats, and then falls into an ecstasy.
He beats his tambourine furiously, rushes about as if possessed,
and, after mounting the first step cut in the birch-trunk, runs
round the fire and the birch, imitating the sound of thunder.
Next he mounts a bench covered with a horse-cloth, which
represents the j^«m, and cries : -

One step have I ascended,

Aikhai ! Aikhai !
One zone I have attained.
Shagarbata !

' Ibid. 2 Op. cit , p. 65.



302 KELIGION

To the topmost tapfij [the birch steps] I have mounted,

Shagaibata !
I have risen to the full moon.

Shagarbata !

Hurrying on the Bash-tutlcan, the Icam passes from one zone of
heaven to another. The goose once more takes the place of the
wearied intra, affording temporary relief to the Basli-tuthan, who
relates his woes vicariously by means of the shaman. In the third
zone a halt is made, the shaman prophesies impending mis-
fortunes, and declares what sacrifices are to be offered by the
district. If he foretells rainy weather he sings :

Kara Shurlu of the six rods

Prips on the low ground,

No hoofed beast can protect itself,

No creature with claws can uphold itself.

Similar prophecies may be made in other regions of the sky.

When the Bash-tutlcan is rested the journey is continued,
progress being indicated by mounting one step higher on the
birch for every new zone attained. Variety is given to the per-
formance by the introduction of various episodes. 'In the sixth
sphere of heaven takes place the last episodical scene, and this has
a comic tinge. The shaman sends his servant Kuruldak to track
and catch a hare that has hidden itself. For a time the chase is
unsuccessful, new personages are introduced, and one of them,
Kereldei, mocks Kuruldak, who, however, at last succeeds in
catching the hare.'^

Previously, in the fifth heaven, the Icam has interviewed
Yayuchi ('Supreme-Creator'), and learned many secrets of the
future, some of which he communicates aloud. In the sixth
heaven he makes obeisance to the moon, and in the seventh to
the sun, for these heavens are the abodes of these luminaries.
Only a few shamans are powerful enough to mount beyond the
ninth heaven. Having reached the highest zone attainable by
his powers, the ham drops his tambourine, and beating gently
with the drum-stick, makes a humble petition to Yulgen : -

Lord, to whom three stairways lead,
Bai- Yulgen, possessor of three flocks,
The blue vault which has appeared.
The blue sky that shows itself,

1 Op. cit., p. 65. " Op. cit., p. 66.



SOME CEREMONIES 303

The blue cloud that whirls along,

The blue sky so hard to i-each,

Land a year's journey distant from water,

Father Yulgen thrice exalted,

Shunned by the edge of the moon's axe,

Thou who usest the hoof of the hoi"se ;

Yulgen, thou hast created all men

Who are stirring round about us.

Thou, Yulgen, hast bestowed all cattle upon us,

Let us not fall into sorrow !

Grant that we may withstand the evil one !

Let us not behold Kermes [the evil spirit that attends man],

Deliver us not into his hands !

Thou who a thousand thousand times

The starry sky hast turned.

Condemn me not for sin!

'From Yulgen the shaman learns whether the sacrifice is
accejjted or not, and receives the most authentic information
concerning the wealth and the character of the coming harvest ;
he also finds out what sacrifices are expected by the deity. On
such an occasion the shaman designates the neighbour who is
bound to furnish a sacrifice, and even describes the colour and
appearance of the animal. After his conversation with Yulgen,
the ecstasy of the shaman reaches its highest point, and he falls
down completely exhausted. Then the Bash-tutlcan goes up to
him, and takes the tambourine and drum-stick out of his hands.
After a short time, during which quiet reigns in the ynrta, the
shaman seems to awake, rubs his eyes, stretches himself, wrings
out the perspiration from his shirt, and salutes all those present
as if after a long absence.' ^

This sometimes concludes the festival, but more often, especi-
ally among the wealth}'-, a third day is spent in feasting and
libations to the gods.^

V. The Mongolic Tribes.

Sacrifices among the Mongols are either : (a) regular or public
{tailgan), or {h) occasional or private [li'mlc).

Banzaroff says that Georgi, as long ago as the latter part of the
eighteenth centuiy, observed three regular sacrificial ceremonies
among the Mongols : the spring, summer, and autumn festivals.
Banzaroff'^ traces the origin of these festivals to a period long

1 Ibid. 2 ibij 3 Banzaroff, The Black Faith, p. 38.



304 KELIGION

antedating the Christian era. The festival which has been best
described in recent times is that called urus-sara (' the month of
sara '), which is intended to celebrate and symbolize the renewing
of all things. When the earth is green again, the flocks increase,
and milk is abundant, the Kalniuk make sacrifice of all these
gifts in the form of humys, herbs, and horses. The sacrificial
horses are tied to a rope, which is stretched between two poles.
A man on horseback, accompanied by another riding a colt, passes
along the row of victims, pours over them Icumys, and fastens to
their manes pieces of pink cloth. Then the sacrifice is offered.^

The autumn festival of the Mongols, like the Krus-sara, is very
ancient. Banzaroff finds mention of it in writers of pre-Christian
times, and in the Middle Ages it is referred to by Marco Polo, ?
who says it was celebrated on August 28th. This ceremony is
known as sagan-sara ('white month'), and the Mongols used to
date their New Year from the time of its celebration. The
majority of these people nowadays celebrate the beginning of the
year in winter, but they, like the few who adhere to the old date,
still call the New Year and the festival wliich is held then sagan-
sara.'-

An English traveller of the middle of the nineteenth century,
who witnessed the celebration of the spring festival in the valley
of Ichurish in the Altai, describes it as follows :

' In the spring the Kalmucks offer up sacrifices to their deity ;
the rich give horses, those who are poor sacrifice sheep or goats.
I was present at one of the ceremonies. A ram was led up by the
owner, who wished for a large increase to his herds and flocks. It
was handed to an assistant of the priest, who killed it in the usual
manner. His superior stood near, looking to the east, and began
chanting a prayer, and beating on his large tambourine to rouse
up his god, and then made his request for multitudes of sheep
and cattle. The ram was being flayed ; and when the operation
was completed, the skin was put on a pole, raised above the
framework, and placed with its head to the east. The tambourine
thundered forth its sound, and the performer continued his wild
chant. The flesh was cooked in a large cauldron, and the tribe
held a great festival. ' ^

Speaking only of the greater Buryat ceremonials, Khangalo£f*

> Op. cit., p. 39. 2 Op. cit., pp. 39-40.

' T. W. Atkinson, Oriental and M'edern Siberia, 1858, pp. 382-3.

• New Materials respecting Shamanism among the Buryat, 1890, p. 97.



SOME CEREMONIES 305

mentions about thirty such, and says that these are by no means
all, and that years of further investigation would be necessary to
render it possible to give a complete list.

