Folklore Shamanism Russia 1895

8/13/2019 Folklore Shamanism Russia 1895

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Shamanism in Siberia and European Russia, Being the Second Part of "Shamanstvo"Author(s): V. M. Mikhailovskii and Oliver WardropReviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 24(1895), pp. 62-100Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2842483.

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62 Anthropologicalliseellaneand NVew ooks.named n " Nature theWallace ormula,nd was in hopes t wouldtherebyttract reaterttention.

Wallace observed hat inmanyAustraliananguages hewordsfor mouth and lips are Labtals, for teethare Dentals,and forthenose are Nasals.Now this is so fartrue,and very true,tnat it goes further ndapplies to hundreds of languages, and what is to be noted,even tous in English, so that it is very easy to remember he law.Mr. Astoii and his fellow nquirers have to deal with this fact,and to account for the originof speech language on this basis. Italso accordswith the phenomenaofgesture anguage,and of primi-tive symbology. Still further t accords with the evidence ofcharacters.If anyone will take the ancient Chinese characters wheretheyare round,the Shwo-wrenforexample,hlcwill, as I have pointedoat, findmuclh vidence. He will findrounds forround objectsandlabial sounds. In other ancient. characters he will find classedtogether mouth, eye, ear, sun (day eye), moon (night eye), egg,&c. Objects periodically or casually opening and shutting areassimilated.How this was worked out and connectedwith the organshasbeensufficientlyhownbyme in" Nature," and since then heresultsobtained in a wide fieldof observationhave broughtfurther on-firmation.Mr. Aston is quite right in treatingonomatopceia as later andsubsidiary and not prim%ry.Shamanism in Siberia and European Russia, being the secondpart of " Shamanstvo," by ProfessorV. M. MIKHAIILOVSKII,OfMoscow, Vice-President of the Ethnographical Section of theImperial Society of Natural History, Anthropology, andEthnography.1 Translated by OLIVER WARDtOP (Part I).

Shamanism in Russia at the present day.-Hitherto the wordshamanismhas been used in a narrow and strictly efined sense,geographicallyand ethnographically. The termhas been appliedespecially to certain phenomena in the life and philosophy of ourforeign fellow-subjects, n particular the inhabitants of Siberia,and therefore,when we enter upon a wider consideration of thequestion,and consider shamanism as a pheDomenoncharacteristicof many peoples, scattered throughout many parts of the world,ve must begin by examining it in the region where it was firstobservedand studied, i.e., among the Asiatic and European tribesof Russia. Since it is our intentionto regard this phlenomenonfrom the point of view of uiniversal ethnography,we shall notgive an exhaustive account of all the facts collected by Russianenquiirers, ut shall limit our investigations to those data sufficient1 ProfessorMikhailovskii's ssayforms hetwelfthVol. of the ProceedingsoftheEthnographical ection, nd was published n 1892.

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Anthropologicaliscellaneand New Books. 63to furnishmaterialsfor a characterisationf shamanismnRussia inorder o compare t with similar nstitutionsn otherlands.Shamanismmong he Siberianpeoples s at thepresent imein a moribundondition; t mustdie out with hose eliefsmonowhichalone suchphenomena an ariseand flourish.Buddhismonthe onehand, ndMohammedanismntheother, ot omentionChristianity,re rapidlydestroyinghe old ideas of the tribesamongwhomthe shamansperformed.Especiallyhas themoreancientBlack Faith sufferedrom heYellowFaithpreached vthe lamas. But the shamans,withtheirdarkmysteriousites,havemadea good truggle or ife, nd are stillfrequentlyoundamong the native Christians nd Mohammedans.The mullahsandlamashave even beenobligedto become hamansto a greatextent. Many Siberian tribes who are nominallyChristiansbelieve n theshamans, ndhaverecourseothem. The Yakuts,for nstance, hen alleduponbythegovernmentogive nforma-tion bout heircustomaryaw, n thethird ecadeof thepresentcentury,nsisted n excludingshamanism rom hequestionofanyparticular rofessionfreligion. They aid, " Shamanismsnotthe faithorreligion f theYakuts,butan independentet ofactionswhichtake place in certain definiteases." And theyendeavour o explainand justify he attachment f ChristianYakuts totheir hamans.'Thenames ppliedto Shamansbythevarious iberian ribes.-Shamans,hough fa degenerateype,re tobe metwith hrough-out the wholeof Siberia, nd they re known yvariousnames.The wordshaman s onlyfoundamongthe Tunguses,Buryats,and Yakuts.2 It is onlyamong the Tungusesthat thisis thenativename; theBuryats,iketheMongols, lso call their hamansbo,and the female shamansodegon rutygan.3 AmongtheYakuts,a shaman s calledoyun, female hamanudagan.4 The Altaiansuse the termKam, and call the shaman'sdealingswithspiritskamlanie,.e.,kam-ing.TheSamoyedsalled heir hamansadibei.5Despitethe differentames, heperformancesf the shamans rethesarnemrongll thesepeoples, hough ll acknowledgehatthemodernhan-mansreless powerfulhan heancient.The irsthamansnd theirrigin.-Therere some urious alesabout the first hamansand the originof shamanism. Mr.Shaslhkov as copieddownamongtheBuryats fBalagana longlegend boutthecauseof the deteriorationf the shamans. Thefirstshaman,Khara-Gyrgen, ad unlimitedpower,and God,desiring o provehim, ook he soul of a certain ichmaiden,ndshefell ll. The shaman lewthroughhe kyonhistambourine,seeking hesoul, ndsawit in a bottleon God'stable. To keepthe soul fromflying ut, God corkedup the bottlewithione of the

I Samokvasov: " Sbornik bychnago ravasibirskikhnorodtsev,"18-219.2 Shashkov, 0.3 Agapitov nd Khangalov,41. Potanin, v. 61.4 Pripuzov, 4. 5 Radloff: " Aus Sibirien,"i,16.



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64 Anthropologicaliscellaneand NewBooks.fingers f his righthand. The cunning shaman changed himselfinto a yellow spider, a-nd it God on the right cheek, so that,irritatedby the pain, he clapped his right hand to his face, and letthe soul out of the bottle. Enraged at this, God limited Khara-Gyrgen's power, ud thenceforth hamans have been gettingworseand worse.' The leg,endwhich we summarize is interestingforthe glimpse t gives ofthe coarse ideas of an earlier period,under-lying the modern mask of monotheism. The god referred o isbut one of the spirits of the animistic epoch. The Buryats alsohave the following storyabout the appearance of shamans amongmen:-In the beginningtherewereonlythe good spirits (tengri)of the west,and the evil spiritsof the east. The westerntengriscreated men, who wereat firsthappy,but afterwards, hroughthewickedness of the evil spirits,they began to fall sick and die.Then the good tengris ecided to give a shaman to mankind,to aidin the struggle with the evil spirits, so theymatde the eagle ashaman. Men did not put faith in a merebird, and, besides, theydid not understand its language; the eagle therefore rayed thewestern tengris ither to allow the post of shaman to be givento aBuryat, or to bestow human speech upon the eagle. By the will ofthe good spirits, he first hamTan ecame the ofifspringf the eagleand a Buryat woman.' The Yakut tradition is that the firstshaman was ofextraordinarytrength, nd would notacknowledgethe chief god of the Yakats, for which reason the wrathfuldeityburned him up. All the bodyof this shaman consistedof crawlingreptiles. One frog escaped from the fire, nd from t issued theshaman demons,who still supply theYakuts with famous shamans,male and female.' The Tungases of the Turukhan region,thoughthe miraculous element s not wanting in their story,have a lessfantastic accounlt f the first haman. According to their version,the first haman was formed n consequence of his particularfitnessfor this occupation,and by the aid of the devil. This shaman flewup the chimneyof the yurta hut) and came back accompaniedbyswans.4 The stories about ancient shamans, and the supernaturalappearance of personsdestined o enter nto immediate ntercouirsewith spiritsanidgods, arose,on the onehand,fromthe desireoftheshamans to give a special sanction to their proceedings; on theotherhand, theyare due to the peculiar character of theirdoings,whichproduced an exceedinglypowerful mpressionon thbmindsand imaginationsof uncivilisedpeople.

Formsof" kamlanie" and exorcismmong heTunguses.-Amongthe various performances f the shamans, the most characteristicof all is that which is now generally alled kamlanie. The presenceofa shaman at a festival, s priest and sacrificer,s but ofsecondaryimportance, nd is not of the essence of shamanism. Scenes ofkam-ing among the various foreign peoples in Russia have beenI Shashkov, 1.2 Agapitov nd Khangalov,41-42.3 Pripuzov, 4.4 Tretyakov:" Turukhanskii rai,"210-211.



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Anthropologicalfiscellaneand NewBooks. 65describedn detail by ancientanidmodern ravellers, speciallyGmelin ndPallas. In Argunsk,Gmelin aw the uggling,s hocalls it,of a certain ung,us haman. The kamlanieookplaceatnight,n theopenair,by a fire. The spectatorsatround hefire;the haman tripped,nd then utonhis hamaniostumef eather,hungwith iecesof ron; on each of his shoulderswas a toothediron horn. But this particular hamanhad as yet received otambourinerom hedemons, f whichthere re a vast number;each haman as its owndemons,ndhethathas mosts consideredthe cleverest. The kamlanie oiisistedof runniingound n thecircle,nd singing,n whichhe was supported ytwoassistants.AnotherTungus shaman,een by Gmelin, ad a tambourine;hemade a speech n a drawling hant, nd the Tungusespresentchimedn. The language f he haman's tterancesasunknown;he then ried ut n thevoicesof various nimals, nddrovebackspirits. The spiritsdid not say anythingohim,but tormentedhim greatdeal.1Among he Yakuts.-The descriptionf kamlanie y a Yakutoyun s especially emarkable; his oyun eemsto have made agreat mpressionn Gmelin. The ceremonyookplace in a birch-barkyurta,n frontf whicha firewas burning. Whenit wasdark, shaman,with ongblack hair,undressedn theyurta, ndputona coathungwith ron;he left nhis breeches,ut changedhis stockings or otherswhichwere embroidered,nd are onlyworn y shamansduring hekanlanie. He took his tambourine,sat downwith his faceto the south-west,nd beganto beatthetambouriniend cryout. The spectators id not oin in chorus.He sat thusfor a while,grimacing, houting,nd beatingthetambourine.Gmelin'scompanions old him that theman wassummoninghe spirits. Suddenly he shamaneapedto his feet,the beatingon the tambourine ecame faster,he shouts ouder,hisblackhairwas flying hilehe rushed bout heyurta. At lastthe shamanwas overcome,nd fell fainting. Then two chiefsseized him,for f the exorcist alls on the groundwhilehe isdelirious,misfortunes ill happen to the whole people. After-wards,while thirdchiefwas holdingoverhis head a fliut, ndsharpening knifeon t,the shaman ooked ound or moment,andagainbecamedelirious;whilstn this state,ne oftentopped,fixedlyookedupwards, nd grasped at the air withhis hand.Then followedhis prophecies,nd whenall was over, nd theshamanhad doffed is dress,- e declaredthat he rememberednothing.' Klark describes he kamlanie f a Yakut shaman nterse but impressive anguage,and declares hat the sound ofthe tambouritLe,he convulsiventics of the shaman,his fiercescreams, is wild stare nthe dim ight, ll striketerrornto hehearts f semi-savageeople, nd powerfullyffect heirnerves.3

