Regional Description
The Tlingit, Haida, and Eyak Indians of Southeastern Alaska
EA-Anthrop.
(Viola E. Garfield)
THE TLINGIT, HAIDA, AND EYAK INDIANS OF SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
Tlingit and Haida
The Tlingit Indians occupy the mountainous and deeply indented coast of
southeastern Alaska and the equally rugged islands of Alexander archipelago,
except for a small southern area occupied by the Kaigani tribe of Haida. Though
the Tlingit crossed the coast range to hunt, fish, and trade in the interior,
their permanent residences and resource areas were located on the Pacific water–
shed. With a few exceptions villages were on salt water or near the mouths of
streams within easy reach of tidewater.
Katalla was the westernmost village, though the Tlingit ranged farther west
to hunt and trade, and may have had villages or camps at the mouth of the Copper
River in pre-white times. The Eyak were their western neighbors on the mainland.
Tlingit and Eskimo disputed possession of Kayak Island during the nineteenth
century and the Tlingit attached Baranov's party on Hinchinbrook Island at the
entrance to Prince William Sound in 1792. At the time of the Russian occupation
they were evidently expanding westward. Dixon's Entrance and Portland Canal mark–
ed the southern and southeastern boundaries, respectively.
Haida from the northern end of Queen Charlotte Islands crossed Dixon's
Entrance in the early eighteenth century as a consequence of local feuds. They
drove the Tlingit from their homes and fishing areas and, by the end of the cen–
tury, had taken over the southern third of Prince of Wales Island and adjacent
smaller islands.During the fur trade era they congregated in Kaigani
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
Strait between Dall and Long islands where there was good anchorage for ships.
In the fourteen or fifteen named geographic divisions of the Tlingit the
people are referred to by the name of the island, river basin, or local area
in which they lived. There was at least one large town in each tribal area.
Klukwan, Hoonah, Angoon, and Kake are the only existing towns which have been
occupied since pre-white times. There were dialectic and cultural differences
between the people of the localities, especially marked between the westerly
Yakutat and tribes of the southern archipelago. The Alaska Haida belong to a
single tribal division, the Kaigani. They occupied four main villages, Sukkwan,
Klinkwan, Howkan, and Kasaan, but are now concentrated in the towns of Hydaburg
and New Kassan, neither of which are on sites of pre-white villages. The geo–
graphic divisions or tribes had no political or economic unity. Political or
governmental functions were limited to the localized segments of clans.
Tlingit and Haida are classified as Nadene languages. Eyak and the wide–
spread Athapascan languages are also members of the Nadene stock. Dialects of
Athapascan are spoken by most of the natives of the interior of Alaska and parts
of adjacent Yukon Territory and British Columbia. There are dialectic differ–
ences in Tlingit, the study and classification of which have not been completed.
The Kaigani speak the Masset dialect of Haida.
Traditions of the Tlingit point to the interior as the home of many of
their ancestors who moved down the rivers and inlets and then to the islands.
Other traditions trace origins of some of their lineages to the Haida of Queen
Charlotte Islands and the Tsimshian of the British Columbia mainland. In addi–
tion there is evidence of pre-Tlingit native inhabitants whose customs, language,
and cultural affiliations are not at all clear. They may be considered the abor–
iginal population of the Alaska archipelago, which has been settled for a long
period of time. Haida traditions also point to a mixed origin.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
Certain distinctive features of kinship organization, economics, hereditary
class prerogatives, and artistic elaboration, which the Tlingit and Haida share
with other Northwest Coast tribes, were certainly developed within their own
area with a minimum of direct external stimulus. Cultural exchange between the
Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian and between the last two and the Kwakiutl spread
many traits which give the region a unique cast in North America, and set the
Tlingit off from their Athapascan and Eskimo neighbors. However, the Tlingit
and Haida share generalized traits with other peoples of the circumpolar Old
and New Worlds.
Chirikov, who reached what is believed to be Sitka Sound in 1741, is
credited with being the first explorer to have landed man in Tlingit territory.
Earlier arrival of Asiatics in Tlingit and Haid
^
a
^
territory is a possibility, but
the evidence is not conclusive. A Russian colony was started in Yakutat Bay in
1795 and destroyed by the Tlingit in 1805. The colony at Sitka suffered the
same fate but was re-established in 1804 to become the first permanent settle–
ment of the invaders in the Tlingit homeland. Opening of the maritime fur trade
in the 1770's brought Northwest Coast Indians into such intimate contact with
Europeans as to have resulted in an almost complete breakdown of their cultures.
The Kaigani met the fur traders a few years before the Tlingit but European
settlers did not invade Haida territory in any numbers until the 1880s.
Though much could be gleaned about Tlingit and Haida life and customs from
Russian sources and journals of fur traders and explorers, no comprehensive
study has been made of these materials. The earliest systematic descriptions
of the natives of the Alaska archipelago are to be found in Aurel Krause's,
Dic Tlinkit Indianer,
published in 1885, and Albert P. Niblack's,
The Coast
Indians of Southern Alaska and Northern British Columbia
, printed in 1888. Both
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
men reported on personal observations and results of inquiries, though they
also drew on published material and on ethnological collections from the area.
The first field work by a trained ethnologist was by John R. Swanton in 1904,
the results of which were published in two volumes:
Tlingit Myths and Texts,
and
Social Conditions, Beliefs, and Linguistic Relationship of the Tlingit
Indians
. Despite its limitations, the latter remains the only comprehensive
study of the social organization. Later studies have mainly dealt with the
formal structure of Tlingit society, the prestige value of wealth, and the
distribution of it in potlatches. Little has been done to explain the basic
economic structure which could support potlatching in all its complex manifes–
tations. A detailed economic study of Klukwan village on the Chilkat River,
was made by Kalvero Oberg. The results were summarized in
The Social Economy
of the Tlingit Indians
, University of Chicago (unpublished).
Niblack included the Queen Charlotte and Kaigani Haida in his study and
Swanton visited the Haida in 1900-01. He published
Haida Texts, Masset Dialect
,
and
Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida
. George P. Murdock has pub–
lished two important papers on Particular aspects of Haida culture:
The Kinship
System of the Haida
, and
Rank and Potlatch Among the Haida
.
The effect of maritime fur trade in the period of sea otter hunting from
about 1780 to 1825, has been studied by Joyce Wike Holder for the whole North
west Coast area, providing a good basis for a more detailed examination of the
effect on various Tlingit and Haida groups involved. Sea otter hunting, which
was more advantageous for those living on the outer islands, left the mainland
people isolated and in the backwash of the new wealth. The effects of develop–
ing competition for land furs in the middle nineteenth century and of transition
from Russian to American control have not been investigated.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
Situated in an area rich in fish and other marine life and with an abund–
ance of timber, the Tlingit and Haida were maritime people subsisting largely
on sea food. This was supplemented by meat, berries, and vegetable foods.
Melting snow and heavy rainfall combine to furnish southeastern Alaska with
numerous streams, ranging in size from the large Copper, Chilkat, Taku, and
Stikine rivers to small creeks. Each is a spawning ground for one or more of
the five varieties of salmon, which, utilized fresh and dried, was the staple
food of the Indians and is now the backbone of the fishing industry in the
American Northwest. The Indians were able to take full advantage of this vast
storehouse of perishable foods only because they knew how to dry and smoke
fish, meat, and berries, render oil from fish and seals, and how to preserve
meat and berries by sealing them in fat.
Unlike most hunting and fishing tribes, the Tlingit and Haida lived in
permanent villages, which were occupied during the winter months and to which
the occupants returned periodically during the summer with food supplies. Most
social activities took place in the villages and many possessions of the in–
habitants were kept there. The large, well-built homes were constructed of
split, dressed red cedar planks on a framework of logs. The four corner posts
were sometimes ornamented with painted and carved crest figures, which also
appeared on facades of some homes. Carved mortuary and totem poles stood in
front of the houses or nearby. Furnished with richly carved and painted wooden
chests and dishes, and with mats and baskets, homes were colorful. By contrast,
camp structures were usually roughly built shelters or small, undecorated build–
ings similar in construction to permanent homes. Furnishings were reduced to
easily transported camp equipment. Smokehouses were built at the fish camps.
These were also similar in design to dwellings and were built since they were
used every summer. Some families lived in their smokehouses instead of building
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
separate quarters. Since the seas was his highway, an Indian's home or camp
faced the water, only a few steps from the beach and his canoe.
The large dugout canoe made exploitation of an extensive area possible.
Each lineage or house group owned fishing, trapping, and hunting territories,
berry patches, beaches, and other resrouce areas, some of them long distances
from their winter village, and trips of hundreds of miles in the course of a
year were not infrequent. Long journeys were made not only to collect food
necessities and delicacies from house group resources, but also to trade or
visit with neighboring tribes, or to raid them.
The seasonal nature of salmon, herring, and olachen runs determined the
food-getting activities or Northwest Coast Indians throughout the year. The
yearly exodus from winter villages to fish camps began with the runs of olachen,
a variety of candlefish with high oil content, in late February or early March.
Olachen were not as widely distributed as salmon and herring. All of the
tribes who could, congregated on the Nass River where the largest runs of
olachen were found. Some of the fish were dried but the greater quantity were
converted into oil. The major salmon runs began the first of June and lasted
until the latter part of October. Many permanent villages were virtually de–
serted when families scattered to fish camps, following the main runs of the
different varieties. Sockeyes, which run from July to September in small and
large streams, were the favorite fish for drying. Cohoes, caught from July
to November, were second in importance. The men also went deep-sea fishing
for halibut and cod during the spring and summer. Women dressed and dried fish
brought in by the men and cooperated with them in making oil. Shellfish, berries,
and vegetable foods were collected and prepared exclusively by women. They also
gathered grasses, roots, and cedar bark for mats and baskets. Seal meat, oil,
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
and skins were utilized by tribes living in Icy Strait and westward, but less
important to the rest of the Tlingit. Sea lions were also hunted, but for
sport rather than to provide necessary food. Before the fur trade stimulated
fur seal and sea otter hunting, these were hunted for their pelts in the spring
during migration along the outer coast to their northern breeding grounds.
Bear, mountain goat, and deer were hunted during September and October.
By the first of November the food supply had been gathered and stored in the
winter villages or in conveniently located camp caches. By late November most
of the villagers were back in their winter homes. Some trapping was carried
on during the winter months even before the commercial demand for furs, but only
a few men were concerned with it.
The only individuals not actively involved in the seasonal economic shifts
were the shamans, who did very little hunting and fishing, and some of the
older men who specialized in canoe building or totem pole carving from which
they gained their livelihood.
Some fishing and hunting were done during the winter to supply fresh fish
and meat. If a large potlatch or feast had been given the hosts and their fam–
ilies were sometimes short of stored food by late winter and were forced to
forage. Tales of whole villages faced with starvation are common to the North
west Coast and could only be due to lack of judgment and foresight in storing
of sufficient food during the summer or to too lavish feasting during early
winter. Since guests were served more than they could possibly eat and were
given food as presents, a round of feasting and entertaining could easily have
left a village with severaly depleted supplies before the spring run of fish.
Normally villagers were relatively free from food collecting activities
from late November to early March. They turned their energies and attention to
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
potlatching, feasting, visiting, and artistic pursuits. Women wove blankets,
made clothing, and converted raw materials into mats and baskets. Carvers and
craftsmen made the many small articles such as masks, dishes, spoons, and rattles
that were in demand, and made and repaired tools and weapons. Houses, totem
poles and mortuary columns were made and dedicated, shamans held their demonstra–
tions of powers, other men exhibited their hereditary spirits, and most of the
dramatic productions were staged. Funeral services were sometimes deferred un–
til winter and commemorative potlatches were always held then. Novices sought
guardian spirits, dancers and singers practiced for potlatches, composers taught
new songs for the coming festivities, and craftsmen designed and made stage prop–
erties and directed the staging of dramas. A minimum of time was expended in
day-to-day food getting and subsistence activities. Stormy days and long even–
ings gave storytellers uninterrupted hours to practice their art, while listeners
occupied themselves with hand work.
Supplies of food and manufactured goods were also sufficient to provide a
surplus for trade. Active barter was carried on between the Tlingit, Haida, and
Tsimshian even before the fur trade greatly increased exchangeable wealth. The
Tlingit traded with the Athapascans for ermine, marmot, elk, and moose skins and
for copper, the most valuable commodity of all. Large canoes, manufactured by
the Haida, and olachen grease from Nass River were also popular. Standards of
barter values facilitated exchange. Marmot skins and bundles of dried fish were
the smallest standards of value. Moose and elk skins, in bundles of twenty skins
each, had recognized exchange value in terms of other commodities. Wooden boxes
in which olachen grease was stored were measured and standardized in terms of
skins, canoes, and other products. The custom of comparing different commodities
against each other was very useful in dealing with the fur traders and resulted
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
in even greater standardization of comparative values of intertribal barter
goods. With the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company on the coast in the
1830s, blankets stocked by them became the units of value to which all other
commodities were adjusted.
Trading was a prerogative of house heads, who monopolized barter in slaves
and copper shields, and supervised trading done by their followers. Women took'
an active part, not only in barter of commodities made by them but also in the
bargaining carried on by the men. The main stimulus for trade was to accumulate
goods for a potlatch or feast, hence perishables were converted into durable,
easily stored, nonbulky skins, copper shields, and Chilkat blankets in pre–
white times. Later, commercial blankets were the chief items of stored wealth,
though cloth was also popular.
Trading expeditions were mainly organized during the fall when the store
of food and goods was at its height. This applied to both pre-white and fur
trade days. Fur traders commented on the rapidity with which items they barter–
ed to one group spread through the area.
The kinship grouping of the Tlingit was based on two exogamous, matrilineal
divisions or moieties, which had no other function than the regulation of spouse
selection. Legal marriage was possible only between members of opposite moieties.
Ethnologists have designated these the Ravens and Wolves. The latter division
is referred to as the Eagle moiety in the southern tribes. Those designations
are derived from the principal crests of the two sides, though not all of the
members of the Wolf moiety claim the wolf as their totemic animal. Some, as
noted above, claim the eagle. Tlingit names for the moieties are so little used
that the natives themselves do not agree on the correct terms, and usually cannot
translate those they offer.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
Most individuals were much less concerned with their moiety affiliation
than with the clan, or its smaller, more intimate division, the house group.
House groups had names, in most cases derived from the name of an original
dwelling. All descendants of the house, traced through women, are known by a
single term derived from the name of the dwelling. Many of these house groups
are now scattered throughout Tlingit territory and also have recognized rela–
tives in Eyak, Athapascan, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes. Many of the clans like–
wise trace their origin to a very small group who started a new line. At pres–
ent most clans include members of a number of separate houses, and are, like the
house groups, non-localized. Individuals are born into a house group and clan,
and be derivation, into a moiety. Only captivity and slavery could deprive them
of the benefits and responsibilities of membership.
Like the Tlingit, Haida kinship was traced through the mother's line.
There were also two moieties, designated by ethnologists the Ravens and Eagles
after the principal crests. Clans and house groups of the Haida and Tlingit
were so equated that marriages between them preserved the rules of matrilineal
descent and property inheritance.
The house group was the effective political, social and economic unit. A
house head or chief presided over each house, was custodian of the community
property of its members, directed their social and economic activties and ad–
ministered legal affairs, disciplined younger members and demanded redress for
crimes against persons or property under his jurisdiction. A chief of a parent
house with several younger, branch houses under his control could wield a great
deal of power.
All economically vital natural resources were owned by house groups. The or–
etically, all members of the group had equal right to exploit such resources.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
Actually, the house head, as custodian and administrator, dictated the collec–
tion and disposition of raw and manufactured materials, over and above those
necessary for subsistence. Since the exploitation of resources was efficient
enough to provide sizeable surpluses which the house head could manipulate
largely for his own benefit, and since certain kinds of property like slaves
and copper shields were so expensive that only wealthy men could own them, a
chief actually had access to much more wealth than his followers. House heads
also acquired personal property rights. Ermine, marten, and sea otter skins,
copper shields, slaves, and certain salmon streams were some of the wealth appre–
priated by chiefs for their exclusive use. Also, individuals under his juris–
diction were obligated to contribute a portion of everything they acquired through
their own efforts. The house head provided for his group in times of famine,
and gave feasts for them.
Chieftainship descended in the mother's line; the heir was a younger brother
or sister's son. Since younger brothers were often designated heads of subsid–
iary houses, it was more usual for a nephew to succeed. The position never passed
to a woman. There were no clan chiefs, hence all political power was concentrated
in the house group. These small groups with their property, separatist tradition,
rivalry, and jealous guarding of their prerogatives prevented even a village
from joining forces to protect their common interests. Russian and American
invaders forced a grudging recognition of a few chiefs as spokesmen or representa–
tives with whom the outsiders could deal, but did not bring about any real polit–
ical unity.
An hereditary class system developed among the Tlingit and Haida as it did
among other Northwest Coast Indians. House heads and those directly descended
from their sisters, the sons of whom were legitimate heirs for chieftainships
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
belonged to the class of nobility. Since chiefs were also expected to be, and
usually were, the wealthiest members of the tribe, the highest social ranking
was accorded those descended from a long line of chiefs who were at the same time
the wealthiest members. Because of concentration of control of house group and
personal property there was a tendency for the descendants of younger lines to
lose status. It was natural for chiefs to select wives from the daughters or
sisters of chiefs in order to maintain class standing for themselves, and espec–
ially for their children, but there were obvious advantages in combining the
wealth of two lines. In short, two influences helped to maintain the wealthy
class; the hereditary advantages of birth, and monopoly of wealth within the class.
The middle class or commoners were those descended from women whose sons
were not eligible for chieftainship. Commoners owned only their tools, weapons,
and personal effects. They did not wear the rare and costly sea otter, seal, and
ermine furs, nor ornaments of copper and abalone shell. They did not undertake
house building, totem pole raising, or potlatches, but assisted their chiefs in
these enterprises.
Outside the social pale were the slaves, who were war captives and those of
slave parentage. Many of these were Kwakiutl, captured or bought from southern
villages, though Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Athapascan villages were also
raided. As many as forty slaves have been reported as belonging to a single
chief, though this numer is said to have been collected especially for a potlatch
at which they were given away. Ten to fifteen have been reported for a number
of households in the middle nineteenth century, and every house head is said to
have owned at least one. Chiefs' wives owned their own men and women slaves,
and slaves were assigned to attend the chief's children. Slaves were often given
to a bride as a dowry from her father.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
The emphasis of Northwest Coast tribes has been on the prestige value of
their slaves and the use of them to represent wealth in the potlatches, where
they were presented as gifts or killed as a conspicuous display of riches. Men
boasted about the number they owned, or gave away and killed but no chief boasted
of the number of man-hours either his clansmen or his slaves had spent to get
the wealth together for a potlatch. It was not a part of the culture pattern
to dwell on the time or labor involved. The boasting was rather on the prowess,
cunning, and cleverness of the man who had provided his guests with such spec–
tacular entertainment and display of goods. Ethnologists have taken the Indians'
emphasis on the prestige value of slaves as a true picture of their importance
and have neglected the collection of factual data regarding the economic role of
slavery. In households of from ten to twenty-five free people, two slaves must
have been productively important, while fifteen would materially contribute to
the accumulated wealth of their owners, even though there were no specific kinds
of work reserved for slaves alone. Men slaves paddled canoes on sea hunting and
fishing expeditions, saving their masters' strength for the productive part of
the trip. They also helped with fishing and there is little reason to suppose
that their catch was less than that of a free man. Slave men out and packed
meat on a hunt, supplied the home and smokehouse with wood, and did many monoton–
ous but necessary tasks. Women assisted their mistresses in daily tasks. Since
all reports agree that slaves wore cast-off clothing, ate left-overs and slept
on worn-out bedding in the coldest part of the house, they must certainly have
consumed very little. They themselves were wealth and could be converted into
negotiable commodities of lesser values or given away at potlatches, often to
chiefs who would later return more than equal value to the donor. Unlike blankets
or copper shields, slaves earned the owner a dividend until such time as he was
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
ready to dispose of them profitably. He also got the same prestige value from
owning them that he did from other valuable commodities.
Class and kinship distinctions, fundamental in Tlingit and Haida social
structure, stimulated intense interest in lineage history, both actual and
legendary. Many of the folk tales and myths belonged exclusively to certain
house groups and explained their origin and the experiences of their ancestors.
Adventures and exploits of living members also became a part of the body of
folk tale. Tales were retold at every public festivity, not just as simple
narratives, but with many dramatic devices to make them interesting and remem–
bered. The dramatic effect was often heightened by masked and costumed actors,
stage settings and properties, and instrumental and choral music. Parts of a
narrative were told, other parts were acted out mimetically or in dancing ac–
companied by drum rhythms. Traditional songs were an integral part of many
legends and were usually sung by a chorus of women. Unusual, amusing, or ex–
citing experiences were also incorporated as dramatic productions. Successful
raids, contacts with outsiders, escape from a storm or a bear, all provided
material for the talents of composers, dancers, stage set designers, and story
tellers.
The main occasions for dramatic presentation were the commemorative pot–
latches given by house heads in honor of their predecessors, the raising of
totem or mortuary poles, and the dedication of new houses. Other opportunities
included marriage ceremonies, coming-out parties for chiefs' daughters, ceremon–
ies for piercing the ears of both boys and girls or of tattooing them with clan
crests.
Whatever the purpose of the affair, it was sponsored and planned by a house
head, financed and supported by relatives in his house group, and sometimes by
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
members of related houses as well. Commemorative potlatches wore usually
supported by the larger group. Guests were members of the opposite moiety, the
number depending on the resources of the host and the amount of food and goods
he was able to accumulate. House heads of the host's moiety from other vil–
lages were issued special invitations if they did not belong to the same clan
as the host. Men often spent several years preparing for a potlatch.
One important function of the potlatches was the recounting of hereditary
property of the house group, together with the circumstances under which it
had been acquired. At a commemorative potlatch during which the successor
was formally installed in the position, he, in effect, made an inventory of
all the hereditary property for which he was now custodian, explained his
right to it, and took occasion to glorify his ancestors. It was a dramatic
and living pageant of legend and history.
Many myths and myth motifs of the Northwest Coast area are shared with
their immediate neighbors and some of them are to be found over the greater
part of western North America and in northeast Asia. Most of them explain
the origin of the earth and the establishment of a livable environment, a
culture hero playing an important role. Most of the characters are supernat–
ural beings or animals and humans with supernatural attributes,
In the complex socio-economic systems of the Northwest Coast Indians the
mythology has been elaborated to explain secret societies, noble birth, prop–
erty rights and prerogatives of the wealthy, and many other developments of
Northwest ideology. One of the chief traits of Tlingit and Haida myths is
identification of many of them with certain lineages or clans. These follow
the general myth pattern of the area even though they are related as personal
experiences of ancestors and are given definite locales. Several Tlingit clans
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
claim the grizzly bear because their ancestor, Kats, married a grizzly. From
this tale crests, songs, and personal and house names, and the dramatic per–
formances connected with them have been derived. Even the widely told tales
included in the Raven cycle are clan property. Incidents in the adventures
of Raven belong to different house groups, though the cycle as a whole is
identified with the Raven moiety. The story of the Flood is another example.
According to the Tlingit tale, their whole area was flooded and survivors
escaped to mountain tops. Each lineage or clan indentifies a certain peak as
the refuge of its ancestors whose experiences were different from those of
people stranded on other peaks. Therefore, each lineage or clan has its own
Flood story.
The core of Tlingit and Kaigani religious belief was that all things ani–
mate, and many inanimate objects and natural phenomena, were endowed with super–
natural attributes. Each "tribe" in the animal kingdom had a supernatural
chief or leader whose favor must be sought by human beings who needed food,
and skins for clothing. In the myth age these supernaturals had revealed the
laws of the spiritual world to ancestors or they were transmitted to men by
the culture hero. Men were aided by supernaturals and also punished by them.
Sometimes aid was unsought, but it was much more usual for men to seek assist–
ance and favor of guardian spirits.
The belief in guardian spirit powers, and their acquisition as necessary
for successful living, was widespread over North America and in northeast Asia.
Common elements in the procedure for acquiring power or spirit aides included
ceremonial cleansing through fasting, bathing, taking of an emetic or other
body purifier, and withdrawal from other people who might contaminate the
seeker. Solitary vigil in a spot remote from human habitations prepared the
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
novice for an emotional experience in which he received tangible evidence of
contact with the spirit. The seeker usually received a dance, songs, and
powers according to the kind of spirit sought. Under its influence he was
impelled to dance, sing, and perform magical acts, always in the presence of
an audience and with the assistance of others who had received power. Accord–
ing to the belief of most tribes, anyone who earnestly desired spirit aid would
be successful. A widespread corollary belief was that spirits sometimes select–
ed individuals for favor without effort on their part.
On the Northwest Coast, especially among Kwakiutl, Haida, Tsimshian, and
Tlingit tribes, the guardian spirit quest was not a voluntary seeking by every–
one, but became a highly formalized procedure limited to those wealthy enough
to sponsor a potlatch. Many spirit powers were totemistic — guardians who
had revealed themselves to an ancestor or ancestress and therefore belonged
to the descendants. Others were the exclusive prerogatives of chiefs and were
inherited by their heirs. Inheritance, either by chiefs or lineage members,
was not automatic, but involved ritual preparation, magical contact with the
power or its manifestations, magical disappearance and reappearance under the
influence of the power, dancing, and ritual removal of the influence. Initia–
tion was carried out under supervision, with the novice carefully coached.
The whole was planned as a dramatic performance. Since the expense of an in–
itiation was heavy, a house head took the prerogative for himself or selected
members of his lineage for the honor. Only a few were initiated and women
never received the more important powers.
The secret societies of their southern neighbors reached the Tlingit and
Haida only as inheritable prerogatives of chiefs who initiated members of their
lineages. There were no real societies; only dances performed by eligible in–
dividuals. Traditions relate that these rights were originally acquired by
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purchase from owners in neighboring tribes, mainly from the Tsimshian, and
the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island. A man could come under the influence of a
spirit only if he or one of his ancestors had acquired the right. Women were
seldom initiated.
The only individuals who could rise from the ranks of commoners by ac–
quiring powerful spirits were the shamans. One who wished to follow the pro–
fession apprenticed himself to a shaman to learn the technique of controlling
spirits, or set about the arduous task of acquiring aides by himself. Occa–
sionally the spirts selected a man without his desiring them or even against
his wishes. He must accept the call on penalty of death. Training was long
and trying, for the spirits sought by shammans were dangerous and not easily
brought, or kept, under control. The rivalry between shamans was even more
intense than between chiefs, the shamans sending their spirit aides to destroy
each other. Shamans' aides sometimes fought among themselves, endangering the
lives of shamans and others as well. Shamans were regarded with fear and re–
spect — fear of the aides which, though invisible, were known to linger about
a shaman's person, and respect for his ability to cure disease and prevent mis–
fortune. Shamans usually lived apart from other people and took little part
in the daily life of the community. Though they could and did become wealthy,
rivaling the richest chiefs in influence, the calling did not attract many in–
dividuals.
There were minor hunting, fishing, and wealth powers which could be sought
by any man, but these generally lacked the emotional experience of the quest
and the prestige of the inherited prerogatives. Success was expected to follow
a program of rigid training, which included daily salt-water bathing, a vigor–
ous rubdown with hemlock twigs, fasting, and continence. The trainee continued
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
until he felt capable of accomplishing the task he had set for himself. If
he were not successful he repeated the training with more attention to the
routine, or concluded that the spirits were against him and gave up. The
theme of the poor orphan or abandoned boy who possessed magical powers with–
out having to seek them or train for them, and who became a wealthy chief
through their use is an understandably popular one in Northwest Coast folk
tales. There are usually two women in such tales, whose roles highlight the
fact that powerful spirits were usually acquired only by men. One of the women
is an elderly grandmother or aunt who starts the boy on his training and helps
him until he has demonstrated his power. She then disappears from the story.
The other is the modest, well-bred daughter of a great chief whom the hero
chooses as his bride.
Eyak
The Eyak was a small tribe of only one hundred and seventeen persons when
the Russians took a census in 1818. One hundred and fifty-four were listed in
the American census report of 1890 and only thirty-eight who counted themselves
as Eyak were found in 1933. They speak a Nad
e
^
é
^
n
e
^
é
^
language.
Eyak territory extended from Cordova Bay, inside the eastern edge of
Prince William Sound, to Cape Martin, and included the Copper River Delta and
the valley as far north as Childs and Miles glaciers. Atna Athapascans claimed
the valley above the glaciers. To the west of the Eyak were Eskimo villages
on the mainland and islands. The Tlingit were their eastern neighbors on the
coast.
The only systematic work that has been done on the Eyak is summarized by
Drs. Kaj Birket-Smith and Frederica de Laguna in
The Eyak Indians of the Copper
River Delta, Alaska,
published in 1938. In addition to field work they examined
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
all available references to the group from the time of the Russian expansion.
They conclude, "Eyak culture must be characterized principally as a Northwest
Coast culture with a somewhat old-fashioned stamp, modified to a certain degree
by recent Tlingit influence, contact with their Eskimo neighbors, and their
proximity to the Asiatic continent. This rather strongly supports the supposi–
tion that the Eyak have occupied their coastal habitat for a very long period —
indeed there is no evidence of immigration from any other region at all." (p.530)
The Eyak were mainly fishermen, with fresh and dried salmon the staple
food. Most of the salmon fishing was done in the shallow waters of the Copper
River Delta, from the first of May to the end of September. Herring were caught
in the spring and dried or made into oil. Hair seals were hunted throughout
the year when they congregated on rocks, sand bars, or on the ice. Seal oil
was an important food and the skins were made into clothing. Women gathered
berries in season and shellfish throughout the year. Mountain goats and bears
were the main land animals hunted for their skins as well as meat. Halibut
were caught in winter as well as during the summer, but the Eyak were not skilled
seamen. Occasionally they hunted in skin boats purchased from the Eskimos, but
most of their transportation was in dugout canoes of small size, confined to
the wide, shallow river delta and to protected waters close to shore.
The Eyak occupied two main permanent villages, Eyak and Alaganik, where
they lived in gable-roofed homes with planked walls and roofs, the latter covered
with bark. Their homes were smaller and less elaborately furnished than those
of the Tlingit. In each village were the larger houses, one belonging to each
moiety, which served as feast or potlatch houses and sheltered visitors. A
simple carved post topped with a figure of a raven or eagle stood in front of
each to identify the owners. In the summer many families moved to smokehouses
or temporary shelters at the fish camps.
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
The organization of the Eyak for supplying themselves with the all–
important salmon was very simple. There was no family, moiety, or village
ownership of rights to fishing or hunting grounds, and the people congregated
wherever the fish were most plentiful. Two men usually fished together, one
handling a spear or dip basket, the other caring for the salmon as caught. In
a few hours they could catch enough to keep several women busy all day cutting
and hanging fish to dry, hence the work parties were small. The fishing and
hunting methods were suitable for a tiny population with a subsistence level
of economy, but not for the accumulation and storying of quantities of surplus
foods. It is significant that most potlatches, feasts, and entertainment were
held during the summer when fresh foods were abundant.
The Eyak had little trade for luxuries or goods that they could not produce.
The Atna took sea foods in exchange for skins of land animals and copper. The
latter was bartered to the Tlingit, who, however, preferred to trade directly
with the Atna.
Shamans were the only specialists supported by Eyak economy, though chiefs
did little manual labor. Shamans' needs were supplied by food and goods re–
ceived as fees. There were no professional artists since wood carving and
painting were limited to simple grave markers, a carved figure in front of each
potlatch house, and a few properties used in dramas. Women wove baskets and
embroidered porcupine quill and bead designs on clothing. The crafts offered
little opportunity for technical or artistic skills. Tlingit designs were used
by both men and women to ornament wooden articles and baskets.
In their social organization the Eyak resembled the Tlingit more than
their Eskimo or Atna neighbors. They were divided into two exogamous, matri–
lineal moieties: the Eagles and Ravens. Included in each moiety was a group
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
of Tlingit from Katalla who joined the Eyak before the coming of the Russins.
Both moieties were represented in each village, but there were no named house
groups or clans.
An hereditary chief headed each moiety and one of them was regarded as the
chief of the tribe, though the latter position was not hereditary. Each house
was presided over by a sub-chief or leader. These men were subordinate to their
moiety chief, who was also head of a house. Chieftainship was hereditary with–
in the moiety, with a brother normally succeeding. Women were never chosen
even though the male line became extinct.
Since house groups did not own resource areas or ceremonial property, and,
since most of the personal effects of a deceased man were destroyed, a chief
had little opportunity to accumulate wealth to administer or to manipulate for
his own benefit.
Effects not burned at the commemorative potlatch were given as gifts to
the members of the opposite moiety, who then returned to the heir gifts of
equal or greater value. Since a man who gave away too many of his predecessor's
possessions was considered greedy there was a cultural brake which prevented
him from accumulating too much. The heir was expected to distribute food,
blankets, and other goods to guests invited to the commemorative potlatch. In
addition he had to pay those who cared for the body and took charge of funeral
services. Though he received assistance from members of his own moiety, he
contributed the larger share. A new chief, therefore, usually started his
career with his personal wealth depleted by funeral and feast expenses and was
dependent on his followers to help him build up a small surplus. From them he
received a part of everything they caught or acquired and he directed their
economic activities. His younger brothers and nephews were especially obligated
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
to work exclusively for him. The Eyak chiefs organized and directed raiding
parties and divided the greater share of the plunder.
Chiefs distributed food to the poor and provided for their followers
during seasons of scarcity or famine. Chiefs were usually paternalistic and
only occasionally despotic.
Eyak class distinctions were not so sharply drawn as were those of the
Tlingit. Chiefs, their families, sisters, and sisters' children constituted
the upper class. Women derived status from the fact that they and their
mothers were the daughters, wives, or sisters of chiefs. Hereditary right
to chieftainship, to own slaves, contract polygamous marriages, and to receive
contributions from their followers comprised the main advantages of the upper
class over commoners.
Captives taken in raids were sometimes kept and became the slaves of their
captors, but the Eyak do not seem to have bought slaves, nor were they presented
as potlatch gifts. Slaves were occasionally traded, but one was worth much
less than a canoe. A chief who owned two was looked upon as wealthy. When
an owner died his slaves were liberated, hence were not inheritable wealth.
A slave was never killed when his owner died, though he might be if the son
or daughter of the chief died. Compared to the Tlingit, Eyak slaves were of
slight economic importance and could not have produced much more than their
own subsistence.
The feast or potlatch house of each moiety was the center of social life
in an Eyak village. Here services in memory of those slain in battle, and com–
memorative potlatches for deceased relatives were held. When a new house was
built the moiety owning it joined forces and gave as large and elaborate a dedi–
cation as they could afford, inviting thei
^
r
^
Tlingit neighbors as well as members
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
of the opposite moiety from Eyak villages. The chief of the moiety acted
as host and organized the festivities.
Guests were entertained and instructed by dramas acted out by masked
and costumed dancers, accompanied by drum and choral music. Narratives of
tribal legendary and historical events were presented and the affair usually
ended with games, sports, and entertainment which were not looked upon as a
part of the potlatch. Shamans demonstrated their curing abilities and exhib–
ited their spiritual powers, which they challenged their rivals to excell.
On the whole the mythology of the Eyak is more closely connected to the
Northwest Coast than to Eskimo, though a few tales, such as transformer–
creator myths of the type of the Raven cycle, show affinity to northeast Asia.
The mythology of the Eyak, however, contains no allus^ions^
to moieties, suggest–
ing that the moiety organization is relatively late. Tales explaining origin
and property rights of house groups are absent and the identification of myths
with particular lineages does not occur. As a consequence, lineage crests and
the elaborate art representation and dramatization of them, developed by the
Tlingit, are also absent. Tales reflect some aspects of ordinary social life,
though in exaggerated and imaginative form, and many of them describe exper–
iences of men with animals or their supernatural, spiritual counterparts, men
who are tribal ancestors or who lived long before there was an Eyak tribe.
A fundamental concept in Eyak religion is the belief that all things,
animate or inanimate, have
spiritual
"owners" or leaders, a concept which
they share with many other tribes in northwest North America. For successful
living man must establish rapport with these spiritual beings, and many of the
rules for the treatment of food animals, the taboos connected with hunting,
fishing, and food preparation are means of maintaining friendly relations. The
EA-Anthrop. Garfield: Indians of Southeastern Alaska
vision quest or dream experience as a source of manifestation of power by
means of which an individual can gain success seems only slightly developed
by the Eyak. Shamans seem to be the only persons who sought spirit helpers
or who received them through dreams. A man or woman might have a dream ex–
perience that foretold shamanistic power. After fasting, bathing, and puri–
fication the novice then went into the woods in solitude to meet the spirit
or some manifestation of it. Successful shamans usually had number of spirit
helpers whose aid was sought in curing disease, foretelling future events, and
even in the killing of rival sharans and other enemies. The shaman worked
through a seance in which he enlisted the aid of his spirit helpers, who
sometimes went on missions for him and sometimes directed him in the procedure
to be followed.
Viola E. Garfield
Alaska, Athapaskans
EA-Anthropology
(Robert McKennan)
ALASKA, ATHAPASKANS
CONTENTS
|
|
Page
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Culture
|
2
|
|
Physical Type
|
7
|
|
Tribes and Their Territories
|
7
|
|
Population and Present Condit
ion
|
14
|
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Bibliography
|
16
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EA-Anthropology
(Robert McKennan)
ALASKA, ATHAPASKANS
The Athapaskan tribes of Alaska together with those of the Mackenzie
River rainage of Canada constitute the northern branch of the far-flung
Athapaskan linguistic family, the two other important branches being:
(
1
) the southwestern (Navaho and Apache); and (
2
) the Pacific Coast (Hupa,
Kato, Umpqua, and several other small tribes in northern California and
southern Oregon). Sapir, the cutstanding student of the Athapaskan language,
has suggested that it should be combined with the Tlingit and Haida of the
Alaskan Coast into a single linguistic family, the Na-Den
e
^
é
^
, which he believes
is in turn related to the Tibeto-Chinese-Siamese family of Asiatic languages.
With the exception of the Tansina of Cooks Inlet and the Eyak of the
Copper River Delta, all the Athapakan tribes of Alaska live in the interior;
conversely, all the tribes of the Alaskan interior are Athapaskan speaking.
All inhabit a subarctic forest environment and secure their livelihood by
hunting, fishing, and, since the advent of the white man, by trapping. Of
the food animals the caribou is easily the most important, supplemented in
the lowlands by the moose and in the mountains by the mountain sheep. Salmon
is far and away the most important fish and the presence of this important
food resource sets off the culture of most of the Alaskan Athapaskans from
that of the Mackenzie drainage. The salmon runs, however, do not reach the
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaska, Athapaskans
upper waters of the Tanana and Chandalar rivers whose natives therefore
depend for their subsistence almost entirely upon hunting.
Culture
Certain common elements feature the aboriginal culture of most of the
Alaskan Athapaskans. Caribou were chased into long corrals and then snared
or killed with bows and arrows; various snares and deadfalls were used for
taking other game. Fish were taken in cylindrical traps and in nets of
woven bark; the natives have only recently borrowed the fish wheel from the
white man. Clothes were made of tanned skins or twined from strips of rabbit
skin; and the moccasins and trousers were often of one piece. Also hoods were
often attached to the shirts, which, in the case of the men, had pointed tails.
Although house types varied among the different tribes, the skin-covered domed
lodge, the bark-covered rectangular hut, and the double lean-to were the most
prevalent types. Log houses, sometimes semisubterranean, were also used by
the salmon-fishing tribes of the lower Yukon and the coast. Fire was produced
by means of either flint and iron pyrites or by a cord drill using a piece
of fungus as a hearth. Food was either roasted over the fire or boiled in
birch bark vessels by means of hot stones. Among several of the Alaskan
tribes the cooking was done by the men. Showshoes were vital for winter
travel, and were of the bowed, two-piece type. Baggage was hauled on either
toboggans or double-ended sleds, but not until the coming of the white man
were dogs harnessed to such conveyances. Water travel was by means of light–
weight birch bark canoes; large skin-covered boats were used for carrying
heavy loads. Children were carried in a hod-shaped birch bark cradle peculiar
to the Alaskan Athapaskans. Stone adzes were used rather than axes. Other
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaska Athapaskans
important tools included: stone mauls; crooked knives of bone; copper knives
of bone; copper daggers with flaring Y-shaped handles; thin, moon-shaped
slate knives used by the women; and bone awls. Birch bark and babiche were
favorite materials; the latter not only was used for all manner of bindings
but also was twisted and braided into a wide variety of cords. Art work
was not highly developed although some use was made of dyed porcupine quills.
With the coming of the white trader these were replaced by beads. Dentalium
shells, secured by trade from the coast tribes, were much prized for personal
adorenment. Tattooing of the face, confined to the women among most of the
tribes, was generally accomplished by the needle and thread method. War,
which was little more than vendetta, was featured by stealth, trickery,
hand-to-hand fighting, and some crude forms of armor. Drums of the tambourine
type constituted the only musical instruments, but singing and dancing were
common. Both songs and dances were quite individualistic and varied greatly
from group to group. In general they were associated with ceremonial occasions.
All of the Alaskan Athapaskans appear to have possessed some kind of clan
organization, the exact details of which are no longer clear to the natives
themselves. Clan membership was reckoned in the maternal line and marriages
could be made only with someone outside the clan. The Yukon tribes were
divided into three clans. Other Alaskan Athapaskans appear to have possessed
only two, but often these were divided in turn into a number of sub-clans.
Unlike the Tlingit clans of the coast, the Athapaskan clans were not totemic
although some of the Yukon ones were identified with animals, particularly
with the caribou and bear. The clans were regarded as large, consanguineous
families and in times of need a native would look to his fellow clansmen for
aid. In addition to his fellow clansmen every man could turn for aid to a
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
"partner." This formalized partnership or bond fellowship system system
was widespread among all the Alaskan Athapaskans. Rights and duties between
partners were reciprocal. They included, among other things, a careful
division of all game killed, with the choice parts going to one's partner.
A man was permitted several wives, who quite often were sisters. Although
there was no formal bride purchase, the prospective husband customarily secured
her as a result of gifts and services to her parents. For the first few years
after marriage the young couple lived with the girl's parents. Divorce was
easy, although it does not appear to have been particularly common.
Childbirth took place in a hut especially constructed for the purpose,
and a neighboring woman served as midwife. The mother and father were subject
to a host of tabus and restrictions, particularly as to their food and drink,
both before and for a considerable period after the child's birth. While the
birth rate appears to have been high among the Alaskan Athapaskans, a high
infant mortality rate together with the hardships of a subarctic existence
resulted in relatively small families. Children were seldom punished but in
spite of this lack of formal discipline they were obedient and well-behaved.
Menstruation was regarded as a critical period for a woman, particularly the
first menses, and at this time she was compelled to live in a special menstrual
hut, avoid gazing upon men or upon the sun, refrain from eating fresh meat,
take her drinking water only through a bone tube, and observe many other tabus
of a similar nature. In the old days the Alaskan Athapaskans cremated their
dead together with the deceased's personal property. Since the coming of the
white man burial has replaced cremation and a small house is generally built
over the grave.
All of the Alaskan Athapaskans set great store by the
potpatch,
^
?
^
a
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
giving-away feast, often in honor of a dead relative. While the Athapaskan
potpatch was not governed by the same elaborate rules that prevailed among
the Northwest Coast tribes, nevertheless it was an extremely important part
of the native social and ceremonial life. With the growth of the fur trade,
potpatched became more extravagant; woven blankets and other trade goods
replaced the former gifts of skins; and on occasion as much as $20,000 worth
of goods might change hands at a single potpatch. The potlatch also pro–
vided a means by which the successful hunter or trapper could call attention
to his success. The tribal head-man or village leader was usually the Indian
who had given the most frequent and elaborate potlatches. Such head-men had
little real power, and their position was not hereditary. However, with the
development of the fur trade came the first faint beginnings of a class system
based on wealth, and this was most evident among those Alaskan Athapaskans
such as the Tanaina, Ahtena, and Eyak who were in close contact with the
class-conscious Tlingit tribes.
The native religious beliefs and practices centered around shamanism.
The shaman or medicine man was believed to possess special spiritual power
which he secured by means of dreams. This power was most commonly used to
cure sickness. Since sickness was believed to be the result of some evil
spirit which had gotten into one's body, treatment consisted of getting this
spirit out again and was accomplished by such means as sucking on the afflicted
part, blowing, exorcising — the exact method varying with the individual
medicine man. Shamans were also believed to possess the power to bring mis–
fortune, illness, or even death and hence were much feared. They likewise
were credited with powers of divination although the latter were also attri–
buted to many ordinary individuals as well. In addition to shamanism the
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
native religious life featured a host of tabus, many of which clustered
around such critical occasions as childbirth, puberty, menstruation, giving
a potpatch, hunting, and fishing. Certain beliefs appear to have been
general among the Alaskan Athapaskans: the fear of a bogey-man or "Brush
Indian" who hovered about camps; the belief in a rade of manlike monsters
with tails who formerly inhabited the area; a reverence for both the dog and
the otter with the result that the Indians were reluctant to k
e
^
i
^
ll these
animals. In addition to a number of miscellaneous folk tales, the native
mythology contained at least two distinct cycles of myths. One cycle dealt
with the adventure of typical Indian culture here and the other centered
around the exploits of an anthropomorphised Raven. As might be expected, the
latter cycle shows many similarities to the Raven myths of the Northwest
Coast tribes.
Much of the culture that has been described for the Alaskan Athapaskans
would hold equally well for the Athapakans of the Mackenzie drainage. However,
the Alaskan culture shows many items which are not found on the eastern side
of the mountains. Some of these are probably the result of diffusion from the
Northwest Coast tribes, e.g., armor, emphasis on wealth, the Raven myths.
Other traits peculiar to the Alaskan Athapaskans, such as exogenous matrilineal
clans and the potpatch system, may possibly have had their origin with the
Northwest coast tribes, although this is not necessarily the case. In any
event, most of the traits which set off the culture of the Alaskan Athapaskans
from that of the Mackenzie River tribes do not appear to have been borrowed
from any of the former's neighbors. Such traits include, among others, the
following: domed lodge; sitting cradle; bowed two-piece snowshoe; two-piece
cap; double-ended sled; cremation; cooking by the men. All in all the culture
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
of the Alaskan Athapaskans is definitely both richer and more complex than
that of the Mackenzie River tribes.
Physical Type
Although the data are scanty, this dichotomy between Mackenzie River
and Yukon River Athapaskans appears to characterize the physical types as
well. The few available anthropometric series indicate that the Alaskan
Athapaskans are somewhat above average height, are slightly brachycephalic,
barely mesorrhine, relatively light in skin color, and somewhat more hirsute
than most Indians. Unpublished material for the Upper Tanana and the Nedse–
kutchin of the Chandalar River, reveal the blood type to be consistently
Type O. The Mackenzie River tribes, if measurements for the Chipewyan can be
considered as typical, are shorter in stature, narrower headed, broader nosed,
and in general closer to the Eskimo physical type.
Tribes And Their Territories
With the exception of the Kutchin tribes who not only had a distinctive
dialect, but also appear to have had a fairly well developed sense of ethnic
unity, the other Alaskan groups possessed so little sense of group unity that
the term tribe is a misnomer. This lack of tribal consciousness finds reflec–
tion in the absence of any political organization. The frequent shifting of
hunting territories, moving of village sites, and both mergings and splittings
of bands are all factors that make the assignment of a given territory to a
so-called tribe only approximate at best. The problem is further complicated
by the various and sometimes conflicting tribal names used by the early explorers.
The designations most generally used by anthropologists are as follows: Kutchin,
with the various subdivisions; Hans; Tanana; Upper Tanana or Nabesna; Koyukon;
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
Ingalik; Tanaina; Ahtena; Eyak. While their culture is basically the same,
each of these groups possesses its own distinctive dialect. These cialects
in turn fall into at least three main groups: (
1
) the Kutchin language
which is definitely set off from the others; (
2
) the Ingalik and the Tanaina
which together form a second linguistic division; (
3
) the remaining dialects
which constitute one or perhaps more separate groups.
Kutchin.
Probably the least confusion surrounds the Kutchin tribes.
Originally these Indians inhabited the Yukon Flats together with the main
tributaries of this middle section of the Yukon, including Birch Creek and
the Dall, Chandalar, Poroupine, and Black rivers. In addition they overlapped
into Canada, inhabiting both the Mackenzie Flats and the Peel River drainage.
The Kutchin tribes and their approximate locations are as follows:
Dihaikutchin
- North fork of the Chandalar and middle and wouth forks of the
upper Koyukuk; now extinct, this group may have been the Teahinkutchin men–
tioned by Gibbs and Ross.
Nedsekutchin
- East fork of Chandalar River;
Tennuthkutchin
- Birch Creek. Now extinct,
Kutchakutchin
- Yukon Flats.
Virtually extinct,
Tranjikkutchin
- Black River;
Vuntakutochin
- Middle
Porcupine and Crow rivers;
Takkuthkutchin
- Upper Porcupine River;
Tatlitkutchin
–
Peel River;
Nakotchokutchin
- Mackenzie Flats.
Representatives from most of these groups now make their homes in the
large native village of Fort Yukon, to which trading center most of the
Alaskan Kutchin bring their furs.
Han.
The valley of the Yukon immediately above that of the Vuntakutchin
was inhabited by a group called the Han. These people have sometimes been
classed as another Kutchin tribs; but this is definitely not the case, nor
do they speak a Kutchin dialect. Culturally and linguistically the Han
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
probably are most similar to their neighbors to the west, the Upper Tanana,
and to the various Tutchone bands which inhabit the basin of the upper Yukon.
The remnants of the Han are to be found today in the native settlements
at Eagle, Alaska, and Moosehide, Y.T.
Upper Tanana
and
Tanana
. With the exception of the Upper Tanana who
inhabit the upper basin of the Tanana River, including its two main tribu–
taries, the Chisana and the Nabesna rivers, not too much is known concerning
the Tanana Indians. While there has been a tendency to lump all of them
together in a single group, This is erroneous. The Indians of the upper
Tanana, most of whom are now to be found in the native villages of Tetlin
and Northway, regard themselves as a separate group from the natives who
live farther down the river at Tanana Crossing, Mansfield Lake, and Healy
Lake. This second or middle division of the Tanana River Indians appears
to have been quite similar to the Ahtena of the Copper River in language and
culture.
The exact territories of the native groups inhabiting the Tanana valley
below the mouth of Healy River are uncertain. The influx of miners following
the discovery of gold near Fairbanks in 1903 seriously dislocated the Indians
inhabiting the lower half of the Tanana River. It would appear, however, that
originally these constituted one or more separate divisions of the Tanana
group and inhabited the territory form the Salchaket River to the mouth of
the Tanana, including, perhaps, the region about Lake Minchumina. Today the
remnant
e
ts of this third division are largely concentrated at Fairbanks,
Nanana, Tanana, and Steven's Village, the latter a native settlement on the
Yukon above its con
^
f
^
luence with the Tanana. Although detailed information is
lacking, there is reason to believe that in language and culture these Indians
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
of the lower Tanana River are closer to the Koyukon of the Yukon River than
to the upper Tanana group.
Koyukon.
From the mouth of the Tanana River to Anvik the Yukon valley
is inhabited by an Athapaskan group variously called the Koyukon, Ten's and
Khotana, the first two terms being the more used. According to the early
explorers on the Yukon the Koyukon family consisted of three major divisions:
(
1
) the Yukonikhotana, who occupied the Yukon drainage from the mouth of the
Tanana to the mouth of the Koyukuk River; (
2
) the Koyukukhotana, who occupied
the drainage of the Koyukuk River; and (
3
) the Kaiyuhkhotana, who occupied the
Yukon drainage from the mouth of the Koyukuk nearly to Anvik, including the
Innoko River above Shageluk Slough and the Kaiyuh Hills. Within the last
fifty years these groups have tended to coalesce so that the original divisions
are exceedingly blurred. Most of the Koyukuk valley has been vacated to the
Eskimos. Many formerly populous villages along the Yukon such as Louden and
Kokrines have been abandoned and the bulk of the natives today are to be
found in the Yukon River villages of Galena, Koyukuk, Nulato, and Kaltag.
Here the Indians spend the summer, supporting themselves largely by fishing;
during the winter months many families repair to their hunting and trapping
camps in the country back from the river.
Ingalik
. From Anvik to Holy Cross the Yukon valley and the adjacent
territory of the Kuskokwim valley is inhabited by the northern Athapaskan
group called the Ingalik. Below Holy Cross the population changes from Indian
to Eskimo, and the Holy Cross population of something over 200 natives consists
of members of both groups. The Ingalik have been divided into four major
subdivisions as follows: (
1
) the Anvik-Shageluk group centering about the
two villages of the same name; (
2
) the Bonasila village group; (
3
) the Holy
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
Cross-Georgetown group centering about the aforenamed villages; and (
4
) the
McGrath group occupying the drainage of the upper Kuskokwim River. Although
the Ingalik environment and general manner of living is quite similar to that
of the Koyukon, their language is closer to that of the Tanaina, their Atha–
paskan neighbors to the southeast. As might be expected, Ingalik culture
contains many Eskimo traits, including: semisubterranean winter houses; the
kashim
or men's house; harpoon; spear thrower; clothing made of fishskin,
birdskin, or intestines; use of urine for both tanning and washing; urine
bowls and baskets; labrets; bladder ceremony. In physical type also the Ingalik
show clearly the effects of Eskimo admixture, particularly in the high incidence
of longer heads, heavier jaws, and more prominent cheekbones than those of other
Alaskan Athapaskans.
Tanaina.
The Tanaina, sometimes called the Knaiakhotana, Kenai-tena, or
simply the Kenai, inhabit the region immediately to the southeast of the Ingalik;
namely, all the drainage of Cook Inlet north of the town of Seldovia, together
with the upper half of Iliamna Lake including the Clark Lake area. Osgood,
who has made an intensive study of these people, subdivides them into seven
fairly distinct groups as follows: (
1
) Kachemak Bay or Lower Inlet; (
2
)Kenai
Area or Middle Inlet; (
3
) Knik or Upper Inlet; (
4
) Susitna River; (
5
) Tyonek
Area or West Coast of Cook Inlet; (
6
) Iliamna Lake; (
7
) Clark Lake.
Linguistically the Tanaina are closely related to their neighbors to the
north, the Ingalik, and like the latter their culture contains some Eskimo
traits. The fact that most of the Tanaina live adjacent to the sea likewise
sets off their culture from the Athapaskans of the interior. This maritime
influence is particularly marked on their food habits and related technology
which includes such unAthapaskan items as seal hunting with kayaks and harpoons,
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
use of shellfish, candlefish, and other salt water fauna. Because of this
dependence on the sea the difference between the coastal Tanaina and those
of the interior, such as the Susitna and Upper Inlet groups, is quite marked.
The culture of the latter more nearly resembles that of their neighbors in
the interior, the Tanana and the Ahtena. As is the case among the latter
tribes, the potpatch ceremony constitutes an important part of the Tanaina
socio-religious life. Beginning with the visit of Captain James Cook in 1778
followed by the Russian occupation of the region, the Tanaina have been subjected
to almost continuous European influences with resultant demoralization and loss
of much of their old culture. The building of the Alaska Railroad and the
great growth of Anchorage has no doubt hastened this process. Earliest es–
timates placed the number of Tanaina at 3,000. Today there are perhaps 600.
Some
[:
]
of these hang about the outskirts of the modern centers of Anchorage,
Seward, and Seldovia; the remainder are largely concentrated in the native
settlements of Kenai, Tyonek, Iliamna, and Susitna.
Ahtena
. The Ahtena or Atna inhabit the drainage of the Copper River above
the barrier of the Miles and Childs glaciers. Culturally they very much
resemble (
1
) the inland Tanaina groups; (
2
) the Tanana groups of the middle
river, specifically those now found at Tanana Crossing and Healy Lake; and
(
3
) to a slightly less degree, the Indians of the upper Tanena. All three
groups were adjacent to the Ahtena, and the latter seem to have maintained
fairly constant trade and social relations with them.
The Russians made several attempts to penetrate the Ahtena territory,
but all of these were repulsed by the hostile natives. The final expedition,
that of Serebrannikov in 1848, resulted in the death of its leader and three
of his party. It was not until the exploring expedition of Lieut. Henry T.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
Allen, U.S.A., who journeyed to the Yukon in 1885 by way of the Copper
and Tanana rivers, that the upper valley of the Copper River was visited
by a white man. In spite of the failure of the Russians to establish them–
selves on the Copper River, it is quite possible that the Ahtena physical
type, as well as that of the Tanaina and Ingalik, who were long dominated by
the Russians, has been affected by some admixture with the whites. It is
possible also that the Ahtena practice, which they share with the Tanaina
and Kyak, of attaching a small sweat-room to the end of the log houses is
the result of Russian influence.
The
a
^
A
^
htena have been divided into at least two sub-groups: (
1
) those
inhabiting the territory from the Miles and Childs glaciers to the mouth of
the Tazlina River, including the valley of the Chitina River which formerly
held a number of Indians; and (
2
) those inhabiting the upper Copper River.
While undoubtedly there has been considerable mingling of these two divisions,
today remnants of the first are largely concentrated in the villages of
Chitina and Copper Center, while remnants of the second are to be found in
the native settlements of Gulkana, Gakona, Chistochina, Batzuluetas, and
Mentasta.
Eyak.
It is only recently that the Eyak of the Copper River Delta have
been recognized as belonging to the Athapaskan family. The early explorers,
both English and Russian, considered them as constituting either a southeastern
group of the Prince William Sound Eskimo or a westerly group of the Yakutat
Tlingit. Such confusion is quite understandable, since the Eyak culture con–
tains many Eskimo and Tlingit features. However, recent studies by Drs. Birket–
Smith and de Laguna of the remnants of the Eyak now dwelling on the outskirts
of Cordova have demonstrated that the Eyak are Athapaskan both in language and
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
in basic culture. The Eyak culture to be sure lacks a number of elements
typical of the Athapaskans of the interior, particularly toboggans, bark canoes,
bark baskets, and well-developed snowshoes. In addition to the effect of the
coastal habitat upon their manner of living, the Eyak culture clearly shows
the influence of their non-Athapaskan neighbors, the Eskimos along the coast
to the northwest and the Tlingit to the east. The Eyak were never a large
tribe and their territory was quite restricted, taking in the coast from Cordova
Bay on the west to Martin River on the eastern side of the delta of the Copper
River, and extending up that river to the Miles and Child glaciers. However,
it is possible that in prehistoric times they may have inhabited some of the
coast to the east later occupied by the Tlingit.
POPULATION AND PRESENT CONDITION
At the present time the Alaskan Athapaskans number approximately 5,000.
Although all tribes have suffered some diminution in numbers since white contact,
it is doubtful that their total numbers reached as much as 10,000 under abor–
iginal conditions. Since the coming of the white man infectious diseases have
taken a continuous toll and tuberculosis has become practically endemic among
all natives. At the present time this one disease is responsible for approxi–
mately 35 per cent of all deaths among Alaskan Athapaskans.
The reservation system has not been applied to hunting and fishing terri–
tories of the Alaskan Athapaskans, although in a few cases the actual territory
of the native village has been set off as an Indian Reservation to protect
the village site. The Department of the Interior through its office of Indian
Affairs maintains schools in most of the native settlements; but in many cases
the seminomadic nature of the natives makes regular sessions difficult. The
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
Office of Indian Affairs also maintains several native hospitals in Alaska,
including one at Tanana, together with a system of visiting doctors, dentists,
and nurses who periodically visit each village. The educational and medical
services of the Department of the Interior are supplemented also by mission
work of the various churches. The Roman Catholic Church has been particularly
active among the Ingalik and Koyukon and maintains permanent missions at Holy
Cross and Nulato. The Protestant Episcopal Church is identified with the
Tanana and Kutchin groups; it maintains a native hospital at Fort Yukon, in
addition to permanent missions at Tanana Crossing, Nenana, and Tanana. The
Indian Reorganization Act is applicable to Alaskan natives and gradually some
of the larger Athapaskan settlements are incorporating themselves under its
provisions.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Alaskan Athapaskans
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Allen, Henry T.
Report of an Expedition to the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk
Rivers.
49th Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Executive Document,
No. 125. Washington, 1887.
2. Birket-Smith, Kaj, and de Laguna, Frederica.
The Eyak Indians of the
Copper River Delta, Alaska.
Copenhagen, 1938.
3. Cadzow, Donald. "Habitat of Loucheux Bands",
Indian Notes,
Museum of the
American Indian, Heye Foundation, Vol.2, No.3, New York, 1925.
4. Dall, William H. "Tribes of the Extreme Northwest."
Contributions to
North American Ethnology
, Vol.I, Part 1. Washington, 1877.
5
.
Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.
Bureau of American Ethnology,
Bulletin 30, Parts 1 and 2. Washington, 1907, 1910.
6. Jette, Jules S.J., Various articles on the Ten's (Koyukon and Tanana), 1907–
1913.
7. McKennan, Robert.
The Indians of the Upper Tanana, Alaska.
(Ms.) and
field notes on other tribes.
8. Murray, Alexander H.
Journal of the Yukon, 1847-48.
Publications of
the Canadian Archives, No.4, Ottawa, 1910.
9. Osgood, Cornelius.
The Ethnography of the Tanaina
, and other monographs.
Yale University Publications in Anthropology, New Haven, 1931-1940.
10. Sapir, Edward. "The Na-Den
e
^
é
^
Languages, A Preliminary Report".
American
Anthropologist, Vol.17, n.s. Menasha, Wisc., 1915.
11. Scmitter, Ferdinand. "Upper Yukon Native Customs and Folklore", Smithsonian
[:
]
Institution Miscellaneous Contributions, Vol.56, No.4,
Washington, 1910.