Among the Balagansk Buryat every male child must offer
certain sacrifices to the western Ihats to ensure their protection
while the children are still in infancy as well as during their
future adult life. These sacrifices, viz. (i) morto-tdan-Murgan,
(ii) crlxhimlklti-uhin-lxhnrgan, (iii) Charga-tclchc, (iv) yaman-Txhojiin-
IJioer, must, without fail, be offered by all boys, but upon girls
they are not obligatory. Besides these sacrifices there are others
which are made on behalf of all young children, irrespective of
their sex, to certain zayans and zayanesses, termed ulhan-Mafa.
These are called uTxhan-hndla, oshh'm-hndla. We shall quote here
Khaugaloff's description of the ceremony uhlian-hudla :

[Prometheus]

'Some time after having a child born to him, a Buryat, either
at the instance of a shaman or on his own initiative, wall make
preparation for the performance of the ceremony called iilJian-
hudla. A shaman is invited to perform the ceremony. When
the shaman appears, water is brought from a spring, or sometimes
from a lake or river. Before drawing the water, some copper
coins are dropped into the place from which it is taken. A
bundle of coarse grass of the steppes, another of rushes, and nine
silken threads are prepared. When everything is ready, the
shaman makes libation to the zai/ans and zayanesses, pronouncing
the following words :

The boys, like the rushes,
The maids, like mushrooms;
From the grass of the steppe
They have made a scourge ;
With the water of the spring
They have made hmUa (ablution) ;
With tlie nine silken threads
They have made a scourge.

After this the water is poured into a pot and heated. Then
they put into the pot the grass also, and a broom is made of the
rushes. The child is placed in a shallow vessel surrounded by
nine stones, and the shaman sa3's : " The black stone is the door,
the tawny stone is the courtyard." He then takes the broom, dips
it into the water, and striking the child lightly with it, tells him
that he must not cry, but grow quickly. Now nine knots are



306 KELIGION

made in the nine Uireads, and they are placed around the child's
neck. The water is spilled on the floor of the yurta, and the
broom is placed over the door to prevent the entrance of evil
spirits. Thus ends the uJchanhudla.' ^

As a rule Buryat ceremonies are performed by the shamans ;
but some of the minor ones, such, for instance, as the ' feeding' of
the ongons, are conducted by the master of the house. Women's
ongons are made and fed by women. Frequently animals are
dedicated to ongons, either for some shorter or longer period or
for life. Such an animal must not be used for any heavy work,
and no married woman must touch it. The Mongols call this
custom sctertcg, which denotes both the dedication and the taboo. ^

Another case of the dedication of animals is that which is some-
times practised with regard to a horse whose master has died. The
animal is taboo, and must not be used for heavy work. Under
ordinary circumstances, when a Buryat dies, his horse is either
killed or set loose to wander at large upon the steppes.^

1 Op. cit., p. 91. * ShashkofF, Shamanism in Siberia, p. 58.

^ Gmelin, Beise ihirch Sibirien, 1751-2, iii. 3.3.



PART lY. PATHOLOGY

CHAPTER XY

'AECTIC HYSTERIA'

Among diseases especially prevalent in Siberia are syphilis and
the so-called 'arctic hysteria'. Under the latter name several
different nervous maladies are usually included by writei'S who
deal with this subject. More local in their prevalence are leprosy,
in the east and north-east, and the dreaded sihirskai/a >/azva, lit.
' Siberian boil-plague ' (anthrax, carbuncle), a disease caused by
the Bacillus anthracls in cattle and other animals, and also in men
— in the south-west and, generally, in marshy country. It is
often transmitted by the bite of an insect, but the infection may
also be conveyed by the skins of animals which have died from
this disease.

In human beings sihirskaya yazva takes two forms, external and
internal. The latter is almost surely fatal. It shows itself in
a general collapse of the bodily powers through blood-poisoning,
and often ends in death within a single day, sometimes in three
or four.

Anthrax, in its external form, is described by Pallas as follows:
* The first [symptom] is that the soundest and most healthy
persons, of any age or sex, are suddenly troubled with an itching,
followed by a hard tumour in some particular part, which seems
to arise from the sting of a fly, or horse-stinger. This swelling
breaks out in the covered or uncovered parts of the people, but
generally in the face, and, among horses, in the groin and
abdomen. It rapidly increases in size and hardness, and grows so
insensible, that one may prick the swollen part with a needle, till
we reach the sound flesh under it, and the patient not feel it. In
the centre of this hard tumour is commonly discovered, in the
external part, a red or bluish point, similar to the sting of an
insect, and if remedies are not applied, the gangrenous putridity
will extend itself farther. During the first stage of the evil, the

X 2



308 PATHOLOGY

patient feels no internal indisposition, Lut with the increase of the
boil, he is afflicted with headache, anxiety, and restlessness,
which are, perhaps, but the natural consequences of his fear of
danger'. . . . Some peasants, who accompanied me, and had been
afflicted with this disease, told me that, after the first symptoms
had shown themselves, whenever they rode through a brook or
within sight of water, they felt themselves very faint, feeble, and
ready to swoon.' Pallas says that the disease is usually fatal to
cattle, but not to men if they make use of the remedies with
which they are familiar.^

Falk gives the limits of the range of this disease as from the
Ural to the Chinese frontier, and states that it prevails during the
months from May to September, that is, during the season of the
horse-stinger's activity. ^

Leprosy is especially prevalent in the Amur countiy and in
Sakhalin. Sieroszewski •' has observed it also among the Yakut ;
and Pilsudski saw many cases among the Gilyak and some neigh-
bouring Tungusic tribes. The writer last mentioned says that
the Gilyak think that leprosy is due to the eating of one species
of salmon afflicted with a certain disease which is not easily
detected by the fishermen. Many hygienic precautions are taken
to avoid contracting the disease by contagion from lepers, and
leprosy is so dreaded bj' the Gilyak that they never mention it by
name. The shamans, even, are unwilling to undertake to treat
the sufferers ; but Pilsudski nevertheless rej^orts two cases of
lepers being cured by shamans."^ With regard to this malady
being caused by the eating of diseased fish, it is noted by
Professor Talko-Hryncewicz, who spent sixteen years in Troicko-
sawsk, that the Mongols who live on fish are more liable to leprosy
than those who live on meat.^

Many writers have noticed the extreme liability of primitive
peoples to hysterical diseases. Apart from the hj'steria which
underlies many magico-religious phenomena, travellers have
noticed the prevalence of similar nervous affections, which have
no connexion with religion, among primitives in all parts of tlie

' Pallas, Travels through Siberia and Tartan/, part i (vol. iii of Trusler's
Habitable World Described, 1788, pp. 133-4).

- Falk. FuU Collection of Scientific Travels in I!i(ssia, vol. vi, 1824,
pp. 369-70.

^ 12 Laf w Krajit Yakiitoir, p. 121,

* Pilsudski, Trad irsivd Oilaliuir i Ainoir, in Liid, Lemberg, 1913.

^ Memoirs of the Congress of Scientists and Physicians, Cracow, 1911.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 309

workl : Brazilians and Kaflirs, Hottentots and Javanese, Pernvians
and Abyssinians, Negroes and Iroquois, natives of New Zealand
and of Madagascar.^

The forms of nervous maladies observed in northern Asia have
been called ' arctic hysteria ' perhaps because some of the forms
are so identical in their symptoms throughout the north that they
ai)pear to be typical of the arctic region as a whole. Mention of
this disease is made in the works of older writers such as Steller,-
Krasheninnikoff,^ Gmelin,* and Pallas;^ and fuller accounts are
to be found in the pages of Bogoras, Maak, Sieroszewski,
Priklonski, Schrenck, Pilsudski, Kharuzin, Whitney, and
especially Jochelson.