I Gmelin, i, 44-46, 193-195.2 Gmelin, i, 351-356.3 Miark:" Vilyuisk ego okrug. Zapiski Sibirskago otdyela,"1864,kn.vii,139.VOL. XXIV. F



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66 AnthropologicalMiscellanea and ArewBoo/cs.In the " SyevernyiArkhiv " for1822, thereis a descriptioni f thehjealingof a sick person by a Yakut shamian. There we finid impla-ying nother part; that of the leeeh, driving away evil spiritswhich possess the sick and cause illness. His performancecon-sisted of two parts; first of all he did not put on his dress,buttook a piece of tinder in hiishand,twisted into tufts somehairsfrom a horse's mane, then embraced the patient,and thus tookinto himselfthe demons that caused the illness, found out whatvillage they came from, and designated a sacrifice. When theanimal destined for sacrifice was brought, he second part of theceremonybegan; the shamanput on his professional ostume,wentup to the beast, and conveyed nto it thedemon that had enteredhim from he sick man. TI-his rocesshad a terrifying ffect ponthe animal; it seemedto be paralyzed. After hebeast was killed,the head and fleshwere eaten, alndthe skin and bones werehungon a tree.'Am^zongheSamoyeds ofTomnsk.-InWesternSiberia also, amongthe Tomsk Samoyeds, the shaman alone has access to the darlkworld of spirits; according to Castren,he performshis functionsin a place specially prepared. He sits down in the miiddle f theroom,on a bench or trunk, n which there must be nothingof adangerous nature,neitherknife,norbullet,norneedle; behindtheshaman, and beside him,are ranged thenumerousspectators; butnobody mustsit in frontof him. The shaman's face is turnedtothe door,anidhe affects o see and hear nothinig. In hisrighthandhe holds a stick, moothon one side,and on the other,coveredwithmysterious ions and figures; in his left hand are two arrowswiththe pointsupwards; on thepoint ofeach a little bell is fixed. Theraiment of the conjurerhas no distinctivecharacter; he generallydons the clothes of the enquireror patient. The kamlanie beginswitha song, summoningthe spirits, nd during this the shamanbeats with the stick onithe arrows, and the bells ring out themeasure,while the audience sit devoutlysilent. As soon as thespirits begin to appear, the shaman stands up and begins to dance,accompanying the dance with verydifficult nad ngenious move-mentsofthe body. Meanwhile the song and the sound ofthe bellsgo on without pause. The subject of the song is a conversationwith the spirits, nd it is sunigwitlh aryingdegreesof excitement.Wlhen the singing has become exceptionally enithusiastic,thespectatorsalso join in it. After the shaman has learned from hespirits all he wants to know, he declares the will of the gods.When he is consultedabout thefature,he divines bymeans of thestick,which he throwsdown; if the side marked with signs isdownwards, this foretellsmisfortune, f it is uppermost, goodfortune. To convince their fellows of the reality of their inter-course with spirits,the shamans have recoarse to the followingplan: the ghost-seer sits down in the middle of a dry reindeerskin which is stretchedon the floor, nd has his hands and feettied; thenthe shutters are closed and the shaman summons the

1 " Syevernyi rkhiv," 822,274-277.



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Anthropologicalfiscellaneaad N,ew ooks. 67spirits ubject ohim. In the various orners f the darkyurta,and event utside, ifferentoicesare heard, here s a sound fscratching nd drummingn time on the dry kin,bearsgrowl,snakeshiss, quirrelsump. When the noiseceases, heunboundshamangoesoutoftheyurta,ndtheaudience reconvincedhatthewholeperformanaceas beenthe work f spirits. Farther othenorth,heSamoyed hamans, oprove heirmysteriousower,ask to be shot nthehead.'Among heOstyaks.-Asearly ss he days of Peter theGreat,Novitskii, n his descriptionf the Ostyaks,near akin to theSamoyeds, ortrayedicturesquelyhemannernwhich nOstyakshaman onjured. When henativeswish o makeenquiries boutmatters ffectingheirdailywants,fishing,unting,r the like,they ead the wonder-workernto a darkhut, ndthere indhimfirmly; heythemselves it downand playon reed pipes; thecaptiveshoutsout necromantic ords, nvokinghis ally,Satan.The performancelwaystakesplace by night, nid, ftersomelhours f invocation, stormynd noisyspiritentersthe hut.Thenthespectatorslee,nd eavethe wizard lonewith he pirit.The spirittakeshim, aiseshimup andlets himdown gain, ndtormentsim nall kindsofways. Some hours ater, he demonmakeshis revelation o the shaman, nd thenleaveshim; theshamancommunicateshemessage o the enquirers.YTretyakovhas given hesubstancefsomeofthesacred ongs fthe hamansamongthe Ostyaks nd Yurak-Samoyeds. An Ostyak shamansings thathe is raisinghimself o heavenbymeansof a rope etdowntohim; he pushesasidethe stars thatblock his way. Inthesky, he shamanfloatsn a boat, ndthen ailsdown streamto the earth, ithsuchrapidityhatthe airblowsthroughhim.Afterwards,ith he aid ofwinged evils)he descendsbelowtheearth, nd asksthe darkspirit"Ama," ortheshaman'smother,for cloak. (At thismomenthebystandershrow cloakoverhisshoulders.) Finally he hamannformsachofthosewhoarepresenthathishappinesss secured, nid ellsthepatient hatthedevil s castout. Amongthe TazovskyOstyaksandYuraks, heshaman sings of his journeyings,nd tells how he flies amidblossoming,ildroses, ndrisesto thesky,where he sees on thetundraseven larches; there his grandsir formerlymade histambourine.Thentheshaman ntersni ronhutandfallsasleep,surroundedypurple louds. He comesdown o earthona river,and then doring he heavenly eity hesun, hemooni,hetrees,thebeastof earth-theruler ftheworld, e praysfor ong life,happiness, &c.3AmongheChbkcehisndKoryaks.-Passingto the extremeideof Siberia, n the Pacificcoast,ve find, mongthe tribes here,similar henomena.Among heChukebis, ccording oLitke, he

' Castren: '; Reiseberichte ndBriefe,"1845-1849,172-174.2 "1(,ratkoeopisanie o narodyeostyatskom-i,"rigoriyaNoyitskago,715g.Izd. L. Maikov,1884,48-49.3 Tretyakov,17-218. F 9



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68 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NewBooks.shaman, in his kamlanie,egan by retiringbehind a curtain,thenwere heard groans,and gentle tappings,witha thinwhalebolp, onthe tambourine; opening the curtain,he was seen swaying fromside to side, the shouts and drummingbecame louder,he threwoffhis coat, and stripped himself to the waist. The performanceconcludedwith jugglery. First of all, the shaman took a smoothstone, gave it to Litke to hold, then took it between his hands,rabbed one palm on the other,and the stone disappeared; it wasfound in a swelling near the elbow, and was cut out. The lasttrick of the shaman,before retreatingbehind the cartain,was tocut his tongue with a knife until blood flowed.' The Koryakshamans,according to Krasheninnikov,had no special dress,andwere only remarkable as healers of the sick and performersoftricks, e.g., they thrust a knife into the stomach. In healingdiseases theydesignated the kind of animal which ought to besacrificed. In theirkamlaniche tambourineplayed an importantpart.2AmongheKamnchadals.-Amongthe Kamchadals therewere nospecial shamans, but theirplace was taken by women; thesewerechiefly ld, and theycured diseases by whispered charms. Theirchiefform fshamanismconsistedoftwo old women sitting n thecorner and ceaselesslywhispering. One of them tied round herleg a garland of nettlesornamentedwith red wool, and shook herleg about. If the leg rose easily this was a good omen,but if itrose withdifficulty isfortunewould happen. But the kamlaniedid not terminatewith this. The femaleshaman summonedthedevils -%ith he words,"gut gut " and gniashedher teeth, andwhen thedevils appeared shemetthem with aughter and cries of" hoi hoi " Half an hour afterwardsthe devils departed, and-whenhishappenedthe witchcried " ishki,"i.e.,no. Her assistantswere all the timewhispering and tellinghernot to be afraid,andto notice everythingand not forgetthe response. Some, addsKrasheniniiikov, say that in time of thunder and lightning thebilyu7kai,pirit,comes to thewomen shamans and enables themtogive responses.3 Although Krasheninnikov, in his account ofshamanism among the Kamchadals, declares that this tribeconsider all women,especially old ones,capable of kamlanie,etfromthe factshe gives we arriveat the conclusion that it is onlycertainwomen, exceptionallygifted,who can call up spirits, andbecome united with them.

Among heGilyaks.-The Gilyaks carefully onceal all informa-tion abo-ut heirshamans, nd it is therefore ery nteresting o findthat a merchant named Ivanov has given a detailed accounitofthem,published in the " SibirskiiVyestnik" for1866. Mr. Ivanovlived on the Amur river from1855, managed a Gilyak school,andhad close relationswith the Gilyaks of the Amur and of SakhalinIsland. A shaman,out offriendslhip,llowed him to be presentatErman " Archiv,"1843,459.2 Krasheninnikov,i, 158-159.3 Xrasheninnikov,i,81-82.