Robert McKennan
Canada, Athapaskans
EA-Anthropology
(Robert A. McKennan)
CANADA, ATHAPASKANS
CONTENTS
|
|
Page
|
|
Physical Type
|
4
|
|
Tribes and Their Territories
|
5
|
|
Population and Present Condition
|
14
|
|
Bibliography
|
16
|
EA-Anthropology
(Robert A. McKennan)
CANADA, ATHAPASKANS
The Athapaskan-speaking tribes of Canada lack the cultural homogeneity
which characterizes their Alaskan neighbors. Basically the tribal cultures
fall into two main division: (
1
) a western or Pacific type, and (
2
) an
eastern or Arctic one. The major characteristics of this western type of
northern Athapaskan culture have already been described for the Alaskan
Athapaskans. (cf. "ALASKA, ATHAPASKANS.") It is richer and more complex
than the culture of the Mackenzie River tribes, particularly as regards
social organization, ceremonial life, mythology, amusements, and house types.
Economically it is geared to the salmon as well as to the caribou. Environ–
mentally it is influenced by the mountain mass of the Rockies, so much so
that Jenness has classified the Athapaskan cultures of western Canada to–
gether with those of the interior Salish into a single cordilleran culture
area. In addition to the basic culture which these Athapaskan tribes of
western Canada share with their Alaskan congeners, they seem to have absorbed
in comparatively recent times a number of culture traits from the Tlingit,
Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, and Bella Coola tribes of the Pacific Coast. This
infusion further enriches their culture and sets it off from that of the
Mackenzie River tribes. This western, or Pacific, division includes such
Canadian Athapaskans as the Kutchin, Han, Tutchone, Tahltan, Tsetsaut,
Carrier, and Chilcotin.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
The eastern or arctic version of northern Athapaskan culture is much
simpler in content. Gone are such western elements as matrilineal clans
and moieties; potlatch ceremonies; emphasis on wealth; Raven myth cycle;
hod-shaped sitting cradle; etc. Among the eastern Groups burial of the
dead replaces cremation; the pointed teepee replaces the domed skin lodge
and the rectangular house; pointed two-piece snowshoes replace the bowed
type; flint and pyrites replace the drill with fungus hearth as a means of
producing fire. Salmon, both as an important food item and a basis for
ceremony, disappears from the culture since this fish is absent from the
Mackenzie River drainage, the home of all these tribes. Caribou hunting,
winter fishing through the ice of the large lakes, and trapping constitute
the basis for the economic life. With some local exceptions the terrain
changes from mountains to broad, forest-covered valleys and low, rolling
hills. In the extreme east the subarctic forest gives way to tundra, but
only infrequently did the Athapaskan tribes venture into the latte
e
r terrain,
preferring to stick close to the forests. The tribes constituting this
eastern or arctic division include the Beaver, Slave, Chipewyan, Yellowknife,
Dogrib, Bear Lake, Mountain, and Hare. The Sekani and Kaska are generally
included also since, like the others, they dwell in the Mackenzie River
drainage. These latter two tribes, however, show a number of western
features in both their technology and their social organization; conse–
quently they are perhaps better classed with the western division, or at
least, regarded as intermediate between the two main division. Physically
also the Sekani resemble the western Athapaskans rather than the Indians of
the Mackenzie River.
Two aberrant groups complete the list of Athapaskan-speaking tribes in
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
Canada. One, the now extinct Nicola, formerly constituted a small Atha–
paskan enclave surrounded by Salishan tribes in the interior of southern
British Columbia. The other, the Sarsi of northern Alberta, are Blackfoot
in every respect save their language.
Although all the groups mentioned speak languages that clearly belong
to the great Athapaskan linguistic family, the dialectical divergences
among some of them are great. As has been previously noted (cf. "Alaska,
Athapaskans"), the Kutchin speak dialects so specialized as to constitute
a separate division of the Athapaskan language. The Tsetsaut language like–
wise appears to have been distinct from all the others. Other divisions
include: (
1
) Tahltan and Kaska; (
2
) Carrier and Chilcotin; (
3
) Sakani,
Beaver, and Sarsi; (
4
) Chipewyan, Slave, and Yellowknife; (
5
) Dogrib, Bear
Lake, and Hare. Not enough is known concerning the language of the other
tribes to permit their classification, but probably most of them can be
consolidated with the divisions already mentioned. There is reason to think
that the Han dialect is similar to that spoken by the Upper Tanana of Alaska.
Quite possibly the Tutchone dialect or dialects also would fall into this
same division.
In spite of their isolated locations all of the Canadian Athapaskans
have had some contact with white men, dating back a century or more. During
the first half of the nineteenth century fur traders representing both the
Hudson's Bay Company and the old North West Company had established posts
throughout the area. Indeed until relatively recently much of our knowledge
of the Athapaskan natives was drawn from the journals of these early traders,
notably the writings of Alexander Mackenzie, Samuel Hearne, and Daniel Harmon.
While these European contacts had some effect upon the native culture,
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
particularly in regard to such material traits as tools, weapons, and
utensils, the fur trade probably served to entrench the Athapaskan people
more firmly in their occupation as hunters.
Later in the nineteenth century the Canadian Athapaskans were missionized.
The zeal displayed by these early missionaries was such that today virtually
all the natives profess some form of Christian belief. The Roman Catholic
Church has been the most assiduous in missionizing these Indians, but some
work has been done by the Anglicans also. The latter's missions can be
found at many of the larger settlements, often side by side with the Catholic
ones. Like the fur traders, the early missionaries left valuable accounts
[:
]
of the natives. Father A. G. Morice, O.M.I., has written extensively
concerning the western tribes, and Father Emile Petitot, O.M.I., has left
descriptions of several of the Mackenzie River groups.
Physical Type
What anthropometric data there are indicate that the Canadian Athapas–
kans fall into a least two physical types, a western one and an eastern one.
The first type, based on measurements among the Tahltan, Carrier, and Sekani,
is characterized by somewhat above-average stature and is slightly broad–
headed. The legs are longer in proportion to the bodies than is the case
for most Indians. In all these characteristics they resemble the Upper Tanana
of Alaska. The second physical type is represented by the Chipewyan. It is
shorter in stature, narrower headed, and the legs are shorter in relation to
the bodies. The Kutchin tribes appear to be intermediate between these two
types.
Blood typing done among the Mackenzie River groups gives a distribution
of from 80 to 87% Type O, with the remaining individuals showing Type A.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
A similar series for the Beaver gives 52.5% Type O, and 47.5% Type A.
The consistent presence of Type A sets the Canadian Athapaskans off from
the two series for Alaskan Athapaskans, both of which run 100% Type O.
Were the presence of Type A blood among Canadian Athapaskans due to an
admixture of white blood it would be expected that Type B would appear
also. Nevertheless, a certain amount of white blood has undoubtedly found
its way into the genetic inheritance of many of the natives. The early fur
traders customarily took Indian wives or mistresses and a distinct group of
metis
or mixed bloods soon grew up around the various trading posts.
Tribes and Their Territories
The use of the term tribe in connection with any northern Athapaskan
group is something of a misnomer since none of them possesses either the
tribal consciousness or the political organization to give the term its
true meaning. Actually what we have is a group of Indians wandering over
a given territory and possessing a common dialect and common customs. Most
of the tribal designations are gratuitous, bestowed either by neighboring
Indians, by fur traders and missionaries, or by students in need of some
handy designation. Many of the so-called tribes consist of several different
bands, each one of which, after study, may become a tribe in its own right.
Thus the Hare or Hareskins of the early fur traders became the Hare, Mountain,
and Bear Lake tribes. It is quite likely that future field study will result
[:
]
similarly in further divisions of the Tutchone and Kaska groups.
Likewise the ascription of a given territory to a certain tribe is only
approximate at best. While each Athapaskan group considers that it possesses
the territory over which its members hunt, fish, and trap, such ranges are
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
quite indefinite and often subject to change. The location and re-location
of a fur trading post, for instance, affects the movements of the adjacent
Indians. The early acquisition of the white man's weapons enabled the Cree
to check the southern drift of the Chipewyan and then push them northward.
The latter's movements in turn pushed back the Slave, and so on; consequently
any statis picture of Athapaskan tribes and their territories is somewhat
deceptive.
Kutchin
. Because they are set off from their neighbors by a specialized
dialect, the Kutchin constitute a distinct ethnic group. These Indians, who
are sometimes also called the Loucheux, originally consisted of nine subdivi–
sions or tribes. Four of these are entirely in Alaska: viz., the Dihaikutchin;
Nedsekutchin; Tennuthkutchin; and Kutchakutchin. Two groups overlap into
Canada, but come to Fort Yukon, Alaska, to trade: (
1
) the Vuntakutchin, who
inhabit the middle Porcupine and the Crow rivers, and (
2
) the Tranjikkutchin
of Black River. The territory of the three remaining Kutchin tribes is
entirely in Canada: (
1
) the Takkuthkutchin, who inhabit the upper valley
of the Porcupine River; (
2
) the Tatlitkutchin who inhabit the Peel River valley;
and (
3
) the Nakotchokutchin of the flats above the Mackenzie River Delta.
The Canadian Kutchin number approximately 600. They do their trading at
Fort McPherson on the lower Peel River and at Fort Good Hope, Arctic Red
River, and Aklavik on the Mackenzie River.
Han.
Like the Kutchin, the Han live on both sides of the international
boundary along the valley of the upper Yukon. They have sometimes been
classified as a Kutchin tribe, but this is erroneous since they do not
speak the Kutchin dialect. Culturally and linguistically they are probably
most similar to their Alaskan neighbors to the west, the Upper Tanana, and
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
to the various Tutchone bands of Canada. The remnants of the Han now live
in the native settlements at Eagle, Alaska, and Moosehide, Y.T.
Tutchone.
The classification Tutchone is used to
^
^
include the little–
known tribes inhabitating the major rivers of the upper Yukon basin, specifically
the Stewart, Pelly, Lewes, and White rivers with their tributaries. The early
explorers and writers also referred to these tribes as Caribou Indians, Wood
Indians, Crow People, and Nehaunee. Several different groups fall under the
heading of Tutchone, including: (
1
) The Kluane, whose range includes Kluane
Lake and the Donjek, Nisling, and Lower White rivers; and (
2
) the Takutine,
an Athapaskan tribe that formerly inhabited the valley of the Teslin River,
but has since been replaced by a Tlingit-speaking group. Perhaps the Tagish
of the Tagish Lake area should also be mentioned in connection with the Tut–
chone. The Tagish, although a Tlingit-speaking group, are so similar to the
Athapaskans in the rest of their culture that it has been suggested that they
may represent an Athapaskan tibe that has given up its language. Virtually
nothing is known concerning the natives of the Stewart and Pelly rivers
save that very few Indians now inhabit that region. Although no good des–
cription of any Tutchone tribe exists, there is reason to think that the
Kluane, at least, are quite similar to culture to the Upper Tanana Indians
of Alaska.
Tahltan.
The Tahltan once controlled the basin of the upper Stikine
River together with some of the upper tributaries of the Taku, Nass, Skeena,
and Dease rivers. Because of their location they served as trade intermedi–
aries between the Tlingit at the mouth of the Stikine, and the Kaska bands
across the mountains. Originally the Tahlton were divided into six local
bands, but due to the influence of the Tlingit these bands came to be
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
considered as clan units and in time were grouped into two matrilineal
moieties, the Wolf and the Raven. Marriage was exogamous between these
moieties. From the Tlingit the Tahltan also borrowed their threefold
social division into nobles, commoners, and slaves. A slave remained a
slave for life and could marry only a slave, but a commoner could raise
himself to noble status by means of potlatches or giving-away feasts.
Unlike the other Athapaskan tribes, the Tahltan maintained men's houses
where the young men lived together until they were married. The Tahltan
population has decreased greatly since white contact and today they number
little more than 200. Most of these now make their headquarters at Tele–
graph Creek in the Cassiar region of British Columbia.
Tsetsaut
. Immediately to the south of the Tahltan in the region
about the head of Portland Canal were the Tsetsaut. These Indians, whose
name simply means "inland people" in the language of the neighboring
Tsimshian, were basically an interior fishing and hunting people who came
to the sea only for the spring run of eulachon or candlefish. As might
be expected from their localities, their culture was a blend of Athapaskan
and Pacific Coast traits. When first known the Tsetsaut numbered about 500.
Today they are extinct as a tribe, the few surviving individuals having been
absorbed by the Nass River Tsimshiam.
Carrier.
The Carrier inhabited the territory south of the Tsetsaut,
but were separated from the latter by the Tsimshian tribes. The territory
of the Carrier included the valley of the Bulkley River t
ogether with the
neighboring Babine Lake; the Blackwater, Nechako, and upper Fraser river
drainages; and Stuart and Fraser lakes. The Carrier are subdivided by
some students into two main groups: (
1
) the Babines or Upper Carrier;
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaskans
and (
2
) the Takulli or Lower Carrier. The name Carrier itself results from
the peculiar native custom of compelling a widow to carry the ashes of her
dead husband about with her in a bag on her back. Culturally the Carrier have
been subjected to both Bella Coola and Tsimshian influences. From these
coast tribes they have taken over such traits as crests and rank, and a
three-class social order. The former population of the Carrier has been
estimated at 8,500; today they number less than 2,000. They live in scattered
settlements on native reserves set aside for them in their old area. Some
of them have taken up petty farming, tie cutting, and other economic pursuits
of the white man.
Chilcotin.
The Chilcotin live immediately to the south of the Carrier
in the basin of the Chilcotin River, a tributary of the Fraser. With the
exception of the now extinct Nicols, they are the most southerly of the
Canadian Athapaskans. Since the salmon ascended into their territory only
at irregular intervals, the Chilcotin subsisted largely by hunting caribou,
goats, sheep, and marmots and by gathering roots and berries. They traded
extensively with the Bella Coola of the coast and the Shuswap of the Fraser
River, and their culture shows the effect of these Bella Coola and interior
Salish influences. They resembled the Shuswap also in their physical type,
being shorter in stature and having broader heads and noses than other
Athapaskans. The Chilcotin now number about 400, who live in several small
communities in the area. In addition one Chilcotin band lives in Riskie
Creek among the Shuswap and another lives at Alexandria in Carrier territory.
Sekana
. The Sekani occupied the upper drainage of the Peace River
above Hudson Hope including the basins of the Finlay and Parsnip rivers.
Although their geographic location places them with the Mackenzie River
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
tribes, e.g., bowed two-piece snowshoes, cremation, moieties. Physically
also they resemble the Tahltan and Carrier. Originally they seem to have
been part of the Beaver group, to whom they are related linguistically;
but since all their trade contacts were to the west rather than to the
east their cultural orientation has also been more and more with the
western tribes, particularly with the neighboring Carrier. The Sekani
are primarily a hunting and trapping tribe and fishing plays little part
in their economy. During the nineteenth century the Sekani consisted of
four distinct bands. Today they number less than 200 people. These are
divided into at least two bands, one of which trades at Fort Grahame on
the Finlay River, and the other trades at Fort McLeod on the Parsnip River.
Some Sekani also trade at the Hudson's Bay Company post recently established
on the Sikanni Chief River.
Beaver.
According to Alexander Mackenzie, who first explored this area,
the Beaver Indians once occupied the drainage of the Peace River from its
junction with the Smoky River to its mouth at Lake Athabaska, and inhabited
the lower valley of the Athabaska River as well. Incursions of the Cree,
who first secured firearms from the fur traders on Hudson Bay soon dispos–
sessed the Beaver from most of this area and confined them to that section
of the Peace River above Vermilion Rapids. In more recent years much of
this remaining territory has been taken over by the white man. Most of
the approximately 500 Beaver Indians remaining now live on several small
Indian Reserves along the Peace River.
Kaska.
The Kaska inhabit the upper Liard River drainage above its
junction with the Fort Nelson River. They have sometimes been called the
Nahani; but since this latter term is also used to designate several other
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
tribes about whom little is known, it has no real meaning for the ethnographer.
Culturally the Kaska have been grouped with the other Mackenzie River tribes.
However, like their neighbors to the south, the Sekani, they also display some
western features, such as matrilineal moieties and potlatches, so that in
many ways their culture is more western than eastern. From earliest times
the Kaska trade contacts have been oriented to the west. They traded with
the Tahltan via the Dease River, and through the latter Indians they obtained
items such as
[:
]
dentalia shells from the Tlingit on the Pacific Coast. The
present Kaska are divided into four distinct bands whose approximate habitat
is indicated by their designation: (
1
) France Lake; (
2
) Upper Liard River;
(
3
) Dease River; (
4
) Nelson (who range over the Liard drainage between Lower
Post and Nelson Forks). These four groups total about 200. Most of them
now trade out of Lower Post at Mile 620 on the Alaska Highway. A fifth
group, the Espatodena, also known as the Goat (or Sheep) Indians, inhabits
the area of the Beaver and South Nahanni rivers and trades at Forts Liard
and Simpson. Little is known concerning these Indians, and although they
are generally grouped with the Kaska such classification may be in error.
Slave.
The territory of the Slave Indians includes the drainage of the
lower Liard River from Fort Nelson to Great Slave Lake, the drainage of the
Hay River, and the upper portion of the Mackenzie River valley. Originally
they lived farther south between Great Slave and Athabaska lakes, where the
Slave River still bears their name, but incursions of the Cree and the
Chipewyan drove them to their present home. The name Slave indeed seems
to have originated with the Gree as a term of contempt. Fish play a large
part in the Slave economy. Moose and woodland caribou, both of which were
formerly caught in snares or run down on snowshoes, are also important.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
Like other Athapaskan tribes, the Slave are divided into a number of
independent, semi-leaderless bands named after the territory over which
they hunt and trap. The least known and most aboriginal of these groups
is the Trout Lake band whose territory lies between the Hay and Liard
rivers. The present population of the Slave is about 600. They trade
chiefly at Hay River, and at Forts Providence, Simpson, Liard, and Nelson.
Chipewyan.
The Chipewyan are the most easterly of the Athapaskan groups.
At one time they claimed the vast triangularly shaped territory which would
be enclosed by a line drawn from Churchill to the height of land separating
the Thelon and Back rivers, another line running past the eastern ends of
Great Slave and Athabaska lakes, and a third east along the Churchill River
to its mouth on Hudson Bay. With their diminution in numbers as a result of
the smallpox epidemic of 1781 their trading locus shifted to the newly estab–
lished Fort Chipewyan on Athabaska Lake. The Chipewyan are essentially an
edge-of-the woods people, who occasionally venture out on the barren grounds
in pursuit of the caribou and musk ox. Although they are the largest of the
Athapaskan tribes as to both numbers and territory, their culture is the
weakest and least well developed. The Chipewyan are divided into a number
of local groups or bands. The most easterly of these, the so-called Caribou
Eaters, is sometimes considered to constitute a separate tribe but there
appears to be no real basis for this distinction. The present population
of the Chipewyan is about 1,000. Most of them trade at Forts McMurray,
Chipewyan, Smith, and Resolution, and at Fond du Lac.
Yellowknife
. The Yellowknife (also called Copper Indians by the early
explorers) range over the barrens to the northeast of Great Slave and Great
Bear lakes including the upper reaches of the Thelon and Coppermine rivers
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
where their territory impinges upon that of the Eskimo. They formerly
hammered out knives and other implements of a native copper which they
found along the Coppermine River; hence their name. The Yellowknife now
speak a dialect similar to the Chipewyan, but according to their tradition
they formerly had a distinctive dialect of their own. They were never a
large tribe and now number something over 100 people, most of whom trade
at Fort Resolution.
Dogrib
. The Dogrib inhabit the territory between Great Slave and Great
Bear lakes, with the Slave in the Mackenzie valley to the west and the Yellow–
knife on the barren grounds to the east. They appear originally to have
ranged farther south but withdrew northward under pressure from the Chipewyan.
The Dogrib are a large group, numbering about 700, and have retained their
tribal solidarity better than their neighbors. They are divided into four
distinct bands, all of whom trade out of Fort Rae on the northern arm of Great
Slave Lake. A fifth band has intermixed with the Bear Lake Indians and trades
at Fort Norman.
Bear Lake
. The Bear Lake Indians inhabit the area about Great Bear Lake.
Although they now consider themselves as constituting a distinct ethnic group,
they appear to have developed within historic times as an offshoot from the
Hare to the north. Today, however, their contacts are more with the Dogrib
than with the Hare. They are divided into a number of small, fluid bands all
of which trade out of Fort Norman.
Mountain.
The Mountain Indians range along both sides of the Mackenzie
valley above and below the mouth of the Keele (or Gravel) River. They hunt
up that stream to its head and occasionally cross the mountains into the
headwaters of the Pelly and Stewart rivers. Like the Bear Lake Indians they
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
are sometimes classed as a subdivision of the Hare. However, they differ
from the latter in their much greater dependence on hunting. The Mountain
Indians number about 100. Each summer they come down the Keele River in
their skin boats to trade at Fort Norman.
Hare.
The Hare are also referred to as the Hareskins or Rabbitskins.
They live along the Mackenzie below the Mountain Indians, although in the
old days they seldom descended the river much below the Ramparts because of
their fear of the Eskimos. To the east they ranged as far as the headwaters
of the Anderson River, and to the west as far as the first line of the
mountains. They were a timid people and were held in some contempt by the
more warlike Kutchin, Eskimo, and Yellowknife. Like the other Mackenzie
River tribes they subsisted largely by hunting and fishing. However, since
big game animals such as caribou, moose, and muskox were relatively scarce
in their territory the natives were forced to rely more largely on fish and
small game such as rabbits. In the absence of caribou hides they often made
their clothes from rabbitskins; hence their appellation. They are broken up
into a number of bands, totalling in all several hundred persons. They trade
out of Fort Good Hope.
Nicola.
The Nicola were a small Athapaskan-speaking tribe who formerly
dwelt in the valley of the Nicola River in southern British Columbia. They
were surrounded on all sides by interior Salishan tribes such as the Thompson
and Okanagan Indians whom they very much resembled culturally. The Nicola
became extinct early in the nineteenth century.
Sarsi.
The Sarsi of the northern Alberta plains are clearly Athapaskan
in speech but culturally and politically they are part of the Algonkian–
speaking Blackfoot tribe. According to their legends the Sarsi were once
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
a part of the Beaver of Peace River, but they broke loose from the latter
and drifted south to the plains country. Here they formed an alliance with
the buffalo-hunting Blackfoot and eventually they became a constituent band
of this powerful plains tribe. The remnants of the Sarsi, a little over
100 in number, are now confined to a reserve a few miles south of Calgary.
Population and Present Condition
Estimates based on Mooney place the number of Athapaskans in Canada at
the time of their first contact with Europeans at approximately 30,000,
although this figure seems a bit high. Today the Athapaskans number about
7,500, and many of these are mixed bloods. Beginning with the terrible
smallpox epidemic which ravaged the Mackenzie River tribes in 1781, various
European diseases have taken their toll. Of these tuberculosis has become
the most serious, and today this one disease is responsible for 50% of all
the deaths among the Indians along the Mackenzie River.
The Indian Affairs Branch maintains a few hospitals for natives, notably
the ones at Forts St. John and Norman; but for the most part medical and
hospital services for the natives are provided by the missions who in turn
receive some financial assistance from the government. The Roman Catholic
Church maintains hospitals at their missions at Forts Smith, Resolution, Rae,
and Simpson, and at Aklavik. The latter settlement also possesses an
Anglican hospital. Medical and educational facilities are virtually nonexist–
ent, however, in much of northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Until
recently these regions were virtually inaccessible. Throughout most of the
Athapaskan area the mission also provide what few educational facilities
there are for the natives.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
With the exception of some of the southernmost tribes such as the
Carrier and Beaver, most of the Athapaskans do not live on Indian Reserves.
Instead they continue to range over large areas of wilderness in pursuit
of their nomadic hunting and fishing existence. To protect the Indians
against the encroachments of white trappers the government has set aside
several large areas in the Northwest Territories as Native Game Preserves,
viz., the Peel River, Yellowknife, Slave, and Mackenzie Mountains preserves.
The building of the Alaska Military Highway in 1942 brought some of
the least known and most aboriginal groups into contact with large numbers
of white men. The native settlements at Fort Nelson, Lower Post, Teslin,
and Kluane Lake, which for years had enjoyed almost complete isolation,
suddenly found themselves on a modern highway. Just how disruptive this
will be for the natives and their culture remains to be seen.
EA-Anthrop. McKennan: Canada, Athapaska
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Birket-Smith, Kaj. "Contributions to Chipewyan Ethnology."
Report of
the Fifth Thule Expedition
, Vol.6, No.3. Copehnagen, 1930.
2. Emmons, G.T.
The Tahltan Indians
. University of Pennsylvania, The
Museum, Anthropological Publications, Vol.IV, No.1, Philadelphia, 1911.
3. Grant, J.C. Boileau.
Anthropometry of the Beaver, Sekani, and Carrier
Indians, National Museum of Canada, Bulletin 81. Ottawa, 1936.
4.
Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico
. Bureau of American
Ethnology, Bulletin 30, Parts 1 and 2. Washington, 1907, 1910.
5. Harmon, Daniel W.
A Journal of Voyages and Travels in the Interior of
North America (1800-1819)
, New York, 1903.
6. Hearne, Samuel.
A Journey from Prince of Wale's Fort in Hudson's Bay
to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, and 1772
.
Toronto, 1911.
7. Honigmann, John J.
Ethnography and Acculturation of the Fort Nelson Slave
,
and other monographs. Yale University Publications in Anthropology,
New Haven, 1946, 1949.
8. Innis, Harold A.
The Fur Trade in Canada
. New Haven, 1930.
9. Jenness, Diamond.
The Indians of Canada
, and other monographs. National
Museum of Canada. Ottawa, 1932, 1929, 1937.
10.McKennan, Robert.
The Indians of the Upper Tanana, Alaska
. (ms.), and field
notes on other tribes.
11. Mackenzie, Alexander.
Voyages from Montreal
. London, 1801.
12. Mason, J. Alden.
Notes on the Indians of the Great Slave Lake Area.
Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No.34, New Haven, 1946.
13. Masson, L.R.
Les Bourgeois de la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest
, 2 vols.
Quebec, 1889, 1890.
14. Morice, A.G.
The Western D
e
^
é
^
n
e
^
é
^
s, Their Manners and Customs
, and other
monographs. Proceedings, Canadian Institute, 3rd series, Vol.7,
Toronto, 1890.
15. Osgood, Cornelius.
The Distribution of the Norther
n Athapaskan Indians
,
and other monographs. Yale University Publications in Anthropology.
New Haven, 1936.
16. Petitot, Emile.
Monographie des D
e
^
é
^
n
e
^
é
^
-Dindjie
, and other monographs. Paris, 1876.
Robert McKennan
Northern Cree (Canada)
EA-Anthropology
[John M. Cooper]
NORTHERN CREE (CANADA
)
|
|
Page
|
|
Territory, Divisions, and Name
|
1
|
|
Natural Environment
|
2
|
|
Somatology and Population
|
4
|
|
Language
|
5
|
|
Sources
|
6
|
|
Subsistence Activities
|
7
|
|
Social and Political Life
|
12
|
|
Economic Life
|
14
|
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Life Cycle
|
15
|
|
Esthetic and Recreational Activities
|
16
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Religion
|
18
|
|
Folklore
|
21
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|
Bibliography
|
22
|
EA-Anthropology
[John M. Cooper]
NORTHERN CREE (CANADA
)
Territory, Divisions, and Name
The present article deals with the northern or canoe-using Cree of the
Canadian taiga, to the exclusion of the western or horse-using Cree of the park–
lands and plains west of Lake Winnipeg and south of the taiga. The northern
Cree fall into three geographical groups: the Maskegon or Swampy Cree, the Tetes
de Boule, and the western Woodland Cree. The Swampy Cree, in earlier colonial
times the main body of the northern Cree, occupy a belt of territory about 500
miles in length from northwest to southeast, abutting to the northeast on the
southern coast of Hudson Bay and the western coast of James Bay from the Churchill
River to the Harricanaw, and extending back into the hinterland about one to
three hundred miles over most of the area. To the east of the Swampy Cree, com–
pletely separated from them by about 200 miles as the crow flies, are the Cree–
speaking Tetes de Boule of the upper St. Maurice River, Quebec. Immediately to
the west of the Swampy Cree are the
[:
]
western Woodland Cree. These include:
the Cree of the Rocks, who occupy the roughly rectangular, wooded area west and
northwest of northern Lake Winnipeg, from about 99° to 106° W. longitude and from
about 53° 30′ to 56° N. latitude; and scattered outlying groups as far north as
Lake Athabaska and as far west as the Peace River country. The over-all east–
west extent of the Cree habitat is about 1,500 miles.
EA-Anthropology. Cooper: Northern Cree
The Swampy Cree and the Tetes de Boule appear from our documentary sources
to have occupied habitats approximately the same as their present ones since they
first
came in contact with the whites in the second and third quarters of the 17th century.
We have no evidence of Cree-speaking people living before the beginning of the 18th
century in what is now western Woodland Cree territory, except perhaps in the eastern–
most fringe thereof. Much of the present territory of the western Woodland Cree
was acquired after the middle of the 18th century at the expense of Athapascan–
speaking peoples. (Mandelbaum, 1940, 169-87; Rossignol, 1939, 62)
"Cree" is apparently an abbreviation of an Ojibwa name,
kiristnon
(or
kili–
stinon
, or
kinistinon
, see below); it is thus that the Swampy Cree are referred
to in the 17th century Jesuit chronicles (
Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
,
R. G. Thwaites. 73 vols., Cleveland, 189601901). The northern Cree more commonly
call themselves
iriniwuk
(
iliniwuk
, etc.:
irin
-, first, real, genuine; -
uk
, anim.
pl. ending), prefixing the name of the locality or of some feature of the environ–
ment to denote the specific band or regional name. Thus: Obidjuan
iriniwuk
,
Obidjuan Lake band of the Tetes de Boule;
maskego ininiwuk
(or simply
maskegowuk
: maskeg, swamp, marsh), Swampy Cree;
assiniskawidiniwok
(
assini
- rock,
-
skaw
— abundance of, many); Cree of the Rocks. The name
nehiyaw
(and phonetic
variants), for Cree Indians, is also used, but more among the
[:
]
Plains Cree.
Natural Environment
The territory of the northern Cree, all within the Laurentian Shield, is mostly
low rolling plateau, broken by innumerable streams, rapids, falls, and lakes.
However, along the west coast of James Bay and the south coast of Hudson
[:
]
Bay
almost level swampy lowlands — whence the name Swampy Cree — extend well inland
from about 100 to 300 miles.
EA-Anthropology. Cooper: Northern Cree
The climate
[:
]
is of the Dfc type in the Köppen classification, with a
temperature range between extremes well in the nineties Fahrenheit on occa–
sional midsummer days down to the fifties below zero at times in midwinter.
For Moose Factory in the east and Fort Chipewyan (Lake Athabaska) in the west,
respective records (Fahr.) are: mean temperature, January, –4.4° and–12.7°,
July, 61.2° and
[:
]
59.4° extremes, maximum, 97° and 93°, minimum,
–54° and –58°. Precipitation falls off from the extreme east of the Cree habitat
to the extreme northwest: average yearly in inches, Montreal (just south of the
Tete de Boule country),
[:
]
40.65°, to Moose Factory, 20.95°, to Fort Chipewyan,
12.59°. In summer the woods often become excessively dry and forest fires are
frequent. In winter snow commonly accumulates to a depth of three to four feet.
Except for a narrow treeless strip along the southern coast of Hudson Bay
and a small triangular area of tundra at Cape Henrietta at the northern tip of
the western coast of James Bay, the territory occupied by the northern Cree is
typical taiga or coniferous forest, heavily wooded in most parts, somewhat more
open or sparsely wooded in the sphagnum swamps that cover much of the lowland
coastal belt. The more common trees of the territory are: black spruce (
Picea
mariana
), white spruce (
P. canadensis
), tamarack (
Larix americana
), balsam fir
(
Abies balsamica
), balsam poplar (
P. balsamifera
), and canoe birch (
Betula
papyrifera
).
The mammals, birds and fishes of most importance in the northern Cree economy
are:
Mammals: Moose (
Alces americana
), woodland caribou (
Rangifer caribou
), black
bear (
Euarctos americanus
), polar bear (
Thalarctos maritimus
), gray wolf (
Canis
lycaon
), red fox (
Vulpes fulva
), marten (
Martes americana
), fisher (
M. pennanti
),
short-tailed weasel (
Mustela cicognanii
), least weasel (
M. rixosa
), mink (
M. vison
),
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
wolverine (
Gulo luscus
)R, skunk (
Mephitis mephitis
), American otter (
Lutra cana–
densis
), muskrat (
Ondatra zibethica
), woodchuck (
Marmota monax
), beaver (
Castor
canadensis
), Canada porcupine (
Erethizon dorsatus)
, snowshoe rabbit (
Lepus ameri–
canus
). Frommuch of the eastern section of northern Cree territory, caribou have
largely or entirely given place to moose, within the
[:
]
memory of older men now
living.
Birds: Spruce grouse (
Canachites canadensis
), Canada ruffed grouse (
Bonasa
umbellus
), ptarmigan (
Lagopus
spp.), Canada goose (
Branta candensis
), lesser snow
goose (
Chen hyperboreus)
.
Fishes: Whitefish
[:
]
(
Coregonus
spp.), dore ("pickerel,"
Stizostedion
sp.),
"pike" (
Esox
sp.), lake trout (
Cristivomer
sp.), brook trout (
Salvelinus fontinalis
),
sturgeon (
Acipenser
sp.), "suckers" ("carp":
Catostomus
spp.); marai or loche:
(
Lota maculosa
).
Somatology and Population
We have only fragmentary anthropometric data on the northern Cree, quite in–
sufficient for generalizations, so we shall not attempt such. Miscegenation with
whites and other Indian tribes has taken place on a large scale since early times.
The Mongolian fold and Mongolian spot
(ominicim
, "his own little berry") occur,
the latter very commonly, in children. Respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases,
impetigo, and caries are widespread. Pronounced malnutrition, especially vitamin
deficiencies, and excessively high 1942 mortality rates (crude mortality, 39.04
per 1,000; death rate from tuberculosis, 1,400 per 100,000; infant mortality,
slightly under 400 per 1,000 live births) are reported for the Swampy Cree of
the region northwest of northern Lake Winnipeg (Moore et al, 1946). Diabetes is
reported as rare. Mild psychic disorders —
[:
]
"hysteria," dreads, and so forth --
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
are common among the James Bay Cree; a specific neurosis marked by a
[:
]
brief period of catatonic stupor, among Obidjuan Tete de Boule women; more
rarely, but throughout most or all of the northern Cree area, the
wihtiko
psychosis, with its accompanying craving for human flesh (Saindon, 1933; Cooper,
1933).
Exact population figures are not available for all divisions of the northern
Cree. For one reason, census statistics are not broken down along linguistic
and cultural lines. The following data, from the official census reports of
1944, with comparative figures from that of 1924, are, except for the Tetes de
Boule and James Bay and Hudson Bay Cree, rough approximations only.
Tetes de Boule, in 1944, 639 souls (598 in 1924); James Bay Cree, 2,013
(1,571 in 1924); Hudson Bay Cree, 1,644 (1,022 in 1924); other Woodland Cree,
somewhere around 11,000-12,000 (8,000-9,000
[:
]
in 1924); total, probably around
15,000-16,000 (11,000-12,000 in 1924). According to the census data, the popu–
lation of the northern Cree increased about 40% between 1924 and 1944. (Census,
1924, 1944.)
Language
Cree, a language of the far-flung Algonquian family, has its closest affi–
liations
[:
]
within the family with Montagnais-Naskapi and Ojibwa-Algonquin. The
three languages differ from one another about as much as do Italian, Spanish, and
Portuguese. As spoken throughout the whole area of occupation by the Cree their
language is markedly uniform, although broken up into a number of local dialects,
referred to as the d, l, n, r, θ (Gr.,
theta
), and y dialects because of phoneti–
cal variants for the "l" of the Primitive Central Algonkin. The "l" is retained
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
or has been re-adopted in the Moose Factory dialect and by some of the members
of the Tetes de Boule and Albany bands, but is replaced, for instance, by
[:
]
"r" among most of the Tetes de Boule, the Kesagami band (formerly just east of
and now fused with the Moose Factory
[:
]
band), and some of the far western Wood–
land Cree. The Swampy Cree from Albany on James Bay as far as Oxford House, Norway
House, and the country around Le Pas on the lower Saskatchewan, have adopted the
"n"; the lower Churchill Cree and the Cree of the Rocks use θ (
theta
) and "d";
and "y" is substituted among some bands of western Woodland Cree as well as among
the Plains Cree. (Michelson, 1939, 70-73, map; Rossignol, 1939, 62; Lacombe, 1874,
xv; Faries-Watkins, 1938, v; Cooper, 1945.)
Sources
The first references to the Tetes de Boule and the Swampy Cree are in the
Jesuit Relations of 1636 and 1640, respectively. On the Swampy and Western Wood–
land Cree our fullest early sources are Umfreville (1790), Alexander Mackenzie
(1902), David Thompson (1916), Richardson in Franklin (1823); more recent Skinner
(1911, his "Cree"
[:
]
data are largely Montagnais), Saindon (1933, 1934), Ro
^
s
^
signol
(1938a, 1938b, 1939), Flannery (1935,
136
1936, 1938, 1946, and unpublished field
notes of 1933, 1935, 1937), and Cooper (1928, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1945, 1946, and
unpublished field notes of 1927, 1932-34). On the Tetes de Boule, our fuller
sources are Davidson (1928a, 1928b, 1928c), Guinard (1930), Cooper (1939 and
[:
]
unpublished field notes of 1925-27, 1931, 1937). The following account of Cree
culture is based chiefly upon the above unpublished field notes, in part upon the
extensive scattered published sources on the northern Cree, including the above–
mentioned ones. Our available information upon the Tetes de Boule and the James Bay
Swampy Cree is very much more detailed, although still incomplete, than that upon
the
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
the other Swampy Cree and upon the western Woodland Cree.
Subsistence Activities
Yearly cycle
. From fall until spring each year, during the months when furs
are at their best and trapping is good, the northern Cree live widely scattered
in the forest, each biological family or group of close kin hunting and trapping
in comparative isolation on its own hunting ground. As the trapping season ends
in the spring the scattered families and groups of each band foregather, usually
near the trading posts, with the triple objective of exchanging their furs for
white man's goods, of associating with relatives, friends, and fellow tribesmen,
and of holding religious (now mostly Christian) services and exercises. Most of
the Swampy Cree who winter up in the hinterland spend part of the summer on the
coasts of Hudson and James bays, but this coast-inland alternation has only
superficial resemblances to the inland-coast alternation, conditioned by the food
quest, of many of the Eskimos.
Food
. The northern Cree practice no plant cultivation, apart from small gar–
dens here and there, mostly of potatoes, under white influence. They have no native
domestic animals except the dog. The small aboriginal dog used in hunting is well
treated; the larger dogs, of ultimate white or Eskimo derivation, used for draw–
ing toboggans are pretty badly treated.
The chief protein foods are: caribou, moose, beaver, mu
k
skrat, black and
polar bear, porcupine, woodchuck, snowshoe rabbit, grouse, geese, ducks, and fish,
especially whitefish. Ordinarily fox, wolf, wolverine, weasel, seal, and beluga
are not eaten. Marten, fisher, mink, skunk, lynx, and otter are eaten by some
bands and individuals but not by others. The native flora is drawn upon mainly for
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
many kinds of berries, especially blueberries (
Vaccinium
sp.), wild cherries
(
Prunus
sp.), and "wild carrots," Salt was not used. Flour, lard, sugar, and
canned goods are purchased from traders. The
[:
]
aboriginal diet, a predominantly
protein one of meat and fish, is shifting to one in which carbohydrates bulk large.
Hunting and trapping food and game animals is now done mostly with guns and
steel traps. The bow and arrow is still used a little, by boys or else for grouse
and ptarmigan by grownups. A great variety of snares, deadfalls, spear downfalls,
door and funnel traps, pitfalls, and other trapping devices were used until quite
recent years, and many of them are still used (Cooper, 1938). Beaver chiseling is
or was common. Caribou are or were taken by spearing in the water and by driving
in fences, but only at points favorable to such methods. Blinds and decoys are
used in hunting geese.
Fishing is done chiefly with gill nets (set under the ice in winter),
[:
]
pole-and-line, and night lines. Fish nets, formerly made of
wikubi
(a willow:
Salix
sp.), are now made of twine, and mostly by the women. Steel fishhooks
have now almost entirely replaced the earlier hooks made of a bit of wood with a
point of bone or lynx claw attached at an acute angle to the distal end.
Boiling with hot stones in wooden or bark containe
^
r
^
s occurred. Meat and fish
are commonly ponasked, that is, broiled on a spit tilted toward the fire, or are
suspended over the fire.
Meat was cut in strips, dried over a fire, and often pounded and mixed with
grease and so preserved. Grease is made from bear and beaver fat and from moose
bones and fat, and is preserved. Blueberries are boiled to a thick paste which
hardens and can be kept through the winter or even longer.
There was no native pre-contact intoxicant, but the white man's alcoholic
beverages are taken to very kindly everywhere and home brew is not unknown. An
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
infusion of Labrador tea (
Ledum groenlandicum
) is commonly drunk. Birch syrup is
made by some bands; maple syrup by the southernmost division of the Tetes de Boule.
The lichen, rock tripe (
Umbilicaria
sp.) is resorted to as a famine food. Trader's
tea is everywhere in use.
Fire-making
. Fire, before the
[:
]
introduction of matches, was made with flint
and steel, and still earlier by use of the bow drill among the James Bay Cree,
and, among them and the Tetes de Boule, by percussion with two stones. Among
the Tetes de Boule, birch and tamarack are preferred for firewood, with poplar,
spruce, Banksian pine, and balsam as second choices.
Shelter
. Log cabins and canvas-covered walled or unwalled A-tents introduced
from the whites are the common shelter for summer. Many families prefer the tent
for winter. The typical native tent is or was conical, covered with birch-bark
rolls or, in certain areas, with caribou or moose skin, and provided with a mov–
able skin flap at the smoke hole. The ground inside was often dug out a few
inches, in a rare case a couple of feet. A hole through the tent wall and the
snow banked outside provided ventilation, to regulate interior temperature and to
carry the smoke out through the open top. The hearth was in the center of the tent.
A conical tent, of split poles, covered with earth or moss, was sometimes used by
the James Bay Cree and Tetes de Boule; a large A-shaped tent, with a door at each
end and housing two or more families, by some of the latter. For overnight camp–
ing simple windbreaks or three-walled structures were erected, with a big fire
built at the front to leeward. For
[:
]
ground covering inside tents, balsam or
other brush, strips of spruce bark, and caribou, moose, or bear hides are customary.
Clothing
. Some of the northern Cree still use the native moccasins, fur
headgear, skin mittens (fingerless, except thumb), and robes and tailored garments
of woven rabbit skin; the remainder wear store-bought European clothing. Formerly,
clothing consisting mainly of breechclout, leggings, coats with attached or de-
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
tachable sleeves, moccasins, mittens, and headgear was of skin and fur. Mocca–
sins, consistently soleless, are of several types, such as the rabbit nose, the
deer tooth, and what appears to be the older type in the area from Moose to the
St. Maurice, a moccasin like the rabbit nose one but lacking the seam forward
of the vamp (cf. ill. Skinner, 1911, 20). Snow goggles are common among the
Swampy Cree and Tetes de Boule.
Skin dressing is an elaborate process calling for great skill and including
dehairing, fleshing, splashing with brains or grease, wringing and working, water–
soaking, sun-drying, and smoking.
There was relatively little body decoration, apart from face painting (with
native earths and charcoal and later with trader's vermilion), depilation, ear–
piercing, and simple tattooing. Thread tattooing occurred among the Swampy Cree
and Tetes de Boule. Septum piercing was early reported in the York Factory
region. Body anointing with grease was resorted to more for protection against
cold in winter and mosquitoes in summer.
Travel and transportation
. Summer travel and transportation are and, from the
nature of the country, have to be mainly by water. Canvas-covered canoes, often
propelled by outboard motors, have since the beginning of the century largely dis–
placed the early birch-bark canoe. The Cree of the northern coast of James Bay,
where suitable birch bark is not available, use a crudely constructed canoe of
pine or spruce bark. Small "plank canoes," of thin pine or cedar boards, have
occasionally been used in the Albany River region. Rafts are sometimes made to
cross lakes or to descend rivers.
Winter travel and transportation are mostly by snowshoe and toboggan.
The common snowshoe is the netted type, pointed at both ends, sometimes with
the front end turned up. The bear-foot type is widespread, in use more by children.
A beaver-tail snowshoe is known among the central Tetes de Boule. Wooden (non-
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
netted) snowshoes are sometimes used among the northern James Bay Cree. Formerly
snowshoe netting was sometimes of loche or sturgeon skin in the Albany-Moose–
Kesagami region.
The birch toboggan occurs throughout the northern Cree area. As early at
least as the late 18th century, it was drawn by dogs among the Hudson Bay and Lake
Winnipeg Swampy Cree. Farthe east, however, among the James Bay Cree the toboggan
was drawn by men, women, and children until quite recent times, and among the Tetes
de Boule till well after the beginning of the present century, and in some places
is still sometimes so drawn.
Manufactures
. Babiche, of caribou and moose rawhide, is used for snowshoe
netting and other purposes; peeled and split rootlets of spruce, as lashing for
canoes and bark containers; caribou and moose sinew, as thread in making moccasins.
Needles were made of bone and fish spine. Long strips of rabbit skin, with the
hair on, are woven by a looped coiled technique into blankets and garments. Loom
[:
]
weaving is absent.
Various types of baskets and dishes are made of canoe-birch bark or where
this is lacking of other bark — of pine in the northern James Bay region. In some
areas bark baskets are or were decorated with porcupine quills or else dyed red
with a willow bark dye and etched in either geometric or realistic figures.
Of wood were or are made dishes, drinking cups, and many types of spoons and
ladles, the last sometimes with burnt designs.
The northern Cree did little stone work. Bone was used more than stone for
weapons and implements.
Pottery is lacking. A little was made long ago by the southern Tetes de Boule,
and pottery water drums were earlier reported among the Cree (or mixed Cree and
Ojibwa?) north of Lake Superior.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
Bags and containers of many kinds are made from the skins of mammals, birds,
and fishes.
The white man's axe is of course universally used, as is also the steel
crooked knife. In earlier times knives were made from caribou ribs and leg bones
and from beaver teeth.
From black spruce cones and white spruce underbark the Tetes de Boule make
a brown-to-black dye; from the bark of a willow, a red one.
At present all the northern Cree use guns in hunting. The chief native hunting
weapon was the bow and arrow. Among the James Bay Cree and the Tetes de Boule,
the bow was more commonly a self-bow, with bowstring of hide or sinew; the arrow,
with bone head, flat nock, and bridge feathering (usually three half-feathers).
Blunt headed bird arrows are still used. Boys may learn archery by use of the
primary release; adults commonly use the Mediterranean. The
[:
]
crossbow occurs,
mostly as a toy, among the James Bay Cree and the Tetes de Boule; the throwing
arrow among the latter. A spear was used in some areas for caribou, sturgeon,
and pike.
Social and Political Life
The young of marriageable age are strictly segregated; there is no courting.
Preferential cross-cousin marriage is or was prevalent among the James Bay and
Saskatchewan Woodland Cree, not among the Tetes de Boule. (Flannery, 1938; Rossig–
nol, 1938a). Marriages are largely arranged by the parents, especially the mothers,
of the couple. Skill, industriousness, and mild disposition are the outstanding
qualifications looked for in prospective mates. The presents given by the groom to
the bride's father can hardly be called a bride price proper. The wedding involves
no rites, and practically no observances except lectures to the couple by the girl's
parents.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
The northern Cree, now nearly all Christian and monogamous, formerly prac–
ticed polygyny, frequently sororal. A man rarely had more than three or four
wives simultaneously. Levirate marriages were reported earlier among the Hudson
Bay Swampy Cree. Marr
a
iage tends or tended to be patrilocal among the Tetes de
Boule; matrilocal, temporarily at least, among the Hudson Bay Cree. A daughter–
in-law, among the Swampy Cree (but not the Tetes de Boule), does not speak to her
father-in-law directly unless necessary, nor a son-in-law to his mother-in-law.
In general, the status of woman among the northern Cree is in most respects
fairly good (Flannery, 1935). Children are consistently well treated; the aged,
often not so well.
Divorce was common in the old days, as were extramarital sexual relations.
Incest occurs, although disapproved.
The characteristic political unit is the loose band made up of several or
many unrelated biological or extended families and numbering from less than a hundred
up to four or even six or eight hundred souls. These bands formerly lacked chiefs
and some still do. The "chiefs" of the early trading days were in reality leaders
accepted or chosen freely by their followers for ability in bargaining, hunting,
and warfare; they had no coercive power, no recognized authority
[:
]
to command, legis–
late, or adjudicate. The same holds in the main for the modern band chiefs, where
they exist; their function is mostly to serve as go-betweens with the Canadian
authorities. Decisions on matters concerning the public interest of the band are
ordinarily arrived at by common consent in informal gatherings participated in by
the married or older men. Shifting by individuals, families, or larger groups
from one band to another is freely done, often in consequence of shifts in the loca–
tion of trading posts. Actually the ultimate autonomous political unit is more the
biological or extended family than the band.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
There are and, so far as our earlier sources go, were no social classes, no
secret or other societies, no
[:
]
totemic or non-totemic sibs or moieties.
The western swampy Cree of Hudson Bay used to carry on sporadic warfare with
their old enemies the Eskimos, and warfare was of course an integral feature of
the previously mentioned westward and northwestward expansion of the western Swampy
Cree. The James Bay Cree, however, and the Tetes de Boule have been, since first
known historically in the 17th century, notably peaceful and nonmilitaristic.
Economic Life
Land is held throughout nearly all the northern Cree area under the family
hunting ground system. Each biological or extended family or other small kinship
group claims exclusive hunting and trapping rights over a well limited area which
may vary from about 50 to 300 or more square miles. Trespass by members of the
same or other bands for hunting or trapping is strictly prohibited and bitterly
resented. Beaver are carefully conserved. In the nonforested tundra region off
Cape Henrietta in James Bay, whither the adjacent forest-dwelling Indians go
chiefly for caribou, the family hunting ground system does not obtain: each man
hunts and traps where he pleases.
A man who kills a large game animal, say a moose, has a recognized exclusive
right to it. But ordinarily if other families are in camp he will share the meat
generously and would be criticized as stingy if he did not. Women and children enjoy
full ownership of property which they have acquiared by manufacture, gift, or other–
wise. Stealing among members of a band is almost unknown. Caches,
d
^
c
^
ommonly
made, of food or other property are rarely or never brok
^
e
^
n into or plundered.
The division of labor between men and women appears on the whole equitable.
Tasks involving greater muscular power, graver danger or
[:
]
hardship, and farther
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
travel from camp fall more to the man; others, more to the woman. In manufac–
tures, all kinds of work in wood is ordinarily done by the man; skin-dressing,
sewing, garment-making, netting, and basketry, by the woman. But the lines are
not strictly drawn; men will often engage in what are considered more as women's
tasks, and vice versa.
Life Cycle
Conception is generally believed to result only from reiterated coitus. Be–
lief in prenatal impressions, marital continence from advanced pregnancy until
well after delivery, various food prescriptions and taboos for the mother before
and after childbirth, and delivery in kneeling position are common; contra–
ceptive measures, abortion, and infanticide are not.
The infant at birth is first placed in a simple bark cradle, later in a
baby-sack or moss-bag and wooden hopped cradle. Powdered rotten wood is used as
talcum powder, moss as diaper. The navel cord, caribou teeth, a small netted
hoop (to prevent colds), and other objects are hung on the cradle. Among the
James Bay Cree the child's name is bestowed, not by the parents, but by a friend,
who gets it by dreaming or conjuring. In older times individuals had only one
name, with often an additional nickname.
Children are rarely subjected to corporal punishment. Training in social
behavior is largely through encouragement and admonition, rewards more than punish–
ment, a "taking-for-granted" pedagogy; sometimes by threat of bugaboos such as the
crow, wolf, owl, or cannibal wihtiko. The first game killed by a boy is given
by him to his parents or others, and not partaken of by himself.
There are no boys' adolescent rites proper, although many or most boys around
adolescence would go out into the woods, make a scaffold in a tree, and fast and
fream to obtain a powagan or guardian spirit. The girl at her first menses was
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
segregated in a little tent near her father's lodge and was given counsel by an
older woman relative, and in some areas had to use a head-and-face covering, a
reed or bone tube for drinking, and/or a stick for scratching her head or back.
(Play, marriage, and sickness are dealt with elsewhere in the present article.)
Earlier, among some of the western Swampy Cree, mourning observances in–
cluded cutting off the hair, piercing the
[:
]
thighs and arms with arrows, and –
blackening the face. Among the northern Cree, until recently some belongings were
commonly deposited with the dead on or in the grave. Burial was ordinarily in
a grave lined with sticks, branches, or bar; in supine posture among the Tetes
de Boule and the James Bay Cree, in sitting posture among some of the western
Swampy Cree. Among the James Bay Cree the survivors move their tent after a death.
Survival
[:
]
after death was believed in, but in most areas for
[:
]
which we
have information ideas about the conditions prevailing in the after life were
markedly vague. The Northern Lights were spoken of as the dancing of the dead.
Esthetic and Recreational Activities
Decoration of artifacts with split spruce roots is common; with porcupine quills
and by etching and burning, sporadic. Making bitten patterns, often very artistic,
in birch bark is popular among the women. Sculpture proper in stone or wood was
almost entirely absent.
The chief musical instruments are the rattle and drum: the former of rawhide
shaped like the figure 6, the latter more commonly double-headed an often with one
or two snares across the head.
The white man's decorative arts, music and musical instruments, and dances
have almost entirely supplanted the native ones. In general, artistic achievement
was of an extremely simple order.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
From northern Cree recreative culture was entirely or almost entirely
absent, apart from later intrusions, such features as gambling, team games
proper, strenuous competition, and appeal to magico-religious forces. There
were mild competitive sports such as foot and canoe races, football, wrestling,
and pole tug-of-war, but rivalry was not very keen. Common toys used by
children are bows and arrows, crossbows, throwing arrows, slings, tops, buzzers,
bull-roarers, dart stickers, owl feet, flippers, popguns, toy cradles, dolls.
String figures were observed among the Tetes de Boule. Recreative swimming is
uncommon. Hide-and-seek and a number of such games with rules are played by
children, and sometimes by adults (
[:
]
Flannery, 1936). Moccasin, lacrosse, and
hoop-and-pole are absent, although the last two were earlier reported among
some of the western Swampy Cree. Snowsnake, platter, and the woman's double-ball
game occurred among some of the Jame a Bay Cree, probably intrusive from the
adjacent Ojibwa. Cup-and-pin with brush, birch-bark disks, or perforated hide
for the "cup," is very common. Young wild mammals and birds are kept as pets in
many areas, perhaps all.
There were no native alcoholic intoxicants. Tobacco was smoked in stone
pipes, sometimes in makeshift tubular birch-bark ones. Tobacco was gotten by
trade; none was planted. Red willow bark served as substitute. A large stone
calumet was earlier used among the western Swampy Cree.
Most of the modern northern Cree can read and write syllabic or Roman script,
the young in some areas being home-taught by their parents or other elders. A
considerable number of travelers' signs and symbols, mostly made with sticks an
[:
]
serving as a crude means of objective communication, are put up on trails or in
other conspicuous places to convey messages to later-coming relatives and friends.
[:
]
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
A stick, for example, cut all around, blackened at the cut with charcoal, and stuck
up on a trail, means that there has been a death.
The northern Cree are markedly matter-of-fact and "nonmystical" in their
explanation of natural phenomena, most of which are ascribed to natural
[:
]
causes
or, with customary reserve, to causes unknown rather than to supernatural ones.
These forest hunters have considerable, often surprisingly keen, climatological,
zoological, and botanical knowledge.
Religion
Most of the magico-religious beliefs, activities, and attitudes of the nor–
thern Cree fall into one or other of three categories: theistic concepts and cult,
shamanistic practices, and hunting observances.
A pre-Christian belief in and cult of a Supreme Being was found everywhere
among the Swampy Cree and western Woodland Cree (Cooper, 1934). The Supreme Being
was believed to be one only, to be over all things, and to live above but he was
in no sense
s
identified with the sun or the sky. He was addressed as
manitu
("spirit,"
"supernatural being"),
kitci manitu
("great spirit"), "Our Father," "Thou who art
master (or owner) of life," "Thou who art master of food," and other names. He was
the benevolent master or owner of all things, including human beings, but not
among all bands the maker. As owner and master of food and of the game animals
He was the provider of food, and He sent dreams to tell the Indians where they would
hunt well. He was offended if they wasted the meat He gave them or mistreated the
animals or other creatures He had provided for man, but seemingly did not rewards
conformity with or punish offences against the moral or social code. The chief act
of cult toward Him was a first-fruits sacrifice which consisted in throwing a bit
of meat or grease in the fire before partaking of food and in saying, mentally or
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
aloud, some such simple unformalized prayer as, "We thank Thee for this food Thou
hast given us," "We are depending on Thee to give us meat again," and so forth.
In some areas a spring feast was held at which many people would gather, but
no elaborate or formal ritual was connected with it. In fact, elaborate ritualism
such as one finds among the Plains Cree is quite foreign to the northern Cree
culture.
The most characteristic attitude toward the Supreme Being and for that matter
toward most other supernatural beings was that of reverence, expectation, and
gratitude. Fear was little to the fore, even fear of the dead. Fear was mostly
felt toward the cannibalistic wihtiko, often described in the earlier literature
as a sort of supreme evil being, but in reality a pure folklore being to whom no
form of cult was given, except perhaps earlier among the western Swampy Cree.
Whether the Tetes de Boule had a belief in a Supreme Being is at best doubt–
ful. Their most prominent being, North Being or North Wind Being, often addressed
as "Our Grandfather," shared some of the characteristics of the Swampy Cree Supreme
Being. He was, for instance, the giver of food, and was offended at wasting meat,
but on the other hand he figures in folklore as far from supreme.
The shamanistic or "conjuring" practices center large
^
l
^
y around the shaking-tent
rite and are carried out by professional or specially qualified shamans or con–
jurers through the mediation of their guardian spirit (
powagan
) or spirits acquired
by the same type of quest that
[:
]^
was
^
used by the adolescent boy to acquire one.
There is no sharp division between lay and professional power so acquired: the one
blends imperceptibly into the other. The shaking-tent rite is based on the animistic
guardian-spirit concept rather than on the concept of impersonal magical force.
A special tent, solidly built, and usually more or less cylindrical in form, is
erected. The shaman enters it. After a while, voices of various animals or beings
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
are heard —
mikenak
(
miskenak
), the turtle, serving as spokesman in most regions
— and the tent shakes or bends at the top. Through the rite, the shaman learns
such things as future events, the location of game, the fortunes of distant
relatives or friends, the remedy for disease, and may take occasion to harm
enemies or rival shamans. He may also achieve these same ends through means
other than the shaking-tent rite, such as dreaming, drumming, singing, and so
forth. Induced ecstacy or loss of consciousness plays a very negligible role in
the practices of the northern Cree shaman.
Many types of sickness are looked upon as purely "natural" and are treated by
lay men and women with herbal and other remedies on a purely empirical basis.
Other types are attributed to the supernatural intrusion of some sickness–
causing object into the body of the ill person, and call for the services of
the professional shaman who, for a fee, extracts the object. Concepts of soul
loss and possession as causes of illness are absent. In general, the northern Cree
shaman is more a clairvoyant, seer, and prophet than a shaman proper. His acti–
vities are predominantly beneficent, although sometimes maleficent.
Concepts and observances connected with hunting and trapping are varied and
manifold. Prominent among them, especially in the Tete de Boule and western
Swampy Cree areas, are beliefs in chiefs of various species of animals and birds,
and the practice of bear ceremonialism with apologetic speeches to the bear,
tobacco offerings to the dead animal, decoration and suspension of its skull, and
so forth. Throughout the northern Cree area the bones of most game and fur animals
as well as of geese and ducks are given special care, lest poor hunting luck
follow, automatically or on account of offense taken by the animals, their chiefs,
or the Supreme Being. In particular, these bones must not be given to dogs.
Dreaming, sweating in a small domed sweat lodge, singing, and drumming are
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
common before going out to hunt, as on certain other occasions such as curing
rites.
Divination by holding shoulder blades of mammals or breastbones of birds
against the fire (scapulimancy), by looking in water or fish eyes or other shiny
surface (scrying), by tossing otter paws, and by many other methods is resorted
to in order to foresee hunting luck and to learn where hunting will be best, as
well as to predict in matters not connected with hunting.
Several procedures — whether magical or just natural from the native point
of view, it is hard to say — were used to bring the north wind and with it a
crust on the snow. These procedures were, variously, twirling a buzzer, whirling
a bull-roarer, tying a lighted birch-bark strip to a dog's tail, making a snow
man, plucking a live Canada jay, exposing a naked child for a moment to the cold
outside the tent.
Simple sacrifices, made before eating, of bits of food thrown in the fire
for the Supreme Being, for this or that "spirit," or sometimes for the dead, are
common in everyday life, as are also offerings thrown into a rapids before
running it. The dog sacrifice was found earlier among the western Swampy Cree,
but is denied by informants for the James Bay Cree and the Tetes de Boule. Human
sacrifice was totally absent. Ritual cannibalism was in earlier times indulged in
occasionally and to a slight extent by some of the Hudson Bay Cree in their wars
with the Eskimos, but gastronomic and other cannibalism was and is looked upon
with horror, even when resorted to in gravest peril of death from starvation.
Folklore
Among the more widely believed-in mythical beings are:
wihtiko
, the dreaded
cannibalistic giant who wanders around the woods literally seeking whom he may
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
devour;
pagaskogan
, the skeleton being who can be heard rattling through the air;
the
memegweciwuk
, dwarfs who live in rocks, paddle around in
[:
]
stone canoes
and steal fish from the nets; human or human-like beings, known under different
names, who skulk in the woods bent on no good to man; "little people," a bit mis–
chievous but not at all feared.