Cases of hysteria which are connected with the religious life of
the natives and are considered by them as forms of ' inspiration '
are dealt with in the chapters of this book which treat of sha-
manism. Here we shall only take account of those forms which
the natives themselves recognize as symptomatic of disease.
From the accounts of such cases given by various travellers we
shall quote here some of the most characteristic.

'Once', says Maak," 'travelling in the Viluy district of the
Yakut region, I stopped for the night in a forest yurta with some
Tungus. On lying down to sleep I was disturbed by the piercing
shouts and cries of a woman. When this had gone on for about
half an hour, I rose and w^ent to see what was the matter. On
entering the yurta from w^hich the cries proceeded, I found
a Tungus man sitting beside the sleejjing-place of his wife and
holding her wrist. Her hair was all dishevelled so as to cover her
face completely, she was nodding her head violently in all direc-
tions, and crying and howling like a dog. I could not see her face,
but her husband's expression showed that he was quite accustomed
to this sort of thing. He told me that these attacks were of
frequent occurrence, and came on by day or by night. I remained
in the yurta about half an hour, and during that time none of my
interpreters was able to make anything of the sounds the woman
w^as uttering. After I returned to my hut, her cries continued
for some time longer. I was told afterwards that the violence of

^ A. E. Crawley, Sexual Taboo, J.A.I. , vol. xxiv, p. 223.

'- Beschreibung von dem Lunde Kdmtschatka, 1774, p. 279.

^ Description of the Country of Katachatlca, ed. 1819, pp. 147-8.

* Reise dunh Sibirien, vol. iii, pp. 105, 379-81.
^ Op. cit., pp. 17-18.

* The Viluysk District of the Yakutsk Territory, vol. iii, p. 77.



310 PATHOLOGY

these attacks subsicles gradually, the patient sighs deeply, becomes
quiet, and begins to speak quite normally.'

In a Middle Yiluy village Maak knew many Yakut women
I i suffering from a very common disease which shows itself in the
patient's imitating all the gestures and words of bystanders, what-
ever their meaning, which was sometimes quite obscene.^

During the early days of his travels in the Yakut province,
Jochelson- was disagreeably struck by the fact that, when he was
stopping in certain yurta (' houses '), the women, whom he knew
could not speak Eussian, would repeat in broken language what
he and his companions had been saying. When he showed his
displeasure by severe glances, he was told that he should not
mind, for the women were only omiiraJis.

Unintentional visual suggestion shov>'s itself in cases in which,
when some of the younger people begin to dance, all the villagers,
even the oldest, follow their example. Jochelson reports an
instance of an old woman quite unable to stand alone, who on
such an occasion stood up and began to dance without assistance
until she fell exhausted.

A Yakut told Maak^ how the disease had originated in one of
the women. She had gone into the forest with her eighteen-year
old son, and they had encountered a bear. On seeing them, the
animal rose upon its bind legs, and the woman, too terrified to
attempt escape, fell into the arms of the bear. She was thi'own
to the ground and mauled by the beast, until her son with his
axe cleft its skull in two. Since that time the woman had been
subject to these attacks. Maak met also many Yakut children
who hardly ever spoke in their oidinary voices, but sang when
addressing people.

Sieroszewski,^ describing cases of diseases similar to the above
among the Yakut, says that persons suffering from this mimicry
mania, on being suddenly alarmed, take up knife or axe against
the source of their fright. Jochelson remarks, concerning
instances of this ailment, that it evokes from the patient the
utterance of erotic expressions such as they would never at other
times employ. Sometimes, at an unexpected noise, the patient
shudders and falls backward. He describes several interesting
cases, among them the following : ' One night I slept in the house
of a Yakut with a young man — a Eussian — who had been sent to

' Op. cit., p. 28. - The Yiikaf/hir and Yttkaiihirized Tumjits, p. 34.

^ Op. cit., p. 28. * 12 Lat ic Kraju Yukutow, p. 257.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 311

the Kolyma district as a criminal. The hostess, -who in aj^pear-
ance was a strong, red-choeketl woman, took a fancy to the young
man ; and when he left for the place of residence which the
authorities had assigned to him, the young woman had a
hysterical fit, during which she sang an improvisation tliat
plainly told her feelings.' Her improvisation, freely translated by
Jochelson, was as follows :

' The friend with testicles like wings !
The stranger-friend from the South, from Yakutsk.
The friend with supple joints,
With the handsome face and nice mind !
I met a friend who is very alert !
I will never part with him, with the friend ! '

'This she repeated many times for about two hours, when she fell
into a deep sleep. During this time there were present, besides
the woman's husband, also her young children. . . . The husband
loved his wife, and was jealous of her, but during the fit he
abused only the abassy (evil spirit) who disturbed his wife with
temptation. . . .

*It is difficult to admit,' Jochelson continues, 'that the fit was
only a matter of simulation, or caused l^y auto-suggestion. Such
conduct would not have been at all to the advantage of the j'oung
woman, who had only just begun to be stirred by the feeling of
love. It seemed to me that she did not know herself what she
was doing.' ^

On the Korkodon River, Jochelson heard a young girl singing
during a hysterical seizure ; and though she was a Yukaghir, she
sang in Tungus. After the fit her body was bent like a bow and
her hands were clenched. When Jochelson took her by the
hands, the cramps ceased, but she remained for a long time in an
unconscious state. When her mother asked her, after her
recovery, whether she knew that the Russian gentleman had
cured her, she answered that she did, for the devil which
possessed her had tried to devour him and could not. In this
case the 'devil' must have been of Tungusic origin.

Sometimes people who suffer from arctic hystei-ia are peculiarly
susceptible to hypnotic suggestion, which, however, they receive
while awake. Not only auditory, as in the case of the ordinary
hypnotic trance, but also visual impressions are received by the

* Jochelson, op. cit., p. 32.



312 PATHOLOGY

patient as suggestions. Such are somotinies given intentionally
to the patient by those near Ijy, as mentioned above, hut quite
often also natural phenomena perceptible to the hearing, as the
wind, cries of animals, &c., act as suggestions to the patient.

In one case a hysterical woman was hypnotized by the words of
a tale which she herself related to Jochelson.^ Tlie tale was of an
indecent character, and was followed by appropriate gestures. In
other cases the patient responds to intentional, often malicious,
suggestions. Thus Jochelson was told that a hysterical woman,
at the command of a young man, seized a horse by the tail, and
was dragged along by the animal until the young man ordered her
to let go.

The Cossacks especially take advantage of j^eople suffering from
arctic hysteria. Jochelson was once present at a fishing, when an
old woman took part in throwing the fish out of the nets. One
of the Cossacks who were with Jochelson suddenly approached the
nets, and seizing a salmon with his teeth, ran away up a hill
which rose from the water-side. The old woman, who at other
times could scarcely drag her legs along, did the same. When he
reached the top of the hill the Cossack turned and ran down
towards the river, stopping short just before reaching it. The
woman, however, ran straight into the water. On being pulled
out, she fell to the ground unconscious, only then letting the fish
fall from between her teeth.

While running after the Cossack, the old woman kept repeating
weakly, ' Enough, enough ! ' but was unable to stop of her own
will.2

Cases occur in which the patient, after having followed a com-
mand, realizes that she is being made fun of, and attacks her
tormentor.