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Anthropologicalkiscellaneand New Books. 69a kamlanzie.At ten o'clock Mr. Ivanov reached theyurta. "Assoon as I entered," says he, "he began to put on his shaman,costume, ung with heavy iron rattles, took in his hand a tam-bourinecoveredwith fish kin,and beat upon it with a hair-brush.On his heacd he hacd ong wood shavings, and to the sound of thetambourine he began dancing about the yurta, nd shouting n awild voice,endeavouring to show the spectatorsthat he possessedthat inspiration which is the markof his profession. Among hisvarious gymnastic feats and tricks,he took in his right hand aknifeand in his leftband an axe, and goingoverto the door,wheretherewas no light,placed the knifeagainsthis stomach -nd truckwith the axe on the handle ofthe kniteuntilthe blade oftheknifehad penetratedhis entrails, henturning o thespectatorshe showedthemthat the blade had enteredhis stomach. All the bystanderswent up to him to see; one of them took hold of the handle andpulled it away from he blade; the latter, ccordingto theshaman,was left in his stomach,and thence he afterwardsproducedit."Mr. Ivanov afterwardsdetected the shaman's trick,and exposedhim.1Anmonqhe lohngols.-Shamanismwas especially developed nearBaikal Lake and in theAltai Mountains. In these classic lands ofthe Black Faith, capable enlquirers ike Yadrintsev, Potanin, andRadlofl have laboured. There, in the south of Siberia, we findnotonlyexamplesofthe productionsof the shamanistmindexcitedbyan inflamed magination, but whole mystervplays in which theconjuirersup of spirits are the actors, plays distinguished by astrong dramatic element. Amongfhe ancientMongols,as earlyasthe time ofChingis Khan andhisimmediate uccessors, heshamanswere at the heightof theirpower; theywere priests, eeches, andprophets. As priests they need not occupy us at present. Forhealingpurposes, h ancient Mongolsham ns cmployed hemethodswhich are still used in Siberia. When the exorcist of the spiritsguilty of causing the illness could not fall intoa state of delirium,the spectatorstriedto excitehim by clapping ofhands, shouts andsongs; this custom is called togokhaby the Mongols. As sooth-sayers, theyeitherforetold hefuature,r divined according, o theflight f arrows, r by the shoulder-blade;theyburned heshoulder-blade ofa sheep, and made responses to enquirersaccording to thecracks caused by the fire.2Among heBuryats.-Among the Alarsk Buryats, the shamnan,when called in to heal a sick person,makes a diagnosis, i.e., heenquires into the cause of the illness, anid decides what hashappened to the patient's soul,whether thas lost itself,ornas beenstolen away and is languishing in the prison of the gloomyErlik,ruler of the underground world. A preliminarykamlanie decidesthisquestion. If the soul is near at hand, the shaman, bymethodsknownto himL lone, replaces it in the body, f the soul is faraway,he seeks it in everypart of the world; in the deep woods, on the

1 "SibirskiiVyestnik," 866, No. 18.2 Banzarov,114-115.



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70 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NewBooks.steppes,at the bottomofthe sea, andwhen he has found t,restoresit to the bodv. The soul frequently scapes from ts pursuer; itruns to a place where sheep have walked, so that the shamancannot discover ts traces,which are mixedwith the footprintsofthe sheep, or it fleesto the south-western pirits,where it is safefrom he wiles ofthe shaman. If the soul is not to be foundany-where withinthe limits ofour world,the shaman must seek it inthe realm ofErlik, and perform he toilsome lnd expensive ou-rneyto the undergroundworld,whereheavy sacrificeshave to be made,at the cost of the patient. Sometimes the shaman informs,hepatient that Erlik demands anothersoul in exchange for his, andasks who is his nearest friend. If the sick Buryat is not of amagnanimousdisposition, he shaman,withhis consent, nisnareshesoul ofhis friendwhenthe latter is asleep. The soul turns into alark; the shaman in his k-tmlcanieakes the form of a hawk,catches the soul, and hands it over to Erlik, who frees the soul ofthe sickman. The friendof theBuryat,who recovers, alls ill anddies. But Erlik has onlygiven a certain respite; the paticnt's ifeis prolongedforthree, seven, or nine years.' The famous BerlinethnographerBastian describesthe kamlanie of a Buryat shaman,at which he was present. An old shaman,in the companyofthreeof his pupils,whoassisted him,by night, n a yurtahalf lightedupby a fire,flungf imselfabout, stamping wildly, and, while per-forminghis dance round,summoned the spirits in a monlotonouschant with a rhythmiccadence. When the shaman reached hispupils theyfell down prostratebefore him,and he touched theirheads with two wands which he waved duri;nghis performance.Bastian's guide asked a questionabout a box thathad been lost onthe road. One of the pupils carefully aid a shovel on the coals,and filled t with thin splintersof wood,keeping up the fire o thatthe whole surfaceof the shovelwould be on fire t the same time;then he reverently arriedover the shovel full of flaming hips tohis master, who spat oln t several times and eagerlynoticed thecrackling of the burninigwood, at the same time groaning andtwitehingconvulsively. Unfortunatelyhe responsewas indefiniteand obseure.' Mr. Pozdnyeev gives, among his specimens of thepopular literatuLref the Mongol tribes, n interesting, izard songof a Buryat shaman. It was sung,apparently, efore a Burryatetout for the chase, and reminds him of his duties towards theRussian Governnment.

"Tree ofthewestern ockSpreadinthy yout,h,Takinga blue colour,Bloomwithblueblossonms.""Father heaven,0 takeThoumustmakea ramrod,Thou mlust ill theroebuck'smate,Thou mustpaytribute o theTsar,Thou mustdo carting or heKazaks."1 Potanin, v, 86-87.JBastian: Geographische nd ethnologische ilder," i, 404-406.



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Anthropologicalliscellana anti NewBooks. 71a" Tree ofthe southern ockSpread out from hy root;Taking a blue colour,Bloom withblueblossoms."" Fatherheaven,0 take " &c.

" Tree of the northernockSpreadout fronmlhy ranches,Taking blue colourBloomwithblueblossoms.".'Father heaven,0 take " &c.1Mr. Pozdnyeev has copied from Castren's Buryat grammaranotherspecimenof a shamanistpirayer. It differs rom he fore-going n that it was utteredat public worship (kerek)and was notcalled forthby a private accidental demand. It begins by refer-ringto various gods giving authority o the shaman's invocation.Then it goes oni s follows:

"At thiswas present herethe nameof spirit nvokecls given).? "At the nvocation ylp a certain pirit)."We invoke ong,ife,We inivokeongprosperity,We invoke skinl chetvertthick,We invoke ifestrong s iron,We invoke heeffectiveniessfsacrifice,Entrance ntoa happyfate,We invoke hedriving wayof nfection,The healing fsickness,We invokewealth n flocks,We invoke numerous rogeny."" Makeready t once "2

Amnonghe Altaians.-In various cornersof the Altai Mount,?iins,amongthe Turkish tribes,Teleuts, Altaians and Chernev Tatars'the kams,or shamans,tenaciously preserve all the traditions andceremoniesconnectedwiththeircalling. Mr. Potanin was fortunateenough to observeseveral cases ofkaamlanie.A very curious nstancewas that ofa youngslhamannamedEnchu, who lived in an aul onthe river Talda, six versts fromAni,udai. His kamlanie consistedof fourparts: 1. Before the fire, ittingwiththe face towards it;2. Standing with the back tothefire; 3. A pause, duringwhichthe7kam,eaning on the side of his tambourine,narrated all that thespirits had said or done; 4. Filially, he 7cam'dwithhis back to thefire, n front f the place where the tambourinealways haings, ndundressed himself. Enchu said he did not remember what hadhappened to him while he was dancing with his back to tlle fire.At that time he madly twisted his body without nmoving lhis feet;he squatteddown, writhed nd straightenedhimself ut again, as ifimitating the movements f a snake. Owing to the rapid move-mentof theupperpartofhisbody,thet-isted handkerchiefs ewedon his dress spread out and whirled in the air, forming xquisitewavelike lines. Mi\eanwhileebeat the tambouirinen variousways,

I Pozdnyoev, , 289. 2Pozdnyeev, , 280.



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72 AnthropologicalMiscellaneand NewBooks.and producedthe most varied sounds. Sometimes Enlchuheld thetambourine upside down, holding it horizontally,and struck itviolentlyfrom underneath. Potanin's Angudai guides explainedthat the shaman was collecting spiritsin the tambourine. Whenthe kam sat withhis back to the firebe was much quieter; some-times be interruptedhis beatingofthe tambourine, onversedwithsomebody, aughed, thus indicatingthat he was in the companyofthe spirits. At one time Enchu sang slowlyand pleasantly,whileproducingon the tambourine sounds similar to the trampling ofhorses' feet; the spectatorsexplained that the shaman was ridingwNithis guards.On the Elegesha, Potanin was present t the khamanief an oldfemale shaman in the aul of Uryank-hai. The yurta (or hut) wasveryclose. Theshamanka'shusband helped in thepreliminarypartof the ceremony: he ga-veher dress to her,dried the tambourinebefore the fire, hrew uniper branches into thefire,&c. The dis-tinctivefeatures f thisperformance,s comparedwithEnchu's, weredeliriumand spasms; throwingaway her tambourine, ae began todrag herself owards those who were sitting n the yurta, howing:oher teeth, nd stretching ut her fingers o make them ook like theclaws of a beast; then she fell with a crash on the ground, nd herhead almost struck the hearthstone. As she lay on the floor shetwisted herselfabout, and tried to gnaw with her teeth the hotstones around the hearth. Her husband held up her head, andmuttered: " Stinkard " According to theAltaians, theprocedurevaries amongthe different ams.1A shaman's ourney to Erlik's realm.-But Erlik, the maliciousrulerofthe undergroundrealm, always plays an important part,and Mr.Potani:nhas written own,fromFatherChivalkov'saccount,a storygiving a full and dramaticdescriptionof a kam's ourneytoErlik's abode. The shaman begins histravelsfrom heplacewhereheis performing. He describeshis entry. The road runs southward.The kam passes through heneighbouringdistricts, limbs over theAltai, and describes, n passing,the Chinese landwith ts red sand;then he rides overa yellow steppe across which a magpie cannotfly. "With songs we shall traverse it " cries the kam to hisfollowers, nd drawls out a song; theyoungbravesmountwithhim,and accompanyhim in song. After heyellowsteppe comesa wan-colouredsteppe,over which no raven has ever flown, nd the hamagain incites his followers to make merrywith song. Beyondthese two weary steppes is the iron nmountain, emir Shaikha,whose summit reaches heaven; the kam tells his followers thatconcord is necessaryfor this dangerous ascent. Then the hoamdescribes the difficult sceintof the mountain,pretendsto climb,and when the top is reached breathesheavily. On themountainhesees the bones of hams who have failed to reach the summit forwant ofpower. " On the mountainsmen's bones lie heaped up inrows; the mountainsare piebald with the bones ofhorses." Then,leaving the mountainisbehind,he rides up to a hole which leads