There is an interminable cycle of humorous and other stories relating the
adventures and escapades of Wisekedjak, the trickster. A flood story with the
diving-for-earth theme is found among all divisions of the northern Cree. Other
cycles are concerned with the exploits of Tcikapis and other well known folklore
characters of the north. A great many tales are told of the ravages by and the
killing of wihtikos. Numerous accounts — historical, semihistorical, or mythical
— are current regarding
[:
]
escape from or death through famine. War stories are
almost completely lacking among the James Bay Cree and the Tetes de Boule.
Bibliography
Census of Indians and Eskimos in Canada, 1924. Department of Indian Affairs,
Ottawa, 1924.
Census of Indians in Canada, 1944. Indian Affairs Branch, Ottawa, 1945.
Cooper, J. M., 1928. Northern Algonkian Scrying and Scapulimancy. In Festschrift
P. W. Schmidt, Wien, 205-17.
----, 1933. The Cree Witiko Psychosis. Primitive Man, 6:20-24.
----, 1934. The Northern Algonquian Supreme Being. Catholic University of America,
Anthropological Series 2.
----, 1938. Snares, Deadfalls and Other Traps of the Northern Algonquians and Nor–
thern Algonquians and Northern Athapaskans. Ibid., 5.
----, 1939. Is the Northern Algonquian Family Hunting Ground System Pre-Columbian?
American Anthropologist, 41:66-90.
----, 1945. Tete-de-Boule Cree. International Journal American Linguistics,
11:36-44.
----, 1946. The Culture of the Northeastern Indian Hunters: A Reconstructive In–
terpretation. In R.S.Peabody Foundation for Archaeology, Papers 3:272-305.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
Davidson, D. S., 1928a. Notes on Tete de Boule Ethnology. American Anthropologist,
30:18-46.
----, 1928b. Decorative Art of the Tetes de Boule of Quebec. Indian Notes and
Monographs, 10:115-53.
----, 1928c. Some Tete de Boule Tales. Journal American Folk-Lore, 41:262-74.
Flannery, R., 1935. The Position of Woman among the Eastern Cree. Primitive Man,
8:81-86.
----, 1936. Some Aspects of James Bay Recreative Culture. Ibid., 9:49-56.
----, 1938. Cross-cousin Marriage among the Cree and Montagnais of James Bay.
Ibid., 11:29-33.
----, 1946. The Culture of the Northeastern Indian Hunters: A Descriptive Survey.
In R.S.Peabody Foundation for Archaeology,
[:
]
Papers 3:263-71.
Franklin, J., 1823. Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea (1819–
1822), London.
Guinard, J.E., 1930. Witiko among the Tete-de-Boule. Primitive Man, 3:69-71.
Lacombe, A., 1874. Dictionnaire de la langue des cris. Montreal.
Mackenzie, A., 1902. Voyages (1789-1793), 2 v., repr., New York.
Mandelbaum, D. G., 1940. The Plains Cree. American Museum Natural History,
Anthropological Papers, v.37, pt. 2.
Michelson, T., 1939. Linguistic Classification of Cree and Montagnais-Naskapi
Dialects. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bull. 123: 69-95.
Moore, P.E., and others, 1946. Medical Survey of Nutrition among the Northern
Manitoba Indians. Repr. from Canadian Medical Association Journal, v. 54.
Rossignol, M., 1938a. Cross-cousin Marriage among the Saskatchewn Cree. Primitive
Man, 11:26-28.
----, 1938b. The Religion of the Saskatchewan and Western Manitoba Cree. Ibid.,
11:67-71.
----,1939. Property concepts among the Cree of the Rocks. Ibid., 12:61-70.
Saindon, J.E., 1933. Mental Disorders among the James Bay Cree. Ibid., 6:1-12.
----,1934. Two Cree Songs from James Bay. Ibid., 7:6-7.
Skinner, A.B., 1911. Notes on the Eastern Cree and Northern Sault
a
^
eaux.
^
American
Museum Natural History, Anthropological Papers, v. 9, pt. 1.
EA-Anthrop. Cooper: Northern Cree
Thompson, D., 1916. Narrative of his Explorations in Western America,
[:
]
1784-1812, ed. J.B. Tyrrell, Publ. Champlain Soc. xii, Toronto.
Umfreville, E., 1790. The Present State of Hudson's Bay, London.
Watkins, E. A., 1938. A Dictionary of the Cree Language, ed.
[:
]
R. Faries,
Toronto.
John M. Cooper
The Montagnais-Naskapi
EA-Anthropology
(Frank G. Speck)
THE MONTAGNAIS-NASKAPI
Contents
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Page
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Introduction
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1
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Designations for the Montagnais-Naskapi
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4
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Band Distribution and Population
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6
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Physical Characteristics
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9
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Language
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10
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Material Culture
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11
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Art
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18
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Archaeological Background
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20
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Social Organization
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23
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The Family
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23
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The Band Grouping
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26
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Other Social Traits
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28
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Absence of Motivations of Violence and Warring
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30
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Religious Beliefs and Practices
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32
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Bibliography
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44
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EA-Anthropology
(Frank G. Speck)
THE MONTAGNAIS - NASKAPI
Introduction
The Montagnais-Naskapi Indians, the furthermost northeastern outposts
of the Algonkian linguistic stock, inhabit the extensive region known geo–
graphically as the Labrador Peninsula. Their total population is estimated
to be about 4,500 in a land area of over half a million square miles. The
inhabited terrain of the Montagnais-Naskapi covers most of the land mass
lying between latitudes 47° and 57°N., and longitudes 57° and 77°W., in
extent approximately 800 miles north and south and 1,000 east and west.
The culture as well as speech of the Montagnais-Naskapi Indian groups
is basically uniform and differentiated from that of the Labrador Eskimos
who exist in dwindling groups bordering them on the Atlantic coast, Ungava
Bay, Hudson Strait to Cape Wolstenholme, and southward to about Richmond Gulf
on Hudson Bay. In both culture and speech, however, they show relationship
with the Algonquin proper, Ojibwa and Cree inhabiting the regions north of
the Great Lakes to James and Hudson Bay.
The range of the groups whose culture is here outlined embraces the three
life zones of Merriam with their biota of characteristic plant and animal forms.
The arctic life zone, the treeless tundra biome, extends somewhat irregularly
from 52° to 58° N. to the end of land at Hudson Strait. Its northern portion
is reported uninhabited by either Indians or Eskimos. South of this the Hudsonian
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
zone with its transcontinental coniferous forest biome (Shelford), or
boreal forest (Weaver and Clements), is the habitat of caribou-hunting
bands known as northern Naskapi. Below them in the Canadian life zone,
from 48° to 52° N., and more distinctly in the same biome with the eastern
association of fir, spruce, and
moose
^[]^^
moose
^
, and more varied plant growths, dwell
the populations known as Montagnais covering the whole St. Lawrence watershed
to the river and gulf of that name.
The interior plateau of Labrador has been long exposed to denudation by
glaciers and unsqual weathering of component rocks which with severity of
climatic extremes renders the land unfit for a dense animal and plant popula–
tion. A nature-governed equilibrium of the human and lower animal population
inevitably results, making existence precarious and difficult for both.
Natural environment in the case of the Montagnais-Naskapi has imposed serious
handicaps upon certain aspects of their cultural development which go beyond
the securing of food. The irregularity of subsistence drawn solely from wold
animal resources in the northern forest zone leaves its inhabitants facing
the seasonal menace of annihilation of whole families through starvation –
the "silent enemy" of boreal mankind.
The origin of the Montagnais-Naskapi remains a matter of conjecture.
No migration legend exists. Some acceptable evidences of linguistic affinity
with the Cree and Ojibwa, and of physical resemblances with the Athabaskan
groups of the Northwest lead to a supposition that ancestors of the Labradorean
Indians may have drifted northeast in the last half millenium from some area
north of the Great Lakes around the southern shores of James and Hudson bays.
In this locale they may have had contact associations with Eskimo groups. The
Indian penetration of the Labrador peninsula seems to have followed a re
s
treat
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
of northern inland-dwelling Eskimos to the Atlantic coast at no very remote
period, and the expulsion of the latter from the southeastern coasts by
about 1650. These are, however, questions which cannot be settled on exist–
ing grounds of knowledge. Future archaeological exploration may provide
their solution.
The historical perspective is a relatively long one, reaching back to
contacts in the early 17th century between the Montagnais of the St. Lawrence
coast and the French R
e
^
é
^
collet missionaries, 1615 to shortly after 1625, the
Jesuits, 1625 through most of the 18th century, and the Oblates through the
19th century. The bands in James Bay region were touched by Albanel (Jesuit)
in 1671-72, while D'Olbeau (R
e
^
é
^
collect) penetrated to the Labrador Eskimos in
1636. Following this were Moravian attempts in 1752 which did not succeed
until 1771 when the first Eskimo mission was established on the coast at Nain.
The Jesuit Relations describe early conditions of life among the Montagnais in
considerable detail, and the oblates of the 19th century produced important
linguistic contributions. By this time the aegis of authorship passed from
the hands of French ecclesiasts to those of explorers, adventurers, naturalists,
sportsmen, and some traders who wrote in English. Among them the contributions
of Cartwright (1793), Hind (1863), and Turner (1894), constitute first-hand
sources of reference to the peninsula and its inhabitants. Only in the 20th
century did a few ethnologists turn attention to the field, and it is largely
from their published studies that any scientific details of the picture of
native life can be drawn. The statements and abstracts given in the following
sketch are from the writer's source material on the Montagnais-Naskapi unless
otherwise indicated.
EA-Anthrop. Spe
^
c
^
k: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Designations for the Montagnais-Naskapi
It has long been the habit of writers to designate two major tribal
groupings of the Indians of the Labrador peninsula, calling them either
Montagnais or Naskapi. This usage calls for some corrective treatment, by
repeating the circumstances emphasized in previous articles by the writer,
and rejecting the less critical terminology which erroneously implies the
existence of two distinct kinds of people in the actually homogeneous but
locally variable native population. Three larger geographical groupings may
indeed by made. One of these areas lies in the districts on the east side
of James Bay and embraces the bands from East Main and Rupert's House to Lake
Mistassini where dialect and life-supporting activity are somewhat at variance
with the rest of the peninsula. Some of the ethnological characteristics of
these people show enough affinity with the Cree across the bay to have induced
ethnologists to list them as Eastern Cree. Closer testing of these character–
istics indicates that their affinities mentioned lie as much toward the east
with the Labradorean peoples proper as with the Cree. Another grouping is
made on the basis that the height of land forms a boundary which separates
the northern bands, denoted by the term Naskapi, from the so-called Montagnais who
inhabit the drainage division southward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and east–
ward to the Strait of Belle Isle. It is now decided that the inhabitants of
the northern interior and the southern coasts are both in speech and culture
basically identical, even making allowances for our meager knowledge of their
dialects and eco-ethnic variations. The three subdivisions referred to may,
however, be kept as such for convenience in general reference.
The term Naskapi is not a tribal proper name. It is derived from the
epithet
nask
a
^
á
^
pi
(
nask
e
^
é
^
pi
) meaning a person who is crude in manner of life,
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
"uncivilized" and un-Christianized, equivalent to "barbarian". The people
known popularly as Naskapi do not respond to the name. Their own self-name
is Nenenot or
I
^
Í
^
not, meaning "men." The so-called Montagnais are their sophis–
ticated congeners, who likewise denote themselves as "men,"
i
^
í
^
lnuts
, in their
dialect. Dating from Cartwright's time (circa 1775) and continued by Hind
(1863) and Turner (1894) the term Naskapi has appeared as Nasquapee, Naskopi,
Skoffie, and variant spellings of the general epithet, mostly from the pens
of English writers. The term Montagnais ("people of the mountains") was
initiated by early French missionary explorers, and when used by English
authors, was translated into "Mountaineers". The term is not to be confused
with the Athabaskan Montagnais or Montagnards in the Northwest Territories.
The hyphenated proper name Montgnais-Naskapi is now the accepted
designation for the Algonkian-speaking Indian popu
o
^
l
^
ations of the Labrador
peninsula at large. Referring to the common tendency among writers, both
scientific and popular (upon whom Turner and Hind exerted some influence),
to enumerate two "tribal" divisions in the area, namely the Montagnais and
the Naskapi, Hallowell (1929) says:
"The more we get to know about these Indians the clearer it becomes that
this differentiation is arbitrary, if not actually misleading. They are
indeed slight differences in language and culture to be encountered as we go
from north to south as well as from west to east. But in neither of these
directions is it possible to draw a hard and fast line between bands on any
linguistic or ethnological basis and say, these Indians are Naskapi and those
Montagnais. The lack of tribal organization is anoth
^
e
^
r factor which also makes
it meaningless to speak exclusively in terms of any separate grouping... at
present it seems more rational
[:
]
either to refer to the different bands by name,
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
thus localizing them according to extent of their hunting territories, or,
in speaking inclusively, to use the hyphenated term Montagnais-Naskapi".
Band Distribution and Population
When
^
alluding to themselves,
^
the Montagnais-Naskapi make a general distinction between those
bands which hold hunting territories in the interior plateau of the penin–
sula and those which frequent the coastal regions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Those of the interior designate themselves as "Interior Forest People" while
the coastal groups are known as "Seacoast People." The distinction comes
nearest to distinguishing those termed Montagnais and those known as Naskapi
in the terminology of writers. The designations carry no social differentia–
tion, being purely geographical with, however, in recent times some differences
in the degree of sophistication brought about by contact with Christianity and
the extent of acculturation resulting from dependence upon the trading posts.
According to a survey of the habitat areas of the geographical band units
made by the writer between 1910 and 1936, there are twenty-six groupings –
including one which Dr. W. D. Strong has added. From the southwestern portion
of the peninsula to the northern and northeastern terminus of Indian occupancy
the following list enumerates the divisions, with translations of their proper
names, given by band members, in quotes.
Lake St. John band, "flat lake people"; Chicoutimi band, "head of the
tide people"; Tadousac band, "gulf, or steep river mouth people"; Escoumains
band, "river of clam brooks, or clam river people"; Bereimis band, "coming out
of the interior to coast people"; Godbout band, "whirlpool people"; Shelter
Bay band, "mossy portage people"; Ste. Marguerite band, "river parallel with
hills people"; Moisie band, "big river people"; Mingan band, "where something
EA-
[:
]^
Anthrop.
^
Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
(whales?) is washed ashore people"; Natashkwan band, "hunt bear people";
Musquarro, or Romaine River, band, "red paint river people"; St. Augustin
band, "bastard, or fatherless boy, river people"; Northwest River band,
"outlet, or foot of lake people"; Davis Inlet band, (proposed by Dr. Strong
with same proper name as preceding); Michikamau band, "great lake people";
Petisikapau band, "lake narrow in middle people"; Kaniapiskau band, "lake
with rocky point people"; Nichikun band, "otter hunting people"; Mistassini
band, "great rock people"; Rupert House band, "on the other side of sea,
salt water, or salt water house people"; East Main band, "east main people";
Big River band, "big river people"; White Whale River band, "white whale
river people"; Ungava band, "far-away forest people"; Barren Ground band,
"barren ground river people."
It would be difficult to assign a date to the origin of these bands.
Some of them check etymologically and geographically with those given by the
early missionaries and explorers, while some others in the western or James
Bay districts seem to trace derivation from the names of Hudson's Bay Company
posts established in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Historical
perspectives are exceedingly difficult to draw where native
s
mobility has
been so great through long continued influences of the fur trade and through
changes in abundance and migration of animal food resources.
That band constituency is undergoing change without let-up was evident
throughout the period of the writer's field investigation. Through marriage
out of the band, epidemics, and family migration due to decline of fur
trapping and hunting, especially in districts where white encroachment has
affected natural conditions, some of the bands on the Gulf coast have
dwindled to insignificance as others have become augmented.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Writers, traders and post officials almost without exception have
commented upon the rapid decline in numbers of the natives throughout the
peninsula. The Indians themselves share this opinion and attributed their
fate to the change of culture brought about by the attempt to live in the
white man's way. The Jesuit documents of the earliest missionaries express
the same lament concerning the rapid decline of the natives through disease,
alcoholism, and starvation. Disappearance of game — in this case chiefly
the caribou — is always cited as an important factor. With all this in
mind, it is of interest to compare the two lists below giving the numbers
of the Indians at the various posts in 1857 and in 1924. (Spellings are
given as in the sources referred to.)
Indian Population of Labrador Peninsula in 1857 (from estimate given
in
Report
of Committee on Hudson's Bay Company, Appendix 11, 1857);
Tadousac, 100; Chicoutimi, 100; Lake St. John, 250; Isle Jeremie, 250;
Godbout, 100; Seven Islands, 300; Mingan, 500; Musquarro, 100; Matashquan, 100;
Northwest River, 100; Fort Nascopie, 200; Rigolet, 100; Kibokok, 100; Great
Whale River, 250; Little Whale River, 250; Fort George, 200; Rupert's House,
250; Mistassinni, 200; Temiskaming, 75; Woswonaby, 150; Pike Lake, 80;
Nitchequon, 80; Caniapiscow, 75. Total 3,910.
Population of Montagnais-Naskapi in 1924 (
from Census of Indians and
Eskimos in Canada
, Dept. of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, 1924): East Main, 251;
Fort George, 479; Great Whale River, 100; Namiska (James Bay), 152; Neoskwaso
(James Bay), 140; Rupert's House, 262; Fort Ch
8
^
i
^
mo, 213; Georges River, 36;
Port Burwell, 152; Whale River, 57; Northwest River, 308; Mistassini Lake, 159;
Waswanipi, 177; Natashkwan, 74; Romaine, 156; Ste. Augustine, 34; Seven Islands
agency, 380; Montagnais of Pte. Bleue (Lake St. John), 773; Mingan, 152;
Bersimis, 565; Escoumains, 27. Total, 4,648.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais_Naskapi
Physical Characteristics
The only published sources on the physical anthropology of the Labrador
Indians are those of Hallowell (1929) presenting data obtained in the field
in 1923 and 1924, and Strong (published by Stewart, 1939). Strong in 1927
and 1928 obtained measurements on 11 males and 7 females of the Barren Ground
and Davis Inlet bands of Montaignais-Naskapi. Hallowell's measurements were
made on 41 males and 29 females at the Seven Islands and Natasquan posts of
the Hudson's Bay Company. They represented the following local bands of
Montagnais-Naskapi: Ste. Marguerite, Moisie, Ungava, Michikamau, Nichicun,
Shelter Bay, Natasquan, Northwest River, Mistassini and Lake St. John.
Hallowell also made use of measurements of Montagnais taken by Boas in 1895
and a few additional cranial measurements of Montagnais from Lake St. John
taken by Michelson and Speck. His material, scanty as it is, afforded a
basis for comparison with Eskimo and Indian measurements.
Abstracting from Hallowell's study the essential conclusions may be
briefly summed up as follows. The available data under analysis do not
indicate that the Montagnais-Naskapi show features unequivocally traceable
to Eskimo admixture. They represent a fairly homogeneous type clearly dis–
tinguishable from their neighbors the Labrador Eskimos. Compared with the
latter they are taller, their heads are broader, both absolutely and in
proportion to their length, their faces are broader and shorter, their noses
are broader, their mandibular breadth is less although it is greater than
that of other Eskimos. The hypsicephalic character of the Eskimo skull is
a feature not shared by the Labrador Indians. Hallowell's investigation
confirms the idea expressed by previous students of physical types in the
East that marked differences distinguish the Indians north of the St. Lawrence
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
from those south of it. The former have shorter stature, are more brachy–
cephalic, and probably have broader faces than the latter. In respect to
admixture with whites, Hallowell defines the Labrador Indians as representing
an aboriginal type of physique, "not pure in the sense that no mixture has
ever taken place, but nevertheless conserving in a large percentage of
individuals what are essentially Indian characteristics."
The closest racial affiliations are traced on the whole with the
brachycephalic peoples to the westward, perhaps those speaking Athapaskan
tongues.
Language
In the over-all classification of Algonkian languages the dialects
constituting the group known as Montagnais-Naskapi have been historically
linked with the Cree by Michelson (1913) in a comparative study of the stock.
He observes that Montagnais is practically the same language as Cree, inferring
that the idioms spoken by those bands we know as Naskapi come under the same
caption. Michelson places Cree-Montagnais in the subdivision as Algonkian
languages which he calls the Central subtype which comprises also Menominee,
Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Shawnee. Regarded historically it would seem that
the distinctions between Montagnais-Naskapi and Cree dialectic groups are
not far-reaching enough to point to a very long period of separation of the
two groups east and west of James Bay. Ethnic similarities also point in
the same direction.
There are minor variations in idiom, vocabulary meanings, and especially
phonetic usages in the dialects spoken by the Labrador brands ranging from
Rupert's House on James Bay (classified by Skinner as Cree but corrected by
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Michelson to be included with Montagnais) to those spoken on the northern
and southeastern coasts. The tongues of the whole area are mutually intelli–
gible as the sound shifts are not radical, which is a convenience for inter–
preters. Thus in the northern and eastern bands the lateral
l
is wanting,
being replaced by
n
in the northern and eastern interior in what is generally
terms Naskapi territory, by
y
in the dialects of the James Bay area. A few
of the word forms for food animals and the endings denoting plurality in the
Naskapi dialects of the northeast approach in form those of the Labrador
Eskimos but these do not go far enough to indicate any genetic relationship
between the two linguistic stocks.
Since the establishment of missions and trading posts in the peninsula,
graphic systems have crept into use among the Montagnais-Naskapi. The
bands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast, Catholicized by the French, have
acquired a modified European script which is almost universally known among
young and old. In the northern interior and along the western coast of the
peninsula in the drainage area of James Bay, which has long been under
Anglican influence, the Cree syllabary is employed in religious tracts and
even in message writing. The latter system has been extending its range
eastward to the northern Naskapi bands as far as Ungava in recent times.
The Montagnais-Naskapi dialects contain few terms denoting objects and
ideas of European origin taken over directly from French or English.
Cultural innovations are covered by descriptive terms using native radicals.
Material Culture
In the Labrador area Indian subsistence depends exclusively upon
hunting, trapping and fishing. The equipment of the chase includes the
5 to 7 foot simple flat bow of spruce or tamarack and arrows with bone
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
points doubly barbed. The crossbow is found as a target weapon among all
the bands. Arrow points are frequently merely sharpened bone splinters
inserted into the thickened outer end of the shaft. The arrow feathering,
and the so-called Mediterranean form of arrow release, suggest Eskimo
relationship in their derivation. A lance with bone point for spearing
caribou and beaver, a fish spear (leister) for torching salmon, and the
toggle-head harpoon (though lacking the foreshaft) for salmon and seals,
also indicate a similar common source. The spear thrower (
atlatl
) is
unknown to the Montagnais-Naskapi. The man's knife, the usual circumboreal
crooked knife with an iron blade, is in universal use in making these things.
Its archaeological background has been reconstructed by Collins (1943).
Gill nets, supposedly of European origin, made of rawhids or of commercial
twince with shuttles of European type, and gullet fishhooks of bone which
have to be swallowed by the fish, are universally employed in the area.
Snares and deadfalls to kill food animals and fur bearers are in constant
service. (Cooper, 1938, Lips, 1936). Among the northern bands, when and
where caribou are abundant, the drive method for mass killing is resorted
to by the hunters — under the communal system — who drive the animals
into a
cul de sac
or into the water; sometimes the caribou are driven within
a fenced area formed by bending small trees top to base making partly
cleared lanes leading to the water where they are speared from canoes. (Turner).
Hunter scouts observe the massing of the animals from look-out trees.
This archaic method of killing hoofed game is practised throughout the
intercontinental taiga region. Hunting by stalking with a head-decoy of
caribou or wolf head skin is well known.
In transportation, the bark canoe and the man-drawn toboggan are part
of every hunter's furnishings; in later times the wooden-runner sled drawn
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais_Naskapi
by dogs has been used by the Montagnais who are in contact with the French.
The bands in the southern part of the peninsula have adopted the French
manner of dog driving to built-up sleds; the dogs are harnessed with shafts
and collars and arranged in tandem; the bands of the north and east have
adopted the Eskimo fashion with the dogs harnessed fanwise, each with its separate
trace leading to the sled. Dog moccasins of leather protect their feet from
being cut by crusted snow. Historically considered, dog traction is evidently
of both French and Eskimo derivation. Above all in importance in winter
hunting is the very broad, rounded snowshoe. A narrower "plank snowshoe"
(spruce or birch) is made for use in thawing snow time in spring. The snowshoe
stands forth so prominently in the whole area that Birket-Smith speaks of it
as a snowshoe-culture area.
Birch-bark canoes are in constant daily use for fishing and getting
about when water is open. In construction (moderately elevated ends, gunwales,
ribs, and lengthwise strips of filling between them and the bark shell, spruce–
root sewing and seam pitching with resin) as well as form and habits of use, the
canoes
^
are
^
virtually alike all over the peninsula. They correspond strikingly
across the entire boreal forest area of the North. Canvas covering has exten–
sively supplanted the use of bark. When used in rocky streams, where a shoving
pole may be needed also, the canoe may temporarily have protective outside strips
of wood lashed to its bottom. In favorable winds blanket sail is erected on
paddles or uprights. Among Montagnais bands, a temporary canoe of several
moose hides sewed end to end over a makeshift framework is used only for
descending rivers on the spring trip to the rendezvous, to be dismantled when
destination is reached. No notice of the dugout canoe is on record for the area.
Practically no one learns to swim due to the coldness of the water, but hunters
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
sometimes cross deep streams, attempting to swim by means of thin plaques of
wood used as hand paddles.
Clothing of the Montagnais-Naskapi is of several materials. One type
is of hare-skin strips, woven on a loom in the knotless loop technique and
made into sweater-like jackets with hoods, and into leggings, wrist bands,
neck bands, sraps, separate sleeves, socks, and sleeping robes. Until re–
cently the isolated Naskapi also made winter clothing of whitened caribou–
skin hooded and sleeved long-coats, and leggings with detached moccasins of
the gathered-vamp type, all bearing painted designs; except for moccasins,
these are almost obsolete in the Montagnais area. Montagnais-Naskapi tanning, as
among other Indian groups, is done with animals' brains, the leather smoked
brown to make it washable. Caribou skin unsmoked, hence unwashable, and
exposed to intense cold to make it almost white is made by Naskapi bands of
the extreme north into the outer clothing which is decorated with painted
designs. Soft tanning with or without the hair is a perfected technique
among all the band divisions.
The men mostly have their hair bobbed at the neck, some wearing it long
and confined except for a rag or band to keep it out of the eyes. Tattooing
of lines on chin and arms is reported by Hind (1853). Combs are made of wood
and comb cleaners of porcupine tails. Women wear their hair wrapped in little
wooden blocks hanging over each ear. Women also wear red and black caps of
fine cloth; men often wear a leather cap with a visor. Feathers are never
worn by either sex.
Household furnishings consist of the ubiquitous birch-bark containers,
baskets and pails, food vessels and trays, most of them ornamented with con–
ventional etched designs. Bags and pouches of many varied forms are made of
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
mammal and bird skin with the pelage and plumage left on. Caribou leg-skins
sewed lengthwise form bags to hold dry food, traps, and other possessions.
No cordage of vegetable fiber or roots, grass baskets (as among the
Labrador Eskimos), or any form of textile weaving aside from rabbit skin
garments and blankets, have so far been noted in the Labrador region. All
lines and attachments are of leather or rawhide (babiche).
Shelter is provided by the conical, many-poled birch-bark wigwam in
the southern area, while among the northern bands in whose zone birch bark
cannot be secured, it is of soft-tanned caribou skin. These lodges are
practically identical with bark and skin houses (
tcum
) of the Paleo-Asiatic
Siberian reindeer area — an unbroken sequence from Asia to America. In the
area where birch bark is used, three rows of bark encircle the wigwam from
bottom to top. The dome-shaped lodge of skin and later of canvas is also
general among the northern and eastern bands. Heat and light in the camps
come from wood fires. A noteworthy feature here is the hunter's temporary
shelter, an open-topped, head-high windbreak of canvas or skin thrown about
the wigwam poles. Protection from the cold and wind depends solely upon
immense fires of deadwood built within a trench cleared of snow with a
wooden snow shovel.
While the conical skin wigwam is an all the year shelter among the
northern bands, a diversity of house types occurs in the forested area of
the southern watershed. For winter housing here the Montagnais families
build a structure with log s
l
ides waist or shoulder high, banked up to pre–
vent wind and ground drift of snow, rectangular in floor plan, with a gabled
roof shingled with large slabs of birch or spruce bark. The source of this
type of house may possibly be traced to whites, yet the log understructure is
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
reported elsewhere in the northeast, and house squares sometimes slightly
excavated are visible on ancient camping sites. Other modifications in camp
structure appear in conical wigwams of spruce bark and planks, logs or slabs crowded
together around the sides then covered with a thick thatch of boughs of conifers
so as to be weathertight and almost rainproof. Flooring is universally of
meticulously laid spruce or balsam boughs upon which spare hides (now blankets
or canvas) are spread for bedding and seating places. The bark or bough covered
lean-to is widespread in the hunting grounds. Small frame houses are now built
and owned at the mission and trading centers by families who sojourn there.
Tent or wigwam shelters are occupied by them now only in the winter hunting
excursions or as temporary trappers' camps.
Food economy of the Montagnais-Naskapi is definitely limited to wild
animal resources — large and small mammals, wild fowl and their eggs, and
fish. Flash of fur bearers, all birds, and nutritious organisms in the animal,
plant, and fungus realms are eaten during the oft-recurring, constantly imminent
periods of famine. The diet is supplemented by wild berried in season, extra
quantities being dried for later use. Salt-water animal life is disdained
habitually by the inland bands, but those on the coast take seals, eat cast-up
whales, and consume shellfish, as the shell deposits at estuaries and heads of
coves on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast mutely attest. Clams are there abundant
but the belief is generally held that they are poisonous in summer.
Food is prepared by roasting on spits and leaning-sticks driven into the
ground or snow before open fires of deadwood, or boiled in metal vessels obtained
now through trade, formerly and even yet when necessary in folded birch-bark
containers suspended by pothooks of wood or withes over living embers. Those
who eat flesh in the raw state are despised creatures below the status of real me
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Intestinal contents of animals, both mammals and fish, are at times, however,
taken raw by starving hunters, and the same has been reported in respect to
blood of freshly killed caribou. Viscera of herbivorous animals (caribou,
beaver, porcupine especially), cooked beaver and muskrat tails, caribou and
moose noses and foetuses are delicacies. Milk and vegetables are neither
known, desired, nor supplied by traders. Surplus animal flesh is sun-dried
on racks, and fish are split and dried to be used during shortages.
Tools and implements are largely of bone and antlers. Among these are
harpoons, arrowheads, fish-barbs, skinning tools of bear tibia cut obliquely,
scrapers of caribou leg-bone sharpened at one side for removing hair from
hides, grease scrapers for work on hides of the same bone cut obliquely and
notched at the end, snowshoe needles, awls, knives, meat picks, perforators,
bell-shaped hand mauls for cracking bones to secure marrow, needle cases, bag
fasteners, and pipe cleaners. It is indicative of an early phase of industry
that the bone-edged tools are often not hafted but are used in the bare hand.
In woodwork there are shallow oval bowls, spoons with flat wide bowls, drinking
cups with toggle fastening for belt, needles for weaving hare-skin garments
and robes, net needles, canoe mallets, knife and awl handles, and net floats,
long for open water in summer, short for use beneath the ice. Among recent
manufacturers iron has come into use for the crooked-knife blade, "semi-lunar"
scraper (Eskimo
ulu
type) used on seal skins, awl point, and European file and ax.
Stone implements are restricted to hand mauls for breaking caribou bones
and pounding meat, net sinkers and whetstones, and the thin-walled, slate
tobacco pipes with a keel base. On pre-European camp sites we find the curved
edge stone gouge, a slightly grooved ax, slate points and large chipped blades
of quartzite and quartz, evidently knives and scapers. The stone missiles are
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
usually stemmed, resembling those of the Eskimos.
Animal fat is extensively consumed both raw and cooked, this and oils
being kept in bags made of animal intestines, bladders, and among coastal
bands, of seal stomachs.
Water for drinking is melted from snow in winter. Tree sap is used to
sweeten drinks in the bush life, commercial sugar and salt when obtainable
through trade. Alcoholic drinks are avoided as beverages by many of the
remote hunters, but indulgence to excess when "fire water" is accessible is
habitual among Indians resident at the posts and mission stations on the
coasts. All tobacco used is in the form of "twist." Its scarcity and cost
prevents smoking to excess. The chewing of tobacco has not been taken over.
The smoking of tobacco and imbibing of spirituous liquors have entered into
the category of a sacrament reserved by devout hunters to serve the purpose
of an inflatus to their soul-spirts, by acting upon the heart and circulation,
which intensifies their spiritual power to overcome animals required for
subsistence. (See Religious Beliefs.)
Finally to be noted is the method followed everywhere of the preservation
of extra supplies of food, clothing, and equipment on scaffolds of logs (caches)
placed in full view near routes of travel or at hunting stations. Such stores
of vitally important goods are never violated by others except under extreme
necessity, in which case restitution is invariably made later as a volun
^
t
^
ary
moral obligation.
Art
Art often goes far toward expressing the inner, finer qualities of a
people. With Montagnais-Naskapi a rigorous life struggle seems to act as an
incentive to aesthetic development, for their art life is profusely and
insistently shown as it is among the Eskimos who surround them on three sides.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais_Naskapi
Between the two, however, there are few correspondences in art technique or
designing unless possibly there has been some carrying over of Indian motifs
into Eskimo regions, as Birket-Smith and Jenness have reported. Labrador
Indian decoration includes painting with mineral pigments on caribou skin
clothing, personal effects, and household utensils of wood and bone among the
northern bands — the so-called Naskapi. Beadwork has lately been introduced
through supplies brought in by traders. Among the southern bands, the Montagnais
of the Subarctic where the canoe or paper birch tree abounds have well-developed
techniques of etching designs, both by incising and sgraffito, on containers
and domestic utensils of birch bark peeled in the spring. Beadwork and silk
embroidery have also come in more extensively through proximity with trading
centers. The use of symmetrical double curves, done either in narrow lines
or in broad bands, in painting, bark etching, and in later beadwork, expresses
the basic pattern of decorative art throughout the Algonkian-speaking North.
It distinguishes this art province from others on the continent southward has
and westwart except in certain areas where its influence in decoration has
been felt. The ubiquity of technique, form, and stylism throughout the whole
circumpolar belt from Asia
f
^
t
^
o North America has challenged the attention of
students of art history and strengthenes the theories of intercontinental common
elements. Geometrical figures, zigzags, triangles, diamonds, crowded parallel
lines, squares, and dot ornaments also enrich the design register of the
Montagnais-Naskapi. These art forms are too universally distributed over
the rest of the continent to be particularly distinctive of the groups in
question.
Symbolical interpretation of decorative patterns varies with individuals,
as questioning has shown. In some of the southern bands there is an art
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
tradition that associates itself with floral forms, and occasional prophy–
lactic functions are associated with their use. Other designs are placed
on articles possessed by the hunter and his family to affort satisfaction
to animals slain to supply food and resources. Whatever in Nature gives itself
to the use of mankind, as it was ordained by the supreme Creator or Owner,
derives compensating satisfaction upon the demise of an animal, through being
thought of with gratitude, and through being depicted in art. The
ap
^
pa
^
inted
skin clothing of the Naskapi is thus propitiatory when worn by the hunter of
animals. This is a ruling folk tradition in representative art of the Montagnais–
Naskapi. Designs accordingly have spiritual control power, are of dream deriva–
tion in many instances, and also serve as fetishes in the usual sense of the term.
Porcupine-quill and moose-hair embroidery, as
^
a
^
mong the Algonkians to the south–
ward, and sculptural carvings in the round as among the Eskimos on the north
and east, are wanting, and pictography as among groups in the Great Lakes
area is only moderately prominent.
There is no valid evidence that any techniques of porcupine-quill decora–
tion on either leather or birch bark are known to any bands of the Montagnais–
Naskapi, although a Labrador race of the animal (
Erethizon dorsatus
) occurs
in the forested portions of the peninsula as far north as the height of land
and even beyond. The flesh of the porcupine is eaten and its bristly tail is
converted into a hair brush and comb cleaner throughout this whole area and
the regions westward.
Archaeological Background
Treatment of the prehistory of the Labradorean area must be brief
the
^
Because of the
^the
paucity of published source material. Aside from reports describing archaeological
sites along the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast eastwar
t
^
d
^
to the Atlantic littoral and
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
along the east coast of the peninsula northward to Nain, no
r
thing exists in
adequate form upon which to base conclusions in regard to sequence of occupa–
tion, racial make-up of former populations, or changes in pattern of material
life. No region of such size on the continent has been less explored. The
field work of Wintemberg, Leechman, Strong, and Bird, some of it as yet
unpublished, constitutes the source matter from which information can be
drawn.
Dr. W.A. Ritchie has recently concisely summarized the available data and
formulated some conclusions from which abstractions may be made (Ritchie, 1946).
Referring to a study by Spaulding, he points out that the basic cultural complex
of the coniferous forest belt of the Northeast should be traceable to a simlar
ecological milieu in Siberia extending across the boreal zone of the Old World
into Scandinavia. He observes that, as part of the Laurentian Aspect, it may
"conform to the postulated basis ice-fishing culture of Birket-Smith and to
the paleo-Algonkian stratum, so consistently argued by Spe
d
^
c
^
k, except that a
marked brachycephalic factor evidently characterized the Laurentian population."
(Ritchie, 1946, p. 103). He further accepts the idea of a still earlier,
relatively simple non-agricultural level, also without pottery, metal and
smoking pipes, carried by a dolichocephalic people (referring to the physical
type south of the St. Lawrence prior to the incursion of
[:
]
broader-headed
types) in the north almost as far east as the Atlantic coast. Some Eskimo
analogies appear, though not so strongly as in the Laurentian complex, and
both may be derived from a common parentage of Asiatic origin. Furthermore,
he thinks, "The physical
^
e
^
lement of the Algonkian north of the St. Laurence may
be much older in the Wabanaki territory south of the river
[:
]
than previously
suspected; in fact may have been submerged and overlain by a second infiltration
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
of long-heads." His final recapitulation states that the Canadian forests
apparently sent forth a different physical and cultural alliance on the heels
of the early Lamoka dolichocephalic contingent. These were a brachycephalic
people equipped with stone gouges, ground slate cutting tools, "plummets,"
and bone harpoons of the Laurentian complex, who in the postulated Archaic
time period worked their way southward into New England and in diminishing
numbers still farther south. Not until examination of camp and dwelling
sites in the interior of Labrador have been reported — and the task of
exploration will be troublesome, difficult and expensive — will it become
possible to resolve the puzzling prehistoric set-up to a plausible solution.
As Spaulding recapitulates the situation, the vague Siberian Neolithic
and the total lack of information from most of the Canadian forest zone are
an effective barrier to final conclusions, yet the prehistoric Stone Age in
Labrador and Newfoundland has been shown to be a relatively old and widespread
Laurentian complex. An important aspect of the laurentian problem is the matter
of Eskimo influence, as indicated by presence in the former of ground slate
points, "semi-lunar" knives, and some other traits shared with the Dorset
Culture. Whether this interchange took place in the eastern Arctic at a
relativ
^
e
^
ly late date, or at an earlier period somewhere in central Canada as
Speck and Jenness have surmised (Spaulding,1946, pp.165-67), where Laurentian
has not been found, is a problem for the future. In any case "the Laurentian
appears to be closely connected with an old, and probably basic level of boreal
Algonkian culture because of its relatively early chronological position and its
prominence in the archaic Algonkian area" (Spaulding, ibid. 166).
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Social Organization
The Family
. The basis of Montagnais-Naskapi social organization, so far
as such may be said to exist in the almost formless societal communities of
these mobile hunters, lies in the loosely united grouping of the extended family.
As a unit of affiliation the family traces its biological descent from both
paternal and maternal lineages. It includes also married-in and adopted
members and such collaterals in its generations as may be induced by circum–
stances to cast in their lot with a family head, thus constituting a group of
near kin. No form of unilateral clan or gens lineage, of exogamy, ritual
privilege or exclusive ceremonial observances, or any ideological "totemistic"
attributes clusters about the family grouping. The families, however, in most
cases carry proper names derived from male ancestors through a run of genera–
tions and to this extent answer to a weak patrilineal classification. The
newly married couple resides usually with the husband's family (patrilocality).
Furthermore, the family acknowledges by customary procedure the leadership of a
male patriarch, whose counsel is sought and followed in matters pertaining to
social usage and in particular to hunting movements. Such an elder usually,
formerly invariably, possesses power over spiritual forces in greater or less
degree as shamans.
The position of the family in the social-economic framework of the Montagnais
bands occupying the coniferous forest area (taiga) south of the height of land is
of paramount importance. For each family here holds inherited proprietary rights
in a specified tract of land for the purposes of hunting, trapping, and other
life-supporting activities, the tracts being known as family "hunting territories"
by ethnologists and in the native dialects as well. Free land is nonexistent and
there is no free-land hunting or trapping as among the Eskimos nor is there terra
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
incognita. A brief summarization of the characteristics of the family hunting
territory system shows the following list of traits:
(1) The allotment of the land tracts in severalty to the family groups
is traced to a mythical origin, to the era of assignment of life characters
to animals and man by the Supreme Being or "Owner." Mankind was subdivided
into groups of kindred each receiving its terrain in severalty to reside in
perpetually. (2) The supernaturally ordained source of land tenure rights
means that the family hunting grounds are inalienable outside the family
through sale, encroachment, or conquest, insuring them and their posterity
of a place on earth to live in as long as the family exists. (3) The
boundaries of the family districts are well known geographically by all the
males of the kin group, and are sometimes marked by "blaze" signs and picto–
graphic symbols on birch bark as well as fairly accurate cartographic chartings.
(4) Trespass into another family's district, especially when accompanied by
looting of "caches," is considered a social wrong and is resented as a serious
violation of accepted "social law." Physical retaliation, however, is not
sanctioned, yet by resort to conjuring bad luck or other misfortune may be
brought upon offenders as a punitive measure. (5) When a family is unable
to exploit their usufruct, then the tract ownership reverts to the nearest of
genic kin (in some cases to kith). (6) Conservation of the animal resources
[:
]
in the family hunting districts is intelligently practiced to insure con–
tinuity of the food supply for present and future exploitation. The "quarter
system" of rotation of subdivided areas of the whole tract allows a rest
period for the animal stock to breed and recuperate. In short the policy of
"cropping" not "mining" of life resources is rigidly maintained. (7) Family
size varies from dwindling units of half a dozen persons to a dozen or more.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
(8) The hunting grounds are inherited more commonly in the male line from
father to sons; should there be none of the latter surviving, then to sons–
in-law, or to widows as an inducement to remarriage. In each band there
are some few individuals who have no hunting grounds, living like vagabonds,
gypsy-like, on the bounty of others. (9) An annual family migration from
the hunting grounds takes place at the break-up of winter, leading to a
rendezvous on the shore of a convenient lake, or at the sea coast as has
been the procedure since the founding of the fur-trading and mission centers
on the Atlantic, James Bay, and Gulf of St. Lawrence coasts. Thus a two–
jointed move brings the congregated families together for the short summer
season to foster social intercourse and facilitates contact with the outside
world. By the end of July or in early August the families embark on their
n
^
j
^
ourney of return to the hunting and trapping grounds where the normal winter
life is resumed. The life regime of these summer and winter periods is
widely different in social and economic activities and in diet, corresponding
briefly to the two-phase economic cycle of the Eskimos. (1
0^0^) Kinship ter–
minology determines the extent of extended family relationships. (The fore–
going outline of the family and its hunting system is not an exhaustive one.
It is drawn up from published accounts and surveys so far completed by Cooper,
Flannery, Davidson, Hallowell, and Speck.)
Dr. J. M. Cooper, after exhaustive analysis of his own and others' inves–
tigations in the field and of historical documents, sums up his view of the
economic-social situation as follows: "It seems reasonably probable, although
not finally established by any means, that the family hunting ground system as
found among the northern Algonquians is in its main lines aboriginal and
pre-Columbian." (Cooper, 1939, p. 89.)
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
The Band Grouping
. Thus far attention has been devoted only to the
family and its social-economic manifestations as one of the two systems in
vogue among the Montagnais-Naskapi and other holarctic hunting peoples.
This brings us to consideration of the next social category, that of the
local band groupings. In the latter category we find that aggregations of
related families constitute groupings within specified territorial boundaries.
These we designate local bands, known in the speech of the natives as '^"^Peoples."
These are the band divisions referred to previously as comprising the total
Indian population of the Labrador peninsula, twenty-six in number. The families
comprising the bands recognize a degree of group solidarity which in more or–
ganized levels of culture would constitute "tribes," as the term is ethnolo–
gically defined. The social-economic framework of the band embraces all the
elements of family structure, adding to them the cohesion of a wider classifica–
tion in community of interest, sense of looser relationship, some weak political
princip
^
l
^
as, occasionally recognition of a patriarchal headman or nominal chief,
and a communal ownership of territory including the family holdings. In the
inevitable course of relationship with representatives of the Dominion or
Provincial administration, the office of "chief" has been formally created and
filled by a selected influential family headman in each band, provided that he
be in harmony (voluntarily or by diplomatic coercive policy) with the views and
purposes of the Indian administrative bureau. The Montagnais-Naskapi ordinarily
designate themselves when questioned as to identity by the band names, which
are determined by the geographical locale as will be seen by referring to the
list of bands. They are usually centered in the drainage areas of lakes or
rivers. The number of families constituting a band will range from three or
four to more than three score.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Mont^a^gnais-Naskapi
Two systems of land tenure and exploitation prevail among the Labrador
Indian bands. In the northern (tundra) habitat the barren-ground caribou,
gregarious by nature, is the abundant mainstay of native life and the com–
munal hunting practice, employing the "drive" method, is practised; in the
eastern (taiga) zone the moose, beaver, and woodland caribou are hunted for
food and fur under the more segregated family system. While the bands show
considerable consistency in their respective methods of animal pursuit in
the two environments, there are instances in extreme eastern Labrador where
the Montagnais-Naskapi operate the two systems, the choice depending upon
what they seek and the conditions of season and animal abundance in their
domain. A greater dependence upon the income from fur trapping induces bands
in the southern districts to follow the family hunting ground policy. Here
the game animals are more sedentary, and so are the families. West of James
Bay a similar shift in policy has been reported, and the like is found among
certain Athapaskan g
^
r
^
oups (Cooper). In the buffalo-hunting area of the Great
Plains the communal system took precedence over the other, except on occasions
of famine or stress. In attempting to trace the priority of one of these
systems over the other a question arises which has induced anthropologists to
express views which are still inconclusively settled. More detailed and wide–
spread coverage of the known and still unknown peoples and regions throughout
the sircumboreal belt may furnish a solution. Changes brought about by white
invasion are being effected in the whole sweep of country which confuse the
historical picture as it now stands only partially revealed.
A comparative survey of the ethnic properties of the Montagnais-Naskapi
bands over the whole range of occupancy shows that minor differences, aside
from those of dialect, distinguish them from each other. The differences
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
represent only territorial variations, chiefly in respect to social typology,
in land tenure practices, and in the food quest as just outlined, and in
aspects of material culture controlled by ecological circumstances demarking
the habitats of the interior plateau from that of the coasts. They have
never reached down into the fundamentals of culture. A rather close check-up
with the Cree ethnic content is shown and to a lesser degree with that of the
Athapaskans.
Other Social Traits.
No ritual ceremonial or related observations are
celebrated in the action of marriage unless it is solemnized by the mission
clergy. There are no regulations pointing to restriction of marriage con–
nections, except in the prohibition of union of the first and second degrees
of kinship. Cross-cousin marriage, however, has been shown as prevalent in
a number of instances (Hallowell). Intermarriage between members of different
families and between the bands is encouraged and, in the case of the latter,
frequent. The mother-in-law avoidance taboo is nowhere in evidence; on the
contrary, the parents-in-law are held in affection. Woman's status while
inferior to man's is by no means a debased one (Burgess 1944). The aged, sick,
and infirm as well as children are treated with care and solicitude. Orphans
are taken into families of near kinship, treated as children, and when able
share in the hunting activities of the foster parents. Berdaches, or trans–
vestites, are recorded among the northern bands and are objects of mild disre–
gard. Boys from the age of about fourteen, if able-bodied, play a man's part
in the economic program of the family. Strangers are neither feared nor
shunned by adults, but are welcomed and expected to share the family resources
temporarily as guests, and are cared for and doctored if sick. Among northern
bands girls at first signs of puberty wear a veil of leather for four days to
cover the eyes and face.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
The concept of social sin denounces lying, (though not "white" lying)
insincerity, theft, miserliness, and in particular violation of rules
against trespass on hunting grounds. Virtue ("good doing" in the native
idioms) consists in avoidance of these acts, but neither sin ("evil doing")
nor virtue involves post-mortem retribution. In respect to the two courses
of life's action the choice is optional with the individual — the Augustinian
idea. Personal qualities socially disliked and tacitly disapproved, less
serious than the preceding, are displays of forwardness, loudness, and
aggressiveness of manner, physical or otherwise. Social control, in brief,
is exerted by the judgments of public opinion through its sanction or dis–
approval — in the latter instance through social ostracism tacitly carried
out. No formal judgments of ethical behavior are provided for unless it be
through censure by the head of a family or band.
With sex problems as such according to European standards the Montagnais–
Naskapi have little concern except where white morals have been impressed upon
them as examples through missionary teaching., Most writers note an increase
in laxity among bands in close contact with Canadian settlers. While the
preferred mating principle is monogamy even among the "unenlightened"
Naskapi of the north, plurality of wives (the sororate) is occasional, pro–
viding support for unmarried or widowed females. Stress conditions play a
forceful part in determining social and ethical behavior. Rationalizing
explanations are always ready at hand among the men to account for what is
customarily done — reasonings often marked by wit and knowledge of life's
demands.
There is little evidence of patterning in events of the individual
life cycle of the Montagnais-Naskapi. Ceremony is lacking in connection with
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
childbirth, naming, death and burial. Names are derived from personal
characteristics, from fore-parents of the same sex, or, since missionary
times, from Biblical patriarchs. Funeral rites are not observed except
among Christian converts. Bodies were wrapped and placed in trees if death
occurred in winter when ground is frozen in the northern districts and
later buried in the ground on hunting territories. Among southern bands
bodies were interred, according to early accounts. The converted Indians make
every effort to make their interments in the church burying ground even if
it requires a long journey with the corpse frozen or boxed. Demonstrations
of grief and mourning are not noted; and people show little dread of approach–
ing death, and the names of the deceased are not tabooed. The people them–
selves regard insanity to have been more prevalent formerly than now, yet
there are numerous instances of it as a source of violence and crime.
Absence of Motivations of Violence and Warring
. No evidence of a taste
for warfare for glory or raiding for loot can be discerned in the Montagnais–
Naskapi social set-up, a fast which stands a
r
^
t
^
variance with the early French
accounts of the lower Laurentian populations. This change in mie
a
^
n
^
, if change
be assumed, may be taken as an example of "moral evolution" often noted in
both early and late periods of national character in changing from violence
and brutality of strife to pacifiam and gentleness. The set-up here is
distinctly antagonistic to struggle and strife, combat and contention,
between individuals as well as collective groupings. Even wrestling, fisti–
cuffs, and game team contests are avoided, one reason being that they may
lead to anger, violence, then injury, which might cause retaliation through
malevolen conjuring. Personal revenge and family feuding are precluded.
In short, these are emphatically not warriors but hunters! With the family
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
and band hunting territory system so strongly supported by its religious
ethos and social sanction, the war and raiding ideologies of the related
Cree to the west and of the Athapaskans have found no place in the senti–
ments of the Montagnais-Naskapi as we know them.
As for the extent to which this has gone into personal relationship
conduct, Dr. Julius Lips cites instances of individual resentment against
affront or injury, real or imaginary, being expressed only by patient expec–
tation that spiritual retaliation would sooner or later follow hostile acts
and even thoughts. Another more pragmatic reason is that social opinion would
obligate the man who causes death or disablement of another to assume support
of the victim's family dependents — a sufficient cause for forethought in
interpersonal behaviorism. Among several bands direct questioning reveals
that no case of nonaccidental manslaughter was known in the memory of living
generations.
In no part of the continent can an example be found where beliggerency
is less tolerated than among the Montagnais-Naskapi of the recent area. If,
however, we turn to the period of first historical contact with them we find
missionary and explorer accounts through the late 17th and into the early 18th
century referring to Indian raids against the Labrador Eskimos on the south–
eastern coasts. The attacking of Eskimo camps, killing of the men armed only
with harpoons and bows, and capture of women and children is a tradition of
the country. The feeling of avoidance and mutual distrust seems still to
exist, but has been gradually dissolving during the last generation due to
persuasion toward peaceful relations by the trading post managers.
Hostility between the Montagnais and the Micmac of the Gaspe coast is
also on record, again provoked by the Micmac invaders. Montagnais-Naskapi
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
tradition is replete with legends of conflict between themselves and parties
of Iroquois raiders whose incursions into their hunting grounds have left
poignant memories of cruelty.
Religious Beliefs and Practices
The philosophy underlying behavior of these natives in respect to
nature forces and animals is by no means simple in conception. Religious
practices are not complex, ceremonial and ritual performances of the people
being largely restricted to individual acts of divination in respect to the
disposition of animals to sacrifice their lives to men, propitiation for their
slaying, giving satisfaction to them and their spiritual masters (Owners),
and appealing for continuation of animal life-sacrifice for the welfare of
mankind. In short, hunting falls into one
^
of
^
the categories of religious occupation.
Thus, the Montagnais-Naskapi hunters have thought out their problems of
maintenance of the sources of food supply by resorting to spiritual means of
inducing animals killed for sustenance to return to life in the next breeding
season. Of capturing and breeding animals for economic security they have not
even worked out the initial steps. The Montagnais-Naskapi, like other groups
in the American circumboreal belt, have remained in an archaic phase of economy,
that of pursuit and immediate use. Not so, however, in respect to religious
ideologies conceived to insure the supply of vital necessities. Only through
disturbance of the balance of nature following the opening of contact with the
whites and devastation of parts of the home territories due to the same cause
has the traditional faith of the natives failed to save them from want. The
effects of the introduction of Christianity as a substitute for the native
traditional practices will be discussed later.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Our positive knowledge of this side of aboriginal Labradorean though
can at best be imperfect. Yet what we encounter has much significance.
The individual believes that he has a dual entity - the soul and the
body. The soul is imperishable and transcends the generations of man. It
is called by a term which also means "shadow," but when spoken of in its
functional capacity is referred
f
^
t
^
o as "great man," which can be rendered
"companion-being," or "corresponding-being," The soul-spirit is master
of the body, which owes its existence and support to the benevolence of the
soul-spirit. It seems indeed to represent the ego. It may be deliberately
strengthened by the individual, or weakened through neglect. Neglect con–
sists of ignoring its promptings or not complying with its desires - in short,
by not affording it the nourishment it is believed to require. Without it
man is an inert mass, as he is when deceased. Its communications are conveyed
chiefly through dream visitations, yet soul promptings may creep into one's
consciousness through deliberate meditation or through sudden ideas which
suggest themselves at any time. Revelations in dreams or day-thoughts often
arrive in the guise of puzzles which have to be interpreted. They may indeed
arrive as we imagine inspiration in art or music to occur. If the individual
is in rapport with his soul, through his attention to its needs, he will
possess the power to discern the meaning conveyed in the dream or inspiration.
Concretely the revelations generally take the form of instructions as to when,
how, and where to go in search of game. And yet the more lofty concepts of
moral behavior, art, and natural philosophy are not lacking.
Having secured his dream admonitions, the hunter has to rely upon the aid
of his "great man" in subduing the corresponding souls of the game animals.
He proceeds toward further communion with his own soul-spirit by smoking tobacco
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
in his stone pipe or by drinking bear's grease. Both of these acts are
intended to feed the soul, which is thought to be found of such influences,
to induce it to work for him. By singing songs that come to him in dreams
and by drumming, the soul-spirit is also stimulated. Then the hunter,
employing the mechanical agencies (weapons, traps, hunting, and traveling
equipment in general) conquers the body of the beast. But the mechanical
devices would, he believes, be futile without first having effected the
spiritual conquest. Mind, he accordingly believes, dominates matter.
Finally, having brought down his game, he is under an obligation to
compensate the soul of the slain animal by certain prescribed treatments
of its bodily remains. The bones have to be disposed of in accordance not
only with such arbitrary suggestions as may come to him privately through
his dreams, but according to some traditional forms of treatment. In some
cases, the body of the animal is conveyed to camp by means of a leather
pack strap for head or breast support, a carrying string or drag line,
ornamented with pigment or riggons symbolizing the color of the animal taken,
white for caribou, red for beaver, and so on. This ceremonial game-string
is carried inside the shirt by the more traditional of the northern and
eastern bands. The carcass is thus ritually handled before it is used.
The broad pack strap employed among southern bands is often embroidered
with figures of the animal hunted. The commonest rites noted among all the
bands, however, are those in relation to the bear. It is addressed as
grandfather, its skull hung on a tree after the feast in which all its flesh
is eaten, tobacco put in its mouth, paint markings in red made on its cranium
and other symbols of regard placed with the skull. Clusters of such skulls
are occasionally seen on trimmed trees which mark the location of bear skull
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais'Naskapi
yards. These observances induce the bear's spirit to return to life
another season. Women are not permitted to look at the bear's carcass
when its remains are brought into the tent. Its right paw and forearm
should not be cut apart, and other observances are followed which constitute
what are known throughout the region as bear-rites (Hallowell, 1926). The
skulls of beavers and hares are also hung in trees, the jawbones of fish
are tied in bundles and suspended, duck and goose scalps are preserved,
and a number of similar acts performed to satisfy the feelings of the game
killed. It is especially seen to that dogs be prevented from eating the
bones of freshly killed animals, because, they say, the
g
dog helps man
to pursue and kill his animal brethren and then does not pay equal respect
to their helpless carcasses. Rites of this nature are numerous, and appear
to vary somewhat according to individuals and tribal bands throughout the
region. Moreoever the hunter's own soul derives satisfaction from the pro–
pitiatory acts and then continues to reside in harmony with him and to act
as his mediator with the spirits of animals. The human soul-spirit, it may
be added, resides in the heart.
Similar control can be exerted over other human beings. Those whose
soul-spirits
[:
]
are weaker
cna
^
con
^
be controlled by the wish of others. Thus
we hear of "causative thought." The control, it is believed, can be extended
over space without contact. To operate along this line one may "wish."
This is done by concentrating thought upon the thing or act desired. Its
accomplishment depends upon the power of the operator's "great man" and
upon the lack of spirit resistance encountered in the victim.
Since lack of even a loose organization and formalism is an outstanding
characteristic of the Montagnais-Naskapi social framework, we seek in vain
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
for signs of religious teachings and cults as they exist in cultural
centers to the south and southwest (Ojibwa and Central Algonkian
mid
e
^
é
^
wiwin
,
Iroquois curing societies, Plains sacred bundle rituals). There being no
priesthood or mass propagated doctrines of sacred mysteries, the laymen
hunter officiates in his own behalf as intermediator between his world and
the realm of the supernatural. Revelations and experiences, plus the narra–
tives of elders, become primary sources through which the individual gains
his understanding of the universe. These enable him to accommodate himself
to the forces of visible and invisible nature. The spiritual entity which
dwells within the individual is in the heart during life and departs over
the Milky Way ("ghost's path") to a sky abode at death.
Transformation, not outright creation, accounts for the existence of
the world as it is. Transformer-heroes in both human and animal guise
effected changes in the universe from preexisting states through possession
of power
[:
]
of will, wish, and fancy, coming under the widespread Algonkian
designation of
manitu
. The leading figure in the transformation cycle, how–
ever, is Tsekabesh, and his counterpart in northern Algonkian is Wiskedjak,
dialectically variable over the expande of the peninsula. His character,
motivations, and world-transforming performances coincide with those of like
nature all over the eastern circumboreal zone where Algonkian is spoken.
He snared the sun and moon, transformed sundry animals, destroyed evil
monsters. When his labors were finished he disappeared, but promised to
return to earth at the end of time and command all the creatures, especially
good men, and remove the sources of evil. When he departed the earth he took
his abode with his family on the top of a mountain where a great tree was
standing. The myths of Tsekabesh form a cycle which is common all over the
Northeast.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
The four directional winds are personified as "man of the north,"
and so on. They have control of the four seasons in rotation as sub-deities
under the Supreme Being, are sensitive to remarks about them made by human
beings, and respond to small offerings of tobacco and food as well as to
veneration. Mythical narratives relate to them.
Images and likenesses in the form of masks and pictures are not made by
the Montagnais-Naskapi to represent supernatural beings as they are among
Algonkian and other groups to the southward (Delaware, Iroquois).
The legend of the boy adopted by a she bear and rescued when the foster–
mother is killed is found among all the bands, as is also the myth of stealing
of "summer fluid" from the south resulting in breaking up the reign of
perennial winter (glacial time ?).
European folk tales have not become integrated into Montagnais-Naskapi
folk literature as closely as they have in other Algonkian areas.
The Supreme Being concept is probably original since it represents the
"owner" of mankind, the supreme creature among earthly forms of life in the
same manner that the animal groups (caribou, bear, beaver, moose, fish, etc.)
are ruled and sustained in life by their Owners. The soul elements of all
creatures depar
t the body and later are believed to appear in new-born young
of their kind. The universe of life is thus conceptualized as a continuity
of life and death.
Besides the invisible forces abroad in the world, above it, below, and
in the firmament, there
[:
]
are those which inhabit the forests and tundra
and occasionally reported as seen by hunters. There are capricious dwarfs
("little people"), nonmalevolent by nature; a terrifying cannibal gian in human
form (
stcen
); another cannibal "He who has a hairy heart," as well as "great
man" (Mishtabeo); narrow-faced race of manlike dwellers in precipices (
memegwejo
);
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
and the genius of springs, "under-waterman," resembling the merman.