In the Yakut village Eodshevo (about forty-five miles to the
north of Verkhne — Kolymsk) near Jochelson 's yurta some men
and the hostess, a woman of forty-five, were standing. She
suffered much from hysteria. Suddenly a young Yakut ran
towards the open field and pretended to be putting snow under-
neath his dress. The Yakut woman did the same, but when she
felt the cold of the melting snow she ran to the house, took
a knife, and went in search of the young man, who had hidden
himself.''

' Op. cit., p. 34. ^ Op. cit., p. 35. => Op. cit., p. 36.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 313

Piiklonski desciihes some instances of this mimicry mania in
the Yakutsk tenilory. One was the case of a barber in Ver-
khoyansk, and another occurred on an Amur steamer, where all
the people on board were amusing themselves at the expense of
a vicraJc (a mau suftering from amitrakJi). They pretended to be
throwing things overboard into the water, and the mcrak divested
himself of all his property to do the same. A third case was
observed in Olekminsk on the Lena. A hysterical woman, who
at ordinary times was quite modest and even shy, was being
tormented during an attack of dmiiralh by a number of people
who made indecent gestures, all of which she imitated. He
quotes also an episode which was related to him by Dr. Kashin,
who was much interested in tliis disease. Once, during a parade
of the 3rd Battalion of the Trans-Baikal Cossacks, a regiment
composed entirely of natives, the soldiers began to repeat the
words of command. The Colonel grew angry and swore volubly at
the men ; but the more he swore, the livelier was the chorus of
soldiers repeating his curses after him.^

Pallas affirms that many Samoyed, Laplanders. Tungus. the
inhabitants of Kamchatka, and in a less degree the Tartars about
the Yenisei, are occasionally ' panic-struck ' : * An unexpected
touch, a sudden call, whistling, or a fearful and sudden appearance
will throw these people into a state of fury. The Samoyed and
the Yakut, who seem more to be affected in this way, carry the
matter so far that, forgetting what they are about, they will take
the first knife, axe, or other offensive w^eapon that lies in their
way, and would wound or kill the object of their terror if not
prevented by force and the weapon taken from them ; and if
interrupted will beat themselves about the hands and feet, scream
out, roll upon the ground and rave. The Samoyed and the
Ostyak have an infallible remedy to bring such persons to them-
selves ; which is, to set fire to a reindeer-skin, or a sack of
reindeer hair, and let it smoke under the patient's nose ; this
occasions a faintness and a quiet slumber, often for the space of
twenty-four hours.' ^

[Prometheus]

Pallas mentions several other cases of Samoyed thus 'panic-
struck ', which lie heard of in Siberia from a certain Mr. Suryeff.
In 1722 this traveller met a young Samoyed shaman, who when
he saw the stranger ajiproaching, imagined that he was going to be

1 Priklonski, Three Years in the Yakutslc Tcrnlon/, 1890, pp. 48-50.
' S. Pallas, Truvels through Siberia and Tartury, 1788, p. 18.



314 PATHOLOGY

killed, 'and on holdijig a finger out to him, he seized it with both
hands, and took that opportunity to run off ; however, after many
persuasions of the interpreter that no harm was designed him, he
recovered himself. They then put on him a black glove and
immediately his eyes rolled, he stared steadfastly at the glove, and
fell into such a fit of madness that he would have committed
some murder with an axe that lay in his way, had it not been
secured. Disappointed of his weapon, he ran about raving,
screaming, and shaking his hand in order to get off the glove,
Avhich he took to be the claw of a bear, and which he was afraid
to touch with the other hand, till the bystanders laid hold of him
forcibly and pulled it off, on which he recovered.' ^

Cases of nervous diseases among the Greenland Eskimo are
described by Whitney as follows:

*It was upon our return to Etah on tlie evening of September
16th, that I observed for the first time a case of prohloJdo among
the natives.' ^ An Eskimo named Tukshu began suddenly to rave
upon leaving the boat. ' He tore off every stitch of clothing he had
on, and would have thrown himself into the water . . . but for the
restraint of the Eskimos. He seemed possessed of sui^ernatural
strength and it was all four men could do to hold him. With the
knowledge that his madness was temporary and that he would
shortly be himself again, with no serious consequences to follow,
I cheerfully watched his astonishing contortions. It would have
been a very serious matter, however, had Tukshu been attacked
while in the boat, and it is very serious indeed when x)roblokto
attacks one, as it sometimes does, when on the trail, or at a time
when there are insufficient men to care for the afflicted one.'^

Another case is described by Whitney as follows :

' We were on the threshold of the long dismal night (Oct. 9th).
Over the world there came a new and fearful stillness that seemed
to speak of impending doom — something intangible, indescribable,
uncanny. The gloom that settled upon all of us was particularly
noticeable amongst the Eskimo women."*

' At half-past one that night I was awakened from a sound sleep
by a woman shouting at the top of her voice — shrill and startling,
like one gone mad — I knew at once what it meant — some one had
gone problokto. I tumbled into my clothes and rushed out. Far
away on the driving ice of the Sound, a lone figure was running



Ibid. 2 Hiintinfj with the Eshimo, 1910, p. 67.

Ibid. " Op. cit." p. 82.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 315

and raving. The boatswain and Billy joined me, and as fast as we
could struggle through three feet of snow, with drifts often to the
waist, we gave pursuit. At length I reached her, and to my
astonishment discovered it was Tungwe.^ She struggled desper-
ately, and it required the combined strength of the three of us
to get her back to the shack, where she was found to be in bad
shape— one hand was frozen slightly, and part of one breast.
After half an hour of quiet she became rational again, but the
attack left her very weak.'-

In the meantime her l)aby was bare, crying, and the dogs were
eating all the food in the hut.

One evening after the hunters returned from an expedition
'Tungwe was again attacked hy problolto. She rushed out of the
igloo (winter-house) tore her clothing oif, and threw herself into
a snow-drift. I ran to Kulutingnah's (her husband's) assistance,
but the woman was strong as a lion, and we had all we could do to
hold her, A strong north wind was blowing, with a temperature
8 degrees below zero, and I thought she would surely be severely
frozen before Ave could get her into the igloo again, but in some
miraculous manner she escaped even the slightest frost-bite. After
getting her into the igloo, she grew as weak as a kitten, and it
was several hours before she became quite herself.'"^ Tungwe had
never suffered from prohlolio before the two attacks just described.

From these and other less detailed accounts it seems very pro-
bable that under the name of 'arctic hysteria' various nervous
diseases are understood. Thus Priklonski, Sieroszewski, and
Jochelson try to classify them, and first of all distinguish
two chief types of nervous diseases, namely meneriJc (miiniirik)
and cimiiralh.

A more exact analysis must be somewhat tentative, but the
materials seem to warrant the following classification of nervous
diseases, or symptoms of nervous disease, among the Siberian
natives : —

i. Amiiralch (Yakut, according to Sieroszewski)'*; in Yukaghir
it is called irhunii, in Tungus olan, in Koryak motlceiti, and in
Ainu imu.

Radloff translates the word amiralc as ' sensitive ', while amgraJih
means ' complaint ' ; and Jochelson says that the Yukaghir word

^ An Eskimo woman whom the author knew very well.
2 Op. cit., pp. 83-4. 3 Op. cit., p. 87.

* According to Jochelson omiirax or meriak.