1 Potanin, v, 60-62.



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Anthropologicaliscellanea nd New Books. 73into heundergroundorld, the awsofthe arth." Onenteringhe finds sea,overwhich s stretched hair. To give a visiblerepresentationf hispassageover hisdangerousridge,he hamantotters romide to side, ndseemssometimes o be onthet ointof falling. At thebottom f hesea he views the bonesofmanyfallenshamans, ora sinful oul cannotcross the hair bridge.Whenhe reaches he other hore, he kammeets everalsinnerssuffering unishments corresponding o theirguilt, e.g.,an eaves-dropper s fixedwithhis ear against a pillar. Finally the shamanridesup to Erlik's abode; he is metby dogs; at first heporterwillnot let the kamr ass, but he is at length appeased with presents.Beforethe ceremnonyegins,pots ofhome-brewed eer,boiled beef,and skunk skinsarepreparedforthispurpose. Afterreceivingthegifts, he porter lets the traveller nto the yurta of Erlik. Here-upon the /cam oes up to the door oftheyurta nwhichtheperform-ance is taking place, and affects o believe that he is approachingErlik, who is sitting t the other end of the yurta; he bows, andputshistambourine gainst hisforehead, aying," Mergu mergu1and thentells whence and why he has come. I'hen the kam riesout; this means that Erlik has noticed him,and has cried outfromanger at his coming. The alarmed kamn uns back to thedoor, and then again approaches Erlik's throne. He repeats thismanceuvrethree times, and then Erlik says, " Those that havefeathers flynot hither, hose that have bones walk not hither;thenblack, ill-smellingbeetle, whence comest thou? " The sageshaman explains who he is, and treats the lord of hell to wine; indoing this, he pretendsto take wine from the pots, fillshis tam-bourine, and presents t to Erlik-Khan. Then he represents theKhan drinking he wine, and hiccoughs n his stead. After slak-ing theKhan's thirst,heoffers inmn ox, which has beenpreviouslykilled, and the use of a collection of furs and clothes taken fromthe chests and hunig on a rope; iouichingthese things with hishand, the sorcererhands them over to the khan, and says, "Maythis toluofvariedshapes, whichcannot be liftedby a horse,be forclotheson thyneck and body." B:ut these things are leftwith themasterof the house. As each thing s handedover,the tambourineis tapped. Erlik becomesdrunk, nd the kammocks the drunkengod. The propitiousdeitynow gives his blessing to the suppliant,promisesto multiplycattle, and even revealswlhatmarewill bringforth colt, and how it will be marked. The kar joyfullyreturnslhomeward, ot on a horse, as before,but riclingfn a goose, and hewalks about the yurta on tiptoe,as if he were flying. He imitatesthe cry of a goose. The kamlanie comes to an end,the shamansits down,somebody akes the tambourineout of his hands, andbeats on it thrice. The kanigoes on beating his palm or his breastwithhis drum-stick,until it is taken away fromhim. After thisthe karn ubs his eyes as if he were awaking,. He is asked, " Whatsort ofridehad you? How did you get on?" And he replies, " Ihave had a successful ourney I was well received "I

1 Potanin, v,64-68.



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74 Anthropologicallfistellaneand Newvooks.CeremoniesndSongs f n AltaianKamzwhile acrificingoBai-Yidgen.-The activity fthe kern s a sacrificer, conjurer p of

spirits, nd a soothsayer,s manifestedmost brilliantlyn theceremoniesttending great sacrifice o the celestialdeity, ai-Yulgen,who dwells n the goldenmoountainn the ixteeilth eaveni.All thesongs nd nvocations erewritten own nthefifth ecadeofthepresenitentury,t theAJtaimission,ndwerepublished ythe priestVerbitskii.Mfr. adloffmadea translation,nd gave afull accountof this festival,which s kept from ime o time byevery amily. The festival akes place in theevenings f two orthreedays. On the first veningbeginsthe preparation orthesacrifice.The kamselects a spot in a birchthicket n a littlemeadow, ndthere e places a new nld rnamented urta. In theyurta hey put a youn(r irchwith the foliageon it; the lowerbranches re oppedoff lose to thetrunk;on one ofthe topmostbranches flag s hung. At thebottom fthetree hey utonthetrunk,with n axe, nine teps tapty). Round heyurta penfoldis made, s if for cattle; opposite he door of the yurta s theentrance fthe courtyard,nd by the elntrances a birch tickwitha nooseof horse-hair. Thenthey hoose horse greeable o thedeity, nd the kam has it held by a special person hosenfromamong hosepresent,ndcalledBash-tutlhanis7.hi,.e.,holder fthehead. The shaman takes a birch twig and waves it over thehorse's back, thus drivingthe soul of the sacrificednimal toYulg,en, t the same time he Baslh-tutkan'sounlccompaniest.Theassembling f spiritsn. he tambourineakesplace withgreatsolemlnity;he kam?,ummnonsach spirit eparately,nd with agroan replies," Here am I also, kam " at the same timemoving hetambourines if taking he spirit ntoit. Whenhehas assembledhese ssistalnts,hekaancoes outside heywr'ta,itsdownona scarecrown theform fa g,oose,ndmoving oth rmsrapidlyikewings, e slowly ings n a loudvoice:"Below the white ky,Above the white loud,Below tbe blue sky,Abovethe blue cloucl,Mount,0 bird,to theskyTo all the speechesoftheshamant1heoose replies y quacking,"Uzgaai ak ga7o,ungai gaic,kaigai yak g 7.-, aigai gak." Theshamanhimself,fcourse, oes this mitationifthegoose'svoice.On his fetatheredtee(d he kaimpursuesthe soul,pura,of thesacrificedorse, nd neighs ike a horse; finally, ith he aid ofthe spectators,hedrives tto thepenfold,o thebirch tickwiththe noosewhich epresentsheguLardianftheanimal's oul. Thehamweiglhs, icks, and nmakes noise as if the noose were catchinghim by the threat, pulls, tind somnetimeshrows down his tam-bourine as a sig,nihat the horse has freed itself and run away.Finally, having recapturedthe pura, he fuimjigatest with juaniperand discards the goose. Then the animal clestinedforsacrificesbrought, the ham blesses it, and, with the aid of some of the



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76 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NewBooks.The shamanmitates hecryofthisbird, ndsays: "Kagak, kakkak kam,here am " He thenbowsdownhiis houlders,s ifcrushedbythe weightof a hugebird. As the number f thespirits ssemblednereases,he kaameatsmoreoudly ni hetam-bourine,whichbecomes o heavy hathe staggers nder t. Afterhaving ollecteduchpowerfulrotectorsnd helpers,heshamanwalks severaltimesroundthe birchplaced in the yurta, henkneels n front fthedoor, nd askstheporter pirit ogranthima guide. A favourable nswerbeinggiven, e noisily omesoutinto hemiddle ftheyurta,ndsharplyeatshistambourine; heupperpart ofhisbody s shakenwithconvulsivemovements,ndan unintelligiblemuttering,s heard. Then, with a peculiarmotion fhisdram-stick,he shamanpretendso scrapefromheback of the masterof the house all that, s unclean, nd thusliberates he soul,which, ccordingo thebelief ftheAltaians, sin the back,from he influence fthe wickedErlik. Then heembraces hehost, hehostess,heir hildrenndkinsfolL,n sucha waythatthetambourineouches he breastof each,whilethedrum-sticks heldbehind heir acks. Theshaman hus,with heaid of all the spiritscollected n the tambourine, urifieshemfrom ll ills and misfortuneshat thehostilespirit ould bringupon them. After his purification,he peoplereturnto theirplaces, ndthe shamandrives ll thepotentialmisfortunesutofdoors. Thenhe putshis tambourinelose to the host'sear, ndwithblows onthis acrednstrumentrives ntohimthespiritndpower fhisforefathers,huspreparing im oreceive ndunder-stand the succeedingprophecies f the shaman. Indicating npantomimehathe is -nvestinghehost, ostess ndall themembersofthefamilywithbreast-platesnd bats,the kan passes intoastateofecstasy;he jumps,knocks gainst hosewhoare present,andsuddenly laceshimself nthe first tep cut out ofthebirchtrunk, t the sametimeraising,hetambourine,humpingtwithall hismight,ndshouting gok,gok " Alltheshaman'smove-mentsndicate hathe is rising o thesky. In a joyous cstasyherunsround hefire nd thebirch,mitatinghesoundofthunder,and thenwithconivulsionse runsup to a benchcoveredwitha horse-cloth.Thisrepresentshe soul ofthe pura, hesacrificiall-orse; thekammountst andcries:

" I havemountedne tep,Aikhai aikhaiI have ttained ne one.ShagarbataI have climbed othe top ofthe tapty the birch teps),ShagarbataI lhave isen o the fullmoon.Shagarbata "The shamanpassesthroughnezone ofheavenafter nother,ndorderstheBash-tutkano hurry. In the thirdzone,the puraistiredout, alnd, o relieve t, thekarnalls thegoose, whichhemounts. Butthistemporaryelief s ofnoavail; theshaman, n