But chief among the uncanny denizens of the bush is the man-eating rogue
known as
w
i
^
í
^
tigo
(
windigo
of northern literature in general) whose origin is
traced to the conjuror or shaman who has eaten human flesh and become a
semi-spirit of cannibalistic habits who can be overcome only by one having
superior power of manitu.
Ritual performances among the Montagnais-Naskapi are relatively few when
compared with other less marginal Algonkian-speaking groups. The mode of life
with its uncertainty of sustenance does not provide occasion for regular
gatherings of people for formal ceremonies; and, perhaps historically more
significant, the extension of developments in ceremony so marked among popula–
tions of the central regions is not found here. Feast gatherings, however,
are celebrated when an abundance of meat has been secured by hunters blessed
with good fortune through their righteous observance of rules in respect to
the lives of animals. Besides the bear ceremony, already mentioned as a major
rite among Algonkian peoples, and other circumboreal, the occasions for game
feasts arise when caribou and other game provide flesh enough to regale the
assembled companies. At such times the feast-maker gives away all the meat
and speeches are made by the guests extolling his generosity and virtues as
a hunter.
This is the occasion also for singing and dancing. The only movement is
circular in counterclockwise direction, men and women participating. Dancing,
so far as known, is performed in rejoicing for the provender and to afford
satisfaction to the slain creatures and their Owners, with no specific bymbolism
displayed. The singers are always men, who accompany themselves with a disk–
shaped hide-covered hand rattle if one is available, a type used also in the
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Plains area. The songs are compositions of the hunters, never song formulas
or fixed versions. The song texts, as translated from phonograph records,
are recitations of hunting excursions, expressing sentiments toward the bush
and rejoicing for hunting success, some of them tinged with humor and ad–
dressed to the particular animal for whom the lyric has been composed. A
large drum, known as the shaman's drum, is also beaten for the dances by
a singer having some degree of shamanistic power. Its form is that of a
tambourine, several feet across among the northern bands, covered with one
hide or caribou membrane in the north, double-headed among southern bands.
A snare, or buzzer, is placed inside the head having small sections of bird
quills or caribou foetus digits as "buzzers." The beater is of caribou antler
or leg-bone, and has significance as a symbol of shamanism.
In the Montagnais-Naskapi view, Christianity offers little
[:
]
oward solving
problems of adjusting the hunting life of the natives of the bush to the whims
of animals and to their spiritual sponsors. Native traditional beliefs and
propitiatory rites take better care of those mystical arrangements among the
people of the forest and tundra. Christianity, as they have observed, may
take care of those living in the precincts of white settlements, where the
God of the white man has given superiority to his favored race in material
things and dominance of power. The essential moral teachings of the Gospels
are not strange to the natives, but theology with its doctrines of atonement,
promise of solace in life and reward afterward through faith, and gruesom
eternal punishment to those who reject it, is something which neither
Catholicism nor Protestantism can make clear. Two minds, two ways of thought,
are the partly harmonized results among those interior bands whose contact
with mission centers is limited to a few weeks in the summer trading period.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
One is good in the bush, the other is said to be good where the white man's
irresistible and paradoxical doma
^
i
^
n of mysteries prevails in act and doctrine.
Christianity takes care of the evils brought into the country with "civiliza–
tion", and is accepted with it through fear and the desire to avoid conflict
with the more powerful white men and their ways. The bands of Montagnais
associated for several centuries with French proselyting forces and trading
posts have become communicants of the Roman Catholic church almost without
exception; those of the northern interior have accepted the Anglican creed
for which English contact is responsible, but the progress in conversion has
not been so far-reaching.
The Conjuror and Divination Practices
. In the social register of the
Montagnais-Naskapi the most importan
[:
]
calling is that of the conjuror (
met
e
^
é
^
wilnu,
met
e
^
é
^
wino
), whose functions include clairvoyance, foretelling of events, de–
tection of coming misfortune, control of the elements, detection of violation
of rulings of society such as trespass on hunting ground, witchcraft, and
in fact most of the magico-religious feats known in the lore of a hunting
population. The conjuror is moreover a performer of "miracles" or tricks
of many kinds that form the body of personal narratives repeated by those
who have witnessed them or know them by hearsay. The conjuror acquires
his power through his soul-spirit. This gives him power to transfer his
spiritual entity into animal form, to render himself invisible, and to call
to his command the spirits of animals in obedience to his will, and to speak
in alien tongues, and to use ventriloquism. Conjurors are usually men. They
obtain their powers through dreaming, visitations of animal spirits, and
cultivation of their "great man" or soul-spirit by complying with its require–
ments, whatever these may be. Conjuring power is never acquired by purchase.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
and is not necessarily inherited from father to son. Its possessor lives
in the community as an otherwise ordinary hunter, acting and dressing as
others, except that he holds a prestige above less gifted members of his
band. His method of operation is to enclose himself in a "conjuror's tent"
made of selected kinds of saplings found in the band territory, to sing after
practicing certain forms of self-denial, calling upon animal spirits to
come to the tent, then causing the tent to shake violently due to the force
of their presence within. What the conjuror's limitations of action in this
state actually are is difficult to say. He receives only presents for his
ministrations although his vocation amounts to a profession. Conjuring power
is ambivalent; it can be used for good or evil purposes according to the
will of the practitioner. The moral nature of the shaman's use of power is
not predetermined but is a manner of free-will decision on his part.
To the same extent that the conjuror or shaman appears in a similar role
all over the circumboreal regions of America and Asia, the practices of
divination also exhibit only slight variation. Divination rites may be
resorted to by individuals of both sexes. Chief among them is foretelling
luck in locating and taking animals by scorching over coals of a fire the
shoulder blade of a game animal (scapulimancy) in order to extort from its
former owner the answers to questions as to whereabouts of its kind. Burnt
and fire-scorched areas on the shoulder plate as well as cracks are then
interpreted as signs readable to one accustomed to deciphering such appearances.
Bones of other animals may serve in a similar capacity. The devices of bone
divination are numerous and definitely ancient in the northern hemisphere.
Divination by looking into a bowl of water (scrying) is reported for the
northwestern area of the peninsula (Cooper 1928).
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
Games have likewise something of a divinatory character among the
Labrador Indians. The successful outcome of a game of skill, of which
there are at least a dozen forms, denotes success in the next hunting
excursion. Children engage in such games to strengthen their luck in the
course of adult life. The same is true for string figures, forty-two of
which recorded from members of interior bands show considerable resemblance
in form to those of Eskimos, and have game-snaring intentions (Hallowell,
1935). The ring and pin game is universal in the peninsula, taking the form
of five to seven caribou phalanges hollowed out and strung to be caught on
a bone skewer.
Curative practices also fall under the activities of the shaman. His
offices represent the magical theory of cause of disease and cure, rather
than the results of practical experimentation in the diagnosis and treatment.
Illness and death arise from neglect of the soul-spirit and from the presence
of hostile elements in the body. Conjuring and the protection afforded by
magic charms seem to serve better than pharmacology as remedies. The charms
take the form of beaded and/or painted leather pendants worn on the neck (white
man's neckties are incidentally thought to be protective charms), on leggings,
on wrists, on dresses worn by women, on hair and hats of men, and on hunting
gear. They are believed to protect and bring good luck. Dreams often reveal
what to use as charms. Herbal cures are relatively few as compared with those
of groups south of the St. Lawrence and westward, a condition explained by
the people as being due to a less abundant plant growth. Bleeding is known
as a surgical remedy for pains, instrument being a sharp splinter of stone
or glass inserted in a stick and struck with a piece of wood.
The sweating lodge ritual is an important feature in the hunter's life
among northern and extreme eastern bands of the Montagnais-Naskapi. It serves
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
to strengthen the individual's soul-spirit by purification and also by
weakening resistance of animals to his tactics of hunting. The procedure
is like that of other Indian groups. The sweat lodge is a low dome-shaped,
oven-like tent inside which heated stones are placed with tongs. Men singly
or in groups enter naked and water is thrown on the stones to make steam.
Meanwhile they sing the songs they know addressed to the animals.
[:
]
The bear is mentioned in particular. When steamed and sweated the inmates
leave the lodge and cool off gradually. The use of specially designated
trees for the lodge poles, the prescribed number of heated stones, the
employment of rattles or drum by singers, and the terms involved, mark the
sweating rite as a phase of individual shamanism.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais-Naskapi
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66. Tanner, V. Outline of the Geography, Life and Customs of Newfoundland–
Labrador (The Easten Part of the Labrador Peninsula), Acta
Geographica, Vol.8, No.1, Helsinki, 1944.
EA-Anthrop. Speck: The Montagnais_Naskapi - Bibliography
67. Turner, L. M. Ethnology of the Ungava District, 11th Annual Report,
Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D.C., 1889-90. 1894.
68. Weaver, J.E., and Shelford, F.E. Plant Ecology, N.Y. 1938.
Frank G. Speck
Peoples of Northern Eurasia
The Lapps
^
Johannes
^
Johs.
Falkenberg
(Translated by Karin Fennow)
The Lapps
^
The
^
Lapps occupy an almost continuous area from the Røros (Norway) region and
Dalarne (Sweden) in the southwest to Magerøya (Norway) in the north and the Terian
Coast (USSR) in the east. The interior part
s
of this area
contain
massive ridges
^
montain
is a plateau,
^
of high mountains
,
with individual peaks rising more than 2,000 meters above sea
level. The terrain declines precipitously from the mountains to the many-fjorded
Norwegian coast on the west, while the gradient eastward and southward toward the
Gulf of Bothnia is much gentler and longer. Consequently, in the northern parts
of Sweden and Finland big rivers with a large water volume
^
volume of water^ flow from the watershed
down into the Gulf of Bothnia. Gently sloping terrain also prevails in a northerly
direction as far as the coast, terminating in several places in cliffs that plunge
abruptly toward the Arctic Sea.
The major part of the Lapp territory has a subarctic climate, in that the
July isotherm for 50° Fahrenheit extends across Magerøya to Vadsø (Norway) and
onward in an east-southeasterly direction. Only the northeastern part of Finnmark
Province (Norway) and the northern and eastern parts of the Kola Peninsula (USSR)
have a true arctic climate
, theoretically speaking
. The climate of the western
coastal areas is oceanic in character, with relatively mild and very rainy winters
and comparatively cool summers. The mean temperature at Bodø (Norway) for February
is plus
26.9°
^
27°
^
Fahrenheit, while the mean temperature for July is plus
^
54.3° F.
^
The corresponding mean temperatures at Tromsø (Norway) are plus 24.8° F. in February
and plus
50.9°
^
51.3°
^
In July. Bodø has a mean annual precipitation of 1008 mm., and
^1 <formula>21 12 / 52</formula>^
Tromsø 940 mm. The inland climate can be defined as continental, with cold winters
and comparatively warm summers. The mean temperature for February at Karesuando
(Sweden) is plus
5.9°
^
5.7°
^
F., and for July plus 54.5° F., while Jokkmokk (Sweden) has
an average temperature of plus 5.9° F. in February and plus 58.1° F. in July. The
annual precipitation averages 308 mm. in Karesuando and 436 mm. in Jokkmokk.
A large part of the Lapp territory is located north of the Arctic Circle,
which extends across Svartisen (Norway)
^
, [: A]
^
Rovaniemi (Finland)
^
,
^
and the southern part
of the Kola
Peninsula, so that the midnight sun and the sunless period alternately mark the
seasons. At the
level
^
latitude
^
of Bodø the sun is absent for fourteen days out of the year.
Farther north, on a
level
^
line
^
with Tromsø, the sun disappears for a little more than
two months, and farthest north, at the latitude of North Cape, it is gone for
two and one half months. The annually recurrent sunless period is compensated
for to some degree by uninterrupted sunlight
of twenty-four hours duration
^
(day and night)
^
in
the midsummer season
; this contrast between light and darkness is one of the
strongest influences characterizing nature in the northern Lapp districts.
^
(See also "Daylight and Darkness in High Latitudes.")
^
^delete^
To an extent
^
,
^
the flora varies
^
rather
^
considerably in the areas
O
^
o
^
ccupied
by the Lapps, In the
alpine
^
mo^u^ntain
^
regions of the interior the ground is covered by
lichens and moss. The flatter terrain is dominated by birch and by a vigorous
grass vegetation, while dense, contiguous
^
,
^
evergreen forests (spruce and pine) are
spread across the eastern Swedish, the Finnish
^
,
^
and the Russian Lapp
M
^
m
^
arches.
^
2 <formula>28 3 / 84 28/36</formula>
^
In former times bears and lynx were fairly abundant in those areas fre–
quented by the Lapps, but these animals are now virtually extinct. Among beasts
of prey, some wolves, foxes
^
,
^
and wolverines are still to be found. Wild reindeer,
formerly numerous all over the Lapp marches, are now extinct, but have been re–
placed by domesticated reindeer, which are kept by the thousands. Beavers and
otters were once abundant. The beaver has now disappeared, but there are still
some otters in the various coastal areas. The ptarmigan constitutes the most
important game at present, and eider ducks are to be found in several places on
the coasts.
Fish, particularly cod and coalfish, but also flounders, halibut, haddock,
etc., are plentiful in the fjords and off the coasts in the west and the north,
and there are also some salmon in the ocean and in many of the big rivers. In
the interior regions there are numerous good fishing waters and fishing rivers,
where trout is the main fish.
The area of Lappic distribution extends across four countries. Farthest
east the Lapps belong politically to the USSR; in this region they cover the
whole
northern part and the interior of the Kola Peninsula.
In Finland there are Lapps in Utsjoki, Enare, Enontekis, and as far south
as S
u
^
o
^
dankylä. Before the first World War a number of so-called "Skolt" Lapps
lived in the Petsamo district, which has now been ceded to the USSR, but they
were evacuated as early as 1944 and now live in the regions south of Enare.
The Swedish Lapps occupy the northwestern parts of Sweden from the Finnish
boundary in the northeast to Idre in Da
r
larne in the south. Farthest north the ^✓^
Lapps live in the Lapp marches of Norbotten and Vesterbotten. In addition, some
Lapps live in the upper Tornedal Parish south of the Lapp territories in R
a
^
å
^
ne
a
^
å
^
and Edfors. Furthermore, there are Lapps in the western parts of Jämtland and
Härjedalen and in northwestern Dalarne (Idre). The coastal regions west of the
Gulf of Bothnia are actually outside of the Lappic settlement area, but in winter
individual Lapp families occasionally migrate with their reindeer herds all the
way down to the coast.
In Norway a continuous belt of Lapp occupation runs from Engerdal in
Hedmark Province, farthest south, to as far north and east as the land extends.
Thus, north of Hedmark Lapps live in Sør-Trøndelag Province, Nord-Trøndelag
Province, and in the provinces of
^
Nordland,
^
Troms
^
,
^
and Finnmark. In addition, there are
a few Lapps in the southern Norwegian mountain districts from Dovre to Setesdal,
where they are herdsmen for the private Norwegian domesticated reindeer companies.
^
The Lapps constitute a minority population group
^
P
^
p
^
ractically
speaking, wherever the Lapps live
^
everywhere
^ ^the^ in Norway, Sweden, Finland
and the USSR
^
.
^
they constitute a minority population group.
The only places where
they are in the majority are the Finnish parishes of Utsjoki and the Finnmark
parishes of Kautokeino, Karasjok, Polmak
^
,Tana
^
and Nesseby, and a few parishes in
North Troms in Norway. The Russian Lapps live in close contact with Russians,
Syrenians
^
Zyrians
^
, Samoyeds
^
,
^
and other peoples who have settled on the Kola Peninsula.
The Finnish Lapps associate with their Finnish neighbors who have settled in
the Lapp marches. Furthermore, a not inconsiderable number of Swedes live in the
Swedish Lapp territories, especially in the eastern and southeastern parts.
Finally, the Norwegian Lapps live in close contact with the fixed Norwegian
farming population along the coastal regions of northern Norway.
Since
^
there has been
^
a comprehensive racial intermingling
has taken place
throughout
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
, it is often difficult to decide whether an individual should
be classified as a Lapp or a Finn, a Norwegian, Swede, etc. The following fig–
ures, which are based on the latest census, must therefore be interpreted as
approximate:
|
Country
|
Lapp Po
l
^
p
^
ulation
|
|
USSR
|
1,800
|
|
Finland
|
2,300
|
|
Sweden
|
8,500
|
|
Norway
|
19,100
|
|
|
31,700
|
The Lappic language belongs to the Finno-Ugrian family, which in addition
comprises Finnish, Carelian, Esthonian
^
,
^
and other Finnish languages, as well as
Mordvinian, Cheremissian, Votyak,
Syryenian,
^
Zyrian,
^
Vogul, Ostyak
^
,
^
and Magyar. The
Finno-Ugric languages have diverged so much from one another
during
^
with
^
the passage
of time that Lappish and Magyar, for instance, resemble each other no more than,
for example, do English and Persian. Since the Lapps are not related racially
to any of the other Finno-Ugric peoples, it is possible that they once spoke
another, non-Finno-Ugric language, possibly proto-Samoyed or a language related
to that language. A well-known the
r
ory assumes that as early as before the birth
of Christ the Lapps exchanged their former, now unknown, language, or "proto–
Lappish," as it has been called, for a Finno-Ugric language which they learned
from their neighbors. Accordingly, this language subsequently developed into
current Lappish.
However, it should be strongly emphasized that this theory has
not been verified and that many linguists view it sceptically.
[:
]
Lappish is divided into several languages and dialects. A Lapp from the
Kola Peninsula will not understand Norwegian-Lappish, and a Lapp from Finnmark
will not understand a Lapp from the southern Lapp regions, for example from
Vefsen, Trøndelag
^
(Norway),
^
Härjedalen
^
(Sweden)
^
Lappish is generally divided into the fol–
lowing dialect groups:
- 1.
Kola-Lappish, or Russian-Lappish, which is spoken by the Lapps on
the Kola Peninsula and by the Skolt Lapps who live south of Enare
^(Norwary)^^
(Finland)
^
. A few Skolt
Lapps in Sø-Varanger
^
(Norway)
^
also speak this dialect.
- 2.
Enare-Lappish, which is spoken by a number of more or less permanently
settled fisher Lapps in the Enare district.
- 3.
Norwegian-Lappish, which is spoken by the great majority of Lapps;
that is, by all the Norwegian Lapps north of Tyssefjord, as well as by the
Swedish Lapps in Jukkasjärvi and Karesuando, and by the Finnish nomadic Lapps.
- 4.
Lule-Lappish, in Gällivare and Jokkmokk
^
(both Sweden)
^
, and in the adjacent parts
of Norway.
- 5.
Pite-Lappish, in the northern part of Arvidsjaur and most of Arje–
plog
^
(both Sweden)
^
, as well as in the bordering part of Norway.
- 6.
Ume-Lappish, between the Pite-Lappish area and the Ume River
^
(Sweden)
^
, as
well as in the adjoining part of Norway.
- 7.
South-Lappish, south of the Ume River and in the bordering sections
of Norway.
While the Lapps are connected with the Finno-Ugrian peoples linguisti–
cally, they are completely isolated racially; it has actually been impossible
to form any certain racial link between the Lapps and any other folk group.
It is true that in several isolated places in Europe, such as in Poland, people
who seem to be close to the Lapps have been observed, but the racial link between
these people and the Lapps is extremely problematical.
Recent studies indicate —
^but more as a hypothesis rather than as scientific fact — []^ that it may be necessary to take into account
two separate Lappic racial
[:
]
variants. In the farthest north there
is a
lew
^[]^
^
low
^-
headed Lappic population of more or less "Mongolian" origin, but
with some "Norse-Alpine" characteristics. In the south there is a more
long-
^
high-
^
^
skilled
^ headed type, which may possibly have developed as the result of a crossing of
a "Norse-Alpine" and an East-European,non-Mongolian type. The borderline be–
tween these two types is entirely fluid. However, since the majority of the
northernmost Lapps are
fisher
^
sea
^
Lapps, and the southern Lapps are descendants
of reindeer herding nomads, it is possible that the two racial groups once
re
i
^
p
^
resented two different cultures — one a fishing culture, and the other an inland
culture based on reindeer keeping,hunting, and lake fishing.
There are no European people with a lower mean height than the Lapps.
However, their body height seems to have incr
d
^
e
^
ased by several centimeters
during
the course of
the last two three generations. At present the average
male height in the different districts varies on the whole form 155 cm. to
163 cm., and the female height from 144 cm. to 155 cm.
The legs are short in comparison with the torso and the arms; feet and
hands are small. The shape of the head is distinctly brachycephalic, with a
mean length-breadth index of between 83 and 84. The cheek bones are prominent,
and the chin pointed. The nasal profile is concave. "Slant" eyes occur, but
are not customary; i.e., the so-called"Mongolian fold" has been observed in
various
^
some few
^
individuals, but is not very pronounced. Eye color is mostly brown,
but blue eyes also occur.
Skin pigmentation is fair, with a brownish tone. The hair is mostly
coarse and straight, but way and curly hair can also occur. Hair color varies
from nearly black to dark brown, light brown and ash blond. Beard growth in
males is scanty, for the most part.
The earliest known unquestionably Lappic skeleton find comes from
Nesseby in East Finnmark. On the basis of the archeological inventory it has
been attributed to the period 200 B.C. - 200 A.D. Linguistic scientists also
argue that Lapps may have lived in the northern parts of Scandinavia prior to
the beginning of our calendar.
Various scholars have tried to interpret some of the north Scandinavian
Stone Age cultures as Lappic. Even the
Komsa
k
culture ^Komsa
k
culture^ has been linked to the
Lapps. However, it has not been possible
to date
to produce actual proof of
Lapp habitation in
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Finno-Scandinavia
^
^
Fennoscandia
^
at a time chronologically parallel with
the Stone Age in southern Scandinavia. On the other hand, there can scarcely
be any doubt that
in any case^.^
the Lapps lived in Finland during the Bronze Age
^
,
^
It is also possible that in this area
[:
]
they shifted over at a very early
period to speaking a Finno-Ugric language as a result of their contacts with
a Finno-Ugric neighboring people racially entirely different from themselves.
A circumstance which makes the study of the earliest history of the
Lapps in
Finno- Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
so difficult is that, among other things, the arche–
ology of northern Scandinavia has never been clearly co-ordinated, either
typologically or chronologically. Between the various groups of discoveries
there are sizeable time lags, periods which are completely unknown from an
archeological point of view. Consequently, it is difficult to link the various
cultures that have been uncovered, and it is even more difficult to associate
the diverse cultures with definite folk groups.
It cannot be proved exactly, but it is nevertheless essentially probable
^
,
^
that the so-called Kjelmøy culture, the earliest phases of which can be ascribed
to the Viking period,
^(
[:
])
- the pre-Viking period
^
is Lappic. The Kjelmøy culture was discovered in Sør–
Varanger
^
(Norway)
^
, and is a distinct coastal culture. It seems to have earlier prede–
cessors to the east, on the Kola Peninsula, and there is thus a possibility
that one of the Lappic routes of entry into Scandinavia may have been along
the coast of the Arctic
Ocean
^
Sea
^
. However, it is more reasonable to assume that
the Lapps came in from the southeast.
The question of when the Lapps came to
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
and whence they
came is still open. The only certainty is that the Lapps must have spread
out
over large parts of
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
in early days. Accordingly,
in the year
^
around
^
1,000 A.D. the Lapps occupied the whole following area: The present Nordland,
Troms
^
,
^
and Finnmark provinces in Norway, with the exception of the outer coastal
regions south of Malange
r
^
n
^
, where there were Norwegian settlements
^
;
^
I
^
i
^
n addition,
the whole of present-day Swedish Lappland north of the Strøms
Valley Lake.
^
river valley,
^
Furthermore,
the entire Kola Peninsula
^
,
^
and a considerable part of present-day
Finnish
C
^
K
^
arelia. Finnishized Lappish place names have been found by the hundreds
^Voksen valley^ all over Finland, and as far south as Nyland, on the
C
^
K
^
arelian Isthmus and in
Vuoksendalen.
^the Vūaksen-valley.^
Around the year 1,000
^
At about 1100
^
A.D. Lapps were the sole inhabitants of
the area north of a line which can be drawn from the Kumo River in the West
and eastwards across Sysmä St. Michel
^
,
^
and Puumala. And as late as the 14th
C
^
c
^
entury Lapps lived beside Lake Onega, perhaps not very far from Samoyeds, who
have been placed in the forest region east of Onega as late as in the 17th
C
^
c
^
entury.
The Lapp regions have never formed a political entity, have never con–
stituted a Lappic nation. Large united social groups have never developed in
the Lapp marches. As a result, it has always been difficult for the Lapps to
defend their rights in the face of opposition by ag
^
g
^
ress
s
ive neighbors. In
the course of time they have been forced out of large parts of the areas which
they formerly occupied, and as far back as history goes they have been exposed
to attack and
[:
]
^
oppression
^
by neighboring peoples.
In very early days the Norwegians, Finns,
C
^
K
^
arelians
^
,
^
and others regularly
sallied forth to plunder the Lapps, but eventually the looting took on a "legal–
ized" character. Accordingly, as early as the 9th
C
^
c
^
entury A.D. there were
definite regulations determining the amount of "taxes" the Lapps were compelled
to pay to the
strong men
^
chiftains
^
in North Norway. Thus, the Norwegian Ottar, who lived
in the 9th
C
^
c
^
entury, states concerning the Lapp taxation that: "Each one (Lapp)
must pay in accordance with his position; the most prosperous must pay fifteen
marten skins, five reindeer hides, one bearskin, ten ducks with feathers, one
garment made of bear or otter skin
^
,
^
and two hawsers, each sixty ells long, one
made of walrus hide and the other of sealskin."
At a very early date the taxation of the Lapps led to political and in
part to military conflicts between Norway, Sweden, and the
kingdom
^
principality
^
in Novgorod
(Russia), all three of which claimed
to have
sovereignty over the Lapps. In
some places the Lapps were forced at times to pay taxes to all three countries
simultaneously. During
the course of
the 16th, 17th
^
,
^
and 18th centuries, however,
the political boundaries of the Lapp marches were fixed, so that the Lapps became
subjects of a definite country.
Still, the division of the Lapp marches into different political areas
was not solely of advantage to the Lapps. For instance, in 1852 the border
between Norway and Finland was closed to all passage of domesticated reindeer,
so that a large part of the Norwegian nomadic Lapps were thenceforth cut off
from their old winter grazing resources in Finland. The Swedish Torne Lapps
were similarly cut off following 18
9
^
8
^
9 from their Finnish grazing lands. The
boundary between Norway and Sweden has also been the cause of many difficulties;
however, the Treaty of 1919
[:
]
ensures a certain number of Swedish
reindeer
of
the right to summer grazing in certain parts of Troms and Nordland
provinces.
The Lappic culture has by no means developed along uniform lines every–
where. Just as it is legitimate to talk about several Lappic languages, so it
is also possible to speak of several Lappic cultures. From an economic point
of view the Lappic cultures are based on one or more of the following means of
livelihood: hunting, fishing, reindeer
keeping
^
herding,
^
and
farming
^
cattle keeping
^
.
While hunting and fishing are ancient Lappic means of livelihood, both
farming
^
cattle
^
and reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
are more recent. Reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
and
farming
^
husbandry
^
,
however, have also been carried on by Lapps in several places for a very long
period.
Farming
^
Cattle keeping
^
is without doubt the most recent economic occupation of the
Lapps, but documentary evidence shows that the Lapps
farmed
^
kept cattle
^
in Nordland as
early as the Viking period, and from old Norse words that were borrowed and
incorporat
4
ed into Lappish it appears that the southern
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps probably
carried on a primitive kind of
farming ^cattle keeping^ ^
husbandry
^
even prior to the Viking period. On the
other hand,
[:
]
farther north, in present-day Finnmark Province, the
Lapps do not seem to have embarked on
farming ^cattle keeping^ ^
husbandry
^
before the 16th
C
^
c
^
entury; in other
places — for example in the eastern Swedish Lapp districts — the Lapps took
^
it
^
up
farming
still later. Finally, there are a great number of Lapps in all four
countries who have never shifted over to
agriculture
^
animal
husbandry
^
.
While there is no doubt that the Lapps have learned
how to farm
^
husbandry
^
from
their Scandinavian neighbors, there is disagreement about whether the Lapps'
reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
developed under the influence of the
reindeer keeping of the
inhabitants of the eastern arctic regions, or whether it developed independently
in Scandinavia, possibly under the influence of the Norsemen
's animal husbandry
.
The only certainty is that reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
has been the backbone of the Lappic
economy for a thousand years, and possibly much longer.
[:
]
The Lapps probably once had a somewhat homogeneous culture based
on fishing and hunting, but as early as many hundreds of years ago the different
natural surroundings in which the Lapps lived brought about cultural differentia–
tions. It is therefore justifiable to divide the Lapps into at least four
different economic-geographic cultural groups:
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps, Forest Lapps,
River Lapps
^
,
^
and Mountain Lapps.
The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps occupied the coastal areas before 1600, parti–
cularly the fjord basins from and including Nordland to Finnmark, and farther
eastwards to and including the Kola Peninsula. The culture of these old
Mari-^Sea^
time
Lapps is best known from the area east of Malangen to and including the
Kola Peninsula. In this area the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps spoke a language with few
dialect deviations. These northernmost
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps can be roughly divided
into three groups: the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps in North Troms and Finnmark, the Skolt
Lapps from Neiden in Sør-Varanger eastward to the Murmansk Railway, and, finally,
the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps on the Kola Peninsula.
These old
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps were semi-nomadic. They circulated by fixed
^
routes
^
in a clearly bounded area, according to the season of the year. A 16th
C
^
c
^
entury
document shows that the
Maritime Lapps
^
Sea Lapps
^
in Finnmark lived in four different places.
In the summer they stayed around the fjords and out by the sea, where they caught
fish and fowl and gathered eggs, feathers
^
,
^
and down. In the fall they moved farther
inland alongside the fjords, where they fished and cut timber. They went to the
mountains in winter, for hunting and fresh-water fishing. The move inland during
winter was undoubtedly also motivated by consideration for the reindeer, because
of the better grazing resources in the interior. In the spring the Lapps again
migrated to the coast, where they fished, built boats
^
,
^
and hunted.
Comparatively detailed information regarding the movements of the Skolt
Lapps is available from the beginning of the 20th
^
c
^
entury. From Christmas time
until the early part of spring they lived in small rural settlements in the
interior, in places where there was good grazing for the reindeer, as well as an
abundance of firewood and plenty of game. When the grazing lands were exhausted
and the woods around the camp depleted, the Lapps moved in springtime to the coast,
where they fished and put the raindeer out on the islands or on the peninsulas.
Around the 20th of July they moved to their summer quarters beside the big rivers,
where they fished, and in September they transferred to autumn quarters farther
inland, to live there for about three months, fishing in the lakes and hunting.
The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp
l
culture was based on fishing, hunting
^
,
^
and reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
. Fishing was carried on with the aid of hooks and lines, spears and
harpoons, nets and seines. In former times the craft used at sea was undoubtedly
a skin boat sewed together with sinews. For that matter, under the influence of
their neighbors the Lapps learned how to build good, joined wooden boats many
hundreds of years ago. Documentary evidence attests that the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps were
masters at boat building.
The Lapps formerly hunted all kinds of game, but first and foremost wild
reindeer, which were caught in quadrangular stone devices, in pitfalls, etc.
Traps and snares were also used in hunting and trapping. For hunting weapons
the Lapps used iron-tipped spears on bears and wolves, but the bow and arrow
was their main weapon until as late as the 16th and 17th centuries, when it
was replaced by
the rifle ^fire guns^^
firearms.
^
The Skolts (and in part the Kola Lapps) have retained the old
Maritime ^Sea Lapp^
^
Maritime
^
C^c^ulture up to present times; farther west — in Finnmark — it began to dis–
integrate as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. South of Finnmark — inside
the fjord basins along the coast of northern Norway — it died out even earlier
as a result of the overwhelming contact with the Norwegian fisher population.
This cultural contact has also been influential in Finnmark, but not
to the same degree as farther south, where the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture experienced
a regular collapse. The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture was not entirely extinguished in
Finnmark, but was transformed under the pressure of external circumstances.
Moreover, it was primarily the contact between the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps and the Mountain
Lapps in the interior which eventually led to an alteration in the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture in Finnmark. During the 16th and 17th centuries there was a
change in the Lappic reindeer economy. The herds grew larger and larger, and
as a result the demand for grazing grounds increased. The inland Lapps began
to move out toward
s
the coasts, and when the great reindeer herds of the Mountain
Lapps swarmed over the coastal districts, the reindeer belonging to the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps were assimilated by the inland herds. This eventually made it necessary
for the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps to abandon reindeer keeping, and to compensate for the
loss of reindeer they took up cattle keeping during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The livestock of the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps comprised cows, sheep
^
,
^
and goats.
The agriculture was pronouncedly of the foraging variety. Fodder, which was
gathered in forest and field, beach and ocean, consisted of leaves and twigs
of deciduous trees, heather, moss, grass, sea tangle, seaweed
^
,
^
and fish waste;
all this was then cooked. The nutritive value was minimal, and starvation of
the animals was common. Consequently, the
yei
yield from the livestock was so
small that it was impossible to wrest a living from
farming alone
^
cattle
^ ^breeding^^keeping alone^
.
Farming
^
Keeping^ ^Cattle raising
^
as a means of livelihood was a pronounced sideline.
As a result of the transfer to animal husbandry, with cows, sheep
^
,
^
and
goats, it became difficult for the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps to move from place to place
on the same scale as before. From this time on the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps
^
in Finnmark
^
limited
their movements to rotating between two camping grounds, both located along–
side the fjord. From May - June until September - October they lived at their
summer quarters; the rest of the year was spent in their winter quarters.
Meanwhile, there was a considerable numerical increase of
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps
up
until
^
to
^
the 19th
^
c
^
entury. The Finnmark fjords became so densely populated
that living space began to be scarce; consequently moving from place to place
presented difficulties. In addition, the forests were so much decimat
4
^
e
^
d that
the authorities were forced to intervene and assign definite areas for cutting
to each family. This had a share in keeping the population
[:
]
stationary,
and so the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps eventually became fixed settlers.
Along with this process, during the 19th and 20th centuries the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps
^
in Finnmark
^
were exposed to an intensive influence from
the
Norwegian culture. A
flood of cheap manufactured goods accompanied the settling of a steadily in–
creasing number of Norwegians in the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp districts. During the
1920-30 decade the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture was completely uprooted; at present
it is difficult to talk about a true
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture. However, the
majority of the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps still talk Lappish, even though they also under–
stand Norwegian. The "denationalized"
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps in Finnmark and Troms
today constitute more than half of the total number of Lapps in
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
.
They do not differ much from the permanently resident Norwegian fisher population,
and it is to be expected that before long they will be completely assimilated into
the body of the Norwegian people. Only the Skolts and some of the Lapps on the
Kola Peninsula have retained the old
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp culture up to our times.
The so-called Forest Lapps have in many ways undergone a development
comparable to that of the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps, in that their old, semi-nomadic Lappic
culture has now almost disappeared. Since early times Lapps have occupied
regions alongside the big rivers and lakes in the eastern parts of Swedish
Lap
p
land, where there are dense evergreen forests, as well as the forest
regions in northern Finland and on the Kola Peninsula, where they have accord–
ingly developed a culture of their own. They have become what are known in
Sweden as Forest Lapps and in Finland as Fisher Lapps.
The Forest Lapps formerly lived
on
^
by
^
hunting and fishing. They hunted
bears, otters, beavers, martens, lynxes
^
,
^
and foxes, which were found in great
quantities
^
numbers
^
in the
d
^
e
^
vergreen forests of northern
Finno-Scandinavia
^
Fennoscandia
^
. Hunting
was carried on for the sake of the furs, and the pelts were sold to foreign
buyers. However,
the
wild reindeer
was
^
were
^
the most important game. Documentary
evidence dating from the 1820's describes the trapping of wild reindeer by
the Finnish Forest Lapps. The reindeer were caught with the help of decoys
and with sna
m
^
r
^
es; in addition, they were trapped in pitfalls and by other
methods.
During the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the wild
reindeer completely disappeared from the Lapp marches; consequently the Forest
Lapp economy changed. The fish in the rivers and lakes, previously of minor
significance, now became a much more important economic factor. However, the
fact that the Forest Lapps began to keep domesticated reindeer
^
[:
]
for on a larger scale,
?
than previously
^
was
^
[: really
]
^
of equal
importance.
^As a matter of fact^
It is
almost
^surely^ certain that they had domesticated a few reindeer
since early times for use as pack beasts and as decoy animals for use in
trapping, but this was only a matter of a rather small number of animals.
They did not keep domesticated reindeer for the sake of the meat and hides
originally, but following the extinction of the wild reindeer they took up
keeping domesticated deer on a somewhat larger scale.
Nevertheless, it was of the greatest importance that during the past
two hundred years the Forest Lapps began to farm to an increasing extent and
that they became permanently settled on a large scale. This was primarily due
to the influence of the Swedish, Finnish
^
,
^
and Russian colonists who settled in
the Lapp marches in increasing numbers. At present the preponderant part of
the Forest Lapps have the same basic economy as their Swedish, Finnish
^
,
^
and
Russian neighbors. However, it should be mentioned that about 700 out of
the total 3,000 Swedish Forest Lapps and at least half of the
more than 2,000
Finnish Fisher Lapps still keep reindeer.
The River Lapps, who live along the big rivers in Finnmark and Utsjoki,
number only a few hundred individuals. These Lapps have not been studied very
much. Their economy is comparable to that of the permanently settled Forest
Lapps. The River Lapps have specialized in river fishing, particularly salmon
fishing, but their chief means of livelihood is animal husbandry (cows and
sheep). In addition, some of them keep reindeer on a modest scale.
The majority of the true Mountain Lapps, who occupy the Swedish and Nor–
wegian
alpine
^
mountain
^
regions, have specialized in reindeer keeping to a greater degree
than have any other Lapps. They are reindeer nomads par excellence. However,
mountain reindeer keeping on an extensive scale appears to have dev
^
e
^
loped at a
comparatively recent period.
In early times hunting and fishing were probably
equally
^
fully as
^
important to
the Lapps as reindeer keeping. But even before firearms became common among
the Lapps, the beaver was practically exterminated and the stock of wild animals
had decreased to such an extent that hunting as an economic factor was reduced
to a comparatively insignificant sideline in large parts of the Lapp marches.
There is a statement dating back as far as
1850
^
1580
^
to the effect that the wild
animals had died out and that the Lapps had been forced to move to the coast.
Consequently, the levying of taxes in the form of furs was discontinued sub–
sequent to
^
^
the 17th
^
c
^
entury in both Norway and Sweden and was replaced by a
levy of fish.
To make up for the decline in game, reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
was reorganized
along extensive lines. It has been claimed on the basis of tax lists from
the northern Swedish Lapp territories
it has been claimed that this change from
small to large herds of reindeer occurred during the 17th
^
ce
^
ntury. This is
undoubtedly correct, on the whole, but the change must have begun earlier in
some
individual
places. The Swedish historian Olaus Magnus gives
clear
evidence
of this.
But
i
^
I
^
n any event it is certain that mountain reindeer keeping was in
a process of continuous growth throughout the 17th
^
c
^
entury. In a reindeer count
made in 1705-06 by Provincial Representative Erich Lorch
^
,
^
he states
^
it is stated
^
, among other
things, that seventy Lapps moving from the interior northwards to the coast
were accompanied by 30,000 - 40,000 reindeer. Thus it is established that at
the close of the 17th century reindeer nomadism was a completely specialized
economic factor.
This metamorphosis in the economy of the Mountain Lapps from relatively
small herds to large herds made the grazing question far more burning than it
had been before. It created an inn
n
er pressure that found its natural outlet
in expansion toward
s
the north, west
^
,
^
and south, away from the central Lapp
regions. As a result, during the 17th century the Mountain Lapps moved all the
way out to the coast of Finnmark, and toward the south they penetrated as
far as the Pøros-Härjedal regions.
The reindeer
keeping
^
herding
^
of the Mountain Lapps differs in several respect
[:
]
from that of the Forest Lapps.^
, due to
^
These two forms of reindeer keeping are based
on
[:
]
two
different types of terrain and vegetation. The forest reindeer is
bigger and stronger than the mountain reindeer, and also has a somewhat differ–
ent bone structure. It stays in the big evergreen forests throughout the year,
while the mountain reindeer rotates between the
alpine
^
mountain
^
area or the coastal
regions, where it spends the summer, and the big forest and heath areas inland
during the winter. While the Forest Lapps remain in the forest the year round
and have rather small herds of reindeer, the Mountain Lapps generally have
large herds which they move for long distances, at times up to
30 - 40 miles
^
300 - 400 kilometers
^
.
^
kind of miles?
^
During migration the Lapps use some reindeer as pack animals. These
reindeer are always males which have been castrated. The castrations were
formerly accomplished by biting the testicles
to pieces
and
[:
]
crushing them by hand. At present tongs are also used for castrating.
The harness formerly used on reindeer, which was made on the same
principle as man
^
y
^
Siberian reindeer harnesses, consisted of a
fur
^
skin
^
collar placed
around the reindeer's neck with the ends meeting between or back of the animal's
forelegs. The ends were fastened together and were then tied to a long trace
which formed the link between the hauling reindeer and the sled.
The Lapps have three
^
or four
^
different types of single-runnered
^
[:
]
or multiple-runnered
^
sledges, none
of which has an ethnographic parallel among any other people. They are built
like a boat, with a keel, ribs
^
,
^
and bulwards, and they
also
skim across the
snow in boat-like fashion.
^
[:
]
One of the sleds is made from a hollowed-out log.
^
The sledges cannot, however, be used for all kinds of transport. Some–
times the Lapps pack on reindeer-back instead. Their pack saddle, which is
entirely different from the horse saddle, consists of two thin, curved boards,
coupled together across the back of the reindeer
,
behind the shoulder blades
and laced together under the belly. Sometimes a carrying device 50-70 cm. in
length is suspended from these boards, but as a rule the pack is made fast to
the saddle itself.
The Reindeer Lapp economy is based on the individual person's right
of ownership of the reindeer.
Not
^
Neither
^
the
^
group
^
kin ^tribe^, not
^
even
^
the family, but the individual
man or woman
^
,
^
owns the reindeer. This individual property right forms the
actual basis of the Mountain Lapp economy.
Ownership of the reindeer is established by means of ear markings.
During the first months after birth the calf accompanies the mother, and
therefore it is easy to determine who owns the calf. The ear markings, which
are carved with a knife in the edge of the reindeer's ears, vary somewhat from
region to region. There are from ten to fifteen various incisions that can
be combined in a confusion of marking variations.
A generation ago almost all of the Lapps milked their does. In summer
the herd was driven into a big enclosure constructed of birch, and the does
were lassoed and milked. The Lasso, of the same type as that used by the
Samoyeds, consists of a throwing rope (formerly made of sinew thread or root
fibre, now a purchased hemp rope)
with
^
[: wirth],
^
a small piece of bone ^attached to one end,^
with
^
having
^
a
[:
]
small
and a large hole bored in it
attached to one end. One end of
^
Through these holes
^
the rope is
fastened to the small hole, while the other end is pulled through the large
hole, so that the rope
^
raised to
^
form
s
a noose.
The Lapps used special utensils for
milking --
^
handling the milk -
^
wooden dippers, basins,
etc. Cheese was also made in special wooden or root fibre molds. During the
1920's the Lapps stopped milking the reindeer, and concentrated thenceforth
on the production of meat for sale.
The numbers of reindeer owned by the Lapps have decreased sharply
during
the
recent decades, particularly in Norway. At present the Norwegian
Lapps have 78,000 domesticated reindeer and the Swedish Lapps 162,000. During
World War II
^, the number of reindeer,^
reindeer numbers in the USSR and Finland declined sharply,
and
^
but
^
there are no dependable figures available at present regarding the number
s
of
reindeer in these two countries.
Some Lapps own only a few reindeer, while others keep a couple of
thousand or more animals. It is believed that
in order for
a Mountain Lapp
^
,
^
to get along fairly well
^
to be
^
economically
^
sound
^
he
should have 200
^
to
^
300 animals.
At present the Lapps in most places live in houses built of planks,
logs, wood, etc., along lines similar to those customary among their Norwegian,
Swedish, Finnish
^
,
^
and Russian neighbors.
After all,
^
Since
^
the Lapps have become fixed
settlers to a large extent,
and
^
they
^
have therefore felt a need for more durable
dwellings. But the old Lappic dwelling types that are adapted to a nomadic or
a semi-nomadic way of life still exist in some places.
Singularis: [] bal'lje
Pluralis: [] balljek
<formula>
360
19
﹍
3240
360
﹍
6000
</formula>
<formula>
2500
6800
﹍
9300
</formula>
The tent remains the most functional dwelling among the Mountain Lapps,
who move from one grazing ground to
[:
]
another. Generally speaking, the
Lapps have two different types of tents. The simplest, and possibly the oldest,
tent construction is not very different from the North Siberian conical tent.
First a conical core, consisting of three poles fastened together at the top,
is erected. Then a number of large, straight tent poles are placed
[:
]
upon
the core and cris
^
s
^
crossed at the top, to form a conical framework which is
then covered with a tent cloth or a layer of birchbark, or an inner layer of
birchbark and an outer layer of sod. In summer the tent cloth is usually made
of burlap and in winter of wool.
But
t
^
T
^
he most customary Lappic tent form has another construction, the
origin of which is unknown. The inner skeleton consists of four uprights,
called
baelljek
^
balljek
^
(singular
baellje
^
bal'lje
^
) in Norwegian-Lappish. These poles are
curved at the top and have holes bored in them. The
baelljek
^
balljek
^
are leaned against
each other two by two, and a shaft one a
d
^
n
^
d one-half meters long is stuck through
the holes at the top of each pair of
b
ae
^
a
^
l'ljek
, connecting the two sets with
one another. These two pair of
baelljek
^
balljek
^
are also linked together by means of
a shaft on either side. In order to
^
fix
^
enlarge
the framework
^
firmly
^
two long door
poles are leaned obliquely against each other at one end of the structure and
fastened to the top shaft. Then a long shaft is placed on a slant at the
opposit
e end of the framework, and this is also made fast to the top shaft.
Finally, 10
^
to
^
20 poles are placed around a circular or oval base and leaned
against the frame. The tent cloth is then placed over the framework. The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps formerly constructed their dwelling on the
b
ae
^
a
^
l'lje
princip
al
^
le
^
,
but their
b
ae
^
a
^
l'lje
construction was not as standardized as that of the Mountain
Lapps. The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps had several different variations of
b
ae
^
a
^
l'lje
design,
and instead of cloth they used bark and sod for covering the fram
p
ework.
The floor surface of the Lappic dwellings is, or in any case was,
divided into definite sections. The fireplace, which is built of
stones, is in the middle of the floor. Two poles are laid down
between the fireplace and the doorway, and the firewood is
^
usually,
^ ^but not always^ deposited
in the space between them.
Inside the tent
^
The innermost part of the tent,
^
opposite the fireplace,
is
a
^
the
^
section where cooking utensils, food, etc., are kept. This
section was considered holy in early times, and among other things
the shaman drum was kept there when not in use. A hole in the wall
behind this section now serves only as a ventilator, but formerly
functioned as the dwelling's back door, through which corpses were
carried out, game carried in, etc.
In addition to the above there are two large sections, one
on either side of the tent, which the inhabitants occupy. Among the
Røros
^
Southern
^
Lapps each of these two sections is divided into three smaller
sections, every one bearing its own name.
The
innermost
[:
]
parts of the house
,
closest to the
cooking utensils
,
are considered to have the most prestige, and the
nearer the main entrance the less desirable the spot.
^
In some regions
^
T
^
t
^
he large
section to the right of the doorway, farthest inward
s
toward
s
the
"kitchen," belongs to the master of the house and his wife, while
the small children stay nearest the entry. The grown children and
the servants are assigned to the large section to the left.
In other regions the family is distributed in another way
[:
].
The old Lappic dwelling types are now in the process of dis–
appearing, and this is also true of the old Lappic dress. Thus, in
the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapp districts the old costume has practically vanished
and has been replaced by purchased, ready-made clothes of the same
style as that worn by the Lapp
'
s
^
'
^
neighbors. Among the Mountain
Lapps, however, the old Lappic dress is still
worn in several places.
^
occasionally seen.
^
The fur coat is the most important winter garment. The coat
worn by men is knee-length, but the women's coat, which is of practi-
cally the same design as the men's, is longer. But since the men
pull up their coats over the belt holding them together at the waist,
the skirts extend only to the middle of the thigh when in use. Among
the southern Lapps
the^
one of their
^
coat
^
s
^
is open all the way down the front and is
generally laced or buttoned together. The coats worn by the northern
Lapps have a neck opening only. The man's coat has an upstanding
collar about 8 cm. high and the back is richly folded. It has been
said that the fur coat developed from the arctic "two-skin shirt"
which is still worn by the Chukchis, but among the Lapps the coat is
usually made of six
reindeer calf
^
fawn
^
skins. It also has boned sides, a
fashion possibly borrowed from the Scandinavians. Inside the neck
opening the Lapps
were
^
wear
^
a loose vest
^
a sort of plastron
^
. During winter an inner coat,
with the fur
[:
]
inside
r
, is worn under the outer coat, which has
the fur outside. The inner coat, in all essentials of the same design
as the outer coat, is made either of sheepskin or of reindeer skin.
It is much tighter than the outer coat. The fur coat is not worn in
the summer, but is replaced by a garment
^
,
^
called a kolt,
made of
homespun or of tanned leather, with approximately the same design
as the fur coat.
Men and women wear trousers of the same design, made from
two pieces of homespun or leather, with long, tight legs, a wide
seat and a short waist. There is no opening either at the front
or at the sides; a cord around the waist holds the trousers up.
The design of the trousers is approximately the same as that used
by the Soyots, Samoyeds
^
,
^
and Voguls farther to the east.
Long leggings fashioned of untanned reindeer skin are worn
over the trousers in winter; these cover the leg from the calf to
the middle of the thigh or all the way up to the crotch.
The Lapps wear three different kinds of shoes of the mo
^
c
^
cas
s
in
type, and with a slightly upturned toe. In winter they use two
kind
^
s
^
of skin shoes with the fur on the outside. One pair is made
from the hide of the reindeer's legs, sewed together with sinews;
the other is made partly from the hide of the reindeer's head, partly
from the leg hide. Neither of these shoes has soles. The summer
shoes are made with oxhide or reindeer leather uppers and usually
with ox leather soles.
In the place
^
Instead
^
of stockings the Lapps use straw
packing
^
wrapping
^
, made
^
"stiåhøy? very good
^
by pounding sedge grass until it becomes as soft as wool.
The trouser bottoms, which are worn outside the shoes, are
fastened around the ankle with several narrow multicolored bands.
In winter the Lapps wear mittens made from the reindeer's
leg hide, with the fur outside.
The Lap
i
^
p
^
ic headgear varies sharply from district to district;
accordingly the head covering is the primary indication of
where
^
the locality from which
^
a
Lapp
belongs
^
hails
^
. Moreover, there is often a great difference between
men's and women's headgear, and between that of children and adults.
The oldest Lappic headgear fashion seems to be a high-crowned cap
made of
[:
]^
several
^
wedge-shaped pieces sewn together. The men's
cap
^
sometimes
^
has a tassel at the top, the women's none.
A belt is worn around the waist. In the northernmost regions
a wide leather belt encircles the
^
fur
^
coat and a narrower, patterned,
woven belt the
^
summer^ ^coat
^
kolt
. A sewing kit containing needles, scissors
^
,
^
and
other tools is attached to the belt.
Since early times the narrow belt, the
vest
^
plastron
^
and the collar
of the male costume have been ornamented with tin wire embroidery.
Among the southern Lapps these parts of the costume are now embroid–
ered with strings of glass beads. The Lapps also decorate various
parts of their clothing with green, yellow
^
,
^
and blue cloth bands.
The ornamentation — probably a loan from the Scandinavians — varies
from region to region.
Since the genuine Lappic culture is nomadic or semi-nomadic,
the primary qualification for tools, household utensils, etc., is
lightness and durability, so that hide, horn, bone
^
,
^
or wood are there–
fore the materials primarily used.
The men do all the work on bone, horn
^
,
^
and wood. They carve
all kinds of wooden bowls, make pack saddles, sleds, boats, skis,
an unusual
^
a special sort^kind^ of
^
cradle, horn spoons, butter spoons, drinking cups, etc.,
and they are often masters at carving out knife sheaths and other
things, which they decorate in a fashion
[:
]
native to them.
The knife is an important tool, but the Lapps also use axes, saws,
planes, awls, etc.
After the men have killed reindeer, skinned them and cut up
the hides, the women take over the preparation of the hides and leather.
The women also make thread from the reindeer sinews, and sew clothing.
In addition they plait bands by hand, and fashion belts and ribbons
with the aid of a weaving apparatu
r
s made of horn or bone, of a
type similar to those used by the Pueblo Indians and by many other
peoples. The Lapps probably learned the art from the Scandinavians.
The women also weave baskets of treated roots.
The tin
^
-
^
wire craft is now in the process of disappearing among
the Lapps. The tin was first smelted in molds, so that long rods
emerged. These were then thrust through a sheet of reindeer horn
whi
with a series of
smaller and larger
^
graduated
^
holes bored in it. The rod
was first passed through the large holes, later through the smaller
and
^
then the
^
smallest holes until the wire became as fine as the Lapps desired.
When the wire was finished it was wound tightly around a sinew thread,
and then used to embroider belts, headgear, etc.
The division of labor among the Lapps is different for men
and women, but otherwise the social distinction between the sexes
is comparatively slighter among the Lapps than among most other peoples.
Women have a respected position within the family and among kinfolk.
The Lappic system of family relationships, which exists in
different variations, has developed to a great extent along classi–
fying principles, and goes back to an old system that was apparently
common among the Finno-Ugric peoples. However, the Lappic system
has altered with time under the influence of neighboring peoples,
and is now in a state of complete disintegration. Levirate, which
at one time demonstrably existed among the Lapps, accordingly ceased
to exist as an institution long ago.
^
[: Usually]
^
Levirate will
of course ^[: usually]^
result in practice in the possibility
of a man's having more than one wife; consequently, polygamy must once
have been practiced by the Lapps. During recent centuries, however,
monogamy has
^
seems to have
^
been the prevailing marriage form. The bride was form–
erly purchased, in that the bridegroom was required to give the girl's
family or her relatives a "gift" in the form of money, reindeer, or
something similar.
At present, in many places the family — that is to say the
man, his wife and their children — live in isolation. This is par–
ticularly true among the
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps. But in former times several
families formed a larger social group, of the type called
siida
in
Norwegian-Lappish.
Siida
is a genuine Lappish word which is not known
among the other Finno-Ugric languages.
^
It indicates that
^
T
^
t
^
he institution must be
con-
^
of ancient
^
siderably old
^
origin
^
, and
indicates
that at a very early period the Lapps
had arrived at a stage of social collaboration that was more advanced
than the individual family arrangement.
Each
siida
had its own definitely bounded territory where the
entire
siida
lived together as an economic entity and monopolized
the
^
h
^
unting and trapping. Among the Skolts, who retained the
siida
arrangement
up
until modern times, the
siida
(
sit
in Skolt-Lappish)
had a central governing body with a chief at the head.
The Mountain Lapps still have a
siida
arrangement, but
^
of a new type.
^
it
is not based on any economic collaboration.
It represents a
special development based on the original
siida
system, and it is
particularly adapted to reindeer
keeping.
^
economy.
^
The Mountain Lapps live
in definitely bounded districts or reservations, in which they
circulate with their reindeer. As a rule all the Mountain Lapps
in a given district keep their reindeer in the same herd. Con–
sequently, the Lapps in each district have a number of interests
in common. At certain intervals the Lapps of the district hold
meetings where various questions of communal interest are dis–
cussed. The Lapps in each district also elect a foreman for a
definite period of years to represent all the Lapps in the district.
With the passage of time the Lappic culture has been strongly
influenced by the Scandinavians. Accordingly, all the old Lappic
religious concepts have disappeared; at present the Lapps are
Christians, like their neighbors.
The original Lappic religious concepts were consistently
animistic. A
k
^
l
^
l of nature had a soul, and holy mountains and stones,
as well as the sun, the moon, the thunder, the spirits of the dead,
etc., were worshipped and appealed to. Among animals the bear
was considered holy, and was celebrated during ceremonial festivals.
In addition, the Lapps had shamans, who were believed capable of
leaving their bodies and achieving contact with the spirit world.
This process occurred during an ecstatic state, when the shaman
drum was used in the same way as it was employed
among
^
by
^
many of
the Siberian Arctic peoples. The Lapps also used the drum as
a prophetic instrument. A number of figures, each with a definite
meaning, were painted on the drum. A ring or another article was
placed on the drumhead; then the drum was struck with a hammer,
and as the ring moved from figure to figure it was possible to
interpret the will of the higher powers.
The Lapps have borrowed a series of religious concepts from
their neighbors over the years, so that it is often difficult to
determine what is an original Lappic belief and what is a loan
from Finns, Norwegians
^
,
^
and Swedes. Possibly the Norse influence
on Lappic religion has not been as great as many scholars have
indicated, but there can be no doubt that the Lapps' original
form of religion has in any case undergone partial transformation
through contact with neighboring cultures. It has been claimed
that some elements of the Lappic religious concepts were borrowed
from the Scandinavians as early as in the Bronze Age, but this
seems doubtful.
But
m
^
M
^
any of the forces of nature originally
worshipped by the Lapps were probably transformed under Norse
influence into personal gods, and this must have happened even
before Christianity had gained any ground in Scandinavia. Ac–
cordingly, it was realized long ago that a number of the Lapps'
gods had characteristics that could have been borrowed from the
Norsemen's pagan deities. The Lappic thunder god
Hora-galles
thus has characteristics reminiscent of the Scandinavian god
Thor
; the Lappic god of wind,
Biegg-olmai
has traits resembling
those of the Scandinavian god
Njord
, etc. Moreover, the Lappic
religion was significantly influenced by the Scandinavians'
Chris
i
tianity of the Roman Catholic period. The Trinity: God
the Father, the Son of God, and the Virgin Mary are rediscovered
[]in Lappic disguise under the names:
A
cc
^
čč
^
e
(pronounced
ahtshe
),
Radien-kiedde
, and
Radien-akk
e
^
a
^
.
Chris
it
^
ti
^
an missionaries were sent out among the Lapps as
early as medieval times, and churches were also built in the
Maritime Lapp
^
Sea Lapp
^
districts. The
Maritime
^
Sea
^
Lapps west of the Kola
Peninsula were christened to a rather considerable extent,
although many of them were actually only nominally Christian.
During the 16th century a great number of the Kola Lapps also
became Christian in name. But
up
until about 1700 Christianity
was to a high degree nothing more than a veneer. From about that
time the Lapps were exposed to powerful Christian pressure. The
shaman drum
^
s
^
was
^
were
^
burned, and the Lapps were forced into Christianity.
Nevertheless they secretly maintained their old religious concepts
in some places until as late as well into the 19th century.
^
<formula>
340
7.5
﹍
340
1700
2380
﹍
2550.0
</formula>
^
EA-Anthrop. Falkenberg: Lapps
Bibliography
Academie des Sciences de L'URSS.
Carte Ethnographique de la Siberie.
USSR, 1927.
Anonymous.
Om Lappernia Vaesen i Levemaade og Afguds Dyrckelse i Nordlandene
fra Forrige Tider
, ved Marie Krekling. (Regarding Lapic practices in
their mode of life and idolatry, by Marie Krekling) (Nordnorske Sam–
linger V.) Oslo, 1945.
Bergsland, Knut.
Røros-samiske Tekster
. (Røros-lappic texts.) (Nordnorske
Samlinger II.) Oslo, 1944.
----. "Det samiske slektskaps-og svogerskaps-ordsystem." (The Lappic family and
relationship-by-marriage word system.)
Norsk Tidskkrift for Sprog–
videnskap
XIII. Oslo, 1942.
Collinder, Bjørn.
Lapparna
. (The Lapps.) (Verdandis småskrifter 352.) Stock–
holm, 1932.
Düben, Gustaf von.
Om Lappland och lapparne.
(Concerning Lapland and the Lapps.)
Stockholm, 1922.
Falkenberg, Johs.
Bosetningen ved indre Laksefjord i Finnmark
. (The Dwelling
Site at Inner Lakse Fjord in Finnmark.) (Nordnorske Samlinger II.) Oslo,
1944.
Friis, J. A.
Lappisk Mythologi
. (Lapp Mythology.) Christiania, 1871.
Gjessing, Gjertrud and Gutorm.
Lappedrakten
. (The Lapp Costume.) Oslo, 1940.
Gjessing, Gutorm.
Fra steinalder till jernalder i Finnmark
. (From the Stone Age
to the Iron Age in Finnmark.) Oslo, 1935.
----. "Baelljegammen."
Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift
IX. Oslo, 1942.
----. Norges Steinalder. (Norway's Stone Age.) Oslo, 1945.
Hatt, Gudmund. "Rensdyrnomadismens Elementer." (The Elements of Reindeer Nomadism.)
Geografisk Tidsskirft
24. Copenhagen, 1918.
Itkonen, T. I.
Lapparnas førekomst i Finland
. (The Occurrence of the Lapps in
Finland.) Ymer, 1947. No. 1, Stockholm.
Johnsen, O. A.
Finmarkens politiske historie
. (The Political History of Finnmark.)
Christiania, 1923.
Kildal, Jens.
Afguderiets Dempelse, Ved Marie Krekling
. (The Fading of Idolatry,
by Marie Krekling.) Nordnorske Samlinger V.) Oslo, 1945.
Kolsrud, Knut.
Finnefolket i Ofoten
. (The Finn People in Ofoten.) (Nord
[:
]
norske
Samlinger VIII.) Oslo, 1947.