316 PATHOLOGY

irlcnnii derives from irlcei, ' to shudder '. As the linguistic evidence
shows, the first symi)tom of tliis disease is the great impression-
ableness of the patient, his feeling of fright and timidity. Besides
this susceptibility to fright, in which the patient shouts the most
obscene words ^ or rushes at the cause of his terror,'- there is another
symptom of this disease, viz. an inclination to repeat all visual and
auditory imi)ressions.''

ii. 3[cncrik (Yakut).^ Miinaria, mcimiriJc means in some Turanic
languages * mad ', ' crazy ', but the Yakut have a special word for
a crazy person, namely h-hif. Irhit means ' spoilt ' if ai>plied to
other tilings. For hysteria of the mencriJc type the Yukaghir have
the wurd carmorkl, whereas mental insanity they call elomen, and
the Tungus name for meneril; is naunyan. ' possessed by evil spirits'.

Fits of meneriJc are usually brought on by a shock ov sudden pain,
though sometimes the malady is periodical and comes on without
any apparent immediate cause. The patient is afflicted with
spasms, or falls into a trance, howls or dances, and sometimes
this ends in an epileptoid seizure. The natives ascribe this
disease to the influence of evil spirits and it is curious to note
that this influence is in most cases of foreign origin. A Yakut
patient will sing in Tungus and a Yukaghir in Yakut, even if
they do not speak these languages.'' The fits are often followed
by a prolonged sleep lasting for several days.

Here it should be mentioned that epileptoid symptoms, of the
European type, have been observed in Siberia also. Bogoras says
that the Chukchee call this disease itcyiin ; the illness progresses
rapidly and in most cases ends in the early death of the sufferer.*^

iii. Singing ivhile asleep. This is a peculiar form of the malady
which has often been observed by travellers. It is called in
Yukaghir yendo iennt ya etei, by the Tungus nayani, and by the
Yakut Jaitiirar. The patient when awakened does not remember
what he was singing or that he has sung at all." ' Nothing is

^ The habit which such i)aticnts have of using bad language is called
by Sir William Osier coprolalia.

'^ There is a well-known Yakut proverb, 'An diiiilrakJi kicks like
a reindeer.'

^ The inclination to repeat everything one hears is called by Gilles de
la Tourette echolalia ; and the inclination to imitate movements is known
as echokinesia, a name invented by Charcot.

?* Sieroszewski, op. cit., p. 121.

° Jochelson, The Yukaghir and Yiikayhirized Tungus, p. 31 ; and The
Kon/ak, p. 417.

" Op. cit,, p. 42. ?' Jochelson, The Yukaghir, p. 30.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' .317

more melancholy during the night ' — saj's Bogoras — -' in the houses
or tents of some of these natives, than to be awakened by a
monotonous mournful improvisation, which continues for hours
if the singer is not roused.'

iv. Another type of nervous disease is described by Bogoras as
follows : * It comes at night like nightmare. During the attack
the breath appears shortened, the blood rushes to the face, and
sometimes the sufferer chokes on the spot. ... A man suddenly
afflicted with such an illness while travelling may be almost sure
that he will not be allowed to enter any house nor will he be given
either fire or warm food.' ^

V. Although in both mctieriJc and amuralh there are sometimes
symptoms of erotic mania. Pilsudski speaks of a special kind oi
sexual disorder called by the Japanese sJial'u, i. e. cramp of the
vagina, or vaginismus, a sort of hysterical affection rather common
in the Far East and not unknown among the Ainu. The Gilyak
and Ainu myths abound in references to women so afflicted, whose
husbands die early.-

vi. Melancholia and the so-called ' voluntary death ' form a
separate class. A person affected with melancholia is apathetic,
indifferent, eats little, and moves unrhythmically.^

' Voluntary death ' is a regular custom among the Chukchee.
It is accounted for as being the result of disease and helplessness, of
deep sorrow at the death of some near relative, or of a quarrel
at home, or sometimes simply of the feeling of taediiim vitae.^
Bogoras knew of various instances of ' voluntary death ' due to
each of these causes. Young people in such cases commit suicide,
for they can very seldom find any one to act as an 'assistant'
in bringing death to the physical or psychical sufferer. Mature
or old people are killed by some near relative at their own request.
Bogoras thinks ' that the custom of killing old people sometimes

* Bogoras, op. cit., p. 42. I place this among the tyj^es of nervous
disease, following Bogoras, but with considerable reserve. The symptoms
described appear to be those of some organic disease rather than of a
nervous ailment. Comjjaring this description with that of the syiiii)toms
of internal anthrax in the EHcydopnedia Bntannica (article 'Anthrax'),
I would suggest that possibly attacks of the kind here described may in
fact be due to sibirskaya yazva.

^ Pilsudski, Materials for the Study of the Ainu Lavyuaye and Folklore,
p. 91.

^ Jochelson, Tlie Ytikayhir, p. 30.

* Bogoras, op. cit., pp. -561-3.
= Op. cit, p. 560.



318 PATHOLOGY

.iscril>ed to the Chukchee does not exist as such, but that, as
a matter of fact, old people are often killed because they prefer
death to the hard conditions of life as invalids.^ There are three
methods of ' voluntary death ': by stabbing with a knife or spear,
by strangulation, and by shooting.- Before the ceremony of
killing a formula is pronounced, after which no retreat is possible
because the spirits have heard the promise and will punish its
violation. ' Previous to his last hours, the person is treated with
"fat meat and alien food", and all his wishes ai-e fulfilled.'*'
Death at the hands of a son is thought not to be painful ; it is,
however, believed to be very painful if a stranger inflicts it.
Voluntary death is considered preferable to a natural decease,
which lattei', indeed, is held to be the work of Icclct (evil spirits).
To die by one's own volition is equivalent to freeing oneself from
the malevolence of the Icelet, and is at the same time a sacrifice to
the Ix-eJct, since a breach of the formally expressed determination
to die is punished by them."^ A voluntary death is not only
better than a natural one, Init it is even considered praiseworthy,
since people who die this kind of death have the best abode in the
future life. ' They dwell on the red blaze of the aurora borealis,
and pass their time playing ball with a walrus-skull.''' This kind
of death is sometimes, so to speak, hereditary, and the Chukchee
say in such cases : ' Since his father died this way, he wanted to
imitate him.'"

In discussing these facts it must be borne in mind that no one
who has studied 'arctic hysteria' was a specialist in psychiatry.'
Taking the descriptions of travellers, however, a survey of the
whole field suggests a certain regularity of coincidences in the
distribution of nervous diseases in Siberia.

' Joclielson says that the custom of killing old people existed until
recently among the Koiyak (p. 760). Boas says that among the Central
Eskimo it is considered lawful for a man to kill his aged parents [The
Central Eskimo, p. 61-">). Bogoras says that 'voluntary death' occurs
also among the Maritime Chukchee and the Eskimo, but not so fre-
quently (op. cit., p. 367).

2 Op. cit., p. 564. ^ Ibid. " Ibid. = Op. cit., p. 563.

^ Op. cit., p. 562. Bogoras describes a case of this kind. ' The father
was stabbed with a knife, but when death did not come immediately, he
requested that he be strangled with a rope, which was done accordingly.
The son also was stabbed, but the stroke was not mortal. So he went
still further in imitating his father, and also requested that he might
die by strangulation, which was immediately executed.'

?^ p]xcept, perhaps, Dr. Kashin, mentioned by Priklonski (op. cit., 1890,
p. 49).