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Anthropological iscellanea nd NewBooks. 77behalf of the Bash-tutkan,makes a lonig speech in a tearful tone,telling of his exhaustion, nd that ofhis steed. In the third spaceof heaven there is a halt, and the shaman tellsthe audience of allhe has seen and heard in that zone; here it is that information sgiven about approaching changes in the weather, impendingsickness and epidemics,misfortunesthat are to befall neighbours,sacrifices o be offered ythe district. In foretelling ainyweather,for nstance,the karn ings:"Kara Shurluwitli ix taves,Drips on the owground,Nothingwithhoofs an protect tself,Nothingwithclawscan uphold tself."The kammay also make similarpropheciesin otherregions of thesky, t his discretion. After thieBash-tutkan s rested,the journeyis continued; beforeeach heaven,the shaman mountson the nextstepof the birchtree. To give variety o the performance, ariousepisodes are introduced: firstthe karakush, a black bird in theservice of the kam, s treated to a pipe oftobacco,then thekarakushchases the cuckoo; during this,the shamancoo-cooes,and imitatesthe report of the karakush'sgun; in the thirdplace, he watersthepura horse,and imitates the sound of a horse drinking. In thesixth sphereof heaven takes place the last episodical scene, andthis has a comic tinge. The shaman sends his servantKuruldakto trackand catch a hare that has bidden itself. For a time thechase is unsuccessful,new personages are initrodaced,nd one ofthem, Kereldei, mocks Kuruldak, who, however, t last succeeds incatching the hare. The fifthheaven is particularly nteresting,fortherethe kam carrieson a long conversationwith themightyYayuchi (supreme creator),wlhoreveals to him manysecretsof thefuture. Some of these things the shaman communicates aloud,othershe muttersrapidly.In the sixth heavenhe bends beforethe moon,who dwells there,a,nd n the seventh,beforethe sun. InLa similar mannerthe karmmakes hiswaytotheeighth,ninthheaven,&c. The morepowerfulthe kam is, the higher he mounts in the celestial regions; thereare some,but few,who can soar to the tenth,eleventh, twelfth,and evenhigher. When be has reached the summit ofhis power,the kam stops, dropshis tambourine, nd, gentlybeating with hisdrum-stick,nvokes Yulgen in a humbleprayer:

"Lord towhom hree adders ead,iBai-Yulgen,wner f threeflocks,The blue slopewhichhas appeared,The blue skywhich hows tself,The blue cloud whichwhirls long.Inaccessibleblue sky,Inaccessiblewhite ky,Place a year's ourneydistant romwater,FatherYulgenthrice xalted,Whomtheedgeof themoon'saxe shuns,Who usesthehoofof thehorse.Thou, Yulgen, hastcreated ll men,



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78 Anthropological liscellaneand NMewooks.Who are stirringoundaboutus,Thou, Yulgen, hast endowedus withall cattle,Let us notfall into sorrowGrant hatwemay resist he evil oneDo not showus IKermes the evil spirit hat attendsman)Giveus notover nto hishanidsThou who the starry kyThousa-nds nd thousands f timeshastturned,Condemnnotmy sins "

FromYulgenthe shamaniearns whether he sacrifices acceptedor not, and receivesthemost authentic nformiiationoncerning heweather,arndthe character of the coming harvest; he also findsout wlhat acrifices re expected bythe deity. On such an occasionthe shaman designates the neighbour who is bound to furnish asacrifice, and even describes the colour and appearance of theanimal; Mr. Radloff remarks that the 7kams not wholly dis-interested n these cases. Afterhis conversationwithYulgen, theecstasy of the shaman reaches its highest point,and he falls downcompletely exhausted. Then the Bash-tutkan goes up to him, a-ndtakes the tambourineand drum-stick ut ofhis ha-nds. The shamanis quite motionless and silent. After a short time,during whichquiet reigns in the yurta, he shaman seems to awake, rubs hiseyes, stretches himself, wrings ouitthe perspiration from his shirt,and salutes all those present as if after a long absence.Sometimes the festival ends with this great ceremony, but morefrequently, especially among the wealthy, it lasts another day,which is spelit in libationsto the gods, and feastilig,during whichan enormous quantity of kunziiysnd other strong drink is con-sumed.'The account,giveu above in anl bridged form, fthe ourneyingsand spirit-raisingpf an Altai shaman,is taken fromMr. Radloff'sdetailed description,and is the most exhaustive and completepicture we have of the fantasyof the Siberian shamanists,and isconsequently of great value for the comparative ethnographicalstudyofour subject.The tambourineand drurn-stic-.-The shaman, as mediator indealings with the spirit world, must, during his functions,bearoutward sigi1s to distinguish him more or less from otherpeople. The most important appurtenancesof the profession rethe tambourine and drum-stick,and the various parts of theshaman's dress. The tambourine is met withamongst almost allthe Siberian tribes who have shamans; besides ts power in callingup spirits, it has the miraculous powerof carryingthe shaman.MHr. ota-nindwells in detail on the shamans' tambourines mongtheAltaians, and comparesthem with the tambourinesofthe otherSiberian peoples. All the tambourines seen by Mr. Potanin werecircular; but, according to Mr. Yadrintsev, all those used amongthe Chernev Tatars are oval. The tambourine consists of a hoopor rim,of a palm in breadth,with skin stretched over it on one

1 Radloff: " Aus Siberien," i, 20-50.



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AntthrofopologicalMliscellaneand New Books. 79side; on the concaveside of the tambourinewo verticalcrosspiecesof wood and one horizontalroncrosspieceare fixed. Thewoodencrosspiece s calledbytheAltaiansbar,but other ribesgive t other ames. The barhastheform fa spindlebroadeningat the upper nd the broadpairts shaped ike a humanhead),atthe ower nd tforms fork, esemblingegs.' Ontheupper art,eyes, nose,mouth ndchin remarked. The ironcross-piecescalledkrishbow-string)mongtheAltaians;tisan ronrod nwhicuiare ironrattles, alled ktungrun Altaian; thenumber f theserattless greater r ess according o therankof the7am. Theirnumber orrespondsith hat of the chaltus,rspirits, ubjecttothe shaman. Besides the kungrus,here re small sword-shapedtrinketsixed nthe nner ide of thetambourine,o theright ,ndleft fthe headofthebar. Oii the outside f thehoopor rimarebosses about the size of a bean, nd sometimesmaller. On thebow-string,nder hebeard f thebar, refastenedandsofnarrowcloth, nd these re calledyalama. On the skinofthe ambourine,sometimesn bothsides, ometimesn the inner side only, redrawinogsn redpaint. AccordingoMr.Yadrintsev's escription,thetambourinesf theChernevndKumandinsk atarsdifferromthose ftheAltaians; the verticalross-pieceasnorepresentationofa human ace, nd is only plain pieceofwood. On the outersideofthe tambourineftheChernev atars hereredrawingsfanimals nd trees. A horizontalineseparatest intotwounequalparts; theupper part s the arger,nd onit is figured bow, lloendsofwhiehreston the horizontal elt. Withinthebow aretwo trees, nd on each of them itsa karagush ird; to threeft fthe treesare two circles, ne lioht, he sun, he otherdark, hemoon. Under hehorizontaltripe refrogs, lizard, nda snake;on the crossstripe nd thebow are stars.2 A certainkain gaveMr. Klements ome curious xplanationsf the pictures n a tam-bourine. (A) Lowerpart ofthe tambourine.(1) Bai-7azyn painted n white), literally the rich birch."This is the namegiven o thebirches t which he yearlysacrificesakeplace.(2) Uluq-bai-kazynin whitepaint). Two trees hatgrow nIlkhan'skingdom.(3 and 4) Ak-baga white frog), Kara-baga (black frog),servants of Ilkhan.(5) Chzhity-us,ertainspirits with seven nests and sevenfeathers.(6) Chzhity-kyzsevenmaidens),who let loose sevendiseasesagainstman.(7) Ulgere;he is invoked n case ofdiseases f the teeth nidears.(8) Ot-imeze,ignifying mother offire."

1 Figs. b and c on p. 18,vol. ii ofRadloff's Aus Siberien.", Potanin, v,42-43.



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80 Anthropological iscelltneand lVewBook-s.(B) Upper artofthetambourine.(1) Solban-ir-translated ythe kam s " dawn").(2) Kyun, he sun.(3) ike-karagus,wo black birds; they ly n errands romhoshaman othedevils.(4) Aba-tyusbear'styus, hatever hatmaymean).(5) Sugyznym-karagat,hehorses f lkhan.(6) Kyzyl-k7ikh-khan.e is invokedwhenmen etout for hechase.

The remaining igures,aintedwithwhite olour, re thebeastschasedbykyzyl-kikh-khan.Thesepictorial epresentationsnthetambourinesave peculiarinterest or us; they are intimatelyonnectedwith shamanistbeliefs, nd would throwlight on the mysteries f shamanistnecromancy,ut, ike all pictorial igns, hesedrawings eedtobeexplainedby persons ntimatelycquaintedwith the ideas andfacts o which heyrefer. We have as yetbut fewmaterials fthiskind, ndmust estrict urselves o the vaguestconclusions,e.g., hat heterrestrialndunderground orlds re portrayednthe tambourine,eparatedby a horizontal and. Mr. Potaninnotes uch divisionntheOstyak tambourinefwhichhe givesa drawingnhisbook.2 If we were n possessionf more fthesepictorialmaterials,ndtexts ike that published y 0. Verbitskii,lightmight e thrown n this mportantuestion, ut so far, llexplanationshave been rather of the nature of guess-work.Among heBuryats,hetambourineasbeenalmost upplantedythebell, nd Mr.Khangalov nly awa tambourinenthehandsofone haman, ho wasaninexperiencedeginner. If wemayudgefrom hisspecimen,heBuryat ambourineasthedimensionsndshape of a sieve; horse-skins stretched pon it, and fastenedbehindwith small traps; therewere no drawingsn it, eitherinside r outside, ut the surfacewasbespattered ith omewhitesubstance. According o Khangalov, he tambourinemong theBuryats as a symbolicmeaning; t represents he horsewhichcanconvey he slhaman hither e will. TheYakuts make theirtambourinesfa lengthened ircular orm,nd cover themwitlcowhide. On the nner ide are two ironcross-pieces,rrangedcrosswise,nd forming handle. The tambourines hungwithlittlebells and rattles; it serves the Yakut, like the Buryatshaman, s a horse nwhichhe rides o thespirit ealm.4But it is notall shamanswho ttain hehighhonour fhavinga tambourine; requently long time passes duringwhichthespiritswillnot llow this magicinstrumento bemade. Gmelin,for nstance,aysthatmanyBuryat hamans re notpermittedy

Elements: "Nyeskolko obraztsovbubnovminusinskikhnorodtsev. ap.Vos. Sib. Otd. I. G. 0. P.," v,2, 26.2 Potanin, v, 680.3 Agapitov nd Khangalov, t.4 Pripuzov, 5.