Laufer, Berthold.
The Reindeer and its Domestication
. (Mem. of the American Anthr.
Association IV.) Lancaster, 1917.
Leem, Knud.
Beskrivelse over Finnmarkens Lapper
. (Description of the Finnmark
Lapps.) Copenhagen, 1767.
EA-Anthrop. Falkenberg: Lapps
Lundman, Bertil.
On the Origin of the Lapps.
Ethnos. Stockholm, 1946.
Manker, E.
Gabelstangenkote und Bogenstangenskote
. Acta Ethnologia. 1938.
---. De Svenska fjällapparna. (The Swedish Mountain Lapps.) Stockholm, 1947.
Nesheim, Asbjørn.
Lappisk fiske og fisketerminologi
. (Lapp Fishing and Fishing
Terminology.) (Studia Septentrionalia III.) Oslo, 1947.
Nielsen, Konrad.
Spørsmaalet om den lappiske torvgammes oprindelse
. (The Question
of the Origin of the Lapp Turf Dwelling.) (Studia Septentrionalia I.)
Oslo, 1945.
----.
Laerebok i Lappisk
. (Lappish Textbook.) Oslo, 1926.
Olaus, Magnus.
Historia om de nordiska folken I-IV.
(History of the Northern
Peoples.) Uppsala, 1909-25.
Olsen, Magnus.
Skaldevers om Nøds-år Nordenfjells
. (Poems on the Year of Need
in the Northern Mountains.) (Studia Septentrionalia II.) Oslo, 1945.
Qvigstad, J.
Innledning til Naeromanuskriptet etc
. (Introduction to the Naerø
Manuscript, etc.) (Nordnorske Samlinger V.) Oslo, 1943.
Schreiner, K. E.
Zur Osteologie der Lappen
, I. Oslo, 1935.
Solberg, O. Eisenzeitfunde aus Ost-Finmarken. Christiania, 1909.
----, "Die Westgrenz ...der Samojeden am Ende des 17 Jahrhunderts."
Zeitschrift
für Ethnologie,
Berlin, 1916.
Solem, Erik.
Lappiske rettsstudier
. (Lappic Legal Studies.) Oslo, 1933.
Storm, Gustav.
Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele, for-
fattede i Norge 1 det 16 Aarhundrede (Historical-topographical Literature Con–
cerning Norway and Norwegian Regions, written in Norway in the 17th Century)
Christiania, 1895.
Hans Skankes Epitomes Historia Missionis Lapponica Pars Prima, ved O. Solberg
.
(Nordnorske Samlinger V.) Oslo, 1945.
Tanner, V.
Antropogeografiska Studier inom Petsamo-området. 1. Skolt Lapparna.
(An–
thropo-geographical studies in the Petsamo Area. 1. The Skolt Lapps.) (Fennia
49.) Helsingfors, 1929.
Vorren, ø.
Dyregraver og Reingjerder i Varanger
. (Animal Pits and Reindeer Pens in
Varanger.) (Nordnorske Samlinger VI.) Oslo, 1944.
----. "Reindriften i Norge." (Reindeer Keeping in Norway.)
Norsk Geograifisk Tids–
skrift
XI. 1947.
Wiklund, K. B. "Lappar"(Lapps)
Nordisk Familjebok
, 3rd Ed. Vol. 12, Stockholm, 1930.
----.
Untersuchungen über die älteste Geschichte der Lappen und die Entstehung der
Lappen und die Entstehung der Renntierzucht.
Folk,-LIV. Stockholm, 1937-38.
Johannes Falkenberg
Ethnic Population of Siberia
EA-Anthropology
(Eugene Golomshtok)
ETHNIC POPULATION OF SIBERIA
Introduction
The term Siberia (
Sibir
in Russian) which appears in Russian annals as
early as the 15th century was derived from the name of an early Tartar king–
dom in western Siberia. Today it is used to include the Asiatic part of the
U.S.S.R., from the Urals to the Pacific and north of central Asia to the Arctic.
This area comprises 14.2 million square kilometers and includes 10 national
regions and 5 independent republics.
The population of Siberia may be divided into native and immigrant groups.
In 1897 the native population of Siberia was estimated, by Patkanov, to be
870,536 or 15% of the total population of 4,889,633. Russians constituted
80% of the population. Greater immigration during the early part of the 20th
century, and the extensive industrialization of Siberia under the present regime
have increased the total number of persons to 28,000,000, with the native pop–
ulation of north Siberia, excluding that of the southwestern autonomous repub–
lics, estimated at about one million.
The native population has been divided into two major groups. A variety
of names has been used for the first group. The most generally accepted term,
Uralo-Altaians, based on linguistic and somatological classifications, is used
to imply the affinity of the Finnic, Samoyedic, Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic
languages, all of which are agglutinative but differ from other languages of
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
this type by the absence of the prefix and the lack of changes in the root.
The objection to the use of this term, which covers somatologically related
groups with pronounced Mongolic characteristics, is the implication that their
origin was in the plateau of the Ural-Altai region, which does not apply to the
Tungus-Manchu group, derived by most investigators from the south or the Amur
basin area.
The term "Neo-Siberian" was suggested for the Uralo-Altaian group. Some
object to this term because it excludes the Mongols, Turks, and Finns living
outside of Siberia, and because it implies that the "Neo-Siberians" are new–
comers while it is believed that they spread northwestward and eastward after
the retreat of the last glaciation. The term "Siberian Mongoloids" was proposed
instead.
The second group is variously designated as Paleo-Siberians, Paleo-Asiatics,
or Americanoids reflecting their relative age and affinity with some of the Amer–
ican natives.
In the two groups, the terms Uralo-Altaians and Paleo-Asiatics are, however,
the most commonly accepted. Each group is composed of subgroups, as follows:
I.
Uralo-Altaians
.
-
1. Finno-Ugrians. (a) Northeastern Finns; Zyrians, Permians, and Votiaks.
(b) Ugrians: Ostyaks and Voguls.
-
2. Samoyeds, divided into: Samoyeds proper, Ostyako-Samoyeds, Yenisei
Samoyeds, and Tavghians.
-
3. Turks, represented by Yakuts and Dolgans.
-
4. Tunguso-Manchu. (a) Tungus: Tungus proper, Lamuts, and Negidals.
(b) Manchu: Goldi, Olchi, and Orochi.
-
5. Mongols, comprising many Tartar tribes who live too far south to be
considered within the scope of this article.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
II.
Paleo-Asiatics
.
-
1. Chukchis, Koryaks, and Kamchadals.
-
2. Yukaghirs and Chuvantzy.
-
3. Asiatic Eskimos and Aleuts.
-
4. Unclassified: Yenisei Ostyaks, Khante, Gilyaks, and Ainu.
Distribution and Population
As no over-all dependable figures for the native populations are available,
some discrepancy of the total population of the tribes as compared with the
figures for the totals of their subdivisions is unavoidable.
Zyrians
- (
Komi
) form the basic population of the Komi Autonomous Republic
and number 186,108 (1920). Of these about 10,000 live in the Tobol, Taimen,
Omsk, Altai, and Tomsk regions of Siberia. They wander in the area from the
Urals to the Ob. Occupation: (a) semisedentary group - reindeer breeding, fishing,
and hunting; (b) sedentary group - trade and fishing. Language: Zyrian and
Russian. Religion: Greek Orthodox.
Permians
- (
Komimort
). Out of a total of 128,132 (1920), 895 live in
the Tomsk, Altai, Taimen, and Tobol regions of Siberia. The rest inhabit the
Perm and Vyatka regions of European Russia and are very Russianized. Occupation:
agriculture, fishing, and hunting. Language: Permian, a dialect of Zyrian, now
supplanted by Russian and Zyrian. Religion: Greek Orthodox.
Votiaks
- (
Udurmut
), numbering 1,726 in Siberia (1920). The bulk of these
people live in the Yenisei, Tomsk, Novo-Nikolaevsk, and Altai regions, with
about 100 scattered in other areas. Occupation: farming. Language: Votiak and
Russian. Religion: Greek Orthodox.
Ostyaka
- (
As-yag
), (the Ob people)
Khante
,
Khondikho
,
Ushtyak
(in Tartar),
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia.
numbering 18,591 (in 1911). They inhabit the Tobol and Narym region along
the Ob, Irtysh, Kondo, and Vasugan rivers, forming colonies among the Russian
population on the Ob and Irtysh rivers. Occupation: Semisedentary — hunting,
fishing, and reindeer breeding. Language: Ostyak with 3 main dialects, Berezov,
Surgut, and Irtysh. Religion: Shamanism and Greek Orthodox. Divisions: (1)
Northern, in Berezov region — horse breeders and hunters; (2) Eastern, in
Surgut and Narym — reindeer breeders; (3) Southwestern, on the Irtysh River.
Voguls
- (
Man'si
,
Mansa
,
Vogulichi
,
Ugra
, ancient), numbering 6,814 (1911).
They inhabit the southern part of the Tobol region in the area of the northern
Sosva, Konda, and Tavda rivers, and in the Ural part of the Perm region. Occupa–
tion: hunting and fishing. Language: Vogul (4 dialects) and Russian in the
Perm region. Religion: Shamanism and Greek Orthodox.
Samoyeds
- (
Khasovo
,
Samoyedam.
in Lopar). Numbering 18,021 (1920), they
inhabit the tundra from the shores of the White Sea to the mouth of the Podkam–
enka and Balakhna rivers in Khatanga Bay (together with Zyrians) and occupy a
narrow belt along the left bank of the Yenisei as far south as Krasnoyarsk.
Occupation: Reindeer breeding, hun
^
ting
^
, and fishing. Divisions: (1) Uraks,
numbering 7,057 (1911), distributed in the Archangel region, Komi, Ob, and Tasov
gulfs and the tundra of Turukhansk, along the left bank of the Yenisei as far
north as Dudinka, and the lower reaches of the Taz. (2) Yenisei Ostyaks and
Tavghians, numbering 899 (1917). They live in the Yenisei region along the
right bank of the river from the Khatanga River to Dudinka and Norilsk Lake.
(3) Forest Samoyeds (
Pyan Khasovo
). Numbering 600 (1917), they live on the Ob–
Taz water divide in the basin of the Pur River. (4) Ostyako-Samoyeds. Numbering
6,559 (1927), they live in the Turukhansk region and in the forest area along
the Turukhan and Taz rivers.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
Yakuts
- (
Saka
,
Sakha
). Numbering 235,500 (1925), they are the basic
population of the Yakut A.S.S.R. Occupation: Animal breeding, supplemented
by agriculture, hunting and fishing. Religion: Christianity with strong
remnants of shamanism. Language: Yakut. Organization: Divided into clans.
Dolgans
- (
Saka
) are Yakutized Tungus, numbering 967 (1897), who live in
the Turukhansk region of the former Yenisei government. They wander along the
Taimyr River, the upper part of the Piasina River and the Dudinka and Norilsk
lakes. Occupation: Migratory reindeer breeders and hunters. Language: Yakut.
Religion: Shamanism. Organization: Divided into two clans.'
Tungus
- (
Evenki
). Numbering 53,197 (1897), they live spread out in
central Siberia east of the Yenisei, in the Far Eastern province, in the Yakut
region, and the Buriato-Mongol A.S.S.R. Occupation: Reindeer breeding and
hunting in central Siberia and in the Yakut region, animal breeding (29,737)
in the Trans-Baikal region, and agriculture (4,175) in the Trans-Baikal region.
Language: Tungus, Russian, Buriat, and Yakut, depending upon the place of habi–
tation. Religion: Shamanism, and Buddist-Lamaist (9,258) persons in the south
Trans-Baikal region). Organization: Divided into clans. Divisions: (1) Orchens
(reindeer Tungus), living in the Buriato-Mongolian A.S.S.R., the Trans-Baikal
region and the Amur province. (2) Murchens (horse Tungus), horse breeding
people of Buriato Mongol A.S.S.R. (3) Manyegers (from the clan name
manveghir
)
live along the Zeya and Amur rivers. Formerly Man
[:
]
hirs, Guruars, Ullagers, and
other clans of the Silindra and Bureya river basins were collectively called
Birars (the river Tungus). (4) Solons (from the Mongolian
solon
- shooter),
who in 1897 lived in small numbers along the lower course of the Iman River,
the right tributary of the Ussuri.
Lamuts
- (from the Tungus "lamur," Sea People) (
Even
,
Eveshel
). Numbering
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
9,049 (1897), they live in the Kolyma and Verkhoyansk regions of the Yakut
A.S.S.R. (2,399), and along the Okhotsk and Kamchatka shores (6,650). In the
Far Eastern province they are called Orochen and Tungus. Occupation: Reindeer
breeding, hunting, and fishing. 240 are sedentary in the Anadyr and Okhotsk
regions. Language: Lamut. Religion: Shamanism. Organization: Clans.
Negidals
- (
Amguns
,
Elken-beje
). Numbering 423 (1897), they live on the
shores of the Amgun River on the left tributary of the Amur. Occupation: Fish–
ing, hunting, and dog breeding. Language: Negidal. Religion: Shamanism. Organ–
ization: Clans.
Goldi
- (
Nanai
,
Nani
). Numbering 5,441 (1897), they live along the lower
course of the Amur and its left tributaries, the Khor, Bikin, Iman, and Vaku rivers.
Occupation: Fishing, hunting, and dog breeding. Language: Goldi. Religion:
Shamanism. Organization: Divided into clans. Divisions: (1) Samars or Samag–
hirs, living along the Gorin River. (2) Khodzans (from Khodze-nai, lower people),
living along the lower courses of rivers. (3) Solons, living along the upper
courses of rivers.
Ol'chi
- (
Ulcha
,
Nanej
,
Nani
). Numbering 2,204 (1897), they live along the
lower Amur from the town of Maninsk to the village of Tlyaz, as well as on the
island of Sakhalin (150). Occupation: Fishing, hunting, dog breeding, and rein–
deer breeding on Sakhalin. Language: Ol'chi, (a dialect of Goldi). Religion:
Shamanism. Organization: Divided into clans. Divisions: (1) Sakhalin-Oroki;
(2) Amur-Mangun (from
Manu
, large river); (3) Ol'chi (from
ulya
, domestic rein–
deer).
Orochi
- (
Nani, Kekari
). Numbering 2,407 (1897), they live between Tartar
Strait and the Sea of Japan, on one side, and the Ussuri River on the other.
Occupation: Hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Language: Orochi and Chinese.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
Religion: Shamanism, Greek Orthodox, and some Buddism. Divisions: (1) Orochi
proper 460 (1924), living from the Gulf of De-Costi to the Kop River and in the
basin of the Tumnin River. (2) Ude-he (Udyhe) 2,000, south and west of the
first group, along the Samarga, Iman, Bikin, Khor, On'jien, and Khungari rivers.
(3) The southern portion of the Ude-he, known as Taz, and completely Chinoised.
Chukchis
- (
Laurovetlan
,
Tan'g
in Koryak). Numbering 12,000 (1900), they
live in the Chukotsk region. Part of the Reindeer Chukchi live in the tundra
in the Kolyma region of the Yakut A.S.S.R., from the river Chau to the Indigirka
River. In the southern part of the area they live together with the Koryaks.
Occupation: Reindeer breeding and sea animal hunting. Language: Chukchi. Re–
ligion: Shamanism. Divisions: (1) 9,000 Reindeer Chukchi (
chavchu
— reindeer
breeder). (2) 7,530 Maritime Chukchi (
nvmvlyt
— occupants).
Koryaks
- (
Nymylan
,
Tan'g
in Chukchi. Numbering 6,702 (1924), they live
on Kamchatka Peninsula adjoining the Chukchis in the north. Their villages are
along the shores of the Bering Sea to Anadyr Bay, and reach southwest to the
village of Yamsk on the Okhotsk shores. In the south the Reindeer Koryaks
wander to the Anadyr chain. On Kamchatka the Koryak settlements are separated
from the Kamchadals by a line between the village of Ozernoye and the village
of Amanino. Occupation: Reindeer breeding, fishing, and sea-animal hunting.
Language: Koryak, and Russian in some villages. Religion: Shamanism. Divisions:
(1) Reindeer Koryaks, 3,748 (1900); (2) Maritime Koryaks, 3,782 (1900), a sed–
entary group which settled on the seashores or at the mouths of rivers. The
members of the Koryak tribe living in the north along the Bering Sea are called
Kereks.
Kamchadals
- (
Itelmens
). Numbering 5,700 (1924), they live in the southern
two-thirds of Kamchatka. Occupation: Fishing, hunting, dog breeding, some cattle
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
breeding, and a little vegetable growing. They are very much Russianized.
Language: Mostly Russian; only about 1,000 speak Kamchadal along the south
shore of the Okhotsk Sea, in the villages of Kharyuzovo, Amanino, and Sedanka.
Religion: Greek Orthdox.
Yukaghirs
- (
Odul
,
Etal
,
Atal
— in Chukchi and Koryak). Numbering 1,003
(1901), they live in the Verkhoyansk and Kolyma regions of the Yakut A.S.S.R.,
along the upper part of the tributaries of the Kolyma, the Yasachnaya, and the
Korkodon rivers, as well as along the upper part of the Kolyma and between the
Kolyma and the Omolon rivers in scattered groups. Occupation: Reindeer breeding,
hunting, and fishing (nomadic). Language: (1) Yukaghir (along the Upper Kolyma),
(2) Tundra Yukaghir (between the Kolyma and the Indigirka); (3) Tungus (between
the Indigirka and the Yana); (4) Yakut (between the Yana and the Lena). Religion:
Shamanism, considerably influenced by contact with Tungus, Yakut, and Russians.
Chuvantzy
- (
Etels
). Numbering 452 (1901), they are ethnically close to
Yukaghirs and were once a part of that group. They live in the Anadyr district
of the Kamchatka region, and in the Kolyma region of the Yakut A.S.S.R., along
the lower course of the Omolon, the upper part of the Anadyr, and along the
Yabolon and Yaropol rivers. Occupation: Fishing, hunting, and some reindeer
breeding. More than half (276) are sedentary and are very Russianized. Language:
Russian (among the sedentary groups) and Chukchi or Koryak (among the nomadic
people). Religion: Shamanism.
Asiatic Eskimos
- (
Ijut
, man),
aivan
(in Chukchi),
namolo
(the inhabitants,
in Koryak). The American Eskimo self name is
inuit
. Numbering 1,600 (1900),
the bulk, 1,200, live on the Chukotsk Peninsula, and the rest inhabit the Dio–
medes and St. Lawrence islands. They live in villages along the Asiatic shores
of Bering Strait and in 13 villages grouped near Capes Dezhnev and Chaplin.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
Occupation: Sea-animal hunting. Language: Eskimo, 3 dialects. Religion:
Shamanism and animism. Divisions: (1)
Aivan,
677 (1897); (2)
Vuteen
, 120
(1897), living on the shore of Anadyr Gulf; (3)
Noakan
or
Peeks
, 510 (1897),
living near Cape Dezhnev.
Aleuts
- (
Unaniun
,
Unangan
). Numbering 552 in the U.S.S.R. (1900), they
live on the Commander Islands, and are greatly mixed with the Russians. They
live in villages, but in the summer form temporary settlements along the sea–
shore. Occupation: Fishing. Language: Aleut. Religion: Christianity and the
remains of Shamanism.
Yenisei Ostyaks
or
Yeniseyan Kets
. Numbering 1,281 (1917), they live in
the Yenisei region, along the right tributaries of the Yenisei, the Stony Tung–
uska, Bakhata, Lower Tunguska, and Kureika rivers; some live among the Russians
along the shores of the Yenisei River. Occupation: Fishing and hunting (semi–
sedentary). Language: Yenisei Ostyak and Russian (among those who live with
the Russians). Religion: Shamanism.
Gilyaks
- (
Nigvvyn
,
Nivukh
). Numbering 4,298 (1911), they live on the lower
part of the Amur River, along the shores of the Amur Gulf, and in the northern
part of Sakhalin in separate villages. Occupation: Fishing and hunting land and
sea-animals (semisedentary). Language: Gilyak (several dialects). Religion:
Shamanism and Greek Orthodox in the Amur region. Divisions: Divided into clans.
Ainu
- (
Ainu
). Out of a total of 20,000, 1,457 (1897) live in the southern
part of Sakhalin and the rest live in Hokkaido. Occupation: Fishing and sea–
animal hunting. Language: Ainu. Religion: Shamanism.
History
Siberian prehistory is far from being clear. The question of the extent
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
of the Quaternary glaciation of Siberia remains unanswered. Some (Obruchev)
argue that glaciation covered not only elevated places but the lowlands of
almost all of northern and northeastern Siberia. Others (Tugarinov, Ephimenko)
limit the ice cover to the highlands and a part of wes
tern and northwestern
Siberia (Ural-Taimyr area). It is assumed that at the end of the Tertiary
period, the Asiatic continent extended farther north than at present and was
connected with North America. Early in Pleistocene times the mild climate of
Siberia
[:
]
gradually became colder.
Archaeological evidence shows that Siberia has been inhabited for a con–
siderable period of time. Even from comparatively few investigations, which
uncovered only scattered and infrequent remains, enough evidence has been
gathered to show that in several areas, usually along large rivers (Yenisei,
Angara), there were human settlements belonging to the Upper Paleolithic period.
The archaeological sites on the Yenisei River are generally dated as belonging
to the Magdalenian period and are characterized by stone implements made out
of hard stone found in the form of river pebbles. They include massive scrapers
almost of Mousterian shape but made by pressure flaking and varying in form.
Points are comparatively rare. The bulk of the tools have small blades detached
from prismatic nuclei and reworked into perforators and cutting and engraving
tools. Miniature stone tools in the shape of round or semi-round scrapers are
frequently found. Bone implements, though badly preserved, are made out of
reindeer horn and bones and include spear points,
b
a
^
â
^
tons de commandement
, awls,
perforated needles, etc. Human figurines of bone, decorations of perforated
animal teeth, bone pendants, and beads have been found.
The Yenisei sites are characterized by typical arctic fauna:
Elephas
^
p
^
rim–
igenious
(mammoth),
Rangifer tarandus
(reindeer),
Alopex lagopus
(arctic fox),
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
Gulo gulo
(glutton), and such steppe animals as: Bison prisous (bison),
Equus
caballus
(horse), etc.
The Angara animal remains indicate a slightly warmer climate (more of a
steppe type with the absence of arctic animals), representing the later stage
of the Magdalonian period. Its stone and bone industry are characterized by
transitionary forms connecting it with the Angara Neolithic period.
Finds of the Neolithic period in Siberia are much more numerous and show
that in general the climate of Siberia in Neolithic times was somewhat warmer
than at the present time.
Siberian Neolithic remains are usually found in village sites and shell
heaps, with potsherds and stone and bone implements. During Neolithic times
man lived in the Yenisei region, in the Baikal region along the Angara and
Upper Lena rivers, and along the Amur and Ob rivers.
The remains of Neolithic industry found in the lowest horizone of the Ulan–
Khoda site in the Baikal region represents the culture of what may be the proto–
type of the group which migrated into the New World via the land bridge between
Asia and North America.
Some transitions between the late Neolithic and metal ages have been estab–
lished in various parts of Siberia, and a succession of cultures has been demon–
strated for the Yenisei and Kas
^
a
^
kstan areas, tracing a developm
ne
^
en
^
t from about
3000 B.C. to the 14th century A.D.
Judging from the scarcity of weapons found, the people of the Bronze Age
were peaceful agriculturists and miners as contrasted with the warlike nomads
of the Iron Age with elaborate graves for their chiefs.
Evidence relating to the prehistoric movements of peoples is still very
scant. Osteological evidence shows that during the Neolithic period several
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
types of narrow-headed people, who survived during the metal age,lived in
Asia, and may have been the forefathers of the present day Yenisei Ostyaks
and Ainu.
It is assumed that Turks inhabited Altai and parts of Mongolia and one
group of them, the Hun-hu, in the 3rd century B.C. conquered all of Mongolia,
subjugating the Dinlins who were described by Chinese sources as being tall
and red haired, with ruddy faces and blue eyes. They were agriculturists who
used pottery and copper and lived in block houses covered with birch bark. One
division of the Dinlins occupied the area between the Ural and Tltai mountains
north of the Yenisei between the Ob River and Lake Baikal.
By the time the Russians penetrated into Siberia, in the 17th century,
most of the Dinlins were Turkicized and subjugated by the Kirghiz, and those
remaining were represented by the now extinct Arines, Assan, Kotts, and by the
Yenisei Ostyaks.
The southwestern Siberian steppes were inhabited by Scythians, who were
later drawn, by westward migrations of the Central Asiatic peoples, into Europe
and reached as far west as the Danube River.
The forest area of western Siberia was occupied by several Tartar states,
the most important of them being the Sibir kingdom, which paid tribute to the
Russians after the war with the adventurous Yermak who stormed its capital and
subjugated the rest of the Tartar princes.
The northern part of western Siberia is now occupied by the Finno-Ugric
group derived from the Altai region, from which Samoyeds migrated northward
to the arctic shores. Others (Ostyaks, Voguls) followed the courses of the
Irtysh River and resisted the Tartar efforts to subdue them.
Ea
^
st
^
of the Finno-Ugric group are the Tungus whose original home is sup-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
posed to be northern Manchuria. From there, by a series of migrations under
the pressure of advancing Mogols, they moved north and northeast against the
resistance of the Chukchis, Koryaks, and Yukaghirs of the far northeast, and
reached the coast of the arctic tundra in the north, the shores of the Yenisei
River on the west, and the Anadyr region and Kamchatka in the east.
A new element was introduced by the migration of the Yakuts, who formerly
inhabited the Altai region, but who were living in the Baikal region by the
13th century. Movements of the Mongols who arrived from the upper Amur area
forced the Yakuts to spread northward along the Lena and its tributaries. Under
further pressure by the Russians some Yakuts moved farther north and northeast,
crossing the Verkhoyansk Mountains, reaching the shores of the Okhotsk Sea.
The past history of the Paleo-Siberians is still very unclear. It is
supposed, by some scholars, that they represent the back migration of the groups
which crossed into North America. This historical migration must have been
gradual. The Chukchis occupied the tundra east of the Kolyma and only after
1859 did they cross to the western tundra, where they found large reindeer herds,
and finally reached the Indigirka River. During this movement they came in con–
tact with Yukaghir, Tungus, and Yakut groups, while others moving south, encount–
ered the reindeer Koryaks. Under Chukchi pressure the Koryaks moved southward,
reaching Kamchatka and the Kamchadals.
Upon their arrival in the Far North, its present inhabitants found them–
selves living under the most severe natural conditions, to which they adapted
themselves very well. They produced their own material culture, maintaining
an economy which permitted continued existence. Great rivers, rich in fish,
and endless forests, thick with game, supported hunting and fishing. Gradually
they domesticated reindeer, and passed to a primitive herding culture made pos-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
sible by the tundra grazing rounds.
Those whose chief occupation was hunting and fishing (Evenki) preserved
clan organization for a long time. The development of reindeer breeding re–
sulted in the patriarchal family. The Yakuts, who preserved the agricultural
type of culture in the extreme north, and the Khante who were influenced by the
Tartars, developed primary feudalism.
Having very little connection with other peoples, who were more numerous
and were in a better natural habitat, the northern tribes naturally became re–
tarded in their development, and when they had to meet the invading Muscovites
they could not preserve their independence. After bitter resistance, which last–
ed for more than 200 years, they were conquered and made a part of the Russian
Empire. The conquerors destroyed a considerable part of the native population.
Some groups were completely exterminated (Kurilians, Anauls, and Ommoks). Others
were preserved in very small numbers (Yakaghirs, Chuvantzy, Kamchadals, Aleuts,
etc.).
The extermination of the northern peoples continued after the conquest,
during the suppression of the countless uprisings caused by the colonial oppres–
sion which continued up to the middle of the 19th century. The last uprisings
were those of the Kamchadals in 1830, the Aleuts and Alaskan Eskimos in 1855,
and the Samoyeds in 1841.
The conquerors levied tribute (
yasak
) beyond the ability of the population
to pay. Not only living persons were listed in the "yasak books" but demands
for tribute were made from the dead. The Russians demanded sables from areas
where this animal already had disappeared. They sold the people into slavery
for not paying the
yasak
, took children from parents, and sold women into
kortoms
(public houses). Suicides among the natives became so prevalent that a special
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
law was passed in 1735 admonishing the Russians to "prevent the natives from
killing themselves."
While slavery of the natives was officially abolished in the second half
of the 19th century, it continued to exist in fact, because of their economic
and political subjugation. The basic tools of exploitation were deceit and
vodka. The whole of the taiga population was enslaved by the merchants, and
the intentional development of alcoholism reached enormous proportions.
Merchants, officials, and missionaries all sold vodka, and by means of it
all the valuable furs and often large herds of reindeer were obtained for a
trifling part of their value. Tributes, deceit, the selling of vodka, and ac–
tual robbery became an established lawful mode of exploitation supported by the
government. Naturally this led to chronic famines and the impoverishment and
dying out of the nativepeople. This is supported by the dry statistical figures
of Patkanov's census, published in 1911.
The situation grew steadily worse until the Bolshevik Revolution, which
resulted in a new attitude toward native groups.
Physical Anthropology
Stature among the northern peoples varies from average (1,650 - 1,600
cm.
^
mm.
^
)
to low (1,600 or less). In general, the shortest people live along the most
northerly part of Siberia (Samoyeds, Ostyaks, Yukaghirs) and in eastern Siberia
(Koryaks, Kamchadals, and some Tungus). The below average group includes Chukchis,
Asiatic Eskimos, Yakuts, and the variety of Turkic groups in southwestern Siberia.
Cephalic index ranges from mesocephalic (75.6 to 80.9) through brachycephalic
(81 to 85.9) to hyperbrachycephalic (86. and more).
The first group includes Ainu, Voguls, Kamchadals, Ostyaks, Northern Tungus,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
and Yukaghirs; the second, Asiatic Eskimos, Chikchis, Votyaks, Tungus, Yakuts,
Orochi, Aleuts, Samoyeds, and Buriats; and among the most round headed are
Gilyaks and Zyrians (86.36). The Turks and Mongols are pronounced brachy- or
hyperrachychephalic, but within the closely related group of Tungus a variation
exists from 79.6 (Northern Tungus) to 82.46 (other Tungus groups). The Gilyaks
with 86.3 are nearest to the Zyrians of western Siberia (86.36) and farther
from their immediate neighbors, the Ainu (77.3).
In general, Uralo-Altaians are characterized by yellow or yellowish brown
skin, hair which is black, stiff, and cylindrical in cross-section, scantiness
of body hair, obliquely set eyes with the epicantic fold, prominent cheekbones,
and short, flat noses.
The Paleo-Asiatics (Americanoids) do not exhibit common physical character–
istics. In contrast with the Uralo-Altaians, the skin color tends to shades
of brown, there is a greater frequency of high-bridged noses, and the oblique
eye fissure is rare. The origin and affiliation of some (Ainu, Yenisei-Ostyak)
have not yet been determined.
Increase of Population
Information on population figures is not very accurate due to the diffi–
culty of census taking, the failure to differentiate between certain groups, and
assimilation by the more aggressive native groups. According to the Soviet
authorities, the Samoyeds (Nenets) increased from 6,697 in 1897 to 11,965 in
1927 (78% for 30 years). Ostyaks in the same period of time increased from
18,190 to 22,272 (22%), while the Ostyako-Samoyeds decreased from 5,805 to 1,630
(a loss of 72%).
As a rule, most of the Siberian natives show a lower birth rate than is
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
average in the R.S.F.S.R. (44.8 per 1,000). In general, the birth rate dimin–
ishes eastward, and is higher among the sedentary groups than among the nomads.
It varies from 58 per 1,000 among the sedentary Komi to 16 per 1,000 among the
sedentary Eskimos.
The death rate (average for R.S.F.S.R., (21.4) varies from 58 per 1,000
among the Aleuts to 8 among the Gilyaks and Yukaghirs, partly because of the
high rate of child mortality among the Aleuts (64 compared with the average for
the natives of 18).
In general the increase of native Siberian population (15 per 1,000) while
lower than for the Russian population (20 per 1,000) is higher than in some of
the Western European countries.
Mode of Life
Broadly the native population of northern Siberia can be divided into two
groups, (a) sedentary and (b) nomadic.
The first type is characterized by the presence of permanent buildings,
animal breeding, and fishing (along the northern seashores by sean-animal hunt–
ing), with hunting as an auxiliary occupation. Both grazing and hunting areas
are near the settlements.
The second type is characterized by the absence of permanent dwellings, by
reindeer breeding and hunting over large areas, with fishing occupying an auxil–
iary position.
While the population of the first type spends the whole year in one locality,
and only some members go away for hunting, in the second type the whole family
moves from place to place, stopping when necessary.
An intermediate type is the semisedentary group which, while possessing
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
permanent dwellings, migrates seasonally to fishing places.
The Russian population in the tundra region is very small, and the bulk
is concentrated in the more southerly regions along the middle course of the
Ob and Yenisei rivers and the southern part of the Kamchatka. The sedentary
native population is especially scarce in the tundra, which is occupied by
nomadic groups. In general, Russians constitute only 26% of the population
in the Siberian North and are more numerous in the west.
Climatic conditions and natural resources influenced the economy of the
native Siberians to a great degree. The role of hunting (land and sea animals)
and fishing is very great and, up to most recent times, was for some groups the
only means of subsistence. The only form of animal breeding which received much
development is reindeer breeding. Only one group, the Yakuts, brought horse and
cattle breeding into northern Siberia, the real animal-breeding belt being farth–
er south in the steppe region. Agriculture is still more restricted by the pres–
ence of permafrost, though some attempts to introduce the cultivation of plants
in the North have been made lately.
Along with herding, the reindeer-breeding groups are occupied with hunting
and fishing. Usually these two types of activities are pursued seasonally: during
the
^
^
spring driving reindeer to the summer pastures; during the summer, fishing; and
in the winter, hunting. But reindeer breeding plays the major role in their
economy, determines the place and time of their movements, and tends to consoli–
date the tribal or clan ties. To this type of economy belong Reindeer Chukchis
and Koryaks, Yukaghirs, Lamuts, Oroki, Tungus, Ostyaks, Somoyeds, and Lopars.
Regional variations of the predominance of one or the other economy are
encountered, but in general the above is true.
The extreme northeast is occupied by the native groups whose exclusive occupa-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
tion is fishing and hunting land and sea animals, and whose only domesticated
animal is the dog. They live in scattered sedentary groups. Part of the Chuk–
chis and Koryaks in the North and Gilyaks, Orochi, Goldi, Olchi, and Udehe farth–
er south practice this economy.
Metallurgy developed in some regions (Kuznestk and Minusinsk) which are
too far to the south to influence the northern groups.
Techniques, tools, and methods, primitive though well adapted to the local
conditions, and implements made of wood, bone, and fiber are typical for the
material culture of the natives of the Siberian North.
Houses
Dwellings were built of the following materials: snow, rods, poles, wattle,
logs, hide, leather, birch bark, earth, sod, clay, and stone. All the movable
dwellings were set up by women, while the fixed habitations were built by men.
Conical tents covered with birch bark were used by the Yakuts, Amur River
Tungus, and the southern Ostyaks. This type of dwelling is characteristic of
the Amur River region and southern Siberia. The Kolyma Yukaghirs, the northern
Tungus, the Ostyaks, and the Samoyeds used skin-covered conical tents. The Tungus
of the Okhotsk district and the Amur River region used cylindro-conical tents cov–
ered with birch bark. The Chukchis and Koryaks covered the same type of dwelling
with reindeer skin.
The northern Yakuts used a sod-covered dwelling of a pyramidal form. The
Yakuts and Yakutized Tungus used truncated pyramidal dwellings. The Buryats,
Dolgans and Yakuts have adopted Russian flat-roofed block houses. Underground
dwellings or earth huts were used by the ancient Ostyaks and Maritime Chukchis,
and to a certain extent are still used by the Gilyaks, Kamchadals, Martime Koryaks,
and Yukaghirs.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
The Kerek, a northeastern division of the Koryak tribe, used a combina–
tion underground hut and snow dwelling. It differs from the Eskimo snowhouse
in that a framework of logs and sticks is used by the Kerek.
The Kamchadals and Gilyaks formerly made great use of a house built on
piles, and still use these houses in the summer and as store houses all through
the year.
Dress
Fur was used for the winter dress of the northern tribes and leather was
the material for the summer costume. Fur garments were trimmed with variously
colored strips of fur and hide, embroidered with painted hair, sinew, cotton
thread, or silk. At the front, sides, and especially at the seams, leather
tassels and fringes, bone and metal pendants, and similar objects were attached.
Women's dresses were ornamented with circlets of silver and pendants of
bronze: bells, figures, and rattles. Silver and bronze circlets were attached
to Yukaghir and Tungus women's aprons.
A tail-like prolongation was attached to the back of the fur coat of the
Tundra Yukaghirs, Tungus, Eskimos, and was formerly used by the ancient Koryaks
and Kamchadals.
The clothing and bedding of the reindeer-breeding people were made of
reindeer skin; the northern horse and cattle-breeding tribes, Yakuts and Buryats,
used horse and cattle skins. The reindeer breeders made a superior clothing.
The Maritime people used sealskin as their basic material. The Ainu, Gilyaks,
and some Amur Tungus made clothing out of fish skin. The Aleut and Asiatic
Eskimos made rainproof clothing from the guts of sea and land mammals.
Face painting was practiced by the Kamchadals, Ainu, and Koryaks. Tattooing
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
is still retained by the women among the Chukchis, Koryaks, and Ainu who have
had the least contact with Russians. Earrings and the piercing of ear lobes
were apparently known prior to the acquisition of metal ornaments. Koryak and
Chukchi women wore earrings of polished stones.
The women of the Tundra Yukaghirs, Koryaks, Chukchis, and Asiatic Eskimos
parted their hair in the middle, from the forehead to the neck and braided it
behind in two braids. The ends of the braids were tied with a thong or sinew
thread with beads strung on it.
Men dressed their hair in various ways. The ancient Ostyak formerly shaved
their heads. The Koryaks, Chukchis, and Asiatic Eskimos used a sharp knife to
cut or shave the hair from the topof the head, leaving a thick fringe of short
hair around it. The forehead was free; the hair was removed from the nape of
the neck and the region about and under the ears. The Yukaghirs, Tungus, and
Ostyak-Voguls were their hair long. The Yakuts and other non-Mussulman natives
of Siberia wore their hair short. Some Voguls wore their hair in two braids.
The tribes of northeastern Siberia, the Chukchis, Koryaks, Yukaghirs,
Chuvantzy, Tungus, Yakuts, and in part the Buryats, pulled out their facial
hair with iron tweezers. Public hair was pulled out with tweezwrs or shaved
with the tailoring knife by Yukaghir, Tungus, and Yakut women.
Art
The present a4ctic peoples draw and engrave, mostly in miniature, on wood,
bone, and ivory. The grouping of figures is mainly linear; no attempts are made
to place them in perspective. The lines of the engravings are filled in with
black and red paint. Picture writing was most developed among the Yukaghirs who
incised their realistic and symbolic figures on birch bark with a knife point.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
Sculpture was best developed among the
[:
]
Koryaks.
Their carvings were realistic, representing human beings, animals, and birds,
either singly or in groups. Their carvings for religious purposes were infer–
ior to their secular art.
Music
The drum is found all oeer Siberia and is used both for amusement and
for rituals. The typical Siberian drum is single headed and consists of a
wooden rim, covered with a membrane held in place by cords, and a crosspiece
of metal or a wooden bar inside the drum. The Chukchi drum was a wooden handle,
like that of a hand mirror, attached to the rim. The drumstick is covered with
skin.
The jew's-harp is found among all the peoples of Asiarti Russia, varying
little as to form, but much as to nomenclature: the
vaniyayai
(Koryak), the
khomus
(Yakut), the
khuro
(Buryat), etc.
The Ostyaks have a three-stringed instrument called
dombra
, and eight–
stringed instrument called
chotung
, meaning swan, and also a two-stringed violin.
Religion
In general the religion of the native Siberians includes three important
types. The first includes shamanism with its specialized ritual and demonology;
occupational cults connected with animal breeding, hunting, fishing, etc.; and
worship of the family or clan deities connected with ancestor worship and con–
cepts of death and burial.
The second group comprises the higher types introduced from the outside.
Among them the most important are Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. These re-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
ligions penetrated into Siberia along with the invasion waves and represent
the domination of the intruders over the native Siberians. Thus Buddhism
penetrated during the expeditions of the militaristic Chingisids and their
successors. The spread of Islam is dated by the Arabian penetration into
Middle Asia about the 8th century and later by the Uzbek invasion. The intro–
duction of Christianity coincided with the penetration of Russian trade into
Siberia.
All of these principal religions formed a veneer over the original native
beliefs and geographically divided Siberia into three areas: (a) southern, where
Buddhism is still prevalent among the Buriats, Mongols and Soyots; (b) south–
western, where Mohammedanism is dominant among the Kirghiz, Baraba Tertars, etc.;
and (c) northern, where Christianity is more prevalent.
The impact of the higher religions (Christianity, Lamaism, and Islam)
varied regionally and is especially felt near the centers of their prominence.
In the east the influence of Christianity grows less and such groups as the Chuk–
chis have hardly felt it. On the other hand, the Kamchadals and the Chuvantzy
are almost completely Christianized and have lost their original beliefs.
Finally, the third type of religion in Siberia consists of the comparatively
rare new cults which represent the reaction of the natives toward Russification.
Such are "burkhanism" in Altai and the "kheri-mapa" cult among the Goldi of the
Ussuri and Amur.
Recent Developments
After the October Revolution a new era came for the peoples of the north
whose numbers ranged from several hundred to tens of thousands; each group spread
out over large expanses of territory, living in small settlements of 3 or 4 fam-
EA -Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberiailies. For instance, the Tungus
(Evenki), numbering 40,000, covered 3,600,000
square kilometers, and the Chukchis who numbered only 12,000 lived in an area
of 700,000 square kilometers.
The contact between the separate groups was very weak, and not only national
but even tribal unity was almost absent. The Northern Committee of the Soviet
Government was created in 1924 to take care of the smaller groups of the North.
In 1925 the first "clan" soviets were organized, and now the groups are concen–
trated according to national groupings.
In 1930-1931 eight independent Northern National Districts were created:
- 1.
Yamalo-Nenets
- 2.
Ostyak-Vogul in the Omsk Region
- 3.
Nenets
- 4.
Evenki in the Krasnoyarsk Region
- 5.
Vitimo-Olekma (Evenkian) in the East Siberian Region
- 6.
Chukotsk in extreme northeastern Siberia
- 7.
Koryak in the Far Eastern Region
- 8.
Taimyr on Taimyr Peninsula
The extreme degree of scattering of various groups prevented the inclusion
of all of their places of settlement within the borders of the national districts.
Consequently, a number of additional national regions were organized: Khatanga–
Evenkian as part of the East Siberian Region, sixteen national districts as a
part of the Yakut A.S.S.R., and fifteen in the Far Eastern Region.
These regions and districts include 460 national (sedentary and nomadic
Soviets), acting on the basis of the special law. The nomadic Soviets have
special nomadic peopl's courts and in line with the Soviet policy of greater par–
ticipation of the local population in self-government a majority of posts are
occupied by the natives. The new constitution was discussed in regional congresses.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
The penetration of the new culture is shown by the fact that in the Evenki
region, where only 7,000 people live on a territory of 96 million acres, and
where not a single town exists, today 60% of the population is literate. In
more accessible regions such as the Nanai region in the Amur the liquidation
of illiteracy, even among women, reached 100%.
Writing and alphabets were introduced among the 16 most numerous peoples.
Schools are being built; in 1925 there were 25, and in 1936, 450 schools. About
30 schools with 1,000 pupils were changed from primary to secondary grade schools.
In addition there were 17 special schools at the cultural bases, and 8 teachers'
schools. There are also 75 cultural centers and 250 libraries.
The Leningrad Institute of Northern Tribes educates native pupils to help
in the economic and cultural development of their people. It is the center for
the development of the peoples of the North. Many graduates do postgraduate
work, and somehave high posts in the Regional Soviets.
There has been an increase of the number of doctors and hospitals. Severe
famines have been conquered. Private trading was liquidated in 1935, and 240
cooperatives had been set up by 1936. All trade is under the direction of the
Glavsevmorput (the Administration of the Northern Sea Route).
Agriculture has grown rapidly and some vegetables are now grown in places
close to the arctic shores. Potatoes, cabbages, onions, and cucumbers are now
grown by people who formerly did not use any vegetables at all. The breeding of
milk cattle has spread. This growth of agriculture and breeding of animals for
dairy products has led to an increase in the number of sedentary people in the
area.
Improved medical aid has cut the death rate appreciably and the population
has grown. Gilyaks, for instance, have shown a yearly increase of 20.8 per 1,000
in the Soviet part, while those in the Jap
^
a
^
nese-owned area of Sakhalin have de–
creased at the rate of 10 per 1,000.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ethnic Population of Siberia
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cherniakov, E.
About Ethnographical Content of the USSR.
Soviet
Ethnography, No. 1, 1933.
Jochelson, W.
Peoples of Asiatic Russia.
^
American
^
Museum of Natural History,
New York, 1928.
Kazzov, V. G.
Sketch on the History of the People of North-western Siberia.
Leningrad, 1937.
Lamont, Corliss
The Peoples of the Soviet Union.
Harcourt, Brace & Co.,
New York, 1944.
Ostovskikh, P. E.
Peoples of the USSR.
Moscow-Leningrad, 1929.
Patkanov, S.
D
e
^
é
^
pouillement des donn
e
^
é
^
es sur la nationalit
e
^
é
^
et classification
des peuples de l'Empire Russe d'apr
e
^
é
^
s leur langue.
Chistianic–
St. Petersburg, 1899.
List of Siberian Tribes.
Petrograd, 1923.
Tarletsky, P. E.
Population of the Extreme North.
Trudy of Institute of North–
ern Tribes, Vol. 1, pp. 1-2, Leningrad, 1932.
Zarubin, I. I.
List of Nationalities of the USSR.
Academy of Sciences, Trudy
(Ed.) of the Committee for the Study of the Ethnic Content of the
USSR and Neighboring Territories. Vol. 13, Leningrad, 1927.
Explanatory Notes to the Ethnographical Map of Siberia.
Academy of Sciences,
Trudy of the Committee for the Study of Ethnic Content of the
USSR and Neighboring Tribes, Vol. 17, 1929.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Chukchis
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
CHUKCHIS
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Page
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Habitat
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1
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Origin, History, and Language
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2
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[:
]
hysical Anthropology
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3
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Houses
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4
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Clothing
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7
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Food
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8
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Occupation
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9
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Modes of Transportation
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13
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Household Utensils
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15
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Knowledge
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15
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Social Organization
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16
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Marriage
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17
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Birth
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19
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Death and Burial
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21
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Religion
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23
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Regions of the Deceased
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26
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Shamanism
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27
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Sacrifices
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29
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Dancing
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29
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Bibliography
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30
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EA-Anthropology
(Eugene A. Golomshtok)
CHUKCHIS
Habitat
The Chukchis (Luoravetlan), a Paleo-Siberian tribe numbering about
12,300 in 1926, occupy an area extending from the shores of the Chuk
^
otsk
^
Peninsula to the tundra of the lower course of the Indigirka River. This
territory is situated chiefly in the tundra region and includes the northern
border of the forest.
On the Kolyma side, the most important tree is the larch which attains
great height and is well developed as far north as latitude 69°. The limit
of its distribution runs along the larger r
^
ive
^
rs about fifty miles from the
seacoast. Farther north there are shrubby willows whose growth becomes
stunted only a few miles from the coast. On the Pacific side, the larch is
less common and thrives only in the interior portion of the country. There
the chief trees are thw willow and poplar; their growth becomes stunted even
on the southern side of the polar circle. Small shrubby willows and alders
are found in
[:
]
e river valleys almost everywhere. Reindeer moss and lichens
are the predominant vegetation for miles along the coast.
Fauna occurring in this region include wild
^
rei
^
ndeer, elk, mountain
sheep, white and red fox, wolf, brown bear, hare, marmot, wolverine, ground
squirrel, and ermine. Among the birds there are eider and other ducks, guil–
lemots, puffin, geese, swans, and ptarmigan. Along the seashores walrus and
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
seal are found, and farther out to sea there are white whales.
At the mouth of the Anadyr River numerous
Salmondise
(humpback salmon,
red and pink) are found when the season for migrating upriver arrives. On
the arctic shore other types of salmon,
Coregonidae
, begin to be abundant
from Chaun Bay and especially from the mouth of the Kolyma River westward.
The Chukchis are divided into two groups: The Reindeer Chukchis, nomadic
reindeer breeders who comprise the bulk of the population, and the Maritime
Chukchis, sedentary coast dwellers who make up a fourth of the total (3,000
people). The name Chukchi is derived from the Chukchi word
chau'chu
(rich
in reindeer). The reindeer division of the tribe call themselves by this name.
The Maritime Chukchis call themselves and other maritime people
ankalyt
(sea
people).
The villages of the Maritime Chukchis are situated on the arctic coast
between Cape Shelagski and Cape Dezhnev, and on the coast of the Bering Sea
between Cape Dezhnev and Anadyr Bay, interspersed with a few Eskimo settle–
ments. The reindeer camps are scattered over the whole country occupied by
the Chukchis; the bulk of them wander in the Anadyr District.
Origin, History, and Language
According to their traditions, in ancient times the Chukchis were prim–
arily a maritime people who carried on
[:
]
some reindeer breeding. There is some
support for this theory in the folklore, and in the important role played by
the dog. On the other hand, the names of the months indicate that they came
from more southern latitudes and may have had reindeer at that time.
The Russians never succeeded in completely conquering the Chukchis.
Several expeditions of conquest in the 17th and 18th centuries, for instance,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Shestakoff in 1730, Pavlutsky in 1747) ended in failure. Renewed intercourse
with the Russians, in the latter part of the 18th century, was more peaceful
since Russian penetration at this time was by means of trade. But even at
the time of Bogoras' travels, at the beginning of the 20th century, many Chuk–
chi camps and villages had never seen a Russian. Trade with the Japanese was
carried on long before the Russian penetration. In later times, some trade
with Americans existed.
In 1859 part of the Chukchis moved west across the Kolyma into the western
tundra where they found large reindeer herds. They finally reached the Indi–
girka River where they encountered Yukaghir, Tungus, and Yakut groups; others,
moving southward, met resistance on the part of the Reindeer Koryaks.
After the October Revolution, the Soviet Government established the Chukchi
National Region and a great improvement took place in the native economy and
conditions of life.
The Chukchis speak an Americanoid language, large in vocabulary and close–
ly related to Koryak. In contrast to the latter, it has hardly any dialects,
but there are some lexical variations between the Kolyma and Pacific coast
regions.
Their folklore is rich in heroi
e
^
c
^
tales, myths, and songs. Proverbs are
few and undeveloped.
Physical Anthropology
The Chukchis are the healthiest tribe in northeastern Siberia and their
families contain more children than those of any neighboring group. They are well–
built and heavy but have small hands and feet and sweat copiously upon the
slightest exertion. Many of the women are clumsily snaped, with short waists,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
and legs which are out of proportion to the rest of their bodies. The aver–
age cephalic index of the male is 82, and that of the female is 81.8.
The cheekbones of the Chukchis are much less prominent than those of
[:
]
he Tungus or Yakuts; their noses are often large, well-shaped, and even aquil–
ine, though noses with the low Mongolian bridge are frequently met with, es–
pecially among the women. Their eyes are straight. In the interior and on
the arctic coast the hair is wavy or curly, and is black; on the Pacific coast
about 15% of the people have dark brown or even light brown hair. Facial hair
is scanty, and is allowed to grow. The color of the face is bronze, with in–
termediate tints varying from brick-red to blood red. The most prized color
is blood red, although the Maritime Chukchis usually consider brown or even
dark brown to be the most desirable color.
Contagious diseases, particularly smallpox and measles have appeared
repeatedly among the Chukchis and have ravaged the population. A kind of
grippe or influenza spreads through the country almost every year, claiming
scores of victims. Syphilis was much dreaded fifty years ago but is not so
prevalent today. The outbreaks which occur among the younger people are con–
sidered a different sort of disease. Blindness and skin diseases such as
scabies are frequent. The well-known imitative form of arctic hysteria is
rare among the Chukchis. They do, however, have nervous diseases akin to
epilepsy which usually result in death, and cases of violent madness occur.
The Chukchis developed no remedies of their own except magic.
Houses
Reindeer Chukchis lived in round tents from ten to fifteen feet in height,
and from fifteen to twenty-five feet in diameter. The framework of the outer
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
tent was the same throughout the year, and consisted of a tripod formed by
three large poles tied together through holes in their tops. A number of
short thin stakes (
varet
) tied in pairs or threes, which supposrted cross–
bars, formed a wide circle around the central poles. Long thin roof poles
were tied at one end to these points of junction while their other ends rested
on top of the central tripod. The reindeer-skin cover was in two pieces, hair
side out, which were thrown over the frame so as to leave an entrance between
them. The cover was fastened to the frame with c
^
ord
^
s sewn to its ends. An
opening for ventilation was left at the t
^
o
^
p and served as a chimney for the
fireplace which was under it. The cover was of full-grown skins with clipped
hair which had previously been used as covers for the inner room. Three
large stretchers were used to tighten its sides. The central poles and im–
portant joints were strengthened by means of heavy stones tied to them with
ropes.
The inner room, about four and a half feet high, seven feet wide, and
twelve feet long, was erected by passing the loops sewn to its cover over two
long horizontal poles. The rear pole was fastened to the frame of the outer
tent and the front one was supported by two forked stakes. The floor was
covered with willow twigs and thick skins, and the entrance was in the long
side which faced the flap of the outer tent. When the herdsmen left their
principal camp they carried a small sleeping room and a light tent.
In the late fall most families settled within the forest border for three
or four months, and constructed three-part winter dwellings having an entrance
room made of a few stakes tied together and covered with an old tent cover, a
main tent, and an inner sleeping room larger than the one described. It was
usually five feet high, fourteen to sixteen feet long, and eight feet broad.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
The cover, made of late fall fawn skins, hair side cut, was drawn across a
rectangular frame of flat narrow sticks. The floor was covered with thong
(bearded) seal or walrus skins.
The summer house was the same as the movable winter tent, but old worn–
out covers were used.
The winter house of the Maritime Chukchis was similar to that of the
^
r
^
eindeer people but the frame was larger and constructed differently. One
big pole which formed the central support was stuck upright in the ground,
and a crosspiece to support the roof poles was tied on the free end. Stakes
of wood or whalebone formed the frame. The crosspieces and long poles were
sometimes made of whale ribs. A low wall of sod or stone, to which the tent
cover was fastened, often surrounded the house. The ent
^
r
^
ance, which faced
the sea, was often sheltered by a small structure of sod or stones,
in which
the
or a piece of tent covering. The cover was sewn out of worn-out pieces
of tent covering bought from the reindeer people or of old sail cloth, and
as very securely fastened, A large walrus tusk was placed in front of the
house to protect against storms. The inner room was large, sometimes reach–
ing thirty feet in length, ten feet in breadth, and six feet in height. It
was almost always double (two were placed at right angles with no partition).
Walrus hide was used for the door.
At the end of May the summer tent, made of walrus or thong seal skin
was pitched.
There is some indication that the ancient habitation of the Chukchis was
the underground "jawbone house."
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Clothing
The Maritime and Reindeer Chukchis were similar clothes except that the
latter used reindeer skins while the former used seal skins more frequently,
and often wore the castoff clothes of the reindeer people.
All winter garments of men and women were double, the inner piece being
worn hair side in and the outer piece hair side out. The main male garment
was a hoodless knee-length heavy fur shirt, with full sleeves, narrow at the
wrists. The large opening at the neck was bound with a narrow piece of skin
through which a sinew string was pulled to tighten the collar. The inner
shirt was trimmed with a dog fur collar. In the summer, old half-worn shirts
were used and when worn single the hair side was in.
The tightly fitting trousers were navel-high in front and slightly higher
in the back. A sinew string passed through a hem at the waist held them in
place, and strings at the leg bottoms were used to tie them around the ankle
over the boots. In winter the outer trousers were made chiefly or reindeer
leg skin with the hair running downward or out of thick fawn skin (in midwinter).
Inner trousers were of soft fawn skin. In summer the Reindeer Chukchis wore
trousers made of old smoked reindeer skins and the Maritime people used seal
skin trousers.
The basic garment for women was a combination garment reaching just be–
low the knees with full sleeves and low neck, and was of the same style as
that used by the Koryaks.
Long, full overcoats with loose hoods and full sleeves gathered at the
wrist were made of various materials and were used for protection from the
wind and to keep the snow from the fur garments. The women's coats were
fuller and shorter than the men's. In the summer, the maritime people usually
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
wore waterproof coats of seal or walrus gut.
Boots made of reindeer skin, hair side out, had square toes. The soles
were made of tough skin from the reindeer's foot in the coldest weather, and
thong seal hide, hair side in, or split walrus skin during the rest of the
year. Boot strings, made of curried leather strips, were sewn to both sides
a little behind the ankle. Men's boots were usually short, but they sometimes
wore the knee-length boots typical of the women's costume. In the summer
Reindeer Chukchis wore boots made of smoked tent covering. A special type of
footgear known as "dry boots" were used for relaxing around the house. Socks,
short for men and long for women, were made of fawn skin in midwinter and
reindeer leg skin the rest of the year.
Mittens, caps with ear flaps, boas, and square bibs to protect the shirt
from breath frest were used. Hoods which covered the head and shoulders were
worn in stormy weather. Children w
^
o
^
re combination garments similar to those
used by the Koryaks.
When in the inner sleeping room, the maritime people stripped naked, ex–
cept for loin breeches made of curried leather or calico.
Food
The staple food of the Reindeer Chukchis was reindeer meat; the Maritime
Chukchis s
^
ubsi
^
sted mainly on the meat of sea mammals. The two groups exchanged
their food and each valued that of the other very highly. The Maritime Chuk–
chis consumed some fish, although they did not consider it very appetizing,
and the Reindeer Chukchis hardly ever ate fish.
Mo
^
st
^
of the meat was eaten boiled. The Reindeer Chukchis ate some raw
and frozen reindeer meat, and the Maritime Chukchis used a great deal of raw
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
meat, because of the difficulty in obtaining fuel. Internal organs were often
eaten raw by both groups.
Seal meat was consumed in the greatest quantity by the Mariti
^
me
^
Chukchis,
but they valued walrus and white whale meat highly. Maritime Chukchis from
the mouth of the Anadyr dried fish in the same way as the Yukaghir.
Vegetable food was consumed by both branches of the Chukchis, but only
as a substitute, when meat was scarce. The reindeer people ate the partially
digested moss they removed from the stomachs of reindeer. Various roots and
berries were consumed by all Chukchis. The Chukchis drank tea three or four
times a day, and some consumed as much as forty cups of tea daily.
Tobacco was used by all Chukchis from the age of three on. They chewed
and smoked tobacco, and during shortages
^
^
of it they chewed the nicotine which
accumulated in the cleft stems of their pipes. They weakened tobacco by mix–
ing two parts tobacco with one part aspen or poplar bark for smoking. Fly-agaric
was prepared and used by some Chukchis in the same way as by the Koryaks.
Liquor was highly valued and was more sought for by the reindeer people than
by the Maritime Chukchis, though both groups would consume all that they could
obtain.
Occupation
The Chukchis were probably originally a maritime people and the reindeer
group increased their herds extensively only from about 1850 on. The Chukchi
[:
]
reindeer was smaller and heavier than the Lamut reindeer but larger than the
Koryak animal. The Chukchis never rode their reindeer but used them to draw
sle
^
i
^
ghs. Weak and not too well suited for this purpose, but usually fat, the
reindeer were very good for slaughtering. For this reason a brisk trade took
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
place between the Lamuts and the Chukchis, who exchanged reindeer with ad–
vantage to both parties. The Chukchis valued those fawns which were produced
by the mating of a wild buck with a domesticated doe. During the rutting
season the Chukchis remained at some distance from their herds so as not to
frighten away the wild bucks which approached them.
An average herd of reindeer consisted of 100 breeding does, 12 breeding
bucks, 10 to 15 sleigh reindeer, and from 50 to 60 half-grown fawns. These
herds were the least domesticated of all those found in Siberia. It often took
the Chukchis two or three hours to capture and harness their driving animals.
The Chukchis used a lasso of seal skin straps, with a knot on one end and a
noose formed by means of a bone eye on the other. These lassos were worth a
fat buck or a driving reindeer in some cases.
Reindeer were marked by biting a piece out of their ear. The driving
bucks were gelded and their antlers were out short. Reindeer fawns were broken
for driving the first winter after their birth.
The Chukchi dogs, about the size of ordinary shepherd dogs and resembling
wolves, were considered the poorest in northeastern Siberia. This was probably
due to their scanty diet. While the Kamchadals and Koryaks
^
f
^
ed their dogs
abundant rations of fish, the Chukchis gave theirs chiefly the intestines of
seals, walrus, and walrus blubber. Dogs were used for driving among the Mari–
time Chukchis and some dogs were kept by the reindeer people to guard their
herds against wild animals. Dogs were harnessed when three months old. Females
were better behaved than males and made good leaders, but were weaker and un–
able to pull heavy loads. Males were gelded with an iron knife. Gelded dogs
were sullen, and cared little for their masters, while ungelded dogs, not used
in harness, were affectionate and merry.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Chukchi dogs suffered from arctic dog rabies, palsy, and a cramp which
often preceded palsy. Long journeys over the frozen tundra also injured the
tender soles of the dog's feet and caused them to bleed.
The Reindeer Chukchis supplemented their herding by hunting. The wild
reindeer, most important game animal, were hunted from boats during the migra–
tion season, between July and November, when they crossed the Anadyr River.
The Chukchis would lie in wait for the herds which followed the same trails
and crossed at the same spot every year. When the herd reached midstream the
hunters would rush out into the water in skin boats and canoes and cut them
off on three sides, forcing them to move upstream against the swift current.