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 319

(a) Women are especially prune to these ailments, and the
shamans have a certain susceptibility to them. Both Prikloiiski
and Sieroszewski say that there is scarcely any Yakut woman who
is not more or less liable to this affliction.^

{b) Mencrik (hysterical seizures) -was observed chiefly among
young girls and some young men, especially those being trained
as shamans, whereas iimiiralJi. which is marked by a quiet, passive
condition of the patient, interrupted from time to time by attacks
of fury, is generally met with in people of from thirty-five to fifty
years of age.

(c) These two nervous diseases are met with most often among
the peoples who have more recently come into the Arctic region,
viz. the Yakut, the Tungus, and some of the Russian settlers ;
while among the peoples longer domiciled there the other nervous
ailments such as melancholia, inclination to suicide, &c., are
apparently more frequent.

{d} In all cases the nomadic or reindeer peoples have less
liability to this form of disease ; but this may be due not only to
their mode of life, but also to the fact that the reindeer-breeding
peoples are better situated materially, and, except as the result of
some occasional catastrophe, do not suffer so much hardship.
Thus we know that during a famine sometimes half the inhabitants
of a village become insane, temporarily or permanently. Such
cases were witnessed by Yadrintzetf and Priklonski, and were
related by the natives to Jochelson and Bogoras.

We come, then, to the conclusion that the whole of Northern
and part of Southern Siberia is a region where the people suffer
from nervous diseases more than in any other of the known
regions of the world. Thus only in this region is such an
institution as that of ' voluntary death ' looked upon as praise-
worthy and there only do such hereditarily hysterical individuals^
as the best shamans certainly are enjoy the highest consideration.
But neither to the institution of ' voluntary death ' nor to the
hysterical fits of the shamans are we justified in applying the
name of disease, since these are not so considered by the natives
themselves. This is one side of their nature, pathological from
our point of view, but normal, or supra-normal, from theirs.

' Some travellers, like Jochelson, think that difficult labour may
account for this; but Dr. Bielilowski, in his book, Woman aiiiouf/ the
Aborigines of Siberia, 1897, says that the native women in Siberia &eldom
suffer greatly at childbirth.



320 PATHOLOGY

Certain nervous affections are, however, even in the eyes of
natives considered as illnesses. What is the native line dividing
disease fi*om inspiration it is difficult to say. A youth who has
suffered from mcneril; has the better chance of becoming a shaman.
In all cases this illness is ascribed to evil spirits, but for the
shaman it is a desirable struggle with evil and an exercise in
which he learns how to appease these spirits, while an ordinary
mortal is only a victim of hclet or ahassy, a 'sick person'. It is
true that with the shaman no nervous disease, even meneriJc, can
be developed so far as to cease to be under his control. If
a shaman cannot control and invoke the spirits at the right time,
he ceases to lie a shaman. Even if we call the hereditary
shamanistic gift a hereditary form of hysteria, or a hereditary
disposition to hysteria,^ which very often develops only during the
trying preparatory period, it is never of such an advanced form
as to be called by the natives a disease.

It would seem that the name ' arctic hysteria ' has been given
by travellers partly to religio-niagical phenomena and partly to
the nervous ailments which are considered by the natives to be
a disease.

A review of the various symptoms brings us, indeed, to the
opinion that nearly all cases described can be regarded as
instances of hysteria. But most of the symptoms enumerated are
met with in Europe, and therefore the majority of these cases
cannot properly be described as ardk hysteria. There is no
question that the economic and geographical conditions of the
arctic region lead to the development of nervous diseases, but
since such ailments are met with in other geographical areas,' it is
clearly incorrect to class them as distinctively ' arctic '.

Yet not all of the symptoms described are familiar to Europeans.
Quite unknown among us is clmiiralh, the imitative mania with its
characteristic symptom of imitating unconsciously all gestures
and sounds. This is always considered by the natives as
a disease, and a shaman who should be attacked by it would have
to give up his profession just as he has to do if he contracts
syphilis or leprosy. This peculiar form of the malady probably
suggested to travellers the name of 'arctic hysteria', and con-
vinced them that all hysteria in the Arctic regions differs from
that prevalent in Europe and is, in fact, peculiarly ' arctic '.

The use of the term * arctic ' seems appropriate enough at first
' See Otto StoU, Suggestion uiid Hijimotismus, pp. 15-42.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 821

sight, as nearly all travellers ascribe these hj'sterical maladies to
arctic conditions, namel)', dark winter days, light summer nights,
severe cold, the silence, the general monotony of the landscape,
scarcity of food. &c. The observed fact that these nervous
diseases are especially frequent in the dark season, or in the time
of transition from one season to another, points to the same
conclusion.

[Prometheus]

But unfortunately for this hypothesis we find the same
symptoms which are held to be characteristic of Arctic lands
among the peoples of the Equatorial regions. Some travellers to
the Malay peninsula mention a nervous disease similar to dmuniJih
which is known there under the name of Icttah. A full description
of it is found in Sir Hugh Cliflford's work. Studies in Brcnvn
Hximanity.^ For the sake of comparison we shall quote his
description, ' Latah is an affliction, a disease, one hardly knows
what name to give it, vrhich causes certain men and women to
lose their self-control, for longer or shorter periods, as the case
may be, whenever they are startled, or receive any sudden shock.
While in this condition they appear to be unable to realize their own
identity, or to employ any but imitative faculties, though they very
frequently, nay, almost invariably, make use of villainously bad
language, without any one prompting them to do so. Any person
who chances to attract their attention at such times can make
them do any action by simply feigning to do it himself by
a gesture. A complete stranger, by startling a JCitali man or
woman, can induce the condition of which I speak accidentally and
without exercising any effort of will. This should be borne in
mind, for though Udali resembles hypnotic suggestion in many
respects, it differs from it in the important respect that it in no
way depends upon an original voluntary surrender of the will-
power.' -

Clifford had himself in 1887-8 a cook who suffered from this
affection. He — as were some of the Siberian patients — was
heavy-looking, clumsily built, stolid, and apparently not at all
nervous. It was a mischievous little boy who first discovered
Sat's (the cook's) weakness. The boy made a gesture as if he
wanted to put his hand in the fire ; Sat followed his suggestion
and thus burned his fingers. After this, Sat was very often
persecuted in this way by different people, until his hyper-

' 1898, pp. 186-201. 2 Op. cit, p. 189.