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AnthropologicalViseellcneand NewBooks. 81the demons ohave a tambourine,ndduring heir kamlaiiie setwo long sticks, trikingthem crosswise gainst each other.'Perhaps tis to thiscause that we must attribute he fact thatMr.Klhangalovawno tambourinesmong,he Buryat shamans,exceptingn one instance. With the decline of shamanism,henumberof persons ble to makethis sacred instrument, ulyobservingall the unknownceremoniesnecessary,becomessmaller;the processof kamlanie s simplified,nd the will ofthe spilrits ismade the excuse. As reoards the mallet with which the tam-bourine s beaten, t is sufficienito observe that this in,strumentsencased in skin of some sort,so that the sound maynot be toosharp. Among the Altaians, for nstance, he mallet s coveredwiththe skin of a wild goat or a hare.' Among certain tribes,e.g.,Buryats, Soiots, KaTnandintses,Yakuts, theyuse fordiviniing ndforsummoning pirits, peculiarmusical instrumnentiving,out afeeble, arring ound.3 Despite all these, he tambourine continuesto occupythe first lace amongshamianist nstruments.Shamanistdress nd horse-sticks.-The hamans put on a specialdress onlywhentheyare engagedwith the spirits; in private lifethey are not distinguished from other people by any outwardsigns. Shashkov considers the following ist to comprise ll thosearticlesof dress which are commonto all the Siberian tribes: 1.An outer caftan; some of themare made ofcloth, others of beasts'skins. They are hung with various rattles,rings,and representa-tions of mythicalanaimals. 2. A mask; am-ong the Samoyedladibeis, tsplace is taken by a handkerchiefwith which the eyesare covered, so thatthe shaman may penetrate into the spirit-worldby his innersight. 3. A copperor ironbreast-plate. 4. Ahat, one of the chief attributesof the shaman.4 Gmelin describesthe costume of a Tunguz shaman,and pointsout that, in additionto the ordinary haman's dress,he also put on an apron hungwith iron plates, bearing figures either sunk or in relief. Hisstockings were of leather, and trimmed with iron. He had nohat, for his old one had been buirnt, nd the deity will notgive a new one. This shaman put on his dress over hisshirt.5 The Yakut shamans adorn their furcoatswithrepresenta-tions of a,sunwithholes in it, aind halfuloon,thus indicating thetwilight that reigns in the spirit land. The coats are hiungwithmonstrous beasts, fishes, and birds, as a sign that there aremonsters n the spiritworld. Behind hangs an iron chain, which,in the opinion of some,shows the strength nd endurance of theshaman's power,while othersthink t is the steering gear for thejourneyto the spirit land, The iron plates serve as a protectionagainst the blows ofmalevolent pirits. The tufts ewed on the furcoat signify feathers.6 The travellers of the eighteenth century

1 Gxmelin,ii,26. 2 Potanin, v,48.3 Agapitov nidKhangalov,43. 4 Shashkov, 6.5 Gmnelin,i, 193.6 Pripuzov,65. Mr. PripLzov's description grees in tienmainwith thatgivenby Mr. Shchukinn his" Poyezdkav Yakutsk,"1833, pp. 200 201.VOL. XXIV. G



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82 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NewBooks.paid greatattentionothe dressand accessoriesfthe shamanls.Pallas describesndetailthe costume f a Buryatshairnankahathe saw; she wasaccompaniedyherhusbandnd twoBuryats,achwith magic ambourine.She held n herhands wo ticks, rna-mentedt theupper ndwith represe-ntationf horse's ead, ndhunag ith mallbells. Fromhershoulders herehungdownherback to the groundabout thirty nakes made of black andwhitefur, ewedtogeLhern such a waythat the snakes ookedas if theywere formed f black and whiterings. One of thesnakes was divided nto threeat the end,it is tlhereforealledlyuga,and is considered o be an indispensableornament fevery Baruat shamanka. Her hat was coveredby an ironhelmet,romwhichrosehornswith threeantlers,ikethe hornsofa deer.'Gmelin isited heyurta f a muchrespectedBuryat hamankanear Selenginsk. Her dressconsisted f all the rags shecouldhanground er; most f theragsweremore hana yard ongandabout 7 incheswide; almostevery rag was adornedwithem-broideredmages, nd hungwith ilkstringsnd tassels. A boxwhich tood nthey'urta asfullof clouts.flints nd meteorites.All these hings ervedforhealing urposes;therewas also a feltbag fulloffelt dolsofvariousshapes.2 The shaman'scostume,hangingntheyutrta,as,shedeclared,ncomplete. Thesescantydescriptionsf former ravellersmust be comparedwiththescientificnvestigationsfmodern thnographers.n theexhaus-tivework f MM.Agapitov nd Khangalovthere s a systematicaccount f an ancient ostume f the Buryatshamans,which shaldly ver metwithnowadays. 1. An indispensable art of ashaman'sbelonginlgs asa furcloak or orgoi,whitefora whiteshamanwho dealtwithgoodspirits, nd bluefor blackshaman,representativef evil spirits. The orgoi s made of silk orc)tton tuff;nd doesnotdifferncutfrom n ordinaryur loak;onitare sewedmetallicfiguresfhorses, irds,&c. Some cups,representationsf a certain animal, nd an idol in a rhombicframe,which have beenifound, may, according to Agapitov andKhangalov,withplausibility e considered s belonging o thenurnber f such adornments.2. The hat among he shamansofthepresentday s of ynx kin,with tuft fribbons a the top;a peaked ap is evenworn ometimes,utthetuifts indispensable.After fifthblutionthe haman eceives n ironhat3; it has theformf crown nd consistsf n ronhoop o which wohalf-hoopsare fixedrosswise; nthetopof neofthemsfastenedsmallronplate,with hetwoends tuinedupto look iketwohorns.Wherethe halfhoops ointhehorizontal oopthere refastened,nthreeplaces, hreekholbokho,.e., onicalpendants,nd at theback ofthehoop s a chain ffourirnksnited y mall ings;onthe nd ofthechainhang objectsresembiing,spoonand an awl. 3. Horoe-

1 Pallas, iii, 181-182. 2 Gmelin, i, 11-13.3 Fig. 3 in P1. III, Agapitov nd Khangalov.



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AnthropologicalMiscellaneand New Books. 83sticks re mnetith mong,ll the BaikalBuryats; among hose fBalagansktheydo notexist. Theshaman has two horse-sticks;they remade ither fwoodor ron.' The ron ticks re cquiredby the shaman,ike the ironcap, only fterthe fifth blution.The wooden ticks reprepared nthe eve ofthe first edication;they are cut outof a growingbirch; an endeavour s made toperformheexcisionnsuich waythatthe birchwill notwither.If the treefromwhich hestick s takendies, t is considered nill omen or the shaman. A birch s selectedfrom mongthosethat grow n the woodset apartfor the burialof the shamans.The topofthestick s decoratedwith horse'shead; at somedis-tancefromhe ower nda horme'snee s cutout,andthebottomhas the form f a hoof. Some bells are fastelled o the horse-sticks, nd one of them s largerthanthe others. These sacredsticks are adorlned ith hollow kholbokoones,ribbonsof fourcoloursblue, white, ellow,ndred),skins fermine,quirrel ndskunk,ndto make hem tillmore ike horses,mall stirrupsrehungonthem. The iron sticksdo notessentiallyifferrom iiwoodenones. The OlkhonskBuryatshamans have also a s ti1'e,i.e.,shrine. Thisis a boxabout3 ft.6 in. n length ,nd in. illheight,o the top of the lid,havinlgthe form f a roof withadoubleslope. The box stands on legs about 28 in. hiiglh;t isdeckedwithribbonis,ells aiid skins, ndon oine f the onig idesare painted in red,or carved, representations fmen,animals an(dotherthings.' Usually, at the end,oni he right side, s a pictureotthe sun, and on the left,the moon. The sun has the formof awheel,and in the middleofthe mcon is a humanfiguregraspingatree. The centralpart of the plank is occupied bythree humanfigures; one ofthemis a woman,the othertwo are men; these arethe inferior eities to whom they offer ibations of wine severaltimes in the year. In a linewiththese are drawn two quivers, acase fora bow,a bow and a sword,and undereach humanfigure sa horse. In the shire re kept the horse-sticks, amnbourine,ndvarious sacrificial instrunmients.Nil, Archbishop of Yaroslavl,mentions two other objects: abagaldei, a mnonstrousmask ofleatlier,wood or metal,with a huge beard painted on it, and toli,ametallic mirrorwithfigures f twelve aniimals; it is worn on thebeast or neck,and is sometimes ewed on to the shaman's dress; atthe presenit ime these two objects ale hardlyever used by Buryatshamans.3

From Mr. Potanin's investigations t would seem that the specialdress ofthe kamiis as buen better preserved among the Altaiantribes hanamiong,heothler iberian peoples, nd he gives some verycurious information about this costume. The shaman's dress coi1-sists of the skin of a wild goat or reindeer; the outside is almostcovered witha multitudeoftwisted handkerchiefs fvarious sizes,I Fig. 2 inP]. IIT, Agapitov nd Khangalov.2 Figs. 4 and5, P1. III, Agapitov ndKhangalov.3 Agapitov nd Khangalov,42-44. G 2