The animals soon became exhausted and huddled together floating helplessly
while the hunters paddled in and killed them with long spears. The dead
reindeer floated downstream where they were picked up by old men, women and
children in boats. Hundreds, and when the herds were large, thousands of
reindeer were killed in this way during each day of the migration season.
In the tundra the reindeer was also hunted with guns, bows and arrows,
and spears. Sometimes domesticated reindeer were used as decoys. The mountain
sheep was hunted by the Reindeer Chukchis who favored its meat above that of
other land animals. The most important fur-bearing animals hunted were the
red and white fox. The fox and wolf were hunted by chasing them in
[:
]
sleighs
drawn by swift teams of reindeer. The reindeer which were accustomed to this
type of hunting would become so excited that they would try to trample the
pursued animal with their hooves.
Foxes, wolves, hares, and wolverines were also caught in traps. Ermine
w
^
ere
^
hunted with special bow traps which were placed in their runways. Brown
bears were hunted during the winter while they were hibernating.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
The Maritime Chukchis subsisted mainly on the meat of sea animals,
primarily seal meat, with fishing playing a subsidiary role among them.
They hunted the seal primarily, and some walrus and small whales. Seals
were hunted with harpoons, nets, or guns, depending upon the season and the
environment. Harpoon heads, made of flint, bone, and iron, were either plain
or barbed. The wooden shaft of the long harpoon was eight feet long, that of
the shark harpoon was four feet.
A strong piece of thong or sinew was passed through the hole of the har–
poon point. The two ends of the thong were tied together to form a loop.
The lower end of the loop was fastened to a long line, which, for the most
part, was free from the shaft. The body of the line was wound into a coil.
A short bone or ivory rod, or a long, slender piece of iron was inserted in
the upper end of the shaft, to which it was firmly lashed. The upper point
of the rod was inserted in a circular hole in the slanting base of the harpoon
head, which fit it tightly. The harpoon head was released as soon as it struck
the game.
The short harpoon was used in winter for killing seals through their
breathing holes. These holes, found on the landfast ice or on the floes
nearest to the shore, were usually concealed, and could be located only with
the aid of a keen-scented dog selected from the team for the purpose. As soon
as the seal was heard blowing, the hunter stood up and threw the harpoon
straight down into the hole.
In the spring when the seals came up to the surface of the snow to bask
in the sun, another method of hunting was adopted. The hunter in a special
hunting dress, consisting of a short shirt of reindeer skin, worn with the
fur side next to the body, would creep toward the animal from the windward
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
side, armed with a long-shafted harpoon, or, rarely, with a gun. When the
seal lifted its head, the hunter immediately lay still, and did not proceed
until the seal lay down again. He shot when he came within striking distance
of the animal.
Seals were killed in the spring on the edges of the ice. Wherever small
streams of fresh water ran into the sea along an ice crack, seals gathered around
their outlets to bask in the sunshine. In some places large numbers of seals
were killed while trying to cross a narrow strip of land between the sea and
the inner bay. Hunting from boats was done in the spring and early summer when
small ice floes were still in the area. Nets were used for hunting seals in
the winter. These nets were suspended a few feet below the seal's breathing holes
on four poles and were held down by sinkers. A seal approaching the hole could
swim to it without encountering the net. When the animal dove it became en–
tangled in the net and drowned.
Walrus hunting was done at one time with harpoons equipped with large
bladders for floats, but later guns were used almost exclusively. Whales were
hunted with harpoons from boats. The white whale was valued highly by the
Chukchis, as by most Siberian people, for its fine-flavored meat. Some fish
were caught in nets and with hook and line.
Modes of Transportation
Skin Boats
. The Maritime Chukchis used large and small skin boats for
transportation and hunting sea animals: those Reindeer Chukchis who lived near
the shore also used small skin boats for transportation. The large skin boats
had a wooden frame about 35 feet long, 4-1/2 feet broad between the gunwales,
2-1/2 feet broad in the middle, and 2-1/2 feet high, and were covered with split
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
walrus skins, They had five cars and five paddles, required a crew of from
six to eight men, and could carry up to two tons of freight.
The skin boat had a mast, set on the central timber between the two fore–
most thwarts. The sail, made of curried reindeer skin, was large and square,
and was fastened by loops to a yard. It was hoisted by means of a stout seal–
skin thong which was passed through a hole in the top of the mast, sometimes
with the aid of a pulley. Whenever the boats sailed along a shore, dogs were used
to tow them by means of a long rope.
Dog Sleighs
. The Maritime Chukchis, who had no reindeer for drawing sleighs,
used dogs for this purpose. The dog sleigh was long and narrow and had three
or four pairs of stanchions. The lower end of the stanchion was cut off square.
The runners were flat - 3 to 3.5 meters long, and their front ends were sharply
curved. Twelve to fourteen dogs, attached in pairs to a central strap, pulled
obliquely with the outer shoulder bearing the brunt of the load. The harness
had three straps which encircled the chest and stomach of the dog, just above
and below the shoulders.
Reindeer Sleighs
. The Reindeer sleigh was the chief means of transporta–
tion for the Reindeer Chukchis. The reindeer harness consisted of a heavy
strap which formed a bight, one end passing along the right side of the animal,
the other end across the left shoulder and then between the forelegs. Each
animal was fastened to the middle of the sleigh-front by a separate tracs. Two
reins, one on the right-hand side and one between the reindeer, were fastened
to a common halter. Several sharp notched attachments of ivory, antler, or
iron served in the place of a bit, and they pricked the animal when ^t^he reins
were pulled.
The reindeer sleigh had double curbed cross-ribs. The fore-ends of the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
runners were joined to the upper rails, the whole forming a curve, and the
ribs were tied to the runners in shallow slots roughly hollowed cut, but not
exactly fitting the rib. The usual dimensions of a man's driving sleigh were:
length, 180 to 200 cm; width, 35 to 40 cm; and height, 25 cm.
Household Utensils
The most important utensil of the Chukchi house was the lamp, which pro–
vided heat and light. The Reindeer Chukchi lamp was small and round, and
made of hollowed-out clay or sandstone. The lamp was placed in a shallow
wooden bowl standing on a tray. Blubber or tallow was used as fuel and the
wick was made of dried spahagnum, or thin half-burnt wood shavings. The lamp
had
^
a
^
flat bridge, which inclined backwards, and had a deep cleft in the middle,
reaching almost to the bottom.
A large vessel full of ice was kept in the house to provide water for the
household as the ice melted. In addition, there were wooden trays and dishes,
bowls, and dippers of various sizes. Spoons were unknown in early times, but
later were made of wood, sheep-horn, bone, and ivory in imitation of the Russian
utensils. Skin bags were used to store oil, blubber, and food.
Most wood work was done with an iron adze and an iron gauge. The Chukchis
also used bone drill, pump drill, iron saw, crooked knives, bellows, saw for
cutting iron, wooden tongs, scrapers with stone blades, and tailoring scissors
and knives.
Knowledge
The Chukchi year was divided into twelve lunar months or moons, beginning
with the winter solstice.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Their numerical system was based on the numbers 5, 10, and 20 (i.e.,
what could be counted on one hand, two hands, and the hands and feet). Larger
numbers were multiples of twenty, and 20 times 20 was the highest figure they
could calculate. When trading furs such as fawn or squirrel skins that were
traded in large numbers, the Chukchis tied the skins in bundles of fives or
tens and traded them separately for individual things.
The Chukchis had words for the colors, white, black, red, and gray. They
used the term "yellowish" only to describe the color of certain skins, but
never used it for anything else. "Weed-like" was an indefinite term used to
describe all light tints of green, yellow, and blue.
Social Organization
In the absence of the clan the family (
ra'yirin
— those in the house)
was the basic unit of Chukchi society, and even this was not very stable,
since grown-up sons often left their parents in search of fortunes.
Relationships were reckoned mostly along the paternal line (those of the
same blood, or of the same fire). A group of families was called
varat
, (those
who are together), and formed an embryo of a clan, but its size and composi–
tion varied from year to year. The Czar's government for official reasons
arbitrarily divided the Chukchis into five clans, which had no real meaning
to the people.
Older people were respected, especially among the Reindeer groups. As a
rule women occupied an inferior position and were obliged to do most of the
^
work
^
at home: carrying the tent, skinning reindeer, preparing food for their
husbands, who were the recipients of the choice parts of the meal. Wives
were often badly and harshly treated by their husbands.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Children were well treated and loved. They were given toys to play with
and when old enough were taught to help their parents. Childless parents
could adopt a boy of some related family in a ceremony similar to that of
marriage.
Marriage
Upon reaching maturity the Reindeer Chukchi wanted to marry, which was
the equivalent of having a home of his own, since the sleeping room of the
Chukchi house was too small to accommodate any extra residents. Bachelors
were looked down upon.
Chastity was not essential (there was not even a word to express the
idea of a "maid") and often sexual relations started before marriage. There
was no special attitude toward illegitimate children.
Marri
^
ag
^
es between near relatives, such as cousins, were very common and
were arranged or even concluded when they were children. Mar
^
r
^
iages between
brother and sister, uncle and niece, and parents and children were forbidden
as incestuous. Often marriages between people of disproportionate ages took
place. Levirate was practiced.
The usual method of securing a wife was to serve for her. An inter–
mediary was sent and, if not refused outright, he began to execute various
tasks in the bride's household while waiting for a final reply. Sometimes
these negotiations took several days or weeks, during which time the go-be–
tween worked for the family — bringing fuel, which was considered to he the
most unpleasant task — and tried to enter the good graces of his host. When
the father agreed the groom arrived and began his period of service, which
might last one to three summers, during which time he stayed in the open,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
worked from early
^
in
^
the morning until late at night, and patiently bore
reproaches and insults.
When the bride's father softened toward him, the end of his work was
almost at hand and he was admitted into the inner room for the night. But
even after becoming a husband in fact, he might have to stay on with his wife's
family, who would not want to part with him as a worker. Finally the father
would give the groom part of his herd as a reward and would help the new
couple to go to the husband's country. The reward depended in part on the
quality of the groom's work. The bride took along her own animals, marked
for her from childhood.
Some cases of marriage by elopement occurred, but a strong family would
resent this and try to take the woman back unless paid a woman as ransom.
Many marriages outside of the tribe took place, with Koryaks, Eskimos and
Tungus.
The marriage ceremony consisted of the anointment of the couple with the
blood of a sacrificial animal, in the house of the groom. The bride arrived
driving her own reindeer. The small pole sleigh was placed behind the tent,
a reindeer was killed, and fire drills and other charms were placed on the
sleigh. The couple was anointed with the blood and the groom's family mark was
painted on their faces, thus signifying that the woman renounced the sacrific–
ial anointment of her family as well as their hearth and was now bound to her
husband's family.
A few days afterward the couple would visit the bride's family bringing
presents, at which time another anointment ceremony took place, followed by a
feast. Upon their return home to the husband's family they were again anointed
and the husband's mark was again painted on the bride's face, thus finally making
her a member of the family.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Polygamy was widely practiced and in some localities about one-third
of the marriages were polygamous. Many rich reindeer herders had several
herds and kept a separate wife with each herd, but few had more than two
wives. They were usually given either separate tents or separate sleeping
places. A first wife who had several children and who was generally much
older than the second, might treat the second wife almost as a maid. In
case of a childless marriage the second wife was taken in order to have a
child.
In group marriage among the Chukchis up to ten married couples would
form a marriage union where each member had a right to all the wives of his
companions. As a rule he exercised his right only when visiting the camp
of one of his co-members, during his travels for other reasons, in which case
his host gave up his place to him in the sleeping room, or, if possible, left
the house. Usually neighbors or relatives (except brothers) formed these
unions.
Similar ceremonies and procedures were followed by the Maritime people.
Birth
From the moment a Chukchi woman realized that she was with child, the
regulations bearing upon birth took effect. The husband and wife upon awaken–
ing had to dress quickly and go out of the tent and look in the direction of
the morning sun. The clothes for the baby were prepared in secret and re–
ferred to by a substitute name to hide the news of the coming birth from the
"alien people" (unfriendly spirits). The mother worked up until the last hour
and there was no ban on conjugal life during pregnancy. After birth there was
no intercourse for 10 days unless the couple desired to have another child as
soon as possible.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
When the time of labor was at hand, no stranger was permitted into the
inner room and even near male relatives had to keep far away. When the labor
began, all males, even small children, had to leave the sleeping room and
could not return until all traces of the birth were removed. Female relatives
of the family could stay inside, though usually as few people as possible were
present. An old woman, the mother or an aunt, usually stayed to help the woman.
Chukchi women tended to reduce all assistance at birth to a minimum, but when
help was necessary it was given and in the absence of female relatives the
husband helped his wife.
After the child was delivered, the woman tied the umbilical cord and cut
it with a sharp stone used exclusively for this purpose. The child was rubbed
all over with the mother's urine which had been saved for that purpose, and
the bunch of grass which was used for the rubbing was immediately burnt on
the hearth. Among the Reindeer people, a young doe was slaughtered and a large
supply of strong broth was prepared from its brisket. The woman in childbirth
placed the kettleful of broth under a loose robe which she wore on this occa–
sion and warmed her breasts in its steam. She alone had to eat the contents
of the kettle as soon as possible. During the first two weeks she was fed
on the choicest meat and strong broth. Immediately after delivery, the woman's
body was tightly bound around the hips to bring her bones back to their former
shape. The binding was left on for three days;
[:
]
the fourth day the woman
resumed her household duties.
On the fifth day the ceremony of anointment with blood was performed.
The woman and child were put into the family sleigh, drawn by one reindeer,
and carried around the outer tent in a sunwise direction. At the sacrificing
place behind the tent, where all the charms and images had been arranged, the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
sleigh was brought to a stop and the reindeer was slaughtered. The mother and
child and at least two other members of the family painted on their faces the
family blood-marks. The charms and the three central poles of the tent frame
were also painted with blood. The woman took the reindeer leg sinews to use
as her boot strings. Before the ceremony, no person coming from outside was
permitted to enter the house, and the mother was not permitted to leave the
outer tent. The afterbirth was placed on the ground in the corner of the tent
under three small sticks tied together in imitation of the principal poles of
the tent frame. The Maritime Chukchis placed the afterbirth and its small tent
outside the house, in the open country.
After the ceremony, the mother would select a name for the child by divina–
tion. As a rule it was the name of a deceased relative and in some ways the
^
c
^
hild was considered a reincarnation of the man for whom he was named. If the
name did not agree with the child, a shaman or "knowing person" was invited to
come and change the name. Special protective incantations were used if the
parents were afraid the child would die or if a previous child had died young.
If a woman died in labor, the baby was often smothered and exposed with the
mother in a common funeral.
Death and Burial
The Chukchis regarded the dead as benevolent protectors and assistants
and also as dangerous beings who could cause great harm to the living. Many
precautions and protective incantations were performed at the funeral and had
their inception in the second point of view. The natives attempted to explain
this discrepancy by dividing the dead into good and bad classes. The idea of
the dead being dangerous was much more common than the belief in ancestor pro–
tection. The dead body itself was considered especially dangerous. The deceased
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
was called "the ancient one" or the "principal inhabitant" and the place
where his body lay was considered his permanent dwelling. A traveler who
stopped for a night near the funeral place was not harmed by the deceased
and might even be protected by him from attacks by evil spirits (
kelet
).
Immediately after death, the body was stripped of all clothing and laid
in the sleeping room between two skins. One man had to stay with the body
all the time so that it would not revive and do harm. During the night there
had to be two watchers. From the time a man died until his body was removed
from the house one of the inmates had to act as a special enchanter against
the evil influence of the deceased; this person was called a "fortifier."
During the three nights of the ceremony the drum could not be beaten and all
women's work with needle and scraper was forbidden. The funeral ceremony
took place the day after death. On the first day the "fortifier" gave the
inmates of the house a new amulet. The ceremony began with the dressing of
the body in funeral clothes, which for the most part had been prepared before–
hand. White skins were preferred. The funeral clothes were spread on the
skin covering the body, and accessories suita
^
b
^
le to the sex were added. Rein–
deer were slaughtered in the morning and a sacrifice was made at a fire in
front of the tent. After the body had been dressed it was carried to the center
of the sleeping room or to the outer tent and the method and place of burial were
determined by divination. Then questions concerning the future were asked of
the body.
The Chukchis had two methods of burial: cremation and exposing the body
in the wilderness. The Maritime people and the Reindeer Chukchis of the Chukotsk
Peninsula carried the body out of th tent through the roof and placed it on a
sleigh, or one which had been carefully repaired. After reaching the funeral
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
place the reindeer which drew the sleigh were slaughtered and their meat,
cut into large thin slices, was used to cover the corpse and replace the
clothing, which was cut off. The sleigh, harness and traces were cut and
broken, and the body was dissected. The order of procession was reversed
on the homeard journey and precautions were taken to avoid pursuit by the
dead. The second day after the funeral the relatives and friends of the
dead would visit the corpse with presents and replace most of the iron ob–
jects left with it by wooden reproductions. The family would visit the de–
ceased every year, if possible, and leave antlers with him.
In cremation, the clothes were not taken from the body, which was not
dissected but only had its throat cut.
Funeral ceremonies among the Maritime people were very similar.
Religion
Concept of the Universe
. According to Chukchi concepts, all nature was
animated. Various objects might have voices of their own and the will to act,
and some were endowed with the ability to change their shape and appearance.
Wild animals had their own country and households, and could change their
shape quite as easily as the spirits. Thus the ermine appeared as a warrior
clad in stately armor and mice could transform themselves into hunters with
sleighs. Larger material units as well as animals had their own masters or
owners. Thus
Pichvuchin
was the Owner of Wild Reindeer and all land game; he
lived in deep ravines, out of which he sent herds to the hunter if he so de–
sired.
In addition to the benevolent spirits,
Vairgin
, there were several types
of spirits known as
kelet
, all of whom could do harm to people.
Kelet
were
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
composed of evil spirits who caused diseases and death, bloodthirsty canni–
bals, and shaman helpers. They lived underground or on the earth (never in
the sea), and attacked lone travelers. One of the
kelet
- Iumetum - caused
the nervous sickness and was very much feared;
Iteyn
(the Spirit of Epilepsy)
was represented by a face with distorted features.
Kelet
preferred to live among people, and hunted men. When they caught
a man's soul, they would chop it to pieces, cook it in a kettle, and feed it
to their children. They could be dealt with by shamans, as well as by special
amulets. The second division of
kelet
was a race of giant cannibals. They
were very poor, had no reindeer, and could be dealt with by men with ordinary
weapons without use of magic. The third type, the shamanistic
kelet
, were
usually objects or animals; they were very poor, had no houses, and were very
timid. Toward their shaman they were very ill-tempered, and could kill him
if he disobeyed them; but if he fulfilled their orders as to procedure, mode
of living, etc., they had to help him and appear at his call.
Benevolent spirits were also of several types. The most predominant were
those who were associated with one specific direction of the compass, of which
here wer
t
^
e
^
22, and to whom sacrifices were made. Midday, the Sun, and the Polar
Star were identified with the zenith. The Sun was a person in bright garments,
driving the reindeer on earth. The Moon was the sun of the
kelet
, and was
invoked by the shaman for his evil spells. The Earth was the Owner of the
World, and sat in a large iron house surrounded by the Sun, Moon, Sky, Sea,
Dawn, Darkness, and World who all were suitors for Earth's beautiful daughter.
Stars and constellations, of which the Chukchis distinguished the Polar
Star, Arcturus, Vega, Altair, Orion, Leo, Pleiades, and many others, were all
good spirits.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
There were also a large number of spirits of indefinite character who
represented a very loose and indefinite personification of the creative prin–
ciple of the world and were known as Creator, Upper Being, Merciful Being,
Life-giving Being, Being of the Sea, etc. To the last one the Maritime Chuk–
chis consecrated their autumn festival. Some of them had assistants such as
Raven, who was chief helper and assistant to the Creator.
Besides the evil and good spirits there were numerous monsters such as
killer whales, a giant polar bear with a body of solid ivory, and the mammoth,
which was used as reindeer by the celestia worm, which looked like a giant
snake.
The soul was called
uvirit
, or, rarely,
uvekkirgia
. Both words are prob–
ably from the same root,
uvik
(body).
Tetkeyun
means "the vital force of a living
being." Its seat was the heart or the liver, and animals and plants possessed
it. Very little was ever said about it.
The Chukchis believed that man had several souls besides the one pertain–
ing to the whole body. There were special limb-souls for the hands and feet.
These could be lost, in which case the corresponding limb began to ache and
gradually wither. The limb-souls stayed on the spot where they were lost but
a shaman could call them to himself and they became his assistant spirits.
The souls were very small and when passing by they produced a sound like the
humming of a bee or the droning of a beetle.
One or all of the souls of the whole person could be stolen by the
kelet
,
and the man would then become sick and finally die. The shaman could find and
restore a missing soul, which assumed the shape of a black beetle when found.
The beetle could re-enter the patient through the mouth, the armpit, the in–
testines, the toes and fingers, etc. If the shaman failed to find the
^
s
^
oul
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
he could blow into the person a part of his own spirit to become a soul, or
he could give him one of his assistant
kelet
to replace the missing soul.
Kelet
, when getting possession of a soul often took it to their world
and pinioned it hands or bound all its limbs separately with strong bands.
Then they would put it behind the lamp, in the place where many small things
were usually kept.
Souls were liable to injury even from material weapons.
Kelet
also had
souls of their own which could be lost or spirited away by shamans.
Regions of the Deceased
There were several places where the deceased lived and led a life similar
to that on earth. Children that died on earth were born there and vice versa.
The deceased were often identified with the Upper People or with the Lower
People of the underground world.
One way for the dead to ascend to heaven was to follow the smoke of their
funeral pyre. This was given as a reason for burning dead bodies.
The Aurora Borealis was chiefly the place of abode for those who died a
sudden or violent death, while husbandless women went to a world of their own
after death. However, the usual abode of the deceased was underground, and to
reach it the newcomer had to pass the region inhabited by dogs who lived in
huts of their own. Those who during their life time had mistreated dogs would
be attacked by them. In the other world the dead lived in large seamless,
shiny huts with numerous herds of reindeer, the souls of those animals killed
in the hunt or as sacrifices.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Shamanism
Both the individual and the family type of shamanism was practiced by
the Chukchis. Each family had one or more drums of its own which could be
used to communicate with spirits, by any member of the family, usually in
the daytime in the outer tent. Occasionally the drum was beaten for pleasure
as an accompaniment for songs.
The individual shaman (those with the spirits) could be of either sex,
more frequently women, although the male shamans were stronger. The shaman–
stic call often manifested itself when the novice reached maturity. Nervous
and highly excitable individuals were more susceptible to the call, which was
often resisted, for the preparatory stage was very painful and extended over
a long time. The novice felt bashful and frightened, lost interest in ordinary
affairs, ceased to work, ate little, ceased to talk to people, and spent much
of his time in sleep. The shaman's spirits would command him to accept his vocation
and were at his command when he invoked their help. Shamans were highly sen–
itive individuals, - and, like their spirit helpers, were shy of strangers.
There were several types of shamanistic practices: (1) communication
with the spirits, which included ventriloquism and tricks; (2) foretelling
the future; (3) pronouncing incantations. Often these practices were merged
and combined with each other.
Shamans were paid for their services with meat, skins, garments, and
reindeer, the value of the remuneration varying in different cases.
The performances often took place in the inner room, late in the evening.
The shaman sat on the "master's
^
p
^
lace." He would carefully look over his drum,
then the light would be put out, and he would begin to chant, first in a low
voice which gradually increased in volume, using his drum either to muffle
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
his voice or as a resonator. The audience would support him by occasional
cries of approbation. The entrance of the spirits into his body was marked
by a change in the tempo of the beating of the drum, and the shaman would
then shake his head violently and shout hysterically. When several spirits
entered his body he used ventriloquism to indicate their voices.
These spirits could be in the form of various animals: wolf, raven, great
diver, hawk, etc., and would enter in succession, talk to the shaman, make
mysterious noises, cause objects to move by themselves, etc. The spirits,
by way of the shaman, gave magical instructions and explanations, and fore–
old the future. Since sickness was caused by evil spirits, the shaman tried
to ascertain from his spirit helpers which one had caused it. The spirits
responsible for disease came by themselves without being called and would
remain silent in the corner until the spirit of the shaman denounced them,
abusing them in all possible ways, thus causing them to go away and complet–
ing the magical cure. Another way of curing disease was to find a stolen
soul, which the shaman would accomplish during his trance, and then to blow
the soul into the patient's body through the breast, ear, or head. Rubbing
or sucking of part of the body was also practiced.
Shamans had no special costume, and they often practiced with the upper
part of the body quite naked.
The Chukchi drum was single headed and consisted of a round, wooden rim
covered with a membrane held in place with cords, with a crosspiece of metal
or wood. It was similar to that of the Eskimos and had a wooden handle, like
hat on a hand mirror, attached to the rim.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
Sacrifices
Ceremonials were held usually for the protection of the material wel–
fare of the family. Among the Reindeer Chukchis, sacrificing a reindeer was
the main feature of the ceremony. After the animal was stabbed the manner
in which it fell was interpreted as a good or a bad omen. The blood was
sprinkled in all directions, and the antlers were cut away and placed in an
upright position in front of the camp. Besides reindeer, dogs and substitute
offerings (images made of tallow, meat, or snow) were made to the spirits.
Fall sacrifices were intended to celebrate the reunion of the herd after
the summer separation. A winter ceremony was held in connection with the
establishment of a permanent winter house. Other sacrifices were made to
the young moon, fire, to insure luck in hunting, as thanksgiving for a good
hunt, or, among the Maritime Chukchis, to the sea.
Dancing
Chukchi children and adults performed dramatic dances, consisting of
the imitation of the movements and sounds of animals. Young Chukchi girls
had dances of their own which were meant to imitate the motions of various
animals or certain human actions. Two or more girls would take positions
opposite each other or in a circle and produce guttural sounds in succession,
carefully keeping time and quickly taking their turns one after the other.
While singing the girls swayed the upper parts of their bodies back and forth
and then went through various imitative motions in connection with the sounds
uttered. Young boys taking part in the dance held hands, snapped their fingers,
and produced clicking sounds with their tongues.
The Raven dance was most frequently performed, and the sounds represented
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Chukchis
the croaking of the raven. They also had "the song of the fox" which was
supposed to be a dialogue between a fox and a bear. During the dance of the
geese the motions and sounds of the white fronted goose (
Anser albifrons
)
were imitated. The swan, walrus, seal, and reindeer were also imitated dur–
ing certain dances.
Finally there were "trade or bartering dances" which took place between
members of a communal marriage, and which ended in an exchange of wives for
a few days.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bogoras, V. G.
Materials for the Study of the Chukches Language and
Folklore, Collected in the Kolyma District
. Academy of
Sciences, Part 1, St. Petersburg, 1900.
----.
Sketch of the Material Life of the Reindeer Chukches on the
Basis of the Gondatti Collection
. Sbornik of the Museum
of Anthropology and Ethnology, St. Petersburg, 1901.
----.
The Folklore of North-Eastern Asia as Compared with that
of North-Western America
. American Anthropology, Vol. 4, 0
Oct.-Dec. 1902.
----.
The Chukchee.
(A)
Material Culture
, (B)
Religion
, (C)
Social Organization
, (D)
Folklore
. Publications of the
Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. 7, Parts
-
^
1
^
-3, Vol. 8,
Part 1, New York, 1904-1910.
Czaplicka, M. A.
Aboriginal Siberia
. Oxford, 1914.
Jochelson, W.
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
. American Museum of Natural
History, 1928.
Olsufyev, A. V.
A General Sketch of the Anadyr Region
. Zapiski of the Amur
Section of the Russian Geographical Society, Vol. 2, Part 1,
St. Petersburg, 1896.
Tokarev, S. A.
The Chukchi Religion
. In a volume "Religious Beliefs of
the Peoples of the USSR, Moscow, 1931.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
The Dolgans
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
THE DOLGANS
|
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Page
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Territory
|
1
|
|
History
|
2
|
|
Dwellings
|
3
|
|
Occupation
|
4
|
|
Reindeer Breeding
|
6
|
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Reindeer Harness
|
9
|
|
Division of Game and Fishing
|
14
|
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Division of Labor
|
15
|
|
Tools, Techniques, and Utensils
|
15
|
|
Mammoth Ivory
|
17
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Metals
|
18
|
|
Dug-out Boat
|
18
|
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Board Type Boat
|
19
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Daldab
|
19
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Skis
|
19
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Skaitan
Ba
Boxes
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20
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Social Organization
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20
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Government
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21
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Marriage
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31
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Childbirth
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32
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Religion
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38
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Cult of Ancestors
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38
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Shamanism
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39
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Bibliography
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44
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THE DOLGANS
The Dolgans are a small tribe of Yakutized Tungus who
live in the northeastern portion of the Taimyr National Region
and in part of the Krasnoyarsk Region. Their precise number
is not known, but according to the 1927 census there were 699
Dolgans, and the figures for 1930-31 give 499.
Territory
: Together with some other groups the Dolgans
wander between the Yenisei and the Anabar Region, roughly from
the forest-tunga border in the south, to the shores of the Arctic
in the north. This territory includes the region of the "Stanok"
(villages) of Mezen and Arsent' evskai
a
^
â
^
in the Dolgan-Samoyed
Clan Soviet, and the region of the Chasovsnaj
a
^
â
^
, Voloshjkha,
Rassokha, Mezen, Dudinka, Glubokai
a
^
â
^
, Agapa, and Samoyed Rivers,
and the upper course of the Pi
a
^
â
^
sina River in the Dolgan-Zarechens–
ki
i
^
ĭ
^
and the Noril'sk Dolgan-Tungus Clan Soviets.
A small number of Dolgans - the so-called "trans-river
Dolgans" - cross the Yenisei in the winter and wander along the
left bank between the Kheta and Yenisei Rivers.
The neighbors of the Dolgans, who share their territory
during their wanderings, include a group of Tungus, numbering 232,
consisting of Boganid, Volosinski
i
^
ĭ
^
, and Noril'sk Tungus, and a
completely Dolganized clan of Karantuo; descendants of the ancient
DOLGANS
Russian settlers numbering 169, the so-called "Zatundrennye"
(affected by the tundra), peasants who adopted the Dolgan dialect
and customs and also resemble them physically because of much
intermarriage. The group of Tundra Yakuts numbers 773, and it
is due to their influence that the Dolgans have lost their
native tongue. These Tundra Yakuts differ greatly in their
culture from the main group of the Yakuts.
History
: The Dolgans live in a territory which was subject
to great waves of migration for a great many years: the Tavghians
from the West, the Tungus from the South, the Yakuts from the
East, and
^
,
^
later, the Russian colonists from the West.
Some scientists believe that at one time the Dolgans
were a separate ethnic group, that later they were assimilated
by the Tungus, and that in their new territory perhaps they knew
only the Tungus language. Undoubtedly the Dolgans and the
closely related Tungus are of southern origin, and there are evi–
dences of this in their folklore where such southern animals as
the lion and the snake are mentioned. Evidently the Dolgan an–
cestors traveled great distances in ancient times for there are
many
of the smae
clans with the same clan names to be found among
the Tungus of the Trans-Ba
i
^
ĭ
^
kal and Maritime provinces. According
to folklore, the Tavghians came to their present territory before
the Dolgans and fought many battles with the aborigines.
The
^
Y
^
akuts, who formerly lived along the middle course
of the Lena River, and
^
,
^
under the pressure of Russian colonization
from the east and west, moved into this territory during the
DOLGANS
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, exerted strong influence
on the Dolgans. This influence was especially felt in the adoption
of the Yakut language, which took place as a result of much inter–
marriage among the Tungus and the Yakuts, which continues to
the present day.
Unfortunately, the study of the Dolgans has been neglected
and there are several aspects of their culture about which there
is very little information thus far. Thus, we have scant data
on their dress, although there are indications that it follows
the general pattern of the Tungus and northern Yakuts, and on
their religion, which is a Yakutised modification of the north–
ern hunting beliefs, etc.
No information is available on their physical characteristics
except for indications that they closely resemble the Tungus.
Dwellings
: According to tradition, the Dolgans used to
live in large earth huts during the cold part of the year. Five
families lived in each hut, and the most experienced woman was
in charge. The fire was kept in the center of the hut in a hole,
and since it was produced by friction, there was a constant watch
to keep it from going out. In the summer, the fire was trans–
ported as a smouldering piece of rotten wood. It was considered
a sin to give fire to another hut.
In more recent times (twenty to thirty years ago) the two
-
^
or
^
three coldest months of the year were spent in a sedentary manner
in the forest zone, where the Dolgans lived in permanent earthen
huts, similar to those of the Yakut.
DOLGANS
More recently the Dolgans spent the cold part of the year
in log huts, or in special huts made of boards and set on sleds.
This type of winter dwelling was ad
a
^
o
^
pted from Russian traders
who used to travel over the tundra in these traveling huts. They
are easy to set up and dismant
^
le
^
, and this is particularly impor–
tant during severe frosts. An iron stove is set inside on the
sled which serves as the floor. Each family, representing an
individual economic unit, tries to live separately in a "sled-hut".
Usually, five or more such sled huts form a station or "stanok"
along the path between the town of Noril'sk, and the Khatanga
River.
The summer dwelling is a pole tent. Sometimes up to four
families live in one summer tent to save loading and unloading
the tents and transporting them on reindeer. The pole tents were
also used for winter dwellings before the introduction of the
sled-hut.
Occupation
: The main occupations of the Dolgans are reindeer
breeding, hunting and fishing. Reindeer are used mainly for
transportation purposes - in the summer as saddle animals, and
in the winter to draw the sleds.
Hunting provides the Dolgans with food and material for
clothing. They hunt wild reindeer for the meat and skins, and
hunt the arctic fox for the pelts which they sell.
Limited by the severe climate and scant resources, the Dolgans
live in small groups, and are constantly searching for new pastures
for the reindeer and new hunting fields.
DOLGANS
During the summer most of the old men remain near the large
rivers or lakes to gather supplies of fish for the winter. They
send their herds out with the younger men to join the wandering
groups in the tundra. In the summer it is easier to take care
of a large herd because animals in closely packed groups do not
suffer as much from mosquitoes and other insects, and the herd
does not run in various directions. Therefore several families
join their herds and graze them together under the supervision
of common herdsmen.
These collective herding groups are organized at the begin–
ning of the summer. Each one tries to join with a rich owner,
since common law requires that the rich must feed the poor by
killing their animals if necessary when the hunting and fishing
fail to provide sufficient food. In the spring the leader is
selected. He is usually the most experienced man and is well
acquainted with the pastures and the localities which are rich in
game and fish. When the groups have been formed, the leaders of
the neighboring groups meet and allocate the grazing territories
according to the rivers and lakes. It is the duty of the leader
to work out the daily routine and assign the various tasks of
driving the free herds, night herding during mosquito time, or
during attacks by wolves, etc. Every evening the elders of each
family gather with the leaders to decide the order of the day and
the place for stopping overnight so that the returning hunters will
be able to find the camp.
In the summer they move to the extreme north or climb to the
bare, stone hilltops, where it is cooler than in the lowlands. This
DOLGANS
is done primarily to protect the herds from the mosquitoes which
breed in tremendous quantities in the marsh-tundra lowlands. The
reindeer can not endure mosquitoes and frequently scatter during
the night. Sometimes moss smoke fires are made to protect the
animals from the insects.
In the fall the Dolgans are forced to return to the edge of
the forest because of the severe tundra climate, the winter storms,
and the lack of fuel. Each summer group separates into individual
families, and with their reindeer they move around preparing for
the winter, and do individual hunting.
Reindeer Breeding
: The Dolgans distinguish three types of
reindeer: (a) Tavghian (
Saamajdii
); (b) Tungus (
Tunustii
); and
(c) Dolgan (
Ta Tag'taba
). The Tavghian type is 110-120 cm. tall.
It is a weak animal, unsuitable for riding. However, it is a hardy
animal, accustomed to the tundra, and although it tires easily,
it recuperates quickly. The Tungus type, while larger and stronger,
can not stand the cold of the tundra and needs frequent rests.
The Dolgan type is weaker than the Tungus but is stronger
than the Tavghian reindeer. The best animal is formed by crossing the Dolgan type
with
the Tavghian. This produces a fairly strong and hardy animal.
During the summer the Dolgan reindeer feeds on grass and
leaves, and they are especially fond of young shoots. In the winter
they feed exclusively on moss, but when hungry they will eat any–
thing. They are especially fond of salt and therefore constantly
run after men waiting for their urine.
DOLGANS
During the summer the herds of several owners are kept
together, and thus they save the work of extra laborers. Tavghian
reindeer dogs, bought from the Tavghians, help in herding and are
valuable.
Although the Dolgans use the reindeer a great deal, it is not
completely domesticated and every year many animals run off with
the wild reindeer herds.
In the winter the reindeer can drag a light sled at a speed
of twenty-five to thirty kilometers per hour, and a loaded sled
at about seven to eight kilometers an hour. In the summer the
saddle animals can
only
travel
^
only
^
three or four kilometers an hour,
but this slow speed is compensated by the animal's ability to cross
almost any marshes and deep snows. Because of his wide hoofs the
reindeer is an extremely sure footed animal.
For riding the Dolgans use mostly castrated males. The best
bulls are selected for breeding and the rest of the herd are
castrated. A special lariat of braided reindeer skin strips or
ligaments is used to capture the animal for this purpose. The animal
is then thrown to the ground with great skill and the testicles are
either smashed or chewed off. This castration process is
^
^
usually
carried out during the spring before the mosquito season, or late
in the fall before the snow falls.
During the summer the Dolgans ride the reindeer in a saddle
and use the light sleds only to transport the light boats. Accor–
ding to tradition, they borrowed the usage and method of harnessing
from the Tavghians. Formerly they had used only the saddle method
both during the winter and the summer.
DOLGANS
The Dolgan saddles are of two types: (a) the male saddle –
cykeendii
- consists of two long boards attached parallel to each
other with two pieces of horn or branches of wood. They are
covered with skin and filled with reindeer fur to form pillows –
s'tt'k
, and (b) the woman's, or pack saddle, which is more massive.
The pillows are wider and thicker, and the lower part of the
front board is covered with a red or green cloth and decorated
with beaded ornamentation. The rest of this board is painted red,
while the rear board remains unpainted and is only ornamented
with ochre.
The pack saddles also have elaborate ornaments of lead incrus–
tation. These ornaments are geometrical in design and are made up
of separate elements which have specific names. The Dolgans dis–
tinguish:
ustaak sulus
- a star with fire;
tanalaj
- the sky;
ot t'n'raga
- a dog's claws;
kyn
- the sun;
tiis
- the teeth, etc.
Deep lines form the designs which are cut with a knife, so
that the upper edges of the groove converge to prevent the metal
from falling out. Lead is melted in a special metal spoon and is
slowly poured into the grooves to form the design.
Both types of saddle have a gap which runs lengthwise and
permits the saddle to be placed over the shoulders and back of
the animal. It is not placed on the middle of the back because
the Dolgan reindeer is not strong, and its back might be broken.
In saddling a woman's reindeer or a pack animal, the saddle
is placed first, then a blanket made from the skins of reindeer
heads to protect the sides from the chafing of the pack bags, and
then the pack bags are slung over the saddle one on each side.
DOLGANS
This is all tied together with a leather thong -
timeektiin
,
which is three
-
^
to
^
four fingers wide and has an iron ring at one end.
The reindeer is mounted from the right side. The rider
holds the reins in his left hand; grabbing hold of the front
saddle bow, and supporting the body with a staff or spear with
the right hand, he swings his left leg over the saddle.
Reindeer staffs are of two kinds: those used by men –
tajak
- simple poles long enough to enable the rider to lean on
while seated in the saddle, and those used by women -
njuorii
–
an iron pole with a hook on top.
The reindeer staffs or poles are used for additional security,
because reindeer riding demands great skill, and is tiring at
first. To direct the animal to the left the ri
^
g
^
ht foot is pressed
against the reindeer cheek; to direct him to the right, the rein
is pulled.
Reindeer Harness
: The Dolgans used two main types of harness:
^
one
^
for light fast traveling, and the other for freight transportation.
Basically, the Dolgan reindeer harness consists of a bridle (
bast'na
)
^
,
^
yoke (
ala
), and a wide leather belt (
kur
), which girds the animal's
body. A line running from the left side of the yoke to the belt
of the animal on the right connects the two. A group of from
three to eight reindeer can be used at one time in a harness. The
lead animal is placed at the right, and the whole team is arrang–
ed in fan fashion.
The main pulling rope (
pobotuok
) is a long strip of leather,
2 cm. wide, which runs from the left side of the animal on the ex–
treme left through a system of blocks (
tonooldo
or
celaak
), which
DOLGANS
are attached to the sled, to the animal on the extreme right.
The secondary pulling ropes connect the inside animals by a similar
system of blocks to the main rope, and thus an even distribution
of pulling strength is achieved.
The blocks are made of reindeer horn or wood, and are rhom–
boid or irregular in shape; the outside blocks have two openings,
one for the pulling rope, and the other for the rope attached to
the sled.
The bridle -
bast'na
- is made of skins of the reindeer's
forehead. The plaques made of reindeer horn are placed between
the animal's horns and connected by a leather thong, to which a
long rein, braided out of five thin thongs is attached. The bone
part of the bridles of side animals also consists of two plaques
made of ornamented mammoth ivory and connected by leather thongs
tied under the neck.
The yoke -
ala
or
laamp
' - is a piece of leather ten to fif–
teen cm. wide, which is placed across one shoulder, the chest and
one leg of the animal, and tied under the neck with a leather thong.
The ends of the yoke are tied to the ends of the belt by leather
thongs. The yokes and belts are richly decorated with red or
green cloth, beads or embroidery of reindeer hair.
An iron or copper ring is attached to the belt and to the
front part of the saddle with another leather thong.
On the right side of the lead animal's belt there is an iron
or bone hook which serves to prevent the rein from dragging on the
ground. It is richly ornamented with silver or copper and the young
people are especially fond of this hook which has the value of
DOLGANS
about one reindeer. Hunters use only the bone hook because the
clanging of the metal hook would frighten the game.
The freight harness is simpler, and consists mostly of a yoke
made of sacking. The belt is not used, and the animals (two or
four) are tied in pairs with a rope running between their necks.
Each pair is connected directly to the sled by a pulling rope
which connects their yokes to one block.
The Dolgans use four types of sleds: (a) the closed or light
sled -
bytej s'rga
- used mostly for fast travel. It is quite
high and has five to fourteen stanchions which are wide at the
bottom and then bend backward. In some regions the top of the
sled is wider. There is a back-rest board (from which the term
"closed" is derived) and this is used only by the women. (b) The
open or men's sled -
iraka
- has lower stanchions, and only two
to six. There is no back board and therefore is called "open."
The two-stanchion type of
iraka
is used to transport boats. (c) The
freight sled -
setii s'rga
- used during winter wanderings. It
resembles the first type in its construction and has a board at
each end, and high stanchions which lean backward for stability.
(d) Another type of freight sled -
turku
- is low and has two
pairs of stanchions.
Wooden nails and leather thongs are often used in making
sleds.
The runners are made of pine wood because it withstands mois–
ture better. First the board is cut in the general shape and
then the bending is done. The runners are placed in the river to
soak for three or four days to facilitate the bending. The
S
^
s
^
tan-
DOLGANS
chions and seat are added after the runners are ready.
A thin pole, 4 meters long, is used to drive the reindeer.
It is used to poke the only tender part of the animal, its hind
parts. One end of the pole has an iron tipe, so that the driving
pole is also used to test the strength of the ice in crossing
over water.
To start, the driver runs alongside the sled for a while
holding the rein, and then jumps on the sled. To stop the team,
the rein is drawn so that the animals' heads are turned toward
the sled, and then the lead animal is tied to a stanchion. The
rein is tightened to turn to the right, and the lea
^
d
^
animal is
gently hit on the right side with the driving pole to turn to the
left.
The Dolgans are skillful reindeer drivers, and it requires
several days to train and an animal either for saddle or harness.
Normally
^
a
^
reindeer can be used for five
-
^
or
^
six years as a draft animal,
if he is used both winter and summer.
Private ownership marks are made by cutting the tip of the
animal's ears in a certain pattern, or by making specific designs
of a combination of simple lines on the animal fur with a knife.
Dolgans do not have "sacred" reindeer as do the Tavghians.
When property is divided, or the father dies and the son in–
herits the property, the old marks remain on the old animals, and
new marks are made only on the young. The younger son receives
his father's mark. When an owner acquires a new animal he cuts
his own sign on the ears. The owners often do not know the number
of their herd, but know their animals so well that they recognize
DOLGANS
their animals in someone else's herd, even without marks.
According to A. A. Popov, the concept of private ownership
of reindeer is an innovation introducted by contact with the
Russians. In former times, during the summer, the reindeer of the
rich owners were considered to be a food reservoir for the whole
migrating group, and were used without compensating the o
^
wn
^
er.
Only during recent times have the Dolgans begun to sell their rein–
deer. Up to the present time a poor man may borrow an animal from
a rich o
nw
^
wn
^
er without paying for it. Sometimes a poor animal is
exchanged for a better one without additional pay, but with the
promise to do the same for his friend in the future.
The rich herd owners hire herdsmen for the spring so that
they may remain near the rivers to fish. The family of the herds–
man is given flour, tea, tobacco, and some skins in payment.
Although the reindeer is used primarily for transportation,
in some localities where there is not sufficient fish and game,
the domestic reindeer is killed for food, on the average of forty
animals a year. The Pi
a
^
â
^
asina region, for example, is abundant in
game, and the reindeer are not used for food in that region.
An average Dolgan family must have 150-200 reindeer for their
use. They must have groups of animals for riding, and harness,
and replacements for these animals. They must also have animals
with which to hunt and special animals for transporting the sled
with the "sacred" family objects. Certain reindeer are also set
aside to be used only in curing the sick, etc.
Only very few Dolgans have herds which exceed 1000 in number.
DOLGANS
Division of Game and Fishing
: While the hunting and fishing
equipment (including the fishing nets) are individually owned, the
results of hunting or fishing are often consumed collectively.
During the summer the hunters feed their own groups and the spoils
are divided among the members of every hut. If a wild reindeer
is killed, the hunter keeps only a small part: the neck and head,
and the skin is given to the most respected member.
Fish, if caught during wandering, and not by the stationary
fishers, is divided only during the summer. During the winter
this catch is kept by the individual.
In the collective hunt for wild reindeer, netting geese, or
using nets for fishing, a leader is selected and the spoils are
evenly divided according to the number in each family: the excess
goes to the leader. The o
^
wn
^
er of the gear expects only help in
repairing damaged gear, in return for the use of his equipment.
The pelts of fur-bearing animals belong to the hunter. While
there is no ownership (private or group) of hunting or fishing
territories, as a matter of courtesy
,
an outsider or a Dolgan from
a distant region must ask permission to hunt or fish, and this
permission is always granted.
Nets with ten to twenty floats are used in fishing.
A simple wooden bow is used in hunting geese. The composite
bow, also used in hunting, is worth one reindeer and is purchased
together with ten arrows. The arrows may be iron-tipped or blunt.
Iron-tipped spears with wooden shafts, and cross-bows are also
used.
Winter hunting is often done on lined or unlined skis.
DOLGANS
Division of Labor
: Basically, all the household work is
done by the women: setting up and dismantling the tents, food
preparation, sewing and tanning skins. In the Noril'sk region,
the women also capture the reindeer before the summer wanderings
and load and unload the pack animals.
The men make the sleds, watch the traps and make the fishing
nets. Both men and women gather fuel, capture and harness the
reindeer, and hunt and fish.
Tools, Techniques, and Utensils
: The Dolgans use the follow–
ing tools:
Knife -
bohak
- having a long and narrow iron blade, and used
for cutting and smoothing.
Axe -
syge
- which is bought from the Yakuts or the Russians.
Bow drill -
erehe
- made of a steel point, sent on a long
handle and operated by a small bow. Carving and scraping tools,
saw-knife combination, iron nails (bought), and wooden pegs for
attaching parts of the sled are also used. In addition to nailing,
the Dolgans use a method of sewing the parts of wood together with
long willow roots, especially prepared for this purpose during the
spring. Leather thongs are also used in sewing.
Fish skin is prepared and used to glue together the edges of
the small wooden boxes used to store sacred objects.
The technique of working on reindeer skin is an elaborate one
and is of primary importance. The animal is first skinned by making
a long cut on the body of the animal on the belly side. The head
and legs are skinned and stretched separately. Then the skin is
DOLGANS
stretched on the ground to dry in the sun. Several poles are placed
over the stretched skin to form a tent to protect it from being
trampled by the animals. The ends of the skin are secured with
pegs or stones. During the rainy season the skin is dried in the
tent.
Several types of scraping tools are used including a long
board, slightly bent with a rounded end. First the upper layer of
the flesh side of the skin is scraped. The entire scraping process
is done by the women. The woman sits on
^
the
^
ground and spreads the
skin so that she can sit on part of it. She uses an iron scraper,
k'h'ak
, made in the form of an irregular hoop with sharp edges,
and which is set into a handle. After this first scraping the skin
is smoked for two days inside the tent. It is placed between
the poles of the tent with the inner side toward the fire. Then
the inner surface is again scraped, after having been soaked in
water. Two women do the second scraping, using another type of
scraper,
honohon
, made in the shape of a slightly bent blade which
has a handle on either side at the end. The skin is then smeared
on the inner side with
[:
]
liver which has been boiled, chewed and
mixed with broth to form a thick mass. Then the skin is folded
four times to p
o
^
r
^
otect the hair from being soiled and is left for a
day. The next day it is scraped again on the inner side, is left
to dry for another day, and is then softened with a scraper,
kedere,
first in one direction and then in the other.
Thicker skins are used for preparing leather. First, part of
the hair is cut and then
^
the skin is
^
hung on a rope with the inner side up and
is subjected to cold for a month. In the summer the inner side is
DOLGANS
scraped, smoked for four days in the hut, and then scraped a second
time. It is smeared with the raw fat of the arctic fox and left
outside for a couple of days to soften it. Then it is smeared
with liver (as above) which penetrates through to the roots of the
hair and facilitates the scraping. After three more days the re–
main
d
ing hair is scraped off with the
kedere
scraper and dried over
hot coals. After this the skin is softened by hand for a day and
a soft chamois type of skin is obtained.
Various types of ropes are twined from long strips of leather
to be used as: (a) long lassoes 32-33 meters long for capturing
reindeer: (b) long thin ropes for taming the animals for hunting;
and (c) reindeer harness for winter use.
To make the first type the reindeer is skinned either in the
usual manner or in the "stocking" method (peeling it off without
curing.) The latter method is preferred for cutting long strips
which are obtained by cutting it in a spiral starting from the
neck and proceeding toward the tail. In the usual method of skinning
the cutting starts from the edge, proceeds along the peri
f
^
ph
^
ery and
gradually reaches the center.
The ligaments of wild reindeer provide material for ropes.
Mammoth ivory
is used to make needles for nets, pipes, and
the ornamental cheek pieces of reindeer harness. The ivory is first
soaked in water from 1-4 days and is then cut by home-made saws.
The ornament is geometrical consisting of squares, parallel lines,
zig-zags, circles, dots, and crosses in various combinations. Special
tools are used to make two or three parallel lines at the same
time.
DOLGANS
The
horn
is used for reindeer harness trappings, pipes, needles,
containers for spear heads, buttons, spoons and a part of the man's
saddle. The horn of a wild reindeer is preferred. First it is
soaked and then is worked with a knife and axe. The horn of the
mountain goat is used to make large and small spoons -
lamba
.
Metals
: Iron is the most frequently used metal. This is
obtained from the Russians and is usually the iron parts of traps,
barrel hoops, etc. The tools used are the anvil, hammer, t
h
ongs,
and bellows. Iron is heated in a primitive hearth. This hearth
is a wooden box, 1.5 m. long and 0.5 m. wide. It is placed on the
ground and the low front part has two perforations for the pair
of bellows. Two-thirds of the back is covered by a round, dome–
like enclosure. The whole framework is smeared with a thick layer
of clay. Then a fire is built which destroys the frame leaving
a clay hearth.
Hooks, tops of reindeer poles, scrapers, knives, spears, arrow–
heads, pipes with long stems are made in this hearth. The pipes
are made from discarded gun barrels. These stems are decorated
with copper spiral incrustations by winding a copper wire or thin
copper sheet in the desired fashion, smearing the whole with clay,
and heating it until it is red. The molten copper adheres to the
iron.
The tops of the reindeer poles and other metal objects are
decorated with silver or copper by hammering the metals into the
grooves in the iron thus forming geometric patterns.
A dug-out boat
^
A dug-out boat
^
4.45 m. long and 3/4 m. wide is made out of
a thick log. First, about one quarter of the thickness is cut
DOLGANS
from the top and then the ends are sharpened. The natural curva–
ture of the tree is left for the sides. The center is dug out
by a special iron gouge 25 cm. long -
arb'ja
, and a scraper -
ono
tardar
, a double-edged blade semi-circular in shape, both ends
of which meet at the handle. The walls of the boat are 1 cm. thick
while the bottom is 4 cm. thick. A slight protruding edge is left
along the inner border to prevent the sides from breaking. It is
then filled with hot water and red hot stones are thrown into this
water. The weight of these stones exerts pressure on the bottom,
and the sides are spread apart with wooden sticks. The size of
the sticks used for this prupose is gradually increased in length.
Boards are nailed or sewn to the edges of the boat. They are then
smeared with
[:
]
ack pitch to protect them from drying. It usually
takes about 4 days to make a dug-out boat.
Board type Boat
: The sides and bottom of this type of boat
are made separately. The bottom is elongated with pointed ends.
Its center has a shallow depression with a ridge to which the sides
of the boat are sewn. This type of boat is the same size as the
one mentioned above, but it is better and is worth twice as much
as a dugout boat.
Daldab
is a wooden shield which is used to approach wild
reindeer or seals. The front is covered with deep notches which
may be covered with snow for camouflage. It is set on a pair of
short runners.
Skis
t
are made of knotless pine boards 4 cm. thick, and are
bent on a form consisting of 2 parallel boards with five removable
DOLGANS
joints. The skis may be lined with reindeer skins with the hair
directed backwards. This enables fast sliding, and silence (ability
to steal near a wild reindeer, and to get a good grip going up hill).
The lining is glued to the ski with fish glue. The sharp edges of
the skis protrude through the special hole made in the reindeer
lining and the edges are bent and glued to the upper surface of
the ski.
The ends are sharp, bend upwards and under the sole of the
foot there is an upward bend, which gives a spring-like action.
One
t
stick is used for walking or as a brake when going down–
hill. ^¶^
^
Shaitan Boxes.
^
Round boxes of pine wood are used by women or to store sacred
objects (the "shaitan" boxes.) To make these boxes boards are
first well moistened with hot water from the kettle and then are
gradually and gently bent in a special fork-like stand or around
a stump. When the board is bent into a completely round shape so
that the edges overlap, they are bound with a rope and permitted to
dry. The ends are then cut on the slant and glued together with a
"nalim" or "sterliad" glue.
Social Organization
: The basic social unit of the Dolgans
is the family, which is at present patriarchal, although the rela–
tionships are reckoned both along the father and mother lines. At
times the relationship along the mother line is considered closer.
Thus there is the custom of giving presents to the son or daughter
by even the most distant relatives on the mother's side, while along
the father's side this extends only to nephews or nieces.
DOLGANS
Among the Dolgans large families were considered to be fortu–
nate. A family with no children was predestined to misfortune. A
childless woman was considered in the same category as a sterile
reindeer cow - "
bangai
".
The largest unit is the horde. The term "
ordan
" (horde) is
used to designate
^
an
^
outside ethnic group: the Samoyed horde, the
Russian horde, the Tungus horde, etc. Sometimes the term
biis
is
used instead of
ordan
. The Dolgans divide themselves into three
groups (excluding the completely Dolganized Tungus of Karyntuiu:
the Dulgaan
biis
, the Donnot
biis
, and the Edzheen
biis
. These
groups very likely were originally the three subdivisions of the
Dolgan tribe.
All members of the particular
biis
call each other "my people,"
testifying to their belief in common origins.
These subdivisions consist of a number of clans -
uus
, which
were formerly exogamous. Today the tendency to take wives from the
same clan as did their forefathers persists.
The Dolgans have no self-name for themselves as a group. When
asked, the Dolgan refers to his fratry ("
Iana Donoot
"). Sometimes
a Dolgan refers to himself as a "Tungus", but this simply means
"I am a reindeer breeder" and is due to the Yakut influence. The
Yakuts call even the Yakuts who are reindeer breeders "Tungus," to
distinguish them from the horse and cattle breeding Yakuts. Thus,
the term Dolgan was formerly used for one fratry and is now applied
to the whole group.
Government
: Until the beginning of the Revolution in 1917 the
DOLGANS
government of the Dolgans was i
j
^
m
^
posed by the Russians. An offi–
cial "prince," elected every three years was at the head of each
group. He was responsible for implementing the various regulations
of the Tsarist government, collecting the tribute, and exercising
the judicial functions.
When this official refused to serve further either because
of old age or for some other reason, he was asked to suggest a suc–
cessor, who became a candidate in the election in which all the
males of the group participated.
At the same time two helpers were elected. The community
could depose their officials and elect new ones if they were un–
satisfactory.
Once a year all the people and officials gathered in Noril'sk
on the Khatanga River for a meeting at which the officials of the
three fratries were present.
A double size tent was erected. Reindeer for a feast for all
those present were purchased at communal expense. Besides the
election, various disputes were also decided at this meeting. Every
"prince" paid the annual t
ir
^
ri
^
bute he collected to the government,
which was counted during the meeting and the new assessment was
levied. The cases of dispute were decided by all the three "princes"
together with the one who heads the clan of the injured party
acting as chairman. Deposition was taken from the litigants and
witnesses and if a stranger was present his opinion was sought and
valued.
A first offense was usually forgiven. The culprit promised
not to repeat his crime, and the offended party shook hands with him.
DOLGANS
If he failed to do this good naturedly, he was considered an
evil man, a man who "seeks blood" and sometimes he himself was
punished. The second offense resulted in a fine, the third in
corporal punishment - whipping. One of the most serious crimes
among the usually honest Dolgans was taking someone else's property,
and this rarely happened.
Folklore material shows that the Dolgans formerly had elect–
ed officials "guardians of property," and war chiefs "kosuun."
Both offices later disintegrated and were replaced by the Russian
recognized elected officials.
The following two tales illustrate the origin and the early
social organization among the Dolgans.
"Muos Kiris had two brothers, and all three were excellent
marksmen. One day Muos Kiris went out hunting and left his
mother alone. He was such a good shot
^
^
that his arrow could hit
a wild reindeer in the head and kill it. This is the kind of
man that Muos Kiris was. The head of a wild reindeer is so
strong that even a lead bullet can not penetrate it.
"While he was out on the hunt the Tungus surrounded his
mother's tent. The second son took a pole from the tent,
peeled the bark and jumped into the street. Ten robbers sur–
rounded the tent. He threw the pole at them, and then jumped
from the cliff where the tent stood and hid. The bandits thought
that he had fallen to his death, and entered the hut. They
killed his younger brother and began to eat his flesh, tearing
his body into pieces. When they got to the brain, they asked
DOLGANS
the mother: "Why is your son's brain so unappetizing?"
"The mother answered: "Ten years ago there was a famine,
and my son never recovered from it.'
"Having finished with the corpse, one of the robbers went
out on the street. Near the tent grew a huge tree. The bandit
smeared it with the dead man's blood, and said to the mother:
'My name is Chemtira. I have smeared this tree with blood;
when your son, Muos Kiris, returns, and is hurt by his brother's
death, let him seek me out to avenge his brother." Then the
robbers left.
"When Muos Kiris returned home and learned the news, he set
out to avenge his brother. He told his shaman: 'You are a sha–
man; look into your dream, and tell me, can we take revenge?'
)
"The shaman answered: 'We can subdue Chemtira if we find his
great soul (
ulakan kutun
). I will set a sail on the river of
the wild reindeer (soul), of his shaman, and it would be good if
you could kill him.' Then they set out after the bandits, to–
gether with the second brother and six other men.
"On the way the brother grew tired. Muos Kiris became angry
and threw a stone at him. Muos Kiris thought he had killed
his brother, but Junki
a
^
â
^
i
a
^
â
^
abil', the brother, soon caught up with
them. Again Muos Kiris was angry and said: 'You go no further!'
He tied the brother's hands and shot three arrows at him. But
the brother was so adroit in avoiding the arrows that Muos Kiris
untied him and said: 'You will be a good man.' (i.e., strong and
skillful).
DOLGANS
"In a little while the shaman told his companions: 'Shoot
carefully. I have brought Chemtira's soul, do not scare it away,'
and pointed to a small bird. Muos Kiris missed, but Junki
a
^
â
^
i
a
^
â
^
bil'
killed the bird.
"Then they roasted and ate the bird.
"Soon the battle began. Muos Kiris was wounded, and several
others were killed. Chemtira was also killed by Junki
a
^
â
^
i
a
^
â
^
il'.
The remaining men ate Chemtira's flesh, and took names from the
parts of the body that they ate: the
Lonoot
or
Donoot
from the
shoulder blade; the
karyntui
u
^
û
^
tribe from the one who ate the
radius bone or
kar
'; and the one who ate the rump founded the
Edzheen
tribe. (A Noril'sk tale).
Second tradition:
"
Long ago when the Dolgans lived elsewhere, all the people
were divided into two groups: the
kosuun
, and the "guardians of
property," (
baaj ketebilcittere
) who lived with the reindeer, and
had all the property. There were few reindeer and they were
used as pack animals, and not for riding. They had little prop–
erty - one bow and their clothing. They lived among the rein–
deer, caught fish and hunted wild reindeer. They did not go to
[:
]
war because they thought they were weak. The
kosuun
came
from their midst. The eldest kossun was the chief of the
"guardians of property." Every fall, before the advent of the
Polar night, all the
kosuuns
gathered and also those of the
"guardians of the property" who were strong enough to compete.