822 PATHOLOGY

suggestibility became a clironic conclition, so that any words
addressed to him even in tlie quietest manner he repeated over
and over again aimlessly, unintelligently.^

* It was about this time', Clifford says, 'that a number of other
people in my household began to develop signs of the affliction.
I must not be imderstood as suggesting that they became infected
with IdfaJi, for on inquiry I found that tiiey had one and all been
subject to occasional seizures, when anything chanced to startle
them badly, long before they joined my people ; but the presence
of so complete a slave to the affliction as poor Sat seemed to cause
them to lose the control which they had hitherto contrived to
exercise over themselves.'''^

One old man begged Clifford to forbid people to take advantage
of his illness. All cases of Idtah that Clifford observed were one
like another, differing only in degree. Startling a person sus-
pected of being affected with the malady was always the test.
Some of the cases cited are : Once the same boy who first dis-
covered Sat's weakness took advantage of the fact that there was
nobody whom he feared in the house, and finding the cook quietly
chewing betel with a friend, who was also hVaJi, the boy un-
expectedly made a noise with a rattan. Each of the Idtah gave
a sharp cry and a jump, 'and since there was nothing to distract
their attention from one another, they fell to imitating each the
other's gestures. For nearly half an hour, so far as I could judge
from what 1 learned later, these two men sat opposite to one
another, gesticulating wildlj^ and aimlessly, using the most filthy
language, and rocking their bodies to and fro. They never took
their eyes off one another for sufficient time for the strange
influence to be broken, and, at length, utterly worn out and
exhausted, first Sat and then the Treugganu man fell over on the
platform in fits, foaming horribly at the mouth with thin white
flakes of foam.' •'

' The Malays have many tales of h'ltaMolk who have terrified
a tiger into panic-stricken flight by imitating his every motion,
and impressing him thereby with their complete absence of fear.'''
It seems that Idtah is a very widespread affection, since even tales
and traditions are concerned with it. The following account of
Clifford's recalls very vividly the pictures of iimuralxh as described



Op. cit., p. 191. 2 Op. cit.,p. 192.

Op. cit., pp. 103-4. ?• Op. cit., p. 194.



'ARCTIC HVSTERIA' 823

by Joclielson. 'I have myself seen', says Clifford, 'a woman,
stiff-jointod, and well stricken in years, make violent and un-
gainly efforts to imitate the motion of a bicycle, just as I once
saw an old hag strip off her last scanty garment because a chance
passer-by, who knew her infirmity, made a gesture as though he
was about to undress himself.' ^

Clifford saw so many latah people that he was able to observe
certain conditions in which this ailment shows itself most vio-
lently. Thus, as is the case among the Yakut, lafah is found
among the well-fed and gently nurtured, as well as among the
poor and indigent. It is seen more often among women than
among men, and is invariably confined to adults. Clifford even
thinks that every adult Malay is to a certain extent Jatali.-

To what an extent the startling of a Idtah sul)ject makes him
unable to control the movements of his body and follow slavishly
every suggestion from outside is seen from the observed fact that
a 'h'lfah person will mimic the swaying motion of wind-shaken
boughs just as readily as the actions of a human being — will follow
their movements in preference to those of a man, indeed, if the
former chance to attract his attention before the latter '? There
is also no question but that the repeating of mechanical sug-
gestions are not voluntary on the part of the VdaJi. Clifford says
that Sat certainly did not voluntarily put his hand into the flame,
and that the old woman, in a country where women are as a rule
very modest and shy, would certainly not of her own volition
take off her garment in the presence of passing strangers."*

Thus we see that this characteristic mania of imitation which is
the chief, if not the only form distinguishing ' arctic hysteria ' from
that known in Europe, and which has given rise to the term
' arctic ', is also found among the Malays. Hence it is probably
not so much the Arctic climate as extremes of climate which may
account for its development, and hence it would seem preferable
to discard the title ' arctic hysteria ' in favour of ' hysteria of
climatic extremes '. But, unfortunately, ethnological literature,
rich as it is, gives no indication that in the equatorial regions of
America.'' Africa, or even Melanesia, anything similar to Malayan
h'dah or Siberian iimilrahh exists. The environmental explanation
being thus not the only possible one, we must next inquire whether

1 Op. cit., p. 195. == Op. cit., pp. 195-6.

' Op. cit., p. 200. ?• Ibid.

' The 'jumpers' of Maine are the only instance recorded in America.

Y 2



324 PATHOLOGY

these Arctic peoples and the Mala5^s have anything else in
common. Here the racial factor suggests itself.

From the materials on (imiiralJt we see that it occurs chiefly
among Neo-Siberians (Yakut and Tungus), who are more typical
Mongols than the Palaeo-Siberians. The few notes about amuraJch
occurring among some of the Kussian settlers do not contradict
our hyi:)othesis, for these so-called Russian settlers are very often
of the same Mongoloid stock from the other side of the Ural. It
would be necessary to have more definite information as to
whether the people referred to as Russians are European Russians
of Aryan stock, or Asiatic Russians of Mongolic stock, to decide
this point. The thing which it is interesting to note in this con-
nexion is that (imiiral'h was not observed among people whose
conditions of life Avould naturally lead to the development of
nervous diseases, i. e. political exiles in Siberia, who are decidedly
of Aryan stock ; and if further researches show that anviralli-ldtah
is found invariably in connexion with Mongolic race-charactei-s,
and in places where extremes of climate encourage its growth, this
disease will form a curious index of the psycho-physiological
nature of Mongols. -

Before closing this chapter, and while disclaiming any intention
of providing a medical definition of (imioxil'li-lOtah, we must, how-
ever, express our doubts as to whether this disease can rightly be
termed a type of hysteria.^ The psychological condition of a
patient suffering from (imftralJt-JdfaJt stands in a relation to that of
a hysterical patient similar to that in which the psychological
condition of a patient suffering from chorea does. That is, an
cimtiraJih-lufaJi is almost unconscious; and however he may act
afterwards (he is sometimes passive, and sometimes violent

' As a matter of fact, one can read between the lines of Sir Hugh
ClifFord's book that lafaJi seems to be inseparable from the Malay,
i.e. Mongol, race, and the same idea occurred to Mr. W. McDougall when
the writer was discussing the topic with him in Oxford.

- Not being in possession of details concerning the 'jumpers ' of Maine
we cannot consider them here.

^ Priklonski, following Dr. Kashin {Bnssiiin Archives of Legal Mediciue),
calls (imural-h chorea imitatoria. Sir William Osier (On Chorcd and
Choreiform Affections, pp. 2, 72-3, 87) classes Malayan iafah and Siberian
amnral-h, the latter of which he calls 'Russian myriachit', among
choreiform affections. He considers them not to be hysteria as, for
instance, chorea major is. He says, however, that in choreiform affections
' the action may be controlled or at least modified to some extent by an
effort of the will'— a conclusion which can hardly be drawn from con-
sideration of the cases described above.



'ARCTIC HYSTERIA' 825

towards the cause of the attack), he is unable at the time to prevent
a suggestion from acting upon his mind as a command. In this
respect he resembles a subject of hypnotic suggestion, the dif-
ference being that the amiiraJch-hitah acts while awake and that he
passes from a normal to an abnormal state quite rapidly, while in
hypnotic suggestion a more or less lengthy period of time is
necessary to subordinate the medium to the will of the person
suggesting.

Like a choreatic and unlike a hysterical patient, an iimiirakh-
iCitah may injure himself seriously during an attack. Although
we find that an iiiniiraJch in Siberia is often a hysterical person at
the same time, and that an iimUraJch attack is accompanied, pre-
ceded, or followed by a hysterical one. yet we can no more call
iimilralch hysteria than we can call St. Vitus's dance by that name.

The small regard in which people suffering from umiiraJih are held
by the natives is shown in the following incident : 'Never mind,'
said a native to Jochelson, when the latter was indignant because
an old woman repeated after him everything that he said, 'it is
only an amiimJih.'^

In studying and defining the diseases of primitive peoples, it is
necessary to take account of the way in which such peoples regard
the patients. Thus, among the aborigines of Siberia, a person
suffering from mencrik may l^ecome a powerful and influential
shaman, while one afflicted with umiirdkh is considered as of no
account socially, and, like one suffering from syphilis, leprosy, or
sibinlcp/a yazia, may even be segregated from society by special
restrictions and disabilities.