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t4 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NewBooks.which epresentnakes;they reembroidredwith loths f everlcolours,nid ometimes ith brocade. Some of the handkerchiefsarenotsewed o thedressbytheend,but n such a way thattheupperendremainsree, nd looks ike the head of a snake. Onthis re sometimesewed mitationsfeyes; on the thicker olls,this end s slit, o that he snake's aws are open. Thetailsofthelarger nakes re forked,nd on each end hangs a tassel; some-times hree nakeshavea head in common. Besides hese wistedhandkerchiefs,arrowtraps frci-ndeerkin re sewedon to thledressn bunches fnine. It is saidthat ichkamshavea thousandand seventynakes rtwisted handkerchiefs.he smalltwistedhandlkerchiefsre calle(dmany akytheAltaians;this name s alsoappliedtothewholedress. Besidesthe wisted anidkerchiefsndstraps. .e.,themanyaks, any ther ymbolicigns nid attles refixed o the dress. Stirrup-slhapedrianglesf ron re oftenmetwith,on one ofthe cornersof uhichi ront rinkets re put, a smallbow fittedwith an arrow to frighteni way evil spirits fromtheshaman during his kanvdanie,nd some kholbogos. On the back,two rouLid opperplates are sewed; sometimneswoothers are sevxdon the breast. Skins of small animals, such as ermine, stripedsqunirrelnd flying quirrel,are also sewed on with the manyal.s.In the case of one kam,Mr. Potanirnnoticed four tobacco-pouchessewed on; these were feignedto be full of tobacco, though theywere empty; the ka)ngives away t.his obacco to the spiritsduringahis wanderings n their country. The collar is trimmedwith afringeof the feathers f the white owl or brownowl; one shamanbad sewed to his collar seven small dolls, and on the head of eachwas a plume ofbrowtiowl's featlhers; hese dolls, the shaman said,were the celestialmairlens. In some dresses, the mzanyakso notcoverthe whole dressfromihe collar to the waist, but a shred ofcloth ofsome particularcolour,e.g.,red, is sewed on, and to it arefastened round copperplates, kholbogos,nd frequently ittle Rus-sian bells; the wealthierkams lhave nine bells. The lnoise theymake is asserted to bo the voice of the seven maidenssewed to thecollar,calliingolhe spiritto come to thenm.The hat; of an Altaian shaman is a squar-e r four-cornered ieceofyoungreinideer's kin; the front s coveredwith cloth, or someother bright-colouredmaterial. On oine ide are sewed two brassbuttons,on the otherare tsxobuttonholes. Mr.Potaninsaw a h tthe upperedge of which was adornedwith featheis fromxi goldeneagle or brownowl, arranoed in tufts; oni the lower pa-;t was afringeof cowrie shells hung on stripsofskin. This piece ofskin islaid with its loweredgeontle brow; thesidesareturtnedothe backofthehead, and it is buttoned t theback, tlhus ormingomethinglike a Europeani allhat. If the stripofskini snarrow and stiff,heupper part of it sticks straiglt up, and the plume gives the head-dress the appearance of a diadem. Some Telent shamans maketheir hatsof brown owl's skin; the wings are left as ornaments,and sometimesthe bird's head is leftoni oo. It is not all shamanswho have the rightto wear the manyak and the brown owl hat;



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86 Anthropologicallfiscellaneand NTewooks.paniedbycertain eremonies; heoldshaman eadshispupilon toa highbillor out nto heopenfield,lothes im nshaman's r-ess,invests imwithtambourine nd dram-stick,laces on his rightninechasteyouthsnd onhis leftninechastemaidens,hen donshis owndress, nd,standing ehindthenewshaman, auseshimtorepeat ertainwords. Firstofall hedemands hat hecandidateshould enounce od and all thathe holdsdear,promisinghathewill consecratehis wholelife to the demonwho will fulfilhisprayers. Then the old shaman tellswhere he variousdemnonsdwell, whatdiseases eachcauses,and how he maybe appeased.Finally henewshamankillstheanimaldestined orsacrifice.,isdressis sprinkledwith the blood,and the flesh s eatenbythethrong,fspectators.'AmongheSiberian amoyeds ndOstyakstheshamans ucceed othepostby nheritanceromather o soni.On the deathof a shaman, is sonwhodesires ohave power verthespiritsmakesofwood n image of the dead man'shand, nidby means of this symbolsucceeds to his father's power.2 Amongthe Ostyaks,the fatherhimself elects his successor,not accordingto seniorityutfitness,ndconveysothe ho enone ll his cience;the childless eave theirprofessionio friends r pupils. Thosedestined to be shamansspend their youthin practiceswhichirritate heniervousystemndexcite he mag,inlation.retyakovdescribes he ordination f shamans mongthe SamoyedsandOstyaks ftheTurukhandistrict.According o his account,hecandidate stands with his face to the west, the old shaman praysthe dark spirit to aid the novice, and expresses the hope that, helatter will not be left without an assistant spirit. Finally theinstructorsings a sort of lhymino the spirit of darkness, andthe new shaman has to repeat a prayer after him. The spiritstry the beginner,they demand his wife, his son, and he ran-soms them with sacritices nd promises to share the offerings iththemn.4In thesouthern art ofSiberia,among the Buryats, nybodymaybecome a shaman, but the profession s generallyoillyfollowedbythlosewho belong to a shamanist family nd have had ancestors,paternal or maternal,engaged in that occupation. Besides these,there are shamans specially chosen by the gods themselves ifanyone is killed by lightning,this is looked upon as a directexpression of the will of the gods, who thus indicate that thefamilyhas been selectedby them; the deceased is consideredto bea shaman and is buried as such; his nearestkinsman hasa right tobe a necromancer. Stones that fall from he skymayalso give aB-uryat hamanist power. It is said that a man oncedranktarasumin which such a stone had beenwashed, and became a shaman inconsequence. These fortuitousshamans are generally unfittedfor this work,through ack ofearly training, nd, owinigto their

I Pripuzov, 4-65. V. S-kii: " Kak i vo chtovveruyut akuty,"" Sibir-skiiSborniik,"890, v. ii, 130.2 Iretyakov, 11. 3Belyavskii, 13-114. " Tretyakov,10-211.



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Anthropologicaliscellanea nd Newvooks. 87ignorance,hey reguidedby oldmen, ppointed or hispurpose,who areexperienced,rndnow heceremoniiesnd prayers. Butusuiallyhe dead ancestorswhoweresbhamanshoosefromheirlivingl insfolk boywho s to nheritheir ower. This childismarked yspecial igns: he is often houghtful,ond f solitude,a seerofpropheticisions,ubject ccasionallyofits,uriiig hichhe is uinconscious. he Buryatsbelieve hat at such a timetheboy's oul s with hespirits, ho are teachinghim, fhe is to bea whiteshaman,withthe western pirits,f he is to be a blackshaman,mong heeasternpirits. Dwelling nthepalaces ofthegods, hesoul,uudertheguidance f thedeadshamans,earns llthesecrets f theshamanistraft; t remembershenamesofthegods, heirdwellingplace, he forms sed in theirworslhip,nidthenames fthespiritsuibjectothese reat ods. After nduringtrials, he soulreturns o thebody. Year byyear hetendencyfminidecomesmorepronounced; he youthbegins ohave fitsofecstasy, reams ndswoons ecomemore requent;he seesspirits,leads a restlessife,wandersboutfrom illagetovillage nd triestokam. In solitude ecarries n hamanistxerciseswith nergy,somewheren a forest r on a hill-sideby a blazingfire. Heinvokes hegods nailunnatural oice, hamanizes,ndfrequentlyfallsfainting.His friendsollow imat a distance ,o ee thatnoliarmbefalls im.As long as thefuturemediator etween ods andmen s pre-paring or hisnew duties, is parents r kinsfolkppealforhelptoa skilled haman; he summonhegods nndfferhemacrifices,praying hat theirkinsmanmaycome afely hroughhe ordeal.If thefuturehamanbelongs oa poor aimily,hewhioleommunityhelps ogetanimals or acrificendobjectsnecessaryor herites.Thepreparatoryeriodastssomeyears; ts ength epends ntheabilities ftheyouth. As a rulethe candidate oes notbecomeshamanbeforehe is twenty earsof age. Before interingponhisduties the candidatemustgo through ceremonynown sbody-washing.Oneablution oesnotsufficeogive all therightsoftheoffice; he operationmust be repeated rom hree o ninetimes, ut themajorityresatisfied ithoneortwo indeed,hereare somewhoomitthe ceremonyltogether,reading he vastresponsibilitytbrings, or hegodsdealexceptionallyeverely iththosewhohave undergone onsecration,nd sternly unishwithdeath nyseriousmistake. The first eremonyf consecrationspreceded ywhat s calledthewater urification. or thispurposean experiencedhaman s selected,alled thefather-shaman,ndnineyoungmen, alledhissons, reappointed isassistants. Thewater or heablutionmust e springwater; ometimest sdrawnfromhree prings. They etoutfor hewateronthemorningfthedaywhen heceremonys totakeplace; they ake with hemtarasun,ndofferibationso themaster ndmistresspirits fthewell. On the wayback they ear up bythe rootsyoungbirchtiees, hootssproutingromeeds,bind themup intobrooms,ndcarry hem otheyurta fthecandidate. The water swarmedn



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88 Anthropologicaliscellanetnd NewBooks.a kettle nthehearth,ndthey hrownto t juniper,wildthyme,a-(dfir arkto parifyt. Then they ake a goat which s held nreadiness,uta littlehairoff ts ears, fragmentromiach hoofand born, ndthrowll this ntothekettle. After his,the goatis killed n sucha waythatdrops f its bloodrun nto thewater,which s thenready ortheceremony.The goat'sfleshs givento thewomen,nd they ookandeat it. The father-shamnanirstdivines romhe houltderf sheep,hen e summonshe hamanistpredecessors fthe candidate, nd offers inle nd tarasun s asacrifice; fter hesacrifice e dipsthebirch roomsnthewaterandbeatsthe futureoothsayern thenakedback; the onsoftheshamando likewise,t thesametime aying, When a poormanlcalls thee,ask littleof him in return,nd take what s given.Have a carefor thepoor,helpthem, nd praythe godstoprotectthiemgairnstvil spirits ndtheirpower. If a richmancall thee,ride tohimona bullock,nd do not askmuchfor hy ervices. fa richmananda poorman bothsendfor hee at the same time,go first o the poor and thento the rich." The new shamanproimiseso observetheseprecepts,nd repeatsthe wordsof aprayer tteredy hefather-shaman.When he blutionsfinishedtheymakea libationof tarasun othe guardian pirits,nd thisconeludes he ceremony. The waterpurifications frequentlyperformedubsequentlyythle haman; it is compulsorynce ayear,butsometimesven monthly,tthenew mootn,nd also onspecialoccasionswvhenhe shaman eelshimself efiledn anyway,e.g.,bycontactwithuncleanthings;when hedefilements verygrievousthe purificationjustbd byblood. The shamanalsopurifies imself hen nydeathtakesplace in the village. Sometime after he ceremonyfpurification,hefirst edication,alledkherege-khulkhe,akesplace,and arge contributionsre raised nthe communityo cover he expenses. A father-shamannd ninesuns reagainchosen,ndtheceremonyf dedication eginswitha procession,nhorseback,fthe shaman, is guide, nd the ninehelpers, o their cquaintances,o collectofferiligs.n front feachyurtaheriders top, nd cry ut summonsothe nhabitants,w1hontertainhem,ndhangofferingsnthe ormfkerchiefsndribbolnsn a birch,which he candidate olds n hishands; theyalso give moneyometimes. Then theypurchasewoodencups,bells forthe horse-sticks,nd other bjects, ilk,wine,&c. Onthie veoftheceremonyhey ut down nthe foresthenecessaryquantity f thickbirches.Theyoungmen ut he wood,under hedirectionfthe old man. From a very trongnd straight irchthey arefullyut outtwoplankstomake hehorse-sticks.Theyalsohewdown fir ree. All this timbers takenfromhewoodwlherehe nhabitantsfthevillage reburied. Tofeedthespiritof thewood, heybringsheep'sflesh nd tarasun. At the sametime hey etready heshaman's utfit,nd the father-shamanndhis colleaguesfrom therplaces shamanize,nd invokethepro-teetinogods. Onthemorningf theday on which heceremonyhappens, hetrees hathavebeenbroughtn areput ntheproper