All the men stood in a row. The eldest
kosuun
faced them and
DOLGANS
shot a blunt arrow at each one, who in turn had to show his skill
by avoiding the arrow and thus demonstrate his worth to the
eldest
kosuun
. Then each contestant shot an arrow at the eldest
who bowed each time. If an arrow hit him, the eldest gave up
his rank to the shooter, and became an ordinary
kosuun
. He was
given some reindeer and property, just enough to live on. In the
next competition, if the displaced eldest
kosuun
won, then the two
eldest
kosuuns
had a contest to the death, this time using iron–
tipped arrows.
The future eldest
kosuuns
were often known from childhood,
since they would hunt with the eldest
kosuuns
. Sometimes they
would kill a reindeer before the older man. When this happened,
the older man sponsored the younger one until he was about four–
teen or fifteen years old, and then the two would compete.
The eldest
kosuun
lived with the "guardians of property"
of whom one was selected as the "chief guardian of property." He
knew the best pasture lands, hunting and fishing grounds, super–
vised all the civic and military affairs, and had the final word
in the distribution of property. Even the eldest
kosuun
had to
consult him about communal property. The "chief guardian of pro–
perty" did not go to war but replaced the eldest
kosuun
at that
time. The eldest
kosuun
had a shaman protector whose duty it was
to predict the coming of enemies at least two days before. He also
could whet the soldiers' appetites for war, and dull that of the
enemy. He would hide the soul of the eldest
kosuun
so that the enemy
shaman could not find it. Before every battle, the shaman tried
to steal the soul of the eldest
kosuun
of the enemy, and he would
DOLGANS
shoot an arrow. If it hit, then the enemy eldest
kosuun
would die
in battle, but if he missed, then he himself would die.
The young
kosuuns
lived alone with their reindeer and property
which they got from the community. They were the warriors and
defended the "guardians of property." During peace times they
would hunt and give their spoils to the "chief guardian of property"
to be divided among the "guardians of property." They would also
give warning of the approaching enemy, and then the eldest
kosuun
would pick an army and go off to war.
The battles were usually in the form of contests in which the
eldest
kosuuns
of each opposing force would challenge each other.
Sometimes the contest would be of a peaceful nature - a race.
But more often it was a bloody battle in which iron-tipped arrows
were used. One side might attack without warning, or the two eldest
kosuuns
might agree on the time for the battle to begin. If one
eldest
kosuun
asked for more time to prepare, the enemy would usu–
ally agree to wait.
The victors would kill all the enemy
kosuuns
and then seek
out their relatives among the "guardians of property," and kill them.
But sometimes the son of an eldest
kosuun
was left so that he could
avenge the death of his relatives.
In those days the Samoyeds (Tavghians) lived at the edge of
the forest in the north; the Chukchi lived in the tundra, and the
Dolgans, the forest people, lived in the forest. The forest people
warred among themselves and with the Samoyeds, but then they made
peace. Then the Tungus came and captured the forest people. Half
of them became Dolgans, and the others were the future Lamuts.
DOLGANS
The wars continued and the people died from the stench of
dead bodies, and then famine came. Those who were living decided
to move on, or they, too, would die. They killed a bird and divi–
ded its flesh, and each one took a name according to the part he
ate. Some came too late, however, and so they had no names.
There are still relics of the wars with the Chukchi and the
Samoyeds. Then the Tsar came and took the land and sent some
people into exile, and killed others. Peasants were brought, and
they married with the Dolgans and they all lived together in wooden
huts with little windows through which they could see the approach–
ing enemy Chukchi.
The Chukchi came and killed most of the people, but left
several girls and two men Dolgans. The girls married, but the men
died. (A Noril'sk tale).
Some idea of the former life of the Dolgans can be obtained
from these two legends. Both of them mention the same war and
speak of shaman protectors. The second legend deals with the social
structure, the identification of the Dolgans with the Lamuts, and
gives data on the Chukchi who were conquered in ancient times in
the present Tavghian territory.
The second legend corroborates Tretiakov's statements on the
appearance of the Chukchi in this territory (Turukhanski
i
^
ĭ
^
kra
i
^
ĭ
^
, ego
priroda I zhiteli," St. Petersburg, 1869). This is also mentioned
in the Chukchi folklore, in the "Chukchi graves," and archeological
remains on the tops of the extinct volcanoes in the northern Ta
i
^
ĭ
^
myr
peninsula. These have not been verified, but there are evidences
DOLGANS
of some ancient tribes before the advent of the present inhabi–
tants: the Tungus, Dolgans and Tavghians.
Several important traits of the social structure of the times
are also contained in the second tale. Evidently the community
was made up of several tribes. Self protection was necessary on
the one hand, and also the outstanding personal qualities of the
individual served to divide the community into the braver and more
skillful people, the warring
kosuuns
. These people always had to
be on guard against unexpected enemy attacks, and so the community
gave them property. They lived a mobile life, and were given per–
mission to live away from the community proper, and served as an
"avant guard."
Two leaders, a civil, and a military leader were mentioned,
and the military leader was selected annually at a contest where
his personal qualities were demonstrated.
All the property, and also the products of hunting and fish–
ing were communal, and the civil leader was responsible for their
distribution.
Survivals of clan organization are found in the role played
by the group over the individual. Adoption was a communal affair,
and the consent of the man's brothers was necessary before he
could adopt a child; otherwise the adopted son could inherit only
half his share, and the other half went to the brothers of his adopt–
ed father.
The father had to consult his relatives and obtain their consent
before despatching a go-between to seek a marriage agreement for
his son. When the parents were poor the bride price
is
^
was
^
provided by
DOLGANS
relatives and friends.
A widow marrying into another clan received only one quarter
of her inheritance.
Actually the bride price was only a symbol, as the bride had
to bring a dowry equivalent in value to the bride price. Until re–
cently at the beginning of the marriage ceremony, the most respect–
ed members of the group and the relatives together with the bride's
father took the coffer with the dowry outside, opened it, and in–
spected it to be sure that the value contained was
as
equal to the
bride price paid. If it were less it was considered a disgrace.
When an orphan married, the bride price or dowry was provided
for by the clan. The fratry designated several well-to-do men who
had to render help to the impoverished among its members. The
first time the poor man received twenty reindeer and an arctic fox
to obtain traps. The second time the help was less. If a third
assistance was not sufficient, the children of the poor members were
taken away and given to the richer to be raised until they reached
maturity when they returned to the real parents who had to support
them. This help is called
ab'rat'
. Before the revolution, disputes
were settled by arbitration by respected members of the group. If
no peaceful solution could be reached, then the case went to the
Russian-recognized "prince" (chief).
Until recent times the Dolgans had no selling and buying. Each
needy man could ask his neighbour for anything he needed, and this
is still in practice now. Gradual growth of the clans broke up the
territorial unity; frequent inner and external quarrels split some
of the clans, and also mixed the members of the different clans.
DOLGANS
The arrival of the Yakuts, and later the Russians, speeded up
this process of clan disintegration. The influence of trade ties,
and the adoption of better hunting methods led to rapid growth of
wealth, fur animals acquired value which they did not have before,
as all clothing was made out of reindeer skins. Gradual accumu–
lation of large herds in the hands of a few, led to herding as an
occupation for some who hired themselve
d
^
s
^
out for their services.
Marriage
: In general, marriage was permitted between rela–
tives up to the fourth degree removed on either side. Thus, in
the Noril'sk Region a widow who had no son married her daughter to
the son of her younger brother saying that "she returns the bone."
They practice marriage between cousins, and also the custom of levi–
rate, which permits a younger brother to marry the widow of his
brother and also gives priority to the first brother who makes the
proposal. In former times polygamy did exist
,
(according to folk–
lore, some had as many as seven wives).
Most of the Dolgans use the Yakut terms for relationships.
The terms for step-father (
amiraan
) and step-mother (
ijereen
) are
exceptions.
The custom of giving presents,
belektehii
, facilitates the
beginning of a relationship between a young man and a girl. This
custom consists of the exchange of presents in secret during dances
which are usually held on festive occasions.
If a young man likes a girl he sends her a present and if his
attentions are well received, i.e., if the girl likes the young
man, he will receive a present in return. This exchange was considered
DOLGANS
the basi
d
^
s
^
for the beginning of intimate relations. The boy came
to the girl's family tent at night when the rest of the family
was supposedly sleeping. In most cases the family knew of these
romantic visits, but accepted them as natural and did not make a
fuss. If a child resulted from these meetings it did not harm the
girl's reputation.
It was not considered unusual for an unmarried girl to have
lovers or to bear their children. Very often an unmarried girl did
not bother to conceal the names of her children's fathers. Once
a woman became engaged, however, such romantic interludes were
frowned upon. Intimate relations between the young people were in
no way considered as indications of a desire to marry.
Until recently one of the greatest sins was for a man or woman
to remain unmarried. The souls of these persons became "heretic."
If a woman remained unmarried but bore children, her soul did not
become "heretic." It was also considered sinful for a widow or a
widower to remarry.
Childbirth
: It was never considered necessary to keep pregnancy
a secret. A pregnant woman had to adhere to certain restrictions
and taboos in order to insure the birth of a normal child. For ex–
ample, a pregnant woman was forbidden to eat "
gagara
" in order to
prevent the baby's feet from being wide, she was forbidden to eat
a hare's head in order to prevent protruding teeth and eyes, and
she could not eat a hare's heart lest the baby become a coward, etc.
As soon as outward signs of pregnancy appeared the woman was
considered unclean and was forbidden to cross the road to the sunny
side where the shaman's attributes or household sacred objects were
DOLGANS
carried. It was believed that if she walked there, the "saints"
would be offended, and the woman's labor would be difficult or
the baby would die.
When the labor period approached, a special reindeer skin tent
was prepared for the mother. Two "
turu
," young fir trees with a
small cross piece, were placed at either side of the entrance. A
"
turu
" is a young branch with a cross stick (about 3 m. long),
which is a representation of a Dolgan shaman "
turu
", i.e., the tree
connected with the soul and life of an individual. The soul of
the mother rises after the birth of the child, supporting itself
on the "
turu
."
Before the onset of labor, all rings, knots and belts were
removed in order to make the delivery easier. All dogs were tied
so that their barking would not f
ir
^
ri
^
ghten the good spirits,
ajy
.
The woman remained standing all through labor and delivery. The
woman gave birth holding on to the horizontally tied poles which
were tied to the roof of the tent. Above these poles an anthropo–
morphic image of the Female Spirit Protector of expectant mothers,
Djakhtar Ajyta
, was placed. She was clothed in the furs of an
arctic fox or hare. Sometimes special incantations were made by a
shaman over this fur, in which case it was preserved and used from
generation to generation. Otherwise it was used to make a blanket
for the baby.
The tent in which the woman giving birth had been was considered
unclean, and upon entering it, the woman bade farewell to all, but
she did not touch them. Only three persons could be inside this
tent: the woman giving birth, the midwife, and another woman, whose
DOLGANS
job it was to clean the tent, wash the dishes, etc. It was neces–
sary for this third woman to be present since both the midwife and
the mother were considered unclean and could not touch fire until
the umbilical cord had fallen off.
The Dolgans believed that a difficult delivery could be light–
ened if the name of the father was known. The midwife usually
demanded this information of the woman, unless she was a widow. If
this did not ease labor, then the shaman's help was sought. He per–
formed outside the tent, after ordering an image of the spirit
Djakhtar Ajyta
to be made. This was later placed next to the woman.
After she was well, the mother kept this image for subsequent child
delivery. When eating she always fed her protectress by giving
the image small pieces of food.
When the child was born, his umbilical cord was tied with a
string and cut, after which the midwife washed him with water from
her mouth. If the newborn baby showed no evidence of life, the mid–
wife took a metal pipe and put a thread through it. She then
placed the pipe at the anal opening of the child, and closing his
eyes, ears, and nose
,
with the p
la
^
al
^
m of her hand blew into the tube.
This was considered as the act of transfering breath to the child.
The child was supposed to be alive after this procedure.
A prematurely born child was wrapped in the skin of an arctic
fox and kept over the hearth for warmth. Ordinarily arctic fox fur
was not used, since it was believed that the child's teeth would
be as sharp as those of the fox and these would hurt the mother.
The crad
^
le
^
was prepared ahead of time. Before placing the new–
born child into the cradle, a dog was placed into it and rocked for
DOLGANS
a while in order to fool the evil spirit and make him enter the
dog's body instead of the child's. The very name of evil spirits
(
abasy
) was avoided in the presence of the baby.
The cradle, 80 cm. long, was made in the shape of an oval
container from birch bark, with the head raised at a 30 degree
angle. A willow handle for suspension was attached to the cradle
with leather. Other leather strips were used to tie the child.
A birch bark tray 40 cm. long filled with reindeer moss was placed
on the bottom to absorb the excrements.
A new mother was well fed with white bread biscuits and meat
of a young fat reindeer. If the child was born out of wedlock the
father of the man responsible made him send the mother a reindeer
when the child was born. This completed the father's responsibility
to the mother and child.
On the third day after the birth of the child the mother
left her bed and after the reindeer sent by the father was killed,
she was ready to receive guests. It was on this same day that the
purification ceremony began.
The midwife herself
,
purified the mother, the child, and
everything which had been in contact with them by the smoke of a
"moshevelnik" (juniper tree), or the light gum of this tree was
placed in a container with hot coals.
A short time before this, at some distance from the habitation,
a conical tent was made (
djukakan
). On the day following the day
of purification the midwife placed the placenta which was wrapped
in the skins on which the delivery had been made inside the tent.
This was done so that "those with fans"
asylaktar
(dogs, wolves, foxes),
DOLGANS
could not eat the placenta and thus cause future barrenness of the
mother. It was believed that if the placenta was placed under a
stone the woman would not be able to give birth again until the
weight was removed.
Woman who did not want to have any more children used this
process to avoid conception.
After the purification process when the women entered the
mother's tent for the first time, each one gave her a morsel of food
so that "her nipples would not become closed." On the third day
a great feast
[:
]
was held with dancing and celebrating with
many guests outside. The child received many presents which re–
mained its personal property for life.
After the feast the young mother went visiting the neighbors.
In spite of the purification ceremony she was still subject to a
number of regulations for a certain period of time. Thus, until
the umbilical cord healed she was forbidden to touch fire, or to
cross the road to get to the side which was used for the transpor–
tation of family sacred objects from the eastern direction. If she
did not abide by these regulations her child would become ill or
she would become sterile. If this did take place the shaman was
called to perform and pacify the offended spirits. Both the guilty
woman and her child were smoked with reindeer or fish fat which had
been placed in a container with hot coals. This container was
passed under the woman's armpits three times.
In order to avoid barrenness, a woman had to refrain from
sitting on the "sacred" sleigh used for faimly sacred objects.
The midwife was a person who commanded much respect from the
DOLGANS
Dolgans. She was called "grandmother
^
,
^
"
aba
. For a first delivery
she received a reindeer cow as payment.
For all subsequent deli–
very she received a reindeer cow as payment
. For all subsequent
deliveries she received material for a dress, a cake of aromatic
soap, and each time a copper ring - the symbol of genitalia.
Poorer people gave less, but she could not refuse help even if
payment were not given.
If a newborn child resembled one of his dead relatives it was
said that the relative's soul had passed into the soul of the
young one. The child was given the non-
c
^
C
^
hristian name of his dead
ancestor. It is interesting to note here that even though the
Dolgans were considered Greek-Orthodox, most often they called them–
selves by their non-
c
^
C
^
hristian names. This was especially true of
the Dolgans of the Nari
[:
]
kii District.
The only food of Dolgan children was mother's milk, and they
were breast fed up to the age of four or five years. If the
mother had no milk the child was given to a wet nurse. This nurse
could either keep the child as her own or return it to the parents.
If the child was returned a certain sum was paid to the nurse for
the return of the child.
After the birth of a child the parents seemed to lose their
identity and their names. They were known as the father of so-and–
so, or the mother of such-and-such (child's name).
The children were very closely protected by the parents
until they were ready to assume responsibilities such as crossing
the road alone or walking on the street alon
g
^
e
^
, etc. They were
very rarely punished, and never punished in the presence of strangers.
DOLGANS
Eight or nine year old children were considered adults and could
have their own reindeer. A 10-12 year old boy had the right to
hunt for himself and to take part with the other men in discussions
and family meetings. A 10-12 year old girl helped keep house,
cook, and sew for her parents. After each morning and evening
prayer, the children asked for the parents' blessing.
A wooden image of a man, an iron bow and arrow, a wooden boat
or spear, served as protective amulets and were placed in the
cradle to keep all the bad spirits away from the child.
The toys of Dolgan children were usually small bows and
arrows, dolls made of deersfootbones dressed in
[:
]
male or female
attire, kites, etc.
Religion
: Our information on the Dolgan religion is very
fragmentary. The data av
i
^
a
^
ilable indicate that they have a typical
combination of the northern hunting complex with the Spirit Owners
of various localities, animals and household objects, combined
with shamanistic practices which are strongly influenced by the
Yakut
P
^
p
^
antheon and dualism. The ancestor worship is markedly
developed and is on the whole reminiscent of that of the Tavghians.
Cult of Ancestors
: The Dolgans believe in the Cult of
Ancestors. After their death good people continue to help and
protect the family while the evil people either send evil spirits
or themselves come and cause sickness in order to obtain some pre–
sents through the medium of the shaman.
If the shaman can not determine the cause of the sickness, he
makes a trip to the Lower World to the relatives of the patient
^
^
and
DOLGANS
asks them to tell him who among the evil spirits tortures the soul
of the patient, or whether it is caused by the soul of someone
dead who is seeking presents. The soul of the dead man is dispatched
to the Lower World on a reindeer so that he would not lose his way.
On the second day after the death the shaman performs his incanta–
tions to separate the soul of the living from those of the dead.
Shamanism
: Every Dolgan shaman is the keeper and protector
of one or several persons. He has his own tree where he places
the souls of the people under his care. These trees are protected
by the spirits of the shaman. If the shaman is very str^o^ng, the
tree is tall and has many branches. If he is weak and does not
have great prestige, his tree is weak, and is sickly with the bark
peeled in many spots. The spirits which protect his tree are often
not strong enough in dealing with the evil spirits who are then
able to steal people's souls and cause them to be sick or even to
die. When this happens the relatives of the person blame the shaman
for being a poor human unable to guard his people.
When the shaman dies, his tree falls to the ground, and, there–
fore, it is very important to separate the souls of the living from
those of the dead. This ceremony is conducted by another shaman.
The shamans have great prestige. When a new one appears, the
Dolgans rejoice: "We have a new protector," they say, and provide
the new shaman with his equipment. Despite all this, the shamans
have no privileges in every day life and work like the others.
Every Dolgan family has sacred family protectors in the form
of amulets made of stones or reindeer horns, or anthropomorphic or
DOLGANS
zoomorphic representations of spirits -
sajtan
. There also existed
clan spirits and sacred objects.
Some additional information on shamanistic beliefs among the
Dolgans may be seen in the following descriptions of wooden images
used by the shamans in connection with their performances.
1.
Kisil
a
^
ä
^
x taba
- a reindeer with a rider. Soon after the
start of a performance to cure the sick, the shaman begins to bar–
gain with the spirit. He offers him images of reindeer and men
smeared with charcoal paint or animal blood as a payment for leaving
the sick man alone. The Spirit does not agree for a long time, but
finally, having entered into the image, he returns to the Lower
World accompanied by the shaman.
2.
Kisil
a
^
ä
^
x o
^
[]
^
us
- a bull with a rider, used for the same
purpose.
3.
O
^[]
^
us
- a bull. In some cases the shaman make a representa–
tion of one of his helpers, the bull. When the spirit makes all
sorts of excuses for not going home, saying that sickness rages there
or that there is great hunger, the shaman makes him enter into this
image, thus guaranteeing that he will not return to the patient.
4.
Taba
- reindeer. Object of exchange with the spirit, the
same as for No. 1.
5.
Xatys
- sturgeon. Used as a place of confinement for an
evil spirit, to prevent him from bothering people.
6.
Sya
l
^
ł
^
ysardar
- ells. The same.
7.
Sya
l
^
ł
^
ysar
and
Sordo
. Eel and pike. Spirit helpers of the
shaman.
DOLGANS
8. (no name) - Some animal or fish, which the natives could
not explain.
9.
Bill
a
^
ä
^
r
- two Siberian salmons with tails grown together.
The second object is a perch. The Evil Spirits enter into the
Middle World through a small opening,
abasy ojbono
, (the ice hole
of Evil Spirits). The shamans represent this opening in the shape
of two salmons or other fish with their tails twisted together so
that there is an openening between them. After his return from the
Lower World, the shaman places this image across the path he has
travelled, and stops up the opening with the image of a perch or
other fish.
10.
Ij
a
^
ä
^
ky
l
^
ł
^
- Mother Beast. The most important of the shaman's
spirits, on whom his life and death depend. It dies before the shaman
and thus causes his death. The shaman uses it for big illnesses
(
ulaxan olu
) to bar the path of a returning Evil Spirit.
11.
C
^
Ć
^
y
c
^
Ć
^
ypkan
- the tool for purification. After his return
from the Lower World the shaman drags the patient through the o
ep
^
pe
^
n–
ing of this object, thus cleansing him from all remnants of his
sickness.
12.
By
l
^ł^
yt
- a cloud, used to send home the Spirit of Insanity
who lives in the clouds.
13.
By
l
^ł^
yttar
,
o
l
^ł^
oxtor
- clouds and seat. Wooden representa–
tions of birds on poles.
14.
T
u
^
ü
^
sp
a
^
ä
^
t t
u
^
ü
^
r
u
^
ū
^
(non-falling stand) - The sacred tree of the
shamans. The following is a tale about the sacred tree.
DOLGANS
"Way up on the ninth sky lives the Master of the World,
Aj
y
^
[:
y
]
^
Tojon
, with his wife,
Suo
l
^ł^
ta Ij
a
^
ä
^
, and their children. He created
the world and the people, and in order to provide them with a curer
of diseases, and a protector against misfortunes, he gave them the
first shaman.
"In creating the first shaman,
Aj
y
^
[:
y
]
^
Tojon
grew a sacred tree,
t
u
^
ü
^
sp
a
^
ä
^
t t
u
^
ü
^
r
u
^
ū
^
(non-falling stand) with eight branches on which live
the Bright Spirits, his children, in his yard opposite the entrance
to his house.
"At the same time, on the earth, he grew three trees, and sit–
ting at their bases, he made for the first shaman all the ceremonial
paraphernalia which he would need in his struggle with the Evil
Spirits. In memory of this, every shaman has on the earth his own
t
u
^
ü
^
r
u
^
ū
^
(stand), the shamanistic tree, which grows at the time of his
call for shamanizing and falls when the shaman dies.
"The
t
u
^
ü
^
sp
a
^
ä
^
t t
u
^
ü
^
r
u
^
ū
^
does not grow old and is the final destination
of the shaman's trip into the Upper World where he brings the soul
(
kut
). Having brought the
kut
, the shaman leaves it on the sacred
tree in the care of the children of
Aj
y
^
[:
y
]
^
Tojon
and the sacred birds.
The soul in the shape of a fledgling is in complete safety from the
Evil Spirits there. The board on the poles represents the sky, and
human representations, as well as faces cut on the pole of
t
u
^
ü
^
r
u
^
ū
^
, are
children of
Aj
y
^
[:
y
]
^
Tojon
, and the birds are the heavenly birds.
"The shaman recaptures the stolen soul from the Evil Spirit,
and returns to the Middle World. But the soul, frightened and con–
taminated by its contact with the Evil Spirit, must first be
carried to the Upper World to the ninth level. On the road to the
DOLGANS
abode of
Aj
y
^
[:
y
]
^
Tojon
, there are eight stops or clouds, with Bird–
Spirits on each, whose duty it is to prevent the bad (black) shaman
from entering. No black shaman can penetrate higher than the first
stop and the Bird-Spirits chase him back. The good (white) shaman,
after a rest, can proceed. The road is difficult only up to the
third stop, after which he proceeds without any difficulties.
"The average shaman can reach only the fifth or sixth level
and stops there, exhausted. He leaves the soul there in the care
of the Bird-Spirits, or trusts a stronger shaman to carry the soul
higher. This is done only at the request of the relatives and at
a new shamanistic performance."
The nine stands represent nine levels.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bol'shai
a
^
â
^
Sovetskai
a
^
â
^
Entsiklopedii
a
^
â
^
, The Dolgans
Popov, A. A. Dolgan Folklore
Popov, A. A. "Materials on the Family Structure of the
Dolgans." Sovetskai
a
^
â
^
Etnografii
a
^
â
^
, 1934,
No. 6, p. 116-139
Popov, A. A. "Techniques of the Dolgans." Sovetskai
a
^
â
^
Etnografii
a
^
â
^
,
1937.
Sibirskai
a
^
â
^
Entsiklopedii
a
^
â
^
, The Dolgans.
Vasil'ev, V. N. Representations of the Dolgan-Yakut Spirits
as Attributes of Shamanism. Zhivai
a
^
â
^
Starina,
1909, No. 23, pp. 269-288.
The Gilyaks
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
THE GILYAKS
|
|
Page
|
|
History and Origin
|
2
|
|
Physical Anthropology
|
3
|
|
Language
|
4
|
|
Dwellings
|
5
|
|
Food
|
6
|
|
Dress
|
6
|
|
Tools, Arms, etc.
|
7
|
|
Transportation
|
7
|
|
Occupation
|
8
|
|
Social Organization
|
10
|
|
Marriage
|
11
|
|
Birth
|
14
|
|
Death and Burial
|
16
|
|
Religion
|
19
|
|
Clan Dieties
|
21
|
|
Sky Ceremony
|
26
|
|
Shamanism
|
26
|
|
Bibliography
|
28
|
^
our only office copy
^
GILYAKS
The Gilyaks (self-name:
nigyyyn
, pl.,
nivukh^*^
- meaning man, owner)
are a small Paleo-Siberian tribe who live on the
northeastern
^
northeastern
^
coast of
^
?wrong
^
Siberia and on the northern half of Sakhalin Island. In 1897 they totaled
4,649 (2, 556 males, 2,093 females.) Originally they were a larger group,
but decreased in number. In 1911 they numbered only 4, 298 and later about
4,000.
On the continent, the Gilyak are located on both banks of the lower
Amur River, its estuary, and along the Pacific coast; north of the mouth of
the Amur to the Kol River, and south to the Choma River.
On Sakhalin Island they occupy to occupy the western coast from Cape Sakh-kotan
to the northern extremity of the island to Cape Mary; the eastern coast from
Cape Levenstern to Cape Delisle de la Croyers; and the interior, the upper and
middle course of the only large river of the northern part of the Sakhalin,
the Tym. Several scores of Gilyak are found in the southern part of the island
at the mouth of the Poronaya River and on Cape Patience, among the Ainu and
Oroki, where they immigrated about a half century ago.
The Sakhalin Gilyaks arrived there from the continent, but even their
present habitat on the mainland is a comparatively recent one.
The Amur Gilyaks even now make fall trips on their heavy boats across
the narrow Tartar Straits to the northern portion of Sakhalin to hunt sable,
which is becoming very scaree on the continent. The present population is
apparently the result of gradual settling of the seasonal hunters in a new
habitat where they soon acquired many cultural traits from their neighbours.
The terrain is full of contrast ranging from the extremely continental
climate and severe conditions of the Sakhalin to the milder maritime climate
of the Lower Amur.
*note by A. M. - "now officially called
[: Nivkhi
]" Russian Plural"
not accepted by
[: E.A.G.
]
Gilyaks
On Sakahlin the average temperature yearly is about minus 1.2 degrees
due to the proximity of the cold stream. Northwest winds bring terrible snow
storms. Summer is rainy and foggy. The terrain is mountainous up to 4,000
feet with central ridges and numerous offshoots. Flora on elevated places
is sub-arctic and temperate, but in lowlands, open to the cold winds of the
ocean, it is of the arctic type.
Only inland, in the shel
e
tered valleys is there soft landscape of abun–
dant and rich vegetation.
The term Gilyak may be a corruption of the Manchu term "kile" which
they apply both to the Tungus and Gilyaks.
The Gilyak are closely surrounded by alien peoples. On Sakhalin
Island there is pressure from the south from the formerly numerous Ainu; in
the east, the Oroki group of Tungus have penetrated to the very heart of the
Gilyak settlements. On the continent the Gilyak are surrounded by representa–
tives of Tungus-Manchu tribes: Negidaltzy, Olchi, Goldi, Orochi, Samaghir,
and Tungus proper.
History and Origin
:
On the basis of archeological, ethnographical, and linguistic evidence
most of the authorities believe that the Gilyaks are comparative newcomers to
their present habitat, where they have lived for the last two-three hundred
years.
Most of the evidence, (the extensive use of dogs, mode of dog driving,
and the use of the arctic type semi-subterranean house) point to some northern
locality as their original home.
The Sakhalin Island Gilyaks are undoubtedly related to the continental
group, as many identical clans exist in both places, and there are many references
to the appearance of Gilyak clans on Sakhalin Island from the north. The new
settlers from the mainland apparently reached the island where they encountered
Gilyaks
the Ainu and forced them to move southward. Many tales of bloody wars with
Ainu are still extant in Gilyak folklore. The Sakhalin Gilyaks have Ainu names
for the indigenous plants and animals of the island which are not found on the
continent. Numerous remains of underground dwellings found all over the island
are called by Gilyaks
Kugu-Tulkch
- the Ainu pits.
The first encounter with the Russians took place in the XVIIth century.
Attempts to introduce Christianity date back to the XVIIIth century. Some
natives studied in Russian schools, but, in general, the Gilyaks retained their
native culture. It has been reported that the Soviet Minority policy has made
rapid progress introducing the alphabet, schools, hospitals, libraries,
organized cooperatives for fishing and hunting, and disposal of furs.
Physical Anthropology
:
In the opinion of many authorities the present day Gilyaks represent
a complex of Mongoloid traits with deviations a) toward the Tungus type; b) to–
ward the Ainu, and are perhaps the result of a conisderable inter-mixture. The
Tungus traits with fuller Mongoloid characteristics are more pronounced among
the Gilyak women while the men have more or less oval faces, straight forehead,
moderate cheek-bones, slight or totally absent slantiness of eyes, larger
nose, and profusion of face and body hair - and are inclined toward the Ainu
type.
The average height is 150-172 cms for males, and 148-159 for females,
is greater than among the Tungus. The head is described as disproportionately
large and plato-brachicephalic.
There is variation in cephalic index between the continental and the
Sakhalin Gilyaks: 81.1 and 80.7 for males and females of the former, and 85.7
and 84.8 for the latter.
The hair is black, worn in one braid by the males and in two by females.
The skin is of dirthy-swarthy color with red cheeks among the young. The lips
Gilyaks
are thick, the teeth are usually dark-yellow (due to constant smoking), the
hands and feet are small.
The facial index is 85.7 and 82.9 for males and females of continental
Gilyaks and 86.7 and 84.3 respectively for the Sakhalin group.
Formerly the Gilyaks suffered from Black pox and small-pox epidemics
which resulted in a considerable decrease in the original numbers. Lepros
was found both among the cont
[:
]
nent and the Sakhalin groups. A type of
nervous disorder - which has symptoms of erotic mainia has been reported
among the island group.
Language
:
The Gilyak language, in structure, phonetics, and vocabulary is not
related to surrounding tribes and is customarily grouped with the Paleo–
Siberian languages. Structurally and grammatically it is closer to the
languages of the American North Pacific coast, It forms an island among the
Tungus-Manchu languages.
A peculair feature of the Gilyak language is a system of counting
which has twenty-four different sets of forms for various groups of objects,
according to their shape. This system is based not on the abstract concept
of numbers but on counting concrete object
[:
]. This geometrical similarity of
shape, of course, is not always followed through. For example, harpoon
points are included in the series for living beings, as well as dog collars
(actually the dogs). They also sometimes include objects in a group to which
they no longer belong, because previously they did have the shape of these
objects; for example, an axe is included in the group of round objects, be–
cause it used to be round in shape.
This method of counting is strongly reminiscent of the Ts
[:
]
mshians of
the American northwest coast, and in general there is a similarity with the
American languages in the common tendency for polysynthetism, the extreme
Gilyaks
mobility of phonetic changes, types of duplication, etc.
There are two main Gilyak dialects: the Sakhalin, and the Amur, and
5-6 dialects.
Dwellings
:
The Gilyaks are semi-sedentary and change their abode several times
during the summer, moving up and down the rivers and to the sea-coast hunting
seals in the river mouth, and following the migrating fish. They live in
villages of various size, near the sea-shore or along the rivers. Thus on the
western coast of Sakhalin in 1891 there were 25 villages consisting of 245
families (561 men and 480 females) living in 78 houses.
The houses are set in a line, with srorage places near-by, which serve
as summer dwellings. The ancient form of winter dwelling is a semi-subterranean
hut, similar to the Kamchadal-Koriak type, with a pyramid-shaped wooden roof,
[:
]
covered with earth and grass. An opening on the top serves as a window, and
smoke hole. While there is a side door leading to a small, narrow, sloping
passage-way, this smoke hole is used as a means for entrance for ceremonial
purposes (Bear Festival, etc.) and evidently originally served as the only
exit. In the center of the hut there is a clay container for the hearth, and
around the walls are sleeping benches.
The more recent type of dwelling adopted from the Manchus is a large
plank cabin without a smoke hole, with a gabled roof, and windows covered
with fish-skin. There is no ceiling, only several beams.
From a large fire place there extends a long enclosed pipe out of
brick or clay - smeared wood or stone. It runs near the ground, all along the
walls, and leads through an underground passage outside, terminating with a
tall vertical chimney starting from the ground.
This pipe is covered, forming warm benches used for sleeping and sitting.
The center is occupied by a raised square platform on which the dogs
Gilyaks
are fed. Boxes with valuable belongings (Chinese silks, robes, treasured
spears, furs), bedding, etc., are kept on these benches. A taper of fish fat
provides illumination. The storage buildings are set on poles with the floor
three feet above the ground, with gabled roofs.
It is interesting to note that for ceremonial purposes requiring an
exit other than through the door, in this type of dwelling the Gilyaks remove
the fish-skin covering from the windows to be used as an exit or entrance.
During the summer the Gilyaks use
a
conical huts or log cabins.
Food
:
The basic food of the Gilyaks is fish, eaten raw, frozen, or sun–
dried. The last type with the addition of fish or seal fat is the basic diet
during the winter. During the seasonal run of salmon, thousands of fish are
caught in nets, and by other means, and are d
i
^
r
^
ied and stored for the winter.
The meat of seals, dolphins, and other sea animals are eaten and the
diet is supplemented with various berries, nuts, purchased millet, rye, pota–
toes, brick tea and sugar. The use of salt is recent. A special dish "mos"
is made out of a thick syrup of boiled fish skins and seal fat to which are
added berries, rice and finely cut dry fish, and white clay for color. When
the mixture is cool
l
^
e
^
d, after cooking, the skins are separated, the pieces of
fish are chewed fine by the cook and spat back into the container, now ready
to serve.
Dress
:
In winter both sexes wear fur coats of dog fur with hair outside, fur
leggings and seal-skin boots of Chinese pattern. Fur pants are worn under
the coat. In addition, the men wear skirts of seal-skin reaching the knees
to protect the fur-coat from wear while sitting on snow. A dog or fox-fur
hat with ear laps and long gloves covering the sleeves are worn in winter.
Sometimes a cloth coat is worn instead of a fur coat. Women's dress is some–
what longer, and more decorated.
I
Gilyaks
In summer time the Gilyaks formerly wore coats of tanned fishkins,
beautifully decorated with embroidery, applique or painted designs. Now
these have been replaced by coats of purchased Russian or Chinese cottons.
Women use shells, and metal pendants and applique decorations. Boots are
large and filled with hay.
At
h
the present time the women wear aprons, copper bracelets, glass
beads, wooden amulets, and large lead ear-rings. The men wear belts on which
are suspended a knife in container, iron to strike a light, pipe cleaner, etc.
Pipe and tobacco pouch are kept inside the coat.
Tools, Arms, etc.
:
The main hunting and war arms consist of a bow and arrows, and a spear.
The bow is of a composite type, about six feet long, made of ash and whale bone.
Arrows are of the same wood with iron points. Now the bone has been supplanted
by guns. Some ancient iron chain armor is preserved. On Sakhalin there are
silver incrustated spears with long handles. On the continent both spear-points
and knives are native-made and crudely forged. Harpoons, cross bows and compo–
site spears are used for sea-animal hunting.
Nets are made by women out of thread prepared from wild hemp. Birch
bark containers are used for storage and dishes. The copper and large iron
kettles for food and smaller ones for tea are purchased as well as cups and
saucers.
Transportation
:
During the winter the main mode of transportation is on foot (snow-shoes)
and on dog-drawn sleighs. The Gilyak sleigh (somewhat similar to that of the
Kamchadals, is well made of thin birch blocks with light intertwining near the
seat. They are two meters long, 30 cms wide and high. The runners are so
curved that only a part of them touches the ground, thus enabling the sleigh
to glide smoothly over the hard-packed snow or ice. Although it is light, the
Gilyaks
is sturdy and easily transportable, and it is quite able to carry a quarter
ton of load.
[:
]
On the other hand the Gilyak sleigh is easily upset and
for this reason the rider rides astride, and keeps his legs in snow shoes on
the ground, sliding alongside the runners, maintaining in this way the balance
and changing the direction. In addition he uses an iron-topped pole set
between the runners and the first cross bar as a brake.
The lead dog is well-trained and valuable (30-50 rubles in comparison
with 3-8 rubles for an ordinary dog.) The sleigh of the wealthy Gilyak is
drawn by 12-13 dogs while that of a poorer man may be drawn by 3-5.
During the warm time of the year the Gilyaks use a dug-out or plank
canoe made of poplar. It is about 20 feet long and is extremely light, so
that even a child can easily lift and carry it. Its bottom is almost flat,
to permit passage in shallow waters. One short oar is used.
This dog-sleigh complex was apparently borrowed from the Gilyaks by
their neighbours the Ainu, Goldi and Orochi.
Occupation
:
The main occupations of the Gilyaks are fishing, hunting of land and sea
animals, and dog breeding.
Fishing is done in teams of 15-20 men with large fish nets, harpoons
and hooks. Fish traps are also used. During the seasonal run of salmon and
other such fish, great quantities are caught. Fishing is possible even with a
sharpened stick. Keta and gorbusha (types of salmon) provide the basic food
for both humans and dogs. Fish skins are use for manufacturing clothes and
footwear.
Sea animal hunting is very important as it furnishes the Gilyaks with fats
and valuable skins.
Seal is hunted early in the spring on the ice-dovered shores. Trained
Gilyaks
dogs locate the seal breathing holes into which the Gilyak place specially
shaprened iron hooks tied to a pole placed across the hole. The snared animal
is dragged out and killed with the blow of a specially prepared mallet, whose
handle has the carved image of a seal.
Later when the shores are clear of ice, the Gilyaks set out to sea in
large boats with 6-7 sets of oars to hunt seal. The best shot sits in front,
and the owner of the boat, who is the leader of the party, directs operations or
steers the boat.
The eared seal is considered the most valuable as it furnishes material
for thongs, harness and shoes.
The fish net,
toal-k'e
, made of heavy twine, is about 200 feet long, with
large mesh. The upper rope is called -
the back
, a heavy stone is tied to the
sea end and serves as an anchor, while smaller stones along the lower edge serve
as sinkers, and large wooden blocks as floaters. This is sued for a type of
eared seal (Eumetropias jubatus.)
Hunting of land animals is done mostly in the fall.
When the bears descend to the rivers to get salmon, during the return run
they are killed with spears or guns. Somewhat later in the season for sable,
which the Gilyaks hunt with rope snares and traps. The Gilyaks leave their
homes for several weeks and go to the "inherited" sable springs, live in huts
and set their traps.
Dogs occupy an aimportant part in Gilyak economy, for they are used
as draft animals, and furnish warm fur for clothing. Dog meat is eaten and
considered a delicacy. The dogs are well taken care of, fed with fish and
sea fat, or a special soup made of dry fish heads.
^
[:
]
^
The driving dogs are kept
During the summer the driving dogs are kept
tied near the houses, tied to
separate poles to prevent fighting. In some places special wind breaks or
Gilyaks
(in Sakhalin) special dog houses) are constructed for them in winter. The
pregnant bitch gets special care and food. Female pups are fattened up and
killed for fur and meat, male pups are killed only if they are unfit as sleigh
dogs.
Sleigh dogs wear collars, and are trained after they are six month old,
starting them at the rear (last pair) and gradually moving them to the lead.
The lead dog must be strong. Mature dogs are castrated for sleigh work, and
their tails are cut off.
There are a number of native remedies to cure various dog sicknesses
or injuries. The mode of harnessing is reminiscent of that of the
Kamchadals.
Social Organization
:
While
ethnographically and linguistically the Gilyaks may be divided
into major groups, the Amur or Continental, and the Sakhalin Gilyaks, they
undoubtedly once formed one tribal group, inasmuch as branches of one clan
can be found in both places.
The clan or
kahl
is organized along the
[:
]
patrilineal, exogamic
pattern. It therefore includes all the brothers (real and
[:
]
classificatory)
of an individual's father, and their fathers, all of his brothers, and the
children and grandchildren.
There is a strong communal feeling among the clan members and clan
consciousness is very important, because transgression of clan exogamy is an
unpardonable offense. This feeling of community includes the mutual responsi–
bility, where, the whole clan, collectively and individually, is responsible
for a crime committed by one of its members, and may therefore be subject to
revenge killing or have to pay the necessary fine. Clan vengeance is very
strong.
An outsider, on some rare occasions, may be adopted.
Gilyaks
The clan regulated the affairs of the community and decides who among
the surviving
tuvn
of the deceased should take the widow and children. Intra–
clan quarrels, or crimes are settled by a special group of leaders selected
from the most eloquent and clever people.
The role of the clan is very important in marriage, inasmuch as the
father-in-law of a clan members is considered the father-in-law of the whole
clan.
Only men form the permanent element of the clan. Women either leave
the clan or come to it from another.
It is the clan responsibility to care for widows, orphans, the sick
and crippled.
The "common fire" is the symbol of the unity of the clan, and only a
clansman has the right to kindle a fire on the hearth of a fellow clansman
or to take fire out of his hut. A special firebrand is kept by the elder of
the clan, and used for ceremonial fires.
There are also a group of clan spirits, and clan worship of the bear
is observed in the bear festival.
The clan has a common burial ground.
Marriage
:
Marriage regulations among the Gilyaks are based on a complex system
of relationships which are mianly reckoned along paternal lines, where whole
groups of people are classed together. Basically, they distinguish agnatic
relationship referred to as
khal
-
nih'v'n
, members of the same clan, and cognatic
relationships of two types: a) All members of the clan into which the women
of the first clan may marry, are referred to as
ahmalk
,
a
common father-in-law,
and b) all these members refer to the first clan, from which they take wives
as
ymhi
, common sons-in-law.
Gilyaks
In addition, there is an age group classification. The most important
is the concept that all the speaker's brothers and sisters -
tuvn
(or ruvn)-
^
meaning sibling,
^
belong to the same class, and include not only the children of one father,
but all the children of the father's brothers, and male cousins. According
to this idea, one's wife and the wives of a husband's brothers are also
tuvn
.
No sexual relationships among the members of this group is permitted.
Consequently, the class of the generations preceding that of the
speaker consists of the class of grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and
mothers, uncles and aunts. Thus fathers and paternal uncles
ytk
includes not
only one's own father, but all the father's male
tuvn
, - and mother
ymk
includes not only one's own mother but all her female
tuvn
. The same classi–
ficatory relationship applies to one's children and grandchildren.
In accordance with this, within the husband's clan, the woman applies
the term husband -
pu
- to her real husband, and to all his
[:
]
male
tuvn
.
Conversely, a man applies the term
anhey
- wife - to his real wife, to all her
female
tuvn
, to the wives of all his older brothers and their female
tuvn
.
Therefore, the terms
pu
- husband - and the term
anhey
- wife - include a
whole category of people of different sex who not only may actually marry, but
have the right to sexual relationship despite the fact that an individual may
be married. While this gives a woman license to sexual relationship with any
man whom she may call
pu
, relationship outside this class is severely punished.
The actual rules of marriage among the Gilyaks are based on the concept
that every woman from her birth belongs to the sons of her father's sisters,
who are her
pu
, and therefore a man must marry the daughters of his mother's
brothers. Although considerably modified in modern times, the original
Gilyak marriage functions according to the following scheme which includes
a cluster of three clans forming a phratry which have a reciprocal marriage
Gilyaks
relationship.
Clan A. Male A marries female B (sister of male B.) Their sons marry
daughters B; and their daughters marry sons C.
Clan B. Male B marries female C (sister of male C.) Their sons marry
daughters C; and their daughters marry sons A.
Clan C. Male C marries female A (sister of male)A). Their sons marry
daughter A; and their daughters marry sons B.
The basic manner for obtaining a wife is by purchase. The bride price
includes boats, kettles, guns, spears, fur coats, pieces of silk material,
dogs and money. The size of the bride price is proportional to the wealth of
both families, the age of the bride and her domestic talents. In some cases
an orphan (male) may serve a family for several years in lieu of the bride
price. Originally, this bride price was paid to the whole clan, but now only
to the bride's father, or, in his absence, to the nearest of his male
tuvn
.
Occasionally, a very young girl may be acquired as a wife, and the groom
makes annual presents to his future father-in-law and pays the balance when
she moves in.
If no satisfactory arrangement can be made, marriage by capture takes
place.
The marriage ceremony is very simple. The bride is dressed in festive
garments and carrys with her expensive fur coats and decorations as a dowry.
This dowry remains her possession and in the case of a dissolution of the
marriage, she can take it back. This is burned together with her at her death.
Just before the bride leaves her father's house, a large four-eared cast iron
kettle brought by the groom as a part of the bride price, is placed inside at
the very door. Outside is placed another small kettle belonging to the bride's
family.
Gilyaks
When leaving the hut, the bride and groom must first step on the inside
kettle then on the one outside. The first kettle remains with the bride's
family and the second is taken to the groom's house.
After one year the young couple visit the father-in-law, and the same
is repeated. A cup is placed beside the kettle, and these objects are ex–
changed. This symbolizes the custom of mutual feeding and hospitality which
from now on exists between the two clans, and is especially strong for the man's
father in law.
There is a strong bond between the clans who either give or take wives,
and is expressed in mutual hospitality, participation in communal summer and
winter hunting, and often very close friendship among the members.
Divorce is simple. A husband may return an unsatisfactory wife and
receive the bride price, or a father may return the bride price and demand his
daughter.
Polygamy is restricted and occurs when a brother acquires his brother's
widow, or when one's wife is sterile, or one desires an additional worker. With
the
^
greater
^
proportion of men (about 55%) and the existence of polygamy, there are many
bachelors among the Gilyaks.
Birth
:
The Gilyaks understand the biological reasons for pregnancy, yet the
concept persists that
[:
]
pregnancy is the result of the penetration of a
child's soul into the woman.
There are many taboos during pregnancy: e.g., salt, and certain fish.
The woman continues to work if she can
t
until the time for delivery. It is
believed that the child is tied to the mother, and, therefore, during her
pregnancy she should avoid any kind of tying, as it may make delivery more
difficult. In order to facilitate the delivery, everything in the household
Gilyaks:
should be untied. The prospective father unbraids his hair, unties his belt
and shoestrings, unloads his guns and unties his boats. During his wife's
pregnancy the husband must also avoid such tying actions, and work on iron
or skins. During the actual delivery and until the umbilical cord heals he
does no work at all.
Since the woman is considered unclean during delivery, childbirth
takes place in a specially constructed conical hut, covered with canvas or
pine branches, built by the husband and some of the older women of the clan.
No men are present at the delivery. A woman's brothers must not enter the
hut;
^
since
^
one drop of the pregnant woman's blood would make them deathly ill.
Many amulets are used during birth and afterwards. At the entrance
to the birth hut an axe is placed to prevent the evil spirits from causing
any misfortune. The relatives also sacrifice different foods to a specially
carved wooden figure representing a woman in the act of delivery, hoping thus
to placate the evil spirits.
The mother, herself, cuts the umbilical cord with a special curved
knife, leaving a part of the cord with the newborn child, and ties it with
wild hemp string. Until the umbilicus heals, the child's life is in danger
from evil spirits. After it falls off, it is wrapped in the specially prepared
willow shavings from a stick whose upper part has been carved into the image
of a man. This is kept until the child grows up, when he must throw it away
in the forest.
The placenta, called "child's food" is wrapped in similar shavings
and hung outside the birth hut on a pole. Later, it is placed in a hollow
of a birch
ba
tree together with the blood-soaked shavings and moss.
The newborn infant is not referred to as a boy or girl, but for a
female as "tail-less child" and for male "one with a penis."
If the mother has lost many children in infancy, in order to prevent
the newborn child's death, she bites off and swallows the tip of her little
Gilyaks
finger, thus fooling the evil spirits. Or the infant may be brought home
through a special opening dug under the lower log of the back wall of the hut.
The mother, who is still in the birth hut, places the child on a shovel which
the father has pushed inside. This is then dragged into the house through
the special entrance and then dragged to the door, where a specially invited
girl (the father's sister's daughter, or the daughter of the father's younger
brother) enters the hut and steps over the threshold and the child at the
same time. This is done to confuse the evil spirits.
Actions designed to guard the child from evil include the smoking out
of evil spirits from the cradle. The milk teeth of the child are collected,
and with a piece of dried fish are given to a special dog (male for boys and
female for girls) which then becomes the property of the child and can not
be sold or given away. When this dog gets old it is ceremoniously strangled
by its owner. During the lifetime of the owner, the dog's hair can serve as
an amulet, also the dog's teeth.
About ten days to two weeks after delivery, the mother returns home.
There are no purification ceremonies.
Death and Burial
:
Death, according to the Gilyaks, is not the result of natural causes
but occurs because of evil spirits. It is imagined as the separation of
soul from the body. The soul is either in the blood, or in the hair at the
very top of the head, which is always left uncut with children. The Gilyaks
believe in the existence of two souls: a large one the size of the man's
body, and the other the size of an egg and located in the head of the first
soul. After death, this second soul is transformed into a large soul and
becomes a double of the deceased and goes to the "country of shadows". The
souls of some people are transformed into plants or birds, and their teeth
Gilyaks
into the roots of bulbous plants.
It is believed that som
p
^
e
^
place on earth there is an opening, leading
to this abode of the dead. There everything is the same as on earth: sky,
sea, rivers, forests, only the sun shines when there is night on earth and
fice-versa. The dead peoples continue to live there as on earth with the
usual occupations, festivals, families, etc. Only the rich become poor, and
the poor become rich.
The soul of a man who did not die a natural death but was killed can
not go there. Unless the death is avenged, the soul can not leave the earth,
and in the shape of a grey, red-beaked, aven
f
^
g
^
ing bird, it roams over the earth
with terrible cires. Its end is terrible: decaying gradually it falls on
the ground. Over the grave of the killed person, as a terrible memento, is
placed a tree stump with roots upwards, which are shaped as a bird, sometimes
with iron teeth and human feet.
When the murder is settled by payment of a fine, an additional sacrif–
ice of a dog is necessary to pacify this terrible bird.
The Gilyaks do not fear their dead. When death is near, the relatives
gather and support the dying man on a bench. After death, they blow smoke
into his face to give him pleasure. His braid is untied and his body is
placed on its back with the legs flexed so that the soles are flat. It is
allowed to become rigid in this position, and tied with thongs under the knees.
The body is left in the house for several days.
All the relatives help in the preparation of the funeral and the
funeral feast. The women prepare funeral clothing out of pieces of silk.
Special footwear is prepared as nothing made out of seal may be taken with
the dead man.
The men gather fir wood for the cremation ceremony. The funeral pry,e
in the shape of a rectangle has three layers of wood for man, and four for women.
Gilyaks
The body is tied to a sleigh which is taken inside the hut, and is carried
out feet first.by four people. Several dogs are led before the sleigh
t
and
are killed during the cremation and on the day of the farewell ceremony.
One dog is tied to the sleigh or placed on top of it until the sleigh
is carried around the fire (three times for men, four for women). Then it is
taken into the hut and put in a special place. It will be the temporary abode
of the man's soul and is treated as a human, given the same food from the
vessels of the dead man.
The sleigh is carried around the pyre in the direction of the sun be–
cause the abode of the dead is in the south. The body and legs are untied.
Shavings are prepared by the men and placed near the pyre, which is lit from
the head side, then near the legs, and then wood is piled to cover it comple–
tely. Each one places some wood or shavings to express his participation. The
special fire "live" is obtained by friction.
During the ceremony the sl
i
^
e
^
igh is broken and several dogs are killed
by a blow on the head with a pole. If the special dog-companion is still
alive, it is also killed. The meat of these dogs is cooked there, and then
the feast follows. None of the remains may be carried inside the house.
Several days after the cremation, the farewell
crer
ceremony takes
place. A small figured dressed in the same silk as the funeral dress, (repre–
senting the deceased,) is placed inside a miniature hut together with supplies
for traveling - tobacco, food, etc. Other supplies are placed outside the
hut. Thus fully equipped the soul departs for the abode of the dead.
Some Gilyaks bury their dead in a shallow grave into which they place
a house shaped wood coffin. The body is placed, head to toe south. All his
personal effects, which are broken, are placed with him. The coffin is covered
with two thick boards, with a space between, which is covered by another board
Gilyaks
referred to as a "boat". The grave is then closed leaving a bit of the third
board exposed. Four handsomely carved boards, "the oars", are placed outside
the grave. Between the "oars" is a large image of the deceased, and on a pole
near the head, a pail, cup, sable trap, and other supplies are hung.
After death the sould continues to lead an existence similar to its
life on earth. If the remaining spouse remarries, the soul does too. The soul
continues to live with its clansmen. A married woman's soul goes to her hus–
band's clan.
If a man dies away from his clan, his body is brought back to the clan
for the funeral ceremony. If he is cremated elsewhere, at least one bone is
carefully preserved and sent to the clan cemetery.
The clan cemetery, thus, is a regular arrangement of these miniature
houses, and each Gilyak must be buried in his clan cemetery.
As a symbol of mourning both men and women unbraid their hair for a
certain length of time.
A child's corpse is not buried, as it is believed that the child's
sould does not wander after death.
Religion
:
The ancient religion of the Gilyaks was as little affected by the
Christianity introduced by the Russians as by the Chinese beliefs which so
greatly influenced their neighbours.
In its native form, the Gilyak beliefs are characterized by a strongly
developed cult of clan dieties and beliefs connected with their fishing and
hunting economy. Shamanism is much less developed than among their neighbors
and it is the clan elder and not a shaman who officiates.
^
in
^
T
^
t
^
he clan religious
ceremonies.
The Gilyak cosmogenic concepts lack definition.
Gilyaks
The Gilyaks refer to the world as
kurn
. The island where they live is
mif
–
(earth). It is a live being whose "head", the Cape of Mary, and chin (
Pvtkiry
)
reach the Sea of Okhotsk; two peninsulas in the Korsakov region from its "legs".
The sky is inhabited by whole tribes of
tly-nivukh
- the heavenyl people
who only seldom interfere in Gilyak life and then only for fun; thus, sometimes
one of the spirits lowers to the earth his fishing rod with hooks to snatch a
Gilyak.
The hunting-fishing complex is characteristic of the typical Siberian
concept of spirit owners.
Strongly anthropomorphic, the Spirit Owners are numerous and include
Spirits in charge of important localities, animals, and phenomena of nature.
Spirit Owner of Mountains and
Taiga - Pal'm-y'
lives on the highest
mountain, together with may of his relatives. He uses bears as his dogs, and
is in charge of all the forest animals whom he distributes at will among the
Gilyaks. Thus he "orders" the sable to "wear a rich fur coat" and hurry into the
trap of the Gilyak, or tells the bear to allow the hunter to deal a mortal blow.
Spirit Owner of the Sea:
Tajrndaz or Toll'zy'
lives at the bottom of
the sea. He is an old man with a grey beard, and lives in an underwater house
with his wife. He has many boxes with the roe of various fish which the old man
scatters over the sea from time to time thus sending out innumerable schools of
salmon, which form the foundation of the Gilyak economic lfe. He sends out car–
niverous fish (
kasatka
) to keep order in the sea and drive all kinds of sea
animals toward the Gilyaks. He also created rivers by holding a rod in his hands
and going from the gulf toward the mountains making tributaries to the rivers
formed by the passage of his reindeer. His reindeer runs unevenly turning from
side to side thus forming the uneven course of rivers. This work was so hard
that near the river of Liarvo the animal died and was transformed into a white
stone which still is being pointed to by the Gilyaks.
Gilyaks
An important concept is that the outward form of an animal is only an
apparent one and not the real one. In reality every animal is an anthropomorphic
being, the same as the Gilyaks, and endowed with intellect and strength not
rarely exceeding that of men. Transformation of animals into men and vice versa
occurs very often.
An important, but loosely defined concept is the use of
inau
. This is
a small stick one end of which is pared to form a cluster of shavings around it.
Sometimes
inau
is identified with the Spirit, or serves
i
^
o
^
nly as its abode.
[:
]
Inau
are profusely used in various ceremonies. (See Ainu for great development
of the
inau
cult.)
There are also numerous amulets and Spirit representations. Many unusual
objects can serve as amulets. The majority of them, however, are made out of
wood and represent c
u
^
r
^
udely carved figures of various animals often in anthro–
pomorphic form. Thus, there are human figures with heads of the sea-lion, owl,
wolf, double half-man half-bear images, etc.
These amulets serve to protect the wearer from Evil Spirits and are
also placed on the breast of the sick. In every Gilyak hut there is a large
human figure placed on the cross beam furtherest from the entrance.
Every animal captured by the Gilyaks is venerated. The heads of captured
seals are decorated with
inau
and ceremoniously lowered into the sea. The heads
of
belukha
or white whale and other sea animals are set on poles on the sea shore.
Among the land animals the bear and among the sea animals the "
Kasatka
"
the toothes whale, is the most venerated.
Kasatka
is never hunted and when the
dead body is thrown on the shore it is ceremoniously burried in a specially
constructed hut and decorated with
inau
.
Clan Dieties:
The clan deities or spirits -
pal
'
nivukh
- the forest people, or
tol
'
nivukh
-
Gilyaks
tol' nivukh
-
the sea people, form a special category of important spirits to whom the Gilyaks
most frequently give offerings, both individually and as a clan.
There are also less important Spirit Owners befriended by the more impor–
tant Spirit Owners of Mountain, Water, Fire, etc., which are the former souls of
people who met their death in an unusual way; for example, a man killed by a
bear during a hunt, a man who drowned, a man killed accidently, or burned to
death due to his own carelessness, a woman who died, according to the shaman, be–
cause a bear fell in love with her; all these do not go to the usual County of
Shadows after death but become clan deities.
Sacrifices to these clan Spirits are made periodically when special
elaborate feasts are prepared: in spring with the appearance of the seal - to
the Sea or River Spirits, when food is lowered through holes in the ice. On the
Amur River this festival is celebrated right after the ice breaks - boats are
decorated with "inau" and gay races take place.
The whole community, rich and poor alike, take part in these festivals
and preparations.
Connected with these clan Spirits are objects of cult and clan taboos
obligatory for all clansmen but not for outsiders. The whole clan has the common
responsibility of maintaining these taboos and their transgression by outsiders
is punishable by a fine -
thusind
. This may be the result of quarrels with the
members of other clans who may accidently damage the fire fence, drop a bear bone
during the bear festival, commit transgression of the inviolability of all attri–
butes of Bear Festival, i.e., the poles to which bear is tied, stakes with bear
head, storage house where the festival dishes and bear bones are kept, etc.
Spirit of Fire
is a clan deity and is imagined as an Old Woman (or an old
couple with children) who is considered the clan ancestor and benevolent Spirit.
She commands the respect of other Spirits and therefore serves as the protector
Gilyaks
of the clan and an intermediary between them and other Spirits. Consequently
before starting anything of importance the Gilyak gives her an offering by throw–
ing into the fire a leaf of tobacco, a sweet root, and a drop of vodka asking
the Fire Spirit to fulfill his wish, who, in turn, conveys this request to the
appropriate Spirit.
Only a clansman can start a fire in a fireplace, or take the fire outside.
[:
]
member of another clan, therefore, can not leave the hut without finishing his
pipe which he lighted from the fire of the other clan's member. Transgression
of this may result in bad luck for the owner of the fire, and it is punished.
The oldest member of the clan is the keeper of the clan fire-making apparatus,
which must be used to produce the fire for the bear festival. If the clan is divi–
ded, the fire apparatus is broken in two.
In addition of offerings of food there are also blood sacrifices, usually
of dogs which are killed ceremonially by strangulation, and is a symbol of a
messenger,the soul of which after death reaches the Spirit.
The most important clan ceremonial is the so-called Bear Festival, which
actually has an inter-clan character. While the clan which organizes the festival
bears the cost and care, the
i
^
m
^
ost important role is played by the other clans
invited to participate. The native term -
chkhyk-lekhernd
- means bear's play.
The women are forbidden to be present.
Usually this ceremonial is arranged in memory of a deceased relative.
A bear cub is captured or bought, and brought with expressions of gaiety and joy
into the village, where it is placed in a separate hut made of logs and decorated
at the corners with sacred trees.
For several years the cub is fed and cared for in turn by every family of
this clan. The festival takes place usually in February, the month when the
Gilyaks are least b
y
^
u
^
sy, and lasts several days. Many guests arrive, with most
Gilyaks
important role played by the
narkhi
- the representatives of the clan to which
the host's clan give its women in marriage.
Narkhi
are the honored guests and they are given the honor of killing
the bear as well as the whole meat and skin of the animal.
Several days prior to the festival a special arena is prepared, surroun–
ded with sacred poles decorated with carving and "inau".
On the day of the killing,
[:
]
na-khan-ku
, the bear is taken out of
the cage and ceremoniously led thrice around the master's hut, and tied between
two sacred posts. The oldest of the clan, or the host, feeds the bear and thus
adressed the animal: "Good-bye. I feed you for the last time. Go to your
Master. Go well. May your Master love you very much."
Much prepared food is placed on the arena and the guests led by the host
and
narkhi
approach the animal. One of the
narkhi
kills the bear with a bow and
arrow.
A definite ritual governs dividing the bear's meat: the skin and head
are brought into the hut through the smoke opening (which formerly served as
the main entrance). The head is placed on the place of honor and surrounded
with various delicacies.
On the third day a feast takes place, but only the
narkhi
can eat the
bear's meat, it being forbidden to the host and his clan. Games, dog races, and
dances mark this day, and it is a point of honor for the host to provide the
best food regardless of how difficult it may be financially.
The festival ends with the sacrifice of dogs also on the arena where the
bear head and all offerings are brought. The dogs are fed for the last time and
admonished: "Go to your Master. Go to the highest mountain; climb up, change
your fur. Do this, come down. Good bye. Go well." The dogs are strangled and
their meat is cooked and consumed but only by members of the host's clan.
Gilyaks
Next day the bear's head and bones, dishes, leather straps, etc., are
taken into a special storage hut. From this moment on the bear's soul departs
to his Master, carrying all the presents, and accompanied by a dozen or so
gaily running dogs and souls of
inau
until they reach the highest mountain - the
abode of the Master - the Spirit Owner of the Forest.
A somewhat abbreviated ceremony takes place each time a bear is killed
in the hunt. The body of the killed animal is met with triumphant music. Its
head is placed on a sacred platform, fed and given presents, dogs are sacrificed
and the bear's remains are placed in the same sacred hut.
Another type of clan ceremony is the prayer given to water, which takes
place in spring and fall, apparently addressed to the Spirit Owner of Water or
Sea. Special types of wooden bowls - "the water vessels" are used for this
purpose only.
These elongated bowls prepared under the direction of the shaman represent
various fish and water fowl, one end representing the head and the other the
tail. Before the ceremony they are arranged on the sleeping benches and filled
with various offerings: a dry fish tail, beans, cooked fish, tobacco, etc.
Any fishing gear belonging to the clan should be taken out of the water.
Only men participate in the ceremony. Toward evening the vessels are
placed on a sleigh and drawn toward the river. A hole is cut in the ice and two
poles forming a gate are placed near it. Food is then thrown into the water
and pushed under the ice with a ceremonial stick by the eldest of the men. If
the offerings continue to float it means that the Spirit Owner of Water does not
"love and will not give much fish."
After a sacrifice a piece of ice is placed into each bowl and brought
home. A similar ceremony takes place in the spring after the ice has passed:
the "gate" is placed on the shore, and instead of ice, pebbles are brought home.
Gilyak
Sky ceremony
:
This winter ceremony takes place in December among the Amur Gilyaks
and is addressed to the Spirit of Sky. All traps and snares are taken off. A
pig (bought) or a dog is ceremonially stabbled in the heart by the oldest of
the clansmen. Women are excluded from the ceremony. The blood is sprinkled upwards
and a tree and images of Spirits are smeared with it and the Spirit of the Sky
is addressed: "Sky, give me luck to capture many animals."
A similar libation of vodka is given to the Sky and images.
The meat is cut and cooked. A feast follows. The remainder of food is
divided into portions and carried to other homes.
Shamanism
:
The main function of the Gilyak shaman is to cure. While he may be
present during the Bear Festival he can not perform his incantations. There is
a definite lack of specialization inasmuch as may Gilyaks can dance, beat the
drum and sing like a shaman or even own shamanistic paraphennelia.
The real shaman, however, is thought to have several souls, while the
ordinary Gilyak has one, and the rich Gilyak has two. He also has special
H
l
^
e
^
lpers and Spirit Protectors of two kinds:
kenkh
and
kenchkh
. The first cate–
gory: wolves, reindeer, heavenly hares, birds, are his helpers, they expel
evil spirits from the sick, and carry the shaman's soul in his quest of a
stolen soul. During the cure a piece of material is spread so they may rest, a
cup with sugar
d
and choice food for them to eat, and a leather strap, a kettle,
and a nail are prepared. These last three articles serve the
Kenkh
for strapping
the body of the dead while carrying it from the village of the dead into the
hut where it is placed in the kettle and pricked with the nail. Otherwise, if
the body is placed on a bench or a floor, the soul can run away.
Evil spirits are of a variety of shapes and appear in the form of
various animals, e.g., bear or toad, etc. They live on the earth, sea, under the
Gilyaks
ground and in the sky. Some are evil by nature, others are the bastard children
of Good spirits, who become evil.
Some evil spirits steal stuff from storage places, traps and snares,
or cause various troubles. Others cause sickness and even death. Such are the
Evil Spirit of the Forest, Evil Spirit of the Fields, Evil Spirit of the Sea, etc.
The shaman learns the cause of the sickness in his dream and suggests a sacri–
fice as a cure. Another method is an actual incantation ceremony which follows the
usual pattern. The third method is the cure from a distance. When a man gets
sick in a place where there is no shaman, he goes outside, gives an offering
to the Spirits and shouts loudly "Hey, shaman, I am ill; help me!" This
causes the shaman far away to start his incantations. He sends out his spirit
helpers and the sick man hears the sound of the drum and images of the Spirit.
Returning home he relates his miraculous cure.
Some home methods of cure may be used without the help of a shaman.
Thus a hysteric woman was placed on the platform for cleaning fish, and a
bon-fire of rags, dog excrements and foul-smelling garbage is made under her.
The evil spirit that entered the woman is driven away
[:
]
by the terrible smell of this fire.
Czaplicka, M.A.
Aboriginal Siberia
, Oxford 1914
Gmelin, J.G.
The Trip Through Siberia from 1733-1743
, Gottingen 1751-1752
Jochelson, Waldemar
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
, Amer. Mus. Of Nat. History,
New York, 1928
Kreinovich, E.A.
Dog Breeding and its Relation to Religious Ideology
.
Ethnography, Vol XII, No. 4. Leningrad, 1930
Kreinovich, E.A.
Gilyak Numerals
, Inst. of Peoples of the North,
Research Assoc., Vol. I, No 3., Leningrad 1932
Kreinovich, E.A.
Sea Animal Hunting Among the Gilyaks of the Kul' Village
Soviet Ethnography. No 5, pp 78-96, Moscow, 1934
Kreinovich, E.A.
The Cosmogony of Sakhalin Gilyaks
.
The Ethnography., Vol. VII, No 1, Moscow, 1929
Levin, M. G.
The Giliaks
(in a volume) Religious Beliefs of the Peoples
of the USSR. pp. 67-82, Moscow 1931
Piludski, B.
Leprosy among the Gilyaks and Ainu Peoples
- Lemberg 1913
Birth, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Twins, etc. among the Natives
of Sakhalin
.
Zhivaya Starina, Vol. 73-74, Part I-II, Moscow 1910
Schrenk, P.L.
The Trip and Exploration of the Amur Region in the Years 1854-1856
(Kaiserliche Akademie der Wisseschaften, 4 Vol, St. Petersburg,
1858-1881
Schrenk, P. L.
The Natives of the Amur Country
. Ibid. Vol. 3, 1903
Sternberg, L. J.
The Gilyak. Ethnographical Review
,
Vol. 60-63, pp. 1-131, Moscow, 1905
Sternberg, L. J.
Family and Clan in North-eastern Asia
.
Institute of Northern Tribes, Leningrad, 1933
The Kamchadals
EA
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Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok)
THE KAMCHADALS
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THE KAMCHADALS
Country and Population
:
The Kamchadals
-
^
(
^
self-name
Itelmen
meaning the living one - man
^
),
^
-
a small Paleo-Siberian group now almost extinct
^
,
^
-
represent the remnants of
a once numerous tribe which inhabited the southern part of the Kamchatka
peninsula, formerly a part of the Primorskaya Province
^
,
^
from the Amanino village
to the west
,
^
to the
^
and
Oz
i
ernaya River to the east.
At the present time they live
^
only
^
in the southern
part
^
two-thirds
^
of the peninsula,
from the mouth of the Uka River to the
Kurilian
^
Kuril
^
Islands, and on the first of
these islands. To the south their neighbors are the Kurilians and
^
to
^
the north
the Kor
i
^
y
^
aks.
The Kamchadals are strongly Russianized. They number about 5,000
^
(1924)
^
but only about 800 of them may be considered as Kamchadal proper, while the
rest are Russianized Kamchadals.
The term
Itelmen
may be applied to the Itelmen proper and to the
mixed sedentary group of Russianized natives who live along the coast of the
Sea of Okhotsk.
Physical
T
^
A
^
nthropology
:
The present-day Kamchadals are so mixed with the Russians that
many
of them have lost their former
^
for the most part the original
^
physical type,
in
which
they
resembled
^
that of
^
the
Kor
i
^
y
^
aks
.
^
has disappeared.
^
Some influence of mixture with the Kurilians was also noted, while
a small group remained more or less pure. Thus, the measurements made by Mrs.
Jochelson among
this
^
a
^
group of 158 men and 170 women showed little
^
mixture with the
^
Russian
^
s.
^
meticisation.
The stature for males was 159.7 cm.
^
,
^
and 149.5 cm. for females. Width
of head was 14.9 cm. for males, 14.4 for females, and length of head 18.8
for males, and 18.3 for females.
The Kamchadals
The cephalic index for males was 78.9 and for females 78.5. Width
of face was 14.4 and 13.7 cm. respectively. Cephalic facial index was 96.5
for males, and 94.9 for females.
^
The
^
F
^
f
^
ew measurements on arch
^
a
^
eological material
are smiliar to these. In general, the cheekbones are less pronounced than
among their neighbors. The lips are
thick
^
full
^
and the mouth is wide.
Language
:
The Kamchadal language occupies a special place in the Paleo-Siberian
group and is markedly different from that of the Kor
i
^
y
^
aks. It is guttural
and characterized by the presence of unchangeable roots, whose meaning is
changed by the addition of prefixes.
While originally there were at least four different dialects, at present
there are but two: a) the northern, spoken by the natives of the Sedanka
Village of the Tighil river, which contains many Koriak words; and b) the
western - spoken by the inhabitants of seven villages between Amanino and
Sopochnoye on the western coast.
Both dialects contain a great number of Russian words and are spoken
only by a small portion (less than one quarter) of the population. The
remainder have been so Russianized that the native tongue has been completely
forgotten and they speak a variety of a much corrupted Russian.
The vigorous measures taken by the Soviet authorities in the intro–
duction of a native alphabet, native schools, and other means of encouragement
for the preservation and study of the Itelmen language may contribute to the
growth of the native culture.
History
:
The Kamchadals, formerly an energetic and talented group, greatly
suffered through Russian penetration. In 1696 the Russians invaded the fur–
rich Kamchatka peninsula, and in 1697 began settling there under the leader-
The Kamchadals
ship of the Russian Cossack, Vasillij Atlassov.
The Russians began the subjugation of the Kamchadals, forcing tirbute
from them, and built the Upper Kamchatka Ostrog fortress. After two unsuccess–
ful uprisings by the natives, the Bolsheretsky and Lower Kamchatka Ostrogs
were formed in 1700, and by 1704 the Russians had conquered all of the Kamchadals,
who, however, continued to offer fierce resistance in their attempt to free
themselves, often using cunning. In 1712 an attempt by Antzyferov and a party
of 25 Cossacks to collect tribute ended in disaster, when the Kamchadals pre–
tended to acquiesce, feted them, and made the invaders so confident of their
loot that at night when the enemy were asleep, the natives burned the wooden
house destroying them and unfortunately also some 'prisoner-Kamchadals.'
In 1731 a rebellious group of Kamchadals took by storm the Russian
fortress on the lower Kamchatka and proceeded to Upper Kamchatka, killing all
the Russians in their path. The last two towns were saved by the sudden
appearance of the Russian ship, Gabriel, whose sailors helped the Russians hold
the towns and cruelly suppress the revolt.
The Kamchadals were a very proud group and during the early 17th and
18th centureis, when attacked by the Russians, would kill their wives, children,
dogs, relatives and themselves, preferring suicide to capture or subjugation.
This suicidal tendency was so strong that the Russians issued orders specific–
ally prohibiting this. The Russianization process, including all these
stern measures, transformed the Kamchadals into cringing, begging creatures,
ready to carry out the bidding of any Russian.
There are some evidences of sporadic contact with the Japanese, whose
boats were occasionally wrecked on the Kamchatka shores, from about the
beginning of the 18th century.
In addition to their battles with the Russians, the Kamchadals
frequently had wars with neighboring tribes as well as with their own groups.
The Kamchadals
The purpose of these wars was to obtain spoils - the men were captured as slaves,
and the women for concubines. They used many cunning means, night attacks,
and often the male prisoners were tortured and killed. These quarrels with
their neighbors facilitated their conquest by the Russians.
About the middle of the 18th century the Kamchadals numbered about
14,000 according to Krasheninnikov, but the punitive expeditions of the
Russians, plus much illness (in 1799, - 5,000 Kamchadals died of various epi–
demics), caused a sharp drop in population.
The disintegration of the Kamchadals continued during the 19th century.
Chastity and fidelity were not necessarily virtues among this group and the
Russians took advantage of this, spreading syphilis and other contagious
diseases. According to the Jochelson investigation and census in 1911, almost
10% of the population of 26 villages of the western Kamchatka coast, (approxi–
mately 2,500 people), were crippled; almost half the population suffered from
eye diseases and in some places as many as 5% were blind.
After the Revolution of 1917, the Soviet Minority policy helped to
stimulate the nationalism of the Kamchadals. In 1926, the population was 4,207.
Writing in the native language, national schools, medical help, and collectivi–
zation of the native hunting and fishing groups were established and an
increase in the population was observed.
Occupation
:
The Kamchadals are mainly a fishing group. They did not adopt the
domestication of reindeer from their Koriak neighbors, although wild reindeer
was hunted.
They catch a variety of salmon which come up the Kamchatka Rivers in
great numbers, and other fish, as well as some sea animals such as white whales,
and some sea-lions which follow the salmon.
The Kamchadals
The fish are often captured with a wooden trap placed in midstream,
to which is attached a special tool - a long pole with an iron hook at one
end.
Only those whales which can be captured from the shore are hunted.
The seal are caught with leather thong nets, in the form of a sack,
30-35 feet long, with a 20 foot opening. The mesh gradually diminishes
toward the bottom of the sack. It is placed on poles across the river to
capture the seals which follow the salmon.
Seals are also killed by spearing and shooting.
Fish and sea animals are caught in the spring, when the rivers are
free from ice, and this is continued throughout the summer. In fall, they
hunt birds, geese, swans, and ducks, and in winter, fur-bearing animals,
mostly sable, foxes and mountain goats.
The cleaning and preparation of fish for storage is the work of the
women, who, in addition, gather berries, grass, and roots in spring; in the
fall they gather the Siberian nettle used for thread and cord making and also
the roots of
sarana
(a Siberian wild lily).
While the dog is the only domesticated native animals some horned
cattle and horses were imported from Siberia. Horses are used as riding and
pack animals in summer, and are turned free to graze in the winter.
Gardening has been introduced in recent times, and some vegetables
including potatoes are grown.
Dwellings
:
The Kamchadals live in clan settlements, placed in naturally protected
localities, forming a sort of fortified village.
In the south these settlements are at least 20 kilometers from the
sea. Along the eastern shore they are sometimes located on the shore.
The Kamchadals
The huts are usually arranged in groups, and several families live
in one hut. The winter settlements are surrounded by tents, one for each
family, which are used as storage places to protect the food against animals,
and serve as dwelling places in summer
The winter dwelling is a semi-subterranean hut, rectangular in shape,
built about six feet into the ground. The framework is made of four main
poles connected by cross poles, leaving a square opening at the top for light
and smoke, and entrance. The outside of the hut is covered with earth. Near
the longer wall, between the poles, is a fireplace with another opening in
the roof to provide a draft. There are benches alongside the walls for sleeping
and sitting, except along the wall opposite the fireplace, which is used for
keeping utensils and for cooking. Very often, there is no ceiling. Grass
mats are hung on the walls.
Entrance to the hut is by means of a ladder over the fireplace leading
to the ceiling hole. This ladder is a log with notches or holes. In addition,
an underground passage in the shape of a narrow channel was made for the draft,
starting from the hearth, leading to the outside, and this is the passage used
by the women, children and
Koekchuch
(transformed men).
The summer tent is constructed on poles about 15 feet high, with a
floor of poles and grass placed at a certain distance from the ground. The
tent is in the shape of a high four-sided pyramind and is covered with grass,
and the whole structure is bound with ropes for sturdiness. There are two
doors at opposite ends, with a long notced log serving as a ladder as in the
winter dwelling.
Sometimes a special platform for drying fish is built under the floor
of the summer tent.
Seal or bear-fat lamps made of hard-rock material, usually a variety
of quartz, are used for illumination. They are flat-bottomed, and need no
The Kamchadals
support. When in use they are placed in a slanting position so that the
tallow or blubber will run down to the wick, made of dried grass or moss.
At present wicks are made of twisted nettle thread, and lamps have no bridges
or grooves for wicks. The lamps are used only for illumination and not for
heat or cooking, as the Kamchadals have sufficient wood for these purposes.
At the present time a tin can, an iron frying pan, or clam shell
may be substituted for the stone lamp. A birch bark funnel is placed upside
down over it, with the tube leading toward the ceiling to collect the smoke
and soot.
Originally the Kamchadals were a semi-nomadic group, which remained
in one spot until the supply of animals and fish was exhausted, and then
the whole settlement would move elsewhere.
At the present time, the Kamchadals are almost completely sedentary,
have become quite Russianized, and live in Russian type block houses.
Dress
:
Two types of slipover, hooded fur coats are worn by the Kamchadals:
1) with an even edge; and 2) with a small cut in front and a tail-like appen–
dix at the back. The coat is made of reindeer skins, and reaches below the
knees. The round head opening is trimmed with dog fur, forming a collar
which protects the face. The ends and sleeves and hood are trimmed with white
sable. The back is embellished with an applique of dyed skins, leather
thongs, and other decorations.
In winter two coats are worn, one with the fur inside, and the other
over it, with the fur on the outside. Apparently these reindeer-skin coats
were obtained from the Koriaks, for the real Kamchadal coats are made of dog,
sable, and fox skins sewn in the same manner.
The Kamchadals
Another type of dress coat is also used, about the same length but
wider in the body and with narrower sleeves. Formerly the edges were decorated
with embroidery of reindeer hair, dyed wool and dog's fur, and later with
designs executed in silk.
The underclothing for women consists of a combination skirt with a
draw-string collar, and pants, made of tanned skins for summer, and of sea–
animal skins for winter. The men wear a leather belt with a clout piece in
front and fringes in the back. In the winter the men wear wider pants with
draw-strings at the bottom. The men carry a knife suspended from the belt.
Their footwear consists of shorter boots for the men and longer ones
for the women. For summer daily wear they are made from seal skin. In winter
they wear dried fish
-
skin boots, or boots of reindeer-skin fur outside, soled
with pieces of long-haired reind
d
^
e
^
er fur, to prevent seepage. Dress shoes are
made from white seal skin, with the shoe-tips of white fox, and the tops of
dyed seal or raw-hide, and are tied to the belt.
Stockings are made from dog fur. Sometimes soft grass is used to
wrap the feet and legs.
The summer hats were formerly made from bird feathers or birch bark.
The women comb their hair into tiny braids and smear them with seal fat,
thus forming a "wig." The men arrange
d
their hair into two braids.
The women use white and red pigment on their faces, as well as rouge.
The Kamchadals love to dress up and their best costumes are very
costly.
Food
:
The basic food of the Kamchadals is dried fish -
Ukola
. The fish is
cut up and the sides and tail are hung to dry to make the
Ukola
. The backs
prepared separately, the heads are placed in pits and allowed to "pickle."
The Kamchadals
The bones are dried and fed to the dogs. Fish eggs are prepared in several ways,
dried, and kept ready for hunting and traveling rations; sometimes they are
pickled.
Sometimes the fish is half-roasted, half-smoked at the fire-place.
For this the hut is completely covered, thus transforming it into an oven, and
the fish is arranged in rows on a platform, which is several feet above the
ground.
The dried fish is also pounded into a powder in mortars. Salmon is
dried and smoked for winter use. The dried fish can not be kept more than a
year without rotting.
Sea-animal meat is boiled with roots and
sarana
to make soup. Whale
and seal fat is boiled and cut into strips, and then eaten. One end of such
a strip is taken into the mount and the remainder is cut off near the lips with
a knife.
Sarana, the root of various lily-like plants (Lilium Margagon), forms
an important item in the Kamchadal diet. Several species of Kamchatka mice like
the bulbs of this plant, gather and keep them in their nests, where they are
found and collected by the Kamchadal women.
A special dish,
Selega
, is prepared fro
j
^
m
^
a mixture of sour berries and
sarana
, or from various roots and berries pounded into a mass to which seal fat
and boiled fish are added.
A special narcotic drink is prepared from fly agaric.
In recent times the Kamchadals have adopted many of the Russian foods.
They grow some vegetables - potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and beets, and purcha
d
^
s
^
e
other foods. Cow's milk is now an important item of their diet.
Tools, Utensils, and Weapons
:
We know, on the basis of archeological investigations, that Kamchadals
made crude clay pots, but it is difficult to say whether these were purposely
The Kamchadals
fired or simply had burned in cooking. Apparently they were solid and water
tight, and made of a mixture of clay tempered with sand, gravel, and the hair
of sable tails. Two types of vessels were found: a) with loops inside and
holes near the upper rim, and b) elaborately made pots with outside ornamentation,
resembling the pottery of the Ainus and probably borrowed from them.
n
A type
of gloss was developed when this mixture was smeared with fat.
At the time of Krasheninnikov, the Kamchadals were still living almost
in the Stone Age, although they did have some metals (from the Japanese or
the Kurilians) and knew the art of cold forging. The possession of an iron
object was a sign of wealth. An iron-tipped stick was used for digging roots.
The Kamchadals used bows and arrows, lances, spears, and armor.
The bow was made from fir wood and birchbark, and the string from
whale sinews. The arrows were sometimes three feet long with bone or stone
points. Krasheninnikov indicates the use of poisoned arrows. Lances and
spears had stone or bone points.
A vest of raw whale-hide strips with a wooden board tied in front
and another board in back, placed higher so as to protect the head, was worn
by the Kamchadals.
Transportation
:
Formerly dug-out boats in summer and dog-drawn s
l
^
e
^
ighs in winter were
the only modes of transportation, in addition to snow shoes and skis. The
Russians introduced horses and a different type of sleigh.
The ancient Kamchadal dog sleigh -
msan
- was 15-17 feet long. The
birch-wood runners were 3-4 inches wide and curved in front. They were placed
on 3-4 birch stanchions and co
j
^
n
^
nected with cross pieces and leather thongs.
Sometimes pieces of whale jaw bone were inserted into the lower surface of
the runners to facilitate running over the snow in the spring. Some connect–
ing pieces were made out of bone.
The Kamchadals
The dog harness was made from wide soft leather which crossed the left
shoulder of the right dog and the right shoulder of the left dog in fan fashion.
Dogs were hitched in pairs to a central leather thong consisting of two or
three parts, connected with rings. Short leads connected the dog harness to
this ring on both sides of the main line, to the front end of which the lead
dog was hitched.
The male Kamchadals rode the sleigh with their feet on the right side,
and never astride. This mode of riding was for females only. Dogs were driven
with the aid of a 5 foot long curved pole to one end of which were tied rattling
or jingling objects. The same pole was used as a brake.
When the snow is too deep, the driver makes a path for the dogs by
going ahead on his snow shoes, made of oblong wooden frames interlaced with
leather. Long skis were also used.
The Kamchadals use three types of boats: a)
Koyakhtakhtym
- a wide
boat, which is fast and light, made of poplar wood, the front higher than the
back, used on the Kamchatka River; b)
Takhtu
- a narrower, symmetrically built
boat, easily filled with water, used along the eastern shore; and c) the third
type, a variation of
Takhtu
- with additional boards sewn on, and used among
certain groups in hunting sea animals. In makeing these dug-out boats, the
bottom is purposely split and joined again with whale bone, and packed with
soft grass to prevent being split by the impact of high waves.
Boats are used for both hunting and transportation. Two people, one
at each end, guide the boat, using poles when going upstream. Two boats
joined by a platform are used to transport the fish caught on the Kamchatka
River.
The Kamchadals do not venture out into the open sea, for, unlike their
neighbors, they do not have any skin-covered boats.
The Kamchadals
Social Organization
:
Unfortunately the data on social organization of the ancient Kamchadals
are very scant. Early travellers, either because they lacked interest or had
no knowledge of the language, left fragmentary information. Apparently small
groups formed geographical units with chiefs or military leaders in charge of
major communal undertakings. After the Russian conquest, chiefs were appointed
by the Russians and
^
this office
^
became hereditary. When there was no heir, a new chief was
appointed. Reference is made to the group ownership of stretches of river
as common fishing or hunting territories.
A geographical exogamy evidently prevailed, as Krashenninikov observed
that wives were seldom chosen from the same village. Actually only marriage
between close relatives (father and daughter, mother and son) was forbidden.
Marriage of first cousins and in-laws was permitted and polygamy was practiced.
Most authorities report that there was no insistance on chastity at
marriage, and pre-marital and extra-marital relationships were permitted.
The prospective groom worked for the bride's family for a certain period
of time and then asked permission to marry the girl. If he was refused, he
had to be compensated for his labors.
The actual marriage must be preceded by the groom's capture of his bride.
She is dressed in several heavy garments and protected by all the village
women. When the groom finds her alone, he must strip her of her clothing,
untying innumerable strings until she is naked and then place his hand on her
genitalia as a symbol of possession. Then he leaves, and she calls after him.
He returns at night and, after he sleeps with her, he can then take her to his
home.
The bridal party with the groom and a group of naked men ride in boats
to the groom's home. Some food is taken along. At a short distance from the
house a shamanistic performance takes place and the head of a dry fish is given
The Kamchadals
to the oldest woman of the group.
The journey is then resumed and the bride is carried into the house by a
young man of the groom's family, preceded by the old woman who has placed the
fish head on the threshold for everyone to step on, after which it was thrown
into the fire.
The extra garments worn by the bride and some gifts were distributed
among the groom's relatives. The next day the father-in-law entertains his
guests, and on the third day the ceremony ends.
This particular ceremony takes place only for the first marriage, and
does not apply to the remarrying of widows. A special purification ceremony
is necessary for the widow before she can remarry. She must have intercourse
with someone else other than her future husband, usually a stranger. The fulfil–
lment of these rites was rather despised, and according to Krashenninikov, in
the past this prevented some widows from remarrying. However, since the
Russian Cossacks settled nearby, they were quite willing to perform this pre–
marital purification.
The woman gives birth in the usual dwelling in the presence of all the
members of the settlement. She is attended by an experienced older women and
gives birth in a kneeling position. During her intense labor her husband must
be busy building sleighs or bending wood for runners. The infant is wrapped in
soft grass, the umbilical cord is cut with a stone knife, and the placenta is
thrown to the dogs.
Although no special ceremony takes place, the occasion is reason for
rejoicing in the whole village. They believe that in order to induce pregnancy
a woman should eat spiders or the umbilical cord of a recently born child with
a special grass called
kiprei
.
Abortion was induced by a shock, or artificial methods, in which some
women were specialists; however, this often caused the death of the mother.
The Kamchadals
Undesired children may be strangled by the mother or thrown alive to the dogs..
A special drink made of a type of grass called
konkakhion
is used to induce
sterility.
When twins are born one of them must be killed, as well as a child born
during a storm, although here incantations may be used to avert the impending
evil.
After delivery, for several days the mother was fed with a special soup
made of fish and a plant called
halg
, after which she returns to work. The
father then names the child for one of his ancestors.
The women use head bands to carry their children on their backs. The
baby is placed in a combination garment with a flap covering an opening on the
back. Moss is used for the excretions.
The great fear of the dead among the Kamchadals is expressed by the
custom of deserting the house in which a person had died and moving the whole
settlement elsewhere. The throat of the body is bound by leather thongs and
dragged out of the hut some distance from the house and is left to be eaten by
the dogs. In his future life the dead man's soul, it is believed, will be able
to drive these animals. All clothing of the deceased must be thrown away, as
it would bring misfortune to anyone who wore it. Anything which had been in
contact with the dead man must be purified. Children were burried in tree
hollows.
This lack of burial may be a reason for the scarcity of ostiological
material in Kamchatka archeology.
Religion
:
The scant information left by early investigators indicates that the
religion of the ancient Kamchadals was a combination of the primitive animistic
concepts of the hunting-fishing type, loose cosmogonic myths, and a family
type of shamanism.
The Kamchadals
A multitude of good and mostly evil Spirits inhabit the world, which
consists of the Upper World - the sky, and the Lower World - the earth.
Almost every geographical locality has its own local spirit. Volcanoes and
hot springs are the abodes of the evil Spirits.
The creation of the world was attributed to Kukht (Kutkhu or Kutchu) –
The Raven, who combined the features of a tribal ancestor, a cultural hero,
and reformer of the world with those of a humorous, lustful, and obscene trick–
ster.
Kukht lived in the sky with his wife, Ilkhum, his sister Xutlizik, his
two sons, and a daughter. One of the brothers married his sister, and their son
and
daughter also married, and their children are the present Kamchadals.
According to another account, one of Kukht's sons with the help of his sister
brought the earth from the sky and fixed it securely and permanently in the
ocean.
Another legend tells how Kukht lived two years on each river, producing
children who remained there and formed the Kamchadal clans. When Kukht traveled
the earth bent under him and valleys and mountains were formed. But Kukht
is not clever; he often commits blunders; when so disposed he can give a great
deal of riches to the lucky one. Even as late as 1901 the raven was considered
dedicated to Kukht.
The origin of the spots on the moon is explained by the story of a young
girl who was so mistreated by everyone that one day she complained to the moon
about it. The moon descended to the earth. The girl was frightened and took
hold of a bush, whereupon the moon seized her and took her up together with the
bush. This is why one can see a girl and a bush on the Moon.
The custom of cutting off the bear's paws and head from the rest of the
hide is explained by the following story:
"Kukht and his wife lived in one place and had children. Somehow Kukht
The Kamchadals
was frightened and wanted to go away and leave his children. Then hiw wife
cut off her breasts and left them for children to suckle. But both bear and
man were fed on the breasts and became brothers. An involved adventure
follows. When the bear is finally killed, his human brother refuses to eat
his meat and simply asks for the bear's head, because it is his brother. From
this hear's head, later, another human is born."
The Forest Spirit - (Bikhliakhch or Pikhliach) is a dwarf; he lives in
the forest, rides on a tiny sleigh that is dragged by sables or partidges, the
tracks of which can be seen.on the snow. This Spirit Owner of the Forest
later, under Russian influence, acquired the characteristic of the Slav Forest
Spirit, the
Lieshii
, and instead of being a protector of game, he became a
mischievous trickster.
According to another story, he is the Spirit of Thunder, and during
thunder and lighting he enters the body of a shaman.
Another important concept is that of the Water Spirit in charge of
the sea animals and fishes.
In connection with the hunting and fishing economy, the taboos for
killing and eating developed. Thus the "kasatka", (the killer-whale), is never
shot; the flesh of wolf, fox, and flounder is also not eaten.
When the Kamchadals kill an animal they give in exchange for its meat
a bag of edible grass to its Spirit Owner, so that the animal will not complain
to its relatives. Upon starting on a seal hunt, the Kamchadal promises a
certain number of seal skins to the Spirits. Later these skins are not used
for clothing but only as bedding, and are given to the spirits during the
yearly purification festival.
A number of special magic formulas or incantations exist as protection against
the evil spirits. These include incantations against the whale or the walrus,
inducing them to spare the members of boat crews. The bear and the wolf are
The Kamchadals
venerated, and the names of these animals are never uttered. Special sacrifices
of fire are made at the holes of foxes and sables.
The Kamchadals believe that both humans and animals continue to exist in
another world after their death.
A multitude of lesser evil spirits inhabit the world. To guard against
their influences special amulets are worn and incantations are recited.
An old alder tree was considered the abode of Evil Spirits and the
Kamchadals would sicharge their arrows into it annually.
Lizards were symbols of hate and were considered as the spies of Evil
Spirits, sent by the underground deity to find and predict death to the man
predestined to die. To prevent this they were ruthlessly exterminated, and
when failing, the Kamchadal often became melancholic and some actually even
died.
They believed in the existence of a special marine insect which pene–
trates the body through the proes, causing severe sickness, which can be cured
only by cutting out this insect.
Often deadly diseases were called by animal names: a local endemic
illness manifested in the form of heavy scabs under the breast was called lizard;
another endemic illness covering the whole body - eagle.
To expiate the transgression of a taboo, the Kamchadals made an image
of the spirit and placed it in the forest as an offering.
In order to insure the propogation of game such as seals, a piece of
animal is cut off, one half thrown into the sea to create others, and the
second half placed on the rock where seals were killed so that others would
e
emerge on the same shore rock.
Mice were not killed, but protected, because the Kamchadal women
robbed mice holes of stored
sarana
.
Each house had two spirit images: one, representing the human figure
The Kamchadals
with a fish body was placed near the fireplace, another, in the form of a pole
with a human head - near the cooking utensils to safeguard them from evil spirits.
During the annual tribal purification ceremony men and women wore wreaths made of
grass
and similar wreaths were placed on the heads of wooden images. A large number
(more than 50) of these images were especially made for the occasion and set
in a row. Their faces were smeared with crushed red bilberry as an offering,
and three dishes with powdered root of
sarana
were set before them. After the
ceremony the food was eaten by the participants.
Seal images were made of seal skulls and jaws tied with edible grasses.
These images were well fed, amused by rocking to imitate light waves, invited
together with their relatives for a visit, and finally sent home, by being
taken outside and thrown into the sea.
During the festival the bodies of killed sables are stripped of skins,
and passed three times through the smoke of the fireplace, and only then burried
in earth or snow.
Shamanism
:
Early writers assented that the Kamchadals had no professional shamans,
and that any old women or
koekchuch
(trans
o
^
f
^
ormed man) could pronounce incanta–
tions and practice divination. No special shaman's dress existed, they used
no drum. However, the annual tribal fall ceremony was conducted by
[:
]
old men
who may be considered professional rather than family shamans.
All writers stress that only women and the
koekchuch
can practice
shamanism. The
koekchuch
is the Kamchadal ve
s
^
r
^
sion of the widespread Siberian
phenomenon of sex transformation when men begin to wear female dress, do woman's
work, and act as women in general. Occasionally he takes a lover or a husband.
Among the Kamchadals the
koekchuch
were treated with the same lack of respect
as was shown to the women; they were permitted to use the inside draft channel
for entrance, were kept as concubines, practiced women's occupations, such as
The Kamchadals
making clothes, etc.
Shamanistic ability was ascribed to the entrance of spirits into the
body. Thus, during thunder and lightning,
Biliukaj
- the Spirit Owner of
Thunder, enters the shaman's body.
During the yearly purification festival, large numbers (up to 50) of
other Spirits -
Kamuda
- enter the shaman's body through his mouth. It is
believed that
Kamuda
live on clouds and are as big as three year old children.
The main function of these "wise and able" persons was to prophesize and
cure illnesses, which were considered as caused by the intrusion of an evil
spirit, or foreign object, into the body of the patient.
Early Kamchadal folklore deals with creation and stories of cultural heros,
and is characterized by a strong sex undercurrent, which seems to have been
quite prominent both in their songs, religion, and dances.
Much of the later oral traditions and folklore shows g great deal of
Russian influence in modified and distorted versions of Biblican and Slavic
motifs.
The Soviet government is said to have taken definite steps to preserve
and record the remnants of the native folklore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - KAMCHADALS
Czaplicka, M. A.
Aboriginal Siberia
. A Study In Social Anthropology.
Oxford University Press, 1914.
Dittmar, Carl von
Reisen und Aufenthalt in Kamtschatka in den Jarhen
1851-1855
. St. Petersburg, 1890, Part I.
Gapanovich, J.J.
The Native Population of Kamchatak.
North Asia, Journal of Social Science, No. 5, Moscow.
1925
Jochelson, Waldemar
Archeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands.
Carnegie Insituttion of Washington, Washington,
October 1925
Archeological Investigations in Kamchatka
.
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, 1928
Die Riaboushinsky Expedition nach Kamtschatka
.
Globus, No. 14, 1908
Letters of the Leader of the Ethnological Division
of the Kamchatka Expedition to the Secretary of the
Imperial Russian Geographical Society
.
Bull. Imp. Russ. Geogr. Society., Vol. XLV., Part IX,
1909, and Vol. XLVII, Part I - IV, 1911
Past and Present Subterranean Dwellings of the Tribes
of North-Eastern Asia and North-Western America
.
Int. Congr. Americ. Quebec, 1906
Peoples of Asiatic Russia.
American Museum of Natural
History, 1928
Present and Ancient Kamchadals and the Similarity
of their Culture to that of the Northwestern American
Indian.
Proceedings of the 23rd Congress of
Americanists, New York 1928
The Riaboushinsky Expedition under the Auspices of
the Imperial Russian Geographical Society to the
Aleutian Islands and Kamchatka
. Proceedings,
18th Internatioanl Congress of Americanists, London
1912
Krasheninnikov, S.P.
Description of the Country of Kamchatka.
St. Petersburg, 1818.
Spassky, G.
Vladimir Atlasoff, the Conqueror of Kamchatka
.
[:
]
Journal, Imp. Russ. Geog. Society,
Vol. XXIV, 1858
BIBLIOGARPHY - Kamchadals
Steller, G.W.
Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka
.
Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1774
Sergejer, M.A. "The Kamchatka Region."
Soviet Asia
,
Moscow, 1934
Sternberg, E.
The Kamchadal Woman
, Moscow,
[:
]
1928
Timofeevskij, F.
Kamchatka and its Inhabitants
.
Morskoj Sbornik. Vol. CCXV, No. 7, St. Petersburg
1886
Tjushov, V. N.
Along the Western Coast of Kamchatka.
Zapiski of
the Imp. Russ. Geogr. Society on General Geography,
Vol. XXXVII, No. 2, St. Petersburg, 1906
Koryaks
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
KORYAKS
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Physical Anthropology
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2
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History
|
3
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Dwellings
|
4
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Clothing
|
6
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Food
|
8
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Tools and Techniques
|
9
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Occupation
|
10
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Social Organization
|
14
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Soul
|
18
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Burial
|
18
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Religion
|
19
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Shamanism
|
22
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Ceremonies and Festivals
|
24
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Bibliography
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26
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EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
KORYAKS
The Koryaks, a Paleo-Siberian native group closely related to the Chukchi,
live in four districts of the northern part of the Kamchatka peninsula and farther
north along the basin of the Penzhina River. They are divided into two groups:
the nomadic Reindeer Koryaks (numbering 3,800 in 1900) who inhabit the tundra;
and the sedentary Maritime Koryaks (numbering 7,400 in 1936) who subsist by
fishing and live in villages along the seacoast.
The Reindeer Koryaks confine their wandering mainly to the Gizhiga and
Kamchatka districts. They move in small groups of a few families through the
treeless tundra, ascend high mountain slopes in summer to escape mosquitoes, and
during the winter descend into valleys where trees protect them from severe winds.
The Maritime or fishing Koryaks' settlements are situated along the shores and
near the bays of the Okhotsk and Bering seas in the Gizhiga, Petropavlovsk,
Okhotsk, and Anadyr districts.
The Koryak territory is chiefly highland formed by the spurs of the Stanovoi
and Nalginski ridges, reaching heights of around 300 meters. Beyond this line is
an area of lichen-covered tundra. All the rivers in the area spring from the
Stanovoi Mountains and are short and rapid. Even the largest river, the Gizhiga,
is navigable only for a short stretch. There
^
are
^
a few small lakes abounding in fish.
The principal trees of the region are larches, dwarf cedars, birches, poplars,
aspens, and two types of alders. The forests on the eastern slopes of the Stanovoi
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
ridges are scanty and become more so closer to the Bering Sea. The scarcity of
timber is partially alleviated by the availability of driftwood, which is used for
fuel and other purposes.
The fauna of this area consist of arctic types represented both in Arctic
America and in Eurasia. Elk, wild reindeer, brown bear, musk deer, mountain
sheep, wild goat, arctic fox, red fox, squirrel, sable, grey wolf, ermine, otter
and wolverine are the main land mammals, and among the sea mammals there are sea
lions, walruses, four varieties of seals, and nine types of whales. The most
abundant fish are salmon and cod.
There are also ducks, geese, swans, sea-gulls and other types of water–
fowl in the rivers and along the
[:
] sea shore.
Physical Anthropology
The Koryaks are comparatively well built, with good bone structure, broad
shoulders, and well-developed muscles. They are of average height (men 159.6 cm.
and women 149.1 cm.). The cephalic index of the male is 80.3 and that of the
female 80. The breadth of the face is 146.2 mm. for men and 139.5 mm. for women.
Their hair is straight and predominantly black.
Their eyes, which have a well-developed Mongolian fold, are usually dark
brown, but about 2% have gray eyes. The Koryaks have scant hair on their faces
and the color of their skin ranges from light brown to copper red, women
being usually a shade lighter than men.
Some data on
[:
]
child mortality is given by Jochelson, who established that
out of 278 births 42% die in infancy. The Koryaks had various types of diseases
such as: stomach disease, tape worm, tetter, and eye diseases, especially con–
junctivitis and cataract. They also suffer fromtypes of nervous disorders.
Measles, smallpox, and syphilis were introduced by the Russians.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The origin of the name "Koryak" is not clear. Some, like Bogoras, derive
it from
qura'ki
(being with reindeer). The Koryaks themselves do not have a
common tribal name. The Maritime Koryaks call themselves
namalan
(an inhabitant
of a village) and the Reindeer Koryak
chauchu
(
chaucheni
in plural). The Yukaghir
call them
Kereke
, and the Chukchi
Ta'nnitan
. There are also a number of terri–
torial or regional self-names.
The language of the Koryaks is closely related to the Chukchi and Kamchadal
languages and is part of a large group of Palaeo-Siberian languages. The Koryak
language is divided into four main dialects: North Kamchatka, Reindeer, Alutor,
and Kerek, with some variations within the larger subdivisions.
History
Prior to their contact with the Russians late in the 17th century, Koryak
territory extended almost to the southern tip of Kamchatka. The Russians tried
to force them to pay tribute, but the Koryaks refused, and, in 1712, 70 adults
and 200 chld ren were killed during a battle between Koryaks and Russian Cossacks.
Koryak resistance continued until 1767 when the Russians finally built a fortress
at the mouth of the Gizhiga River. At that time the sea route from Okhotsk to
fur-rich Kamchatka was not yet discovered and the only available route was by
land. It was necessary to pass through the territory of the unsubdued Koryaks,
who ambushed and killed Cossacks. After the discovery of the sea route and sub–
sequent exploration of Bering Sea, the bloddy battles with the Koryaks continued.
One of the biggest battles was against the Shestakoff expedition in 1729. The
expedition subjected the Koryaks to inhuman atrocities by setting fire to the
villages and burning alive those who refused to pay exorbitant tribute. The
Shestakoff expedition was soon defeated by angry natives who rebelled and anni–
hilated several small garrisons in various places. In 1732 a punitive expedition,
consisting of 225 Cossacks and native volunteers led by Pavlutsky, stormed Korya,
fortifications and defeated the Koryaks who preferred to kill their wives and
children rather than surrender. The revolt continued until 1757, and was
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
marked by numberous local encounters. The Koryaks, however, were finally forced
to pay tribute.
Russian missionaries met with little success, and those Koryaks who were
baptized adopted the orthodox creed only formally. The Koryaks came in contact
with American traders during the first half of the 19th century.
After the revolution, the Koryak National District was organized by the
[:
]
Soviet Government, which introduced hospitals and schools in accordance
with its general policy, and tried to develop the culture as well as raise the
standard of living of the Koryaks.
Dwellings
Reindeer Koryak tents consisted of two tents, an outside tent from 8 to 9
meters in diameter and an inner sleeping tent. The characteristic feature of
the Koryak tent was that its lower part was cylindrical and the upper part or
roof was conical. The frame of the outer tent was formed by three foundation
posts, from 3.5 to 5 meters high. Around this tripod were placed strong stakes
at intervals of 1 or 2 meters, which together with horizontal crossbars formed
the cylindrical part of the tent.
The conical part of the frame was made of slanting poles running to the
crossbars from the top.
[:
]
The tent cover was sewn from wornout reindeer skins,
hair side out, the ends overlapping to form an entrance. Several sleeping tents
(not less than 3 or 4, one for each family) were placed in the main structure;
these were in the form of a rectangular box placed upside down and were made
of reindeer skin with the hair side in. The floor of the sleeping-room was
strewn with willow branches and then covered with reindeer skins.
The semisubterranean dwelling of the Maritime Koryaks was a permanent octago–
nal-shaped wooden structure varying in size and capable of accommodating as many
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
as twenty-five people. The house was set in an excavated area about 1 to 1.5
meters deep. Eight poles, connected with crossbeams, and two rows of vertical
split logs between them formed an octagon-shaped double wall. All spaces and
crevices were filled with dry grass and the whole wall was completely covered
with earth on the exterior.
Inside the structure four main posts 5 to 7 meters high were firmly driven
into the ground and connected with crossbeams to support a double roof which
was flat on top and slanting on the sides. The upper
[:
]
entrance consisted of
a ladder (a log with footholes) leading through a 1-square-meter opening at the
top of the roof. A semisubterranean passage, covered with logs and fitted with
doors, served as an entrance room leading into the main structure from the ground.
The roof was also packed with dry grass and earth. Four high posts, supporting
a
[:
]
protective roof in the shape of a wide funnel over the roof entrance, were
placed along the walls on the exterior of the house. One side of the funnel
above the entrance room was lower and a ladder was placed against it connecting
the protective upper roof to the roof over the entrance room.
The roof entrance was used when the entrance chamber was covered with snow.
The ground door was used only from May until the end of October, and its use was
forbidden during the rest of the year, when it was sealed with grass, dirt, and
logs. In the summer the ladder was removed and the upper entrance was not used
until the regular entrance was sealed. The upper entrance also served as a
chimney; when there was no fire, it was closed with a plug from the outside and
opened only when the fire was burning or when a person wished to enter or leave
the house.
The master of the house occupied the right side of the house and his brothers
and other relatives occupied the left side. Opposite the door was a platform
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
30 to 60 cm. high, serving as a seat and bed for visitors. The floor was
strewn with willow branches covered with dry grass, over which were placed seal
and reindeer skins. Sleeping tents were pitched on the skins. These tents re–
sembled the inner tents of the Reindeer Koryak.
Clothes, shoes, and other household goods were hung on crosspieces con–
nected to the main poles. Above the hearth, across the entire width of the house,
several stout beams formed a grating upon which clothes, shoes, and wood were
placed to dry. Hooks of wood, iron, or reindeer antlers were fastened to the
beams to hold pots and kettles over the hearth.
Clothing
All clothing was made by women out of young
[:
]
reindeer skins sewn with
reindeer sinew. The warmest clothing was made from the skin of six- or seven–
month-old fawns. Skins of other an
^
i
^
mals were used for trimming.
Both sexes wore similar coats. The winter coat was a pullover fur shirt
with full sleeve s and tight wrists. In extreme cold the hands were pulled into
the sleeve. A woman's coat was longer than the man's, reaching to the calves
instead of just above the knees. The
[:
]
man's traveling garment consisted of
two shirts, the inner one with the hair side to the body and the outer one with
the hair side out. The shirts could be removed singly or as one unit. A fur
flap sewn to the breast of the woman's coat served to protect her face from
severe cold. The man's traveling coat and the woman's coat were hooded. The
summer coats differed only in that they were made out of curried and smoked
reindeer skin. Other shirts worn in summer and autumn were made of winter reindeer
skins with shorn fur or the dressed summer skins of adult reindeer killed just
after shedding.
Under the coat, women wore a step-in combination suit consisting of a broad
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
bodice joined to wide Turkish trousers gathered below the knees. In winter this
garment was double, like the man's traveling coat, and trimmed with long-haired
fur. The summer garment was made of leather. Men's trousers were tight fitting,
cut low in front (covering the lower part of the abdomen) and higher in the back.
A string passing through a hem at the top served as a belt. The trousers were
tied a little below the calf with drawstrings. In winter the trousers were
double, the inner ones being made of young animal skins; in summer they were made
of curried leather.
Winter footgear consisted of fur boots made of reindeer leg-skin and knee–
length stockings. Boots were either short, reaching just above the ankle, or
knee length. Both styles had leather straps just below the ankle with which the
boots were tightly tied. The soles of the boots were made of walrus or seal
skin to prevent slipping on the ice. Stockings were worn with the hair inside.
When traveling in very cold weather the Koryaks wore hare-skin socks under their
stockings. In summer, boots were worn without stockings, which were replaced by
a grass lining. Men wore winter
capts
caps of reindeer fawn fur but women usually
used their hoods. Mittens, made of reindeer leg and fawn skin trimmed with dog
fur, were worn by men and women, respectively.
Until the
[:
]
age of six or seven children were dressed in a combination suit
similar to that of women. It had a slit at the crotch and a fur flap stitched on
at the back which passed between the legs and tied around the waist. A lining of
dry moss and powdered rotten wood absorbed the child's excretions and could be
changed like a diaper.
Snow goggles of birch bark or wood with a slit for the eyes were used. Short
snowshoes made of willow frame plaited with reindeer thongs were used for walking
on hard snow. Another type of snowshoe was long and made of a thin ashen board
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
with horizontal ends; these were lined with reindeer skin and used for walking
on soft snow. Koryak women wore their hair in two braids and men cut or shaved
their hair in the form of a tonsure. Tattooing was formerly widespread among
women and was done by means of passing under the skin a needle and a thread,
coated with coal mixed with grease.
Food
Fish, reindeer, and sea animals were the principal sources of food among
the Koryaks. They consumed some vegetable food but only as a supplementary diet.
The Maritime Koryak's staple diet consisted of fish and sea animals. Reindeer
meat was considered a delicacy and they bartered fish for it. Since the Maritime
Koryaks considered sun-dried fish much more palatable than frozen fish, this was
the method of preservation most often used. When weather was unfavorable for
drying, the Koryaks suffered from lack of sufficient food even though their catch
was large. Fish heads were dried separately from the remainder. The fish was
cut into strips and its skeleton, with some flesh still clinging to it, was
dried and used for feeding dogs in winter. During the plentiful season fresh
fish were eaten raw, boiled, or broiled on spits. The Koryaks ate sea mammals
as long as the supply lasted. Seal meat was dried, frozen, boiled, or eaten raw.
White-whale meat was highly valued; walrus and sea-lion meat was rare and con–
sidered a delicacy.
The Reindeer Koryaks depended on reindeer meat for their main supply of food,
but they also
[]
consumed large quantities of fish, since they rarely owned
enough reindeer to be slaughtered without dangerously reducing the herd. They
fished on a small scale and bartered reindeer skins and meat to the Maritime
Koryaks for fish.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Both the Reinde
r
^
e
^
r and Maritime Koryaks prized eggs highly as food, and during
the nesting season of the sea birds they consumed great quantities of eggs. During
periods of food scarcity both Reindeer and Maritime Koryaks resorted to eating
mollusks, but did not consider this food very tasty. They also ate small quanti–
ties of berries and roots, eating them raw or mixed and cooked with fish, fish oil,
and reindeer meat. Willow-herb was one of the most widely used vegetable foods.
During periods of scarcity the Reindeer Koryaks ate partially
digested reindeer
moss, found in the stomachs of their slaughtered reindeer.
The Koryaks were very fond of tea, and also of tobacco, which they smoked and
chewed. Almost every adult used tobacco in one form or another. They disliked
salt, but were very fond of sweets and fats in all forms (fish oil, reindeer fat,
the blubber of sea animals, etc.).
The Koryaks also used a great deal of crimson fly-agaric, a
narcotic
similar to opium. They dried this fungus before using it, because consumption of
the fresh fungus would prove fatal. This drug produced intoxication, delirium,
and hallucinations. Many shamans used fly-agaric before beginning their seances.
Tools and Techniques
The Koryaks worked in stone before they learned the use of metals, making
stone hatchets, spear heads, harpoon points, scrapers, ear ornaments, and stone
lamps. They learned the blacksmith's art before their contact with the Russians,
probably from the Tungus. By the 19th century they used a seal skin to
build
a bellows lying on the ground. Their furnace was built in the ground, and the
smith sat on a low block at a low anvil. Their tools consisted of hammers and
tongus bought from the Russians. They made axes, adzes, knives, sharp-pointed
chisels, and ornaments (iron bracelets and ear pendants).
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Coiled and twined baskets were made of willow, wild rye, nettle, and other
grasses
,
with threads of reindeer sinew. Some were so tihgtly woven that they
were watertight, and were decorated with symmetrical designs in various colors —
black, dark blue, white, red, green, light blue, coffee, and yellow.
The Koryaks computed numbers on the basis of five (the fingers on one hand)
and twenty (the total number of the digits of hands and feet).
Distances were computed in terms of travel time (on foot, with good driving
dogs, etc.). Years were divided into twelve lunar months, the first month
starting at the time of the winter solstice. Different names were given to months
in various localities.
Carving in wood, bone, walrus and mammoth ivory, and reindeer antlers was
practiced widely by the Maritime Koryak. Bone materialswere first placed in
boiling water for softening and to make carving easier. The subjects were
usually representations of animals and human beings and the carving was in minia–
ture. While the animal representations were extremely accurate, with well–
executed heads, the
[:
]
human figures were carved with little attention to
the accuracy of heads and feet; however, great pains were taken to reproduce
the lines of motion of the body. The female figure was rarely depicted. Very
few good figures of reindeer exist, and it is thought that the art of carving
began before the advent of reindeer breeding and that later artists continued
to follow the models of their predecessors. Some carvings on one base had
[:
]
several figures of a hunting expedition, or a dog sled with team and
[:
]
driver.
I
It is interesting to note that Koryak carvings for religious purposes did
not reach the high degree of quality attained in those made for purely esthetic
purposes.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Occupation
The main occupations of the Maritime Koryak were hunting sea animals and
fishing; those of the nomadic Reindeer Koryak were reindeer breeding and hunting
of land animals. In recent times hunting fur-bearing animals became an important
industry, but due to the relentless destruction of these animals, their number
rapidly decreased.
The Koryaks did not ride their reindeer, and even considered it a sin to do
so. The Koryak reindeer was one of the least tame of those domesticated in
Siberia, and was surpassed in wildness only by the Chukchi reindeer. Therefore,
the number of animals which could be used for driving and carrying pack was small
compared to the size of the herds. The Koryak reindeer felt little, if any,
connection with the men, and capture of the driving animals after night grazing
was always a difficult job. In the summer the herds feed on grass, and the leaves
of birch, willow, and poplar trees, and in the winter they subsist on lichens.
The Koryak sleigh had arches instead of stanchions and was similar in struc–
ture to that of the Chukchis (
q.v.
). There were five main types of sleighs: racing
sleigh, driving sleigh (men and women's types), family sleigh, freight sleigh,
and a sleigh for carrying tents and tent poles. The Koryaks used two reins
for their team harness, one for each animal. The halters of both animals were
connected by a line. A rod was used as a whip.
Jochelson estimated that there were 200,000 head of reindeer among the
Koryaks (as of
h
about the year 1900) consisting of the largest herds 2,000 to
5,000 head. These animals were used primarily for slaughter, and provided meat
for food, skins for tents and clothing, and a s barter for trade with the Maritime
Koryaks.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The Koryaks used dogs for drawing sleighs and used the East Siberian harness
with a double loop made of thong [bearded] seal or bear hide. Dogs were harnessed
in pairs, one on each side of a long main line. The dog sleigh was the same type
used elsewhere in northeastern Siberia, with three or four pairs of vertical
stanchions and a horizontal front bow tied to the upturned runners, a vertical
bow at the first pair of stanchions, and a netting of thongs on the sides and in
the back. Dogs were fed meat and fish, and were well treated. They were kept in
kennels during the winter. Dogs were used as sacrifices and in hunting, and their
skin
a
was used to trim clothing. The average house had about ten dogs.
The Maritime Koryaks used both large and small nets and hook and line in
fishing. The most important fish caught were several varieties of salmon. These
were caught during their seasonal migration for spawning up the Gizhiga and other
rivers with small scoop nets made of nettle fibre
and sinew thread. Instead
of a weir, another type of net, consisting of a large closed bag within which was
sewn a small triangular bag with a small opening at the lower end, was used in
swiftly moving waters. This net was placed with the open end facing the on-rushing
current. A fish entering the funnel-shaped small net was forced by the
current through the small opening and into the large net from which it could not
escape. Large open nets requiring the work of several men and held in position
by sinkers and floats were stretched in swiftly moving water. When the net was
full it was drawn in slowly; the catch was either removed with dip nets, or the
entire net was dragged on shore.
Winter fishing for cod was done through the ice with hook and line. The fish–
ing tackle consisted of a wooden rod with a wooden or bone handle, and a curved tip
carved out of reindeer antlers, an iron hook, and a line made of whale sinews.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The fish line with hook and sinker was passed through a hole made in the upper
bone end of the rod. The other end of the line was wound around a projection
on the handle, and was paid out as needed.
In hunting sea animals, the
Koryaks used two types of skin boat: large
skin boats, 29 feet in length and 7 to 9 feet in width, and small kayaks, 9 feet
in length and from 2 to 3 feet in width. The skin boats were constructed of a
wooden frame which was lashed together and covered with split walrus skin or seal
skin. Oars were used with a special primitive type of oarlock.
[:
]
[:
]
A rectangular sail of reindeer skin on
a simple mast was used. These boats were also used for transportation.
The Koryaks hunted the seal mostly from September 1st until early October
when the animals followed the spawning salmon into the rivers. Seals were hunted
with nets when they filled the rivers in large numbers. During the major portion
of the year seals were hunted with harpoons, and in modern times to some extent
with guns. The harpoon was most effective because the line allowed the hunter
to retrieve his kill. The more modern harpoons had iron heads, but formerly bone
and ivory heads were
effectively
used
.
effectively. The back of the harpoon head
was slightly keeled, and the barb was sharply curved and provided with a notch.
The harpoon head was attached to the line by a loop tied firmly to the foreshaft.
The barb of the harpoon head was held to the foreshaft by a loop which passed
over the harpoon head and over the
l
thong loop with which the harpoon head was
attached to the harpoon line. The latter loop was attached to the foreshaft, which
was perforated for this purpose near its lower end. When the harpoon struck the
animal, the small loop which holds the barb to the foreshaft would slip off and
the toggle-head would come off, without, however, being disengaged from the fore–
shaft, to which it was held by the small loop passing through the perforation near
the base.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The harpoon line, about 60 feet long, was made of the hide of thong seal.
It was coiled up and kept in a small round basket woven of grass and nettle
thread. Before throwing the harpoon the hunter would loop the free end of the
line around his left hand, and then hurl the shaft like a spear or with a
throwing board.
Formerly whales were occasionally attacked from boats, with stone-headed
harpoons and spears. The bulk of the whale a catch was, however, provided by
animals washed on shore after attacks by killer whales.
Wild reindeer and mountain sheep were the land animals hunted by the
Koryaks for food. There were, however, few wild reindeer in Koryak territory,
so they were hunted only when a herd was reported in the vicinity and not as
a regular practice. Both reindeer and mountain sheep were formerly hunted with
bow and arrows, but in more recent times with guns.
The bear, red fox, arctic fox, otter, ermine, sable, and gray wolf were all
hunted in small numbers for their fur. Before the arrival of Russians the Koryaks
did not set traps for these animals but hunted them almost exclusively with the
bow and arrow.
Ducks, geese, and swans were only occasionally hunted for food, because the
Koryak felt that the difficulty involved in shooting such rapidly moving targets
was too great, considering the reward. They did, however, catch waterfowl in
snares during the nesting season, and with clubs during the molting period when
the birds cannot fly.
Social Organization
The family was the basic social unit among both the Reindeer and Maritime
Koryaks, and there was a marked antagonism toward outsiders, who were not ad–
mitted to the family hearth, which was the chief protector of the family.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The ancient settlements of Maritime Koryaks consisted of related families,
with the elder as the head of the settlement. He was usually the strongest
person in the settlement or the founder of the settlement, and assumed leader–
ship in time of war and other crises. During the Czar's time he gathered and
paid tribute to the Russian officials.
In the absence of clan divisions and exogamy, the rules for marriage were
based on the following premises:
One's father's sister or mother's sister is in the class of one's mother.
A father's brother and mother's brother are the same as one's father. As is the
rule almost throughout the world, incestuous relationship with one's mother,
sister, and daughter was prohibited. Therefore among the Koryaks this group
included paternal and maternal aunts, first cousins, and nieces as being in the
same class with one's sisters or daughters. These prohibitions extended to
relatives by affinity: the stepmother, stepdaughter, sisters, or cousins of
one's living wife, brother's wife, as well as the sisters or cousins of a
brother's wife. Neither could one marry the widow of a younger brother or a
nephew, or the older sister of one's deceased wife. Two brothers or an uncle
and nephew consequently could not marry two sisters, two cousins, an aunt and
her niece. On the other hand, a widow had to marry the younger brother, cousin,
or a nephew of her deceased husband, and a widower had to marry the younger
sister or cousin or a niece of his wife. Polygamy existed, but was not widely
[]
practiced.
Courting (with or without a matchmaker) consisted of the suitor's coming
to stay and work for his future father-in-law. He was told to leave if the
match was not desired. The length of this service depended entirely upon the
wishes of the father-in-law, or, in his absence, of the
l
elder brother, and
ranged from six months to three years.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
The service was both a severe test of the qualities of the bridegroom and
a form of payment for the bride. The bridegroom could not have intercourse with
the bride during the period of service in the bride's house. There were no
special marriage ceremonies. Consummation of the marriage took place when the
service ended, but not without a struggle on