' Jochelson, The Yukuyhir and Yitk(t(jhirized Tiukjhs, p. .34.



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

It seems to me that, especially in the matter of anthropological
investigation, where so much depends on the education, impar-
tiality, and good faith of the observer, it is important to take
account of the observer's personality when dealing with his work.
This is eminently the case in the present work, whei*e the names
of most of the authorities quoted are quite unknown to British
readers interested in anthropology. I have been able to collect
data about only a few of the writers whose works are quoted in
this book. The outline biographies given below are of some of
the most important of my authorities.

The older writers like Pallas, Krasheninnikoff, and Steller
introduce themselves in their prefaces as being connected with the
Petersburg Academy of Science. Most of the modern writers
(i. e. Bogoras, Jochelson, Potanin, Klementz, Sieroszewski, Felix
Kohn, Seeland, Pilsudski) began their anthropological researches
as political exiles.

Waldemar G. Bogoras, a thorough student of the Chukchee
language and folk-lore, took part in the Yakut expedition organized
by the East Siberian Section of the Imperial Russian Geographical
Society, 1894-7, and the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1900-2.
Before this he had worked alone in this north-eastern region,
whither he had been sent as a political exile. Besides his purely
ethnological works, he has published, under the pseudonym Tan,
sevei'al novels dealing with life in north-eastern Siberia. His
work has been done in connexion with the East Siberian Section
of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, the Petersburg
Academy of Science, and the American Museum of Natural
History of New York.

DoRDJi Banzaroff (1822-55), a Buryat of the Selenginsk dis-
trict, was educated in a Mongol-Russian school and a Russian
university. He started life with high hopes and ambitions, and
a determination to investigate fully and scientifically the history
of the Mongols. His important book. The Blade Faith, or



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 827

Sfiumanism among the Mcnnjols. was the fij-stfruits of his
enthusiasm. When he returned to Siberia after finishing his
education, however, and excepted a government post which did
not suit well with his inclinations, he soon begun to lose his
interest in such matters, fell into dissolute habits, and died
a drunkard.

Other educated Buryat who have made contributions to ethno-
logical literature are M. N. Khangaloff and S. A. Pirojkoff.

Waldemar I. JocHELSON began his work as investigator in
1886, when he was a political exile in the Yakutsk territory.
From 1894-7 he took part in the Yakutsk expedition orga-
nized by the East Siberian Section of the Imperial Eussian Geo-
graphical Society. From 1900-2 he took part in the Jesup
North Pacific Expedition, the results of which embody such
a splendid contribution to science. In the years 1908-12 he was
one of the members of the Riaboushynski Expedition (organized
by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society) to Kamchatka
and the Aleutian Islands. In the last two expeditions, his wife,
Dr. Dina Jochelson Brodsky, collaborated with him in his work.
The languages of the Koryak, Yukaghir, Aleut, and Yakut are all
familiar to Mr. Jochelson ; so that besides his more purely anthro-
pological work he carries on important linguistic researches.

Dmitri Klementz, who spent half his life in Siberia as
a political exile, and has done important work in geography,
geology, and anthropology there, towards the end of his life returned
to Russia and was made director of the Ethnographical Department
of the Alexander III Museum in Petersburg. The wonderfully
rich Minusinsk Museum is greatly indebted to him, as well
as the Museum of Yeniseisk. In 1891-1905 he made an expedi-
tion, principally occupied with archaeology, into the heart of
Mongoha. His death was announced in February of the present
year, to the great sorrow of all students of those branches of
knowledge with which he occupied himself. English readers
know something of his woik from an excellent article on the
Buryat in Hastings's Enci/dopaedia of Religion and Ethics.

Felix Kohn, a Pole of Warsaw, was sent in 1886 as a political
exile to Siberia, where he took up the study of the Yakut. In
1894 he was attached to the staff of the Minusinsk Museum, and
then took part in an expedition sent by the Imperial Academy of
Science to Manchuria.

Gregory N. Potanin, a Russian born in Siberia in 1835, was



328 BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES

sent in liis youth as a political exile to the far north of European
Russia. There he married into a family Nvhich had also been
banished thither, and, together with his wife, undertook his first
journey to north-western Mongolia in 187G. He returned in 1877,
and within two years had started again, this time for the centre
of north-western Mongolia. In 1884-6 he led an expedition
to the eastern part of the Central Asian Plateau. His fourth
expedition in 1892 was directed towards the unknown parts of
eastern Tibet. Here his wife and faithful co-worker, Mrs. A. V.
Potanina, died in the steppe between the towns Bao-Nin-Fu and
Chun-Tsin-Fu. The chief objects of these expeditions were
botanical, ethnological, and zoological observations.

N. M. Pezewalski (1839-88). The five great expeditions ot
this distinguished traveller were only secondarily concerned with
ethnography. The results of his first expedition (1867-9) were
published in a work styled Tlte Natives of the Ussuri Countri/.
His four remaining journeys were directed to Central Asia ; and
during the fifth he died in Karakola. not far from Issyk-kola. of
typhoid fever.

Bronislaw Pilsudski, a Pole, spent nineteen years as a political
exile in Siberia. He is familiar with the Ainu, Gilyak, Orok, and
Orochi ; and his observations on the folk-lore of these peoples
have been published in French. German, and English, as well as
in Polish and Russian. He is now the secretary of the Ethno-
graphical Department of the Cracow Academy of Science.

Waclaw Sieroszew^ski. also a Pole, spent fifteen years (1879-94)
as a political exile in Siberia. For twelve years he lived among
the Yakut and acquired a great familiarity with their language
and customs. He studied also to some extent the Tungus, Yuka-
ghir. and Chukchee. In 1903 he undertook a journey to Sak-
halin.

Dr. Leo Sternberg, director of the Anthropological Department
of the Peter the Great Museum of the Imperial Russian Academy
of Science, made his first researches in the field, in 1891-6, among
the Gilyak, Orok, and Ainu of Sakhalin. He became thoroughly
versed in the language and customs of the Gilyak. though he
also knows the Ainu and Orok languages. In 1910 he went
to the Amur country, and once more to Sakhalin. Besides the
practical work connected with these expeditions, he has made many
contributions to anthropological science in the form of pamphlets
published for the most part in Russian. The results of his journey

[Prometheus]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 329

to the Amur region are to appear in due course in the Memoirs
of the Jesup North Pacilic Expedition.

Basil Wierbicki, arch-priest of the Russian Orthodox Church,
during his thirty-seven years of missionary work rode 36.000 versts
on horseback. He died in 1890, leaving several important ethno-
graphical and linguistic works on the Altaians. He knew several
languages of the Turkic family.

NiKHOLAi M. Yadkintzeff (1842-94), a Russian born in Siberia,
gave up all his life to work among the native peoples of Siberia,
not so much from the anthropological point of view as from the
humanitarian, being actuated by a sincere desire to be useful to
these people. As editor of the paper The Eastern Eevietv, and as
the author of several books, he did all he could to further the
work of protection of the natives.

• • ».. •••? ?•

The above is a Inief and incomplete biographical account of
some of our chief authorities. The bibliography will give some
idea of the vast amount of work expended on inquiries into the
native life of Siberia — and Siberia is still comparatively unknown
from that point of view.



BIBLIOGRAPHY



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z2



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