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Anthropologicalliscellaneaand -New ooks. 89places. 'First f all they ayin theyurta greatthick irchwithitsroots tuck n therighthand outh-westernorner,t thepointwhere he earthen looriesbareround hehearth;thetop of thetree sthrust ut hroughhe smokehole. Thisbirch ymbolicallyindicatesheporter odwhoallows he hamanngressntoheaven;it is leftthere ermanently,nd serves s a distinctive ark f ashaman's bode. At the consecration,heremaining irches replaced outside he hut, n theplace where he ceremony illbeperformed,n a certain rder, eginningrom he east: 1. A birchunder whichthey lace,on a pieceofwhite elt, arasun,c.; tothe treeare fastened ed andyellowribbons f theshamans ablackshaman,white ndblueribbons f he is a white haman,ndall fouLroloursf heis going o servebothgood and evilspirits;2. A birchtowhich hey ttach largebell, nd thehor e that stobe sacrificed; . A birch ree, f ufficientize,whichthenewshamanmust limb;all these hree irches re called erge (pillars),and they re generallyug up bytheroots;4. Nine birches,ngroups fthree, ound roundwitha ropeofwhitehorse-bair,owhich are fastened ibbonsn a certainorder,white, blue,red,yellow,nd then hesamecolours gain; onthese irches rehungnine beasts' skins,and a tuyasof birch ark containingood; 5.Nineposts o which hey asten he nimals or acrifice; . Thickbirches aidout norder;to these reafterwardsiedthe bonesofthe sacrifices)nvelopedn straw. Fromthe chiefbirch n theyurta o all thebirchesoutside,wotapes are stretched,ne redandone blue; this s a symbol f the shlaman'soad to thespiritland. To the northof the rowofbirchesre placed nine greatkettles,nwhich hemeatofthesacrifices cooked.Whenall is ready, henewly onsecratedhaman ,nd he otherparticipatorsn the ceremony eck themselves,nd proceed toconsecratehe shaman's nstrumentsit is then thatthe horse-sticks re endued with ife; they urn nto livinghorses. Fromearly morning he shamans collected n theyurtahave beenshamanizing,ummoninghe gods, ndsprinklingarasunt. Aftertheceremonyfaspersion,heoldsha,manummonsheprotectingdeities,nd theyoungshamaniepeats fter imthe wordsof aprayer,t thesametimle eoccasionallylimnbspthe birch o theroof f theyurta,nd thereoudly allsuponthegods. Whenthetinmeor ssuingforth romhe ygurtas come, our hamans akeeach a cornerof the piece of felt, nd sing and wail; at theentranceo theyurta,n the street, heykindle a fire,nd throwwildthymeon it. The fire ervesto purify verythinghat iscarriedthrought. Duringthetimespent n the urta, humanbeingsnd inanimatebjectsundergo urification. heprocession,in a certainorder,goes to the place whenthe birch trees arearranged; in frontwalks the father-shaman; hen comes theyoung haman, ollowed y theninesons, he kinsfolk nd guests.The essentialfeatures f the consecrationmaybe consideredhefollowing:



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90 Anthropologicaliscellanea nd NeiWwooks.(1) Whenl he shamananointshimselfwith heblood of thesacrificedid,on thehead, yesandears,(:2) Whenhe s carried nthefelt arpet, nd(3) Whenheclimbs p thebirch, ndfrom hesummit f theyurtacalls upon thegods and his kinsmen,he deadshamans.The ceremonyoncludeswithvarious sacrifices nd populargames' It will be seen, from he above description,hattheconsecration f a shaman is expensive, nd accompanied ysacrificial iteswhich roduce nthebeholderslastingmpression,andgivedignityo theprofessionnthee-yesftheBuryats.

Among hetribesntheAltai, heabilityo shamanizes nborn;instructionnlygives a knowledgeof the chants,prayers ndexternal ites. The future ambegins torealizehisdestinyt anearlyage; he is subject o sickness,nd often alls ntoa frenzy.In vain domany ftheelect trugglegainst his nnate endency,knowing hat he ifeof a shamans not n enviable ne,butthisrestraint ringsgreater ufferingpon them; even the distantsounds fa tambourine ake themshiver. Those who havethe?hamanistickniessndure hysical ormnents;heyhavecrampsnthe arms and legs,untilthey re s6nt o a kamno be educated.The tendencys hereditary; kamnften as childrenredisposedtoattacksof illness. If, n a familywhere here s no shaman,boy or girl is subject to fits,the Altaians are persuaded that oneof its ancestors was a shaman. A kain told Potanin that theshamanistpassionwas hereditary,ikenoblebirth. If thekarn'swnson does not feel any inclination, ome one of the nephews is sureto have the vocation. There are cases of men becoming slhamanisat their own wish, but these kams are much less powerful thanthose born to theprofession.2Thus all the preliminarydevelopmentof the shamian, romhischildhood to the timewhenhe is consecrated to the professiornfktm or shaman, is of such a nature as to augment his innatetendencies, ndmakehim an abnormalman, unlike hisfellows. Thecerernony f consecrtion has a similar character; the shamanassumes an exceptionalposition, akes vows upon hiimself,ecomesthe property f spiritswho, though s5Lbject o his summons,haveyet full power over him.Cases in whtichecrormancersre appliedto.-To these soothsayers,

skilled in all the secrets of the world of gods and spirits, thesuperstitious liamanist tribesmen, mbued with the gloomyideasconsequent upon their coarse animistic philosophy, ddress them-selves in all the perplexities f ife. All misfortunes, iseases, anddeath itself, are attributed by shamanists to the influence ofexternal, upernaturalcauses, toremovewhich everyefforts made.It is not to bewondered at that ontheoccasion of thegreatfestivalsconnectedwith the sacrificesthe shaman plays the chiefpart; heis then not so much a priest, a guardian of the ritual, as a1 Agapitov aindKhangalo-, 44 52. 2 Potanin, iv, 56-57.



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Anthropological iscellanca nd New Books. 91necromrancercquaintedwiththe sacrifces greeable o thegods,and the means of appeasing them. This characteristicf theshamanss especially pparentfrom he cuistomxisting mongthe TurukhanSamoyedsof organising n annual necromanticceremony.At the beginnincgfwinter, hen hehuntin,geasonends,diseases beginto prevailamongthe Samoyeds, nd theydecide n an assembly hat t is timefor heshamanisowatch heroad,for t will be bad if men begin o die. The shamansgivetheir onsentothepreparationf " a cleanchyum (i.e., yurta rhut), ndevery amoyed elpsto mEakeeady hie naterials; heyg,etpoles,bring reindeer -ndblack oxenforsacrifice; rom heskins theymake coverings or the chyum nd clothesfor theshamanis.The chy-,Ums builton theshore f lake,andhas theform f an elongated ent on thetop of it,at the southern nd,they lace, n an inclinedposition, wooden tatuerepresentingman or a reindeer. On thenorth ide, hepolesare fastenednsucha waythattheyform omethingike a tail exteiidedn theformfa fan; this tail is anoiinted ithreindeer's lood. Manytraditionsreconnected ith hishut, ndit is the ceneofvariousceremonies,he most essentialof which s the senior shaman'sentry nto it. The youngpeople busythemselveswithgames,songs, nddances, hentheykill a reindeer,ndthe eldestghost-seer drinksts blood, ndshamanizes nthepresence f theotherassemblednecromancers nd the older men. The ceremonyconcludes ytheshamans issing iie nother's ands.'Doings of theshamans mong heKoryaks nd Gilyaks.-Theabovedescription f the constructionf a clean hyurnmong hetribesoftheTurukhanregion exhibits fullview ofthe socialdutiesof the sbamans, nd clearly ndicates he great mportalnceoftheseguardians fthe Black Faith. Althoughn many asesthe shamans ct as priests, nd takepart n popular ndfamilyfestivals, rayers nd sacrifices, heir chief mportances basedon the performancef duties which distiniguishhem sharplyfrom rdinary riests. The essential ttributesf thesegloomymediators etweenmen nd thedarkhostilepowersof thespiritMworld illbecome pparent nreviewing hemost mportantasesin which hechief ribes fSiberiahave recourseo shamans. TheKoryaks,according o Krasheninnikov,ook upon shamansasleeches,whoby beating heir ambourinesrive waydiseases, nddeclare whatsacrifices ustbe offeredo the spiritsn order ocurethe patient. Sometimeshey rder dog to be slain, ome-times he aying f twigs,nd other imilarrifles,utside heyurta.The Gilyak hamans, lso, busy hemselveshiefly ithhealing hesick,by meansof invocations,ambourine laying nd whirlinground; at timestheycause the sufflerero leap through hefire,but they do not despise drugspreparedfr-omlants,withthehealingproperties f which they are well acquainted. Besidestheirmedicalduties, heGilyak hamansforetellhe future,ring

1 Trctyakov,20-222.



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92 AnthropologicalMiscellanea and New Books.down rain, and do other things connected with their secretscience.' Though at the present time,according to our mission-aries, paganism among the Gilyaks and Golds is beginningtoyieldto Cbristianit

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Folklore Shamanism Russia 1895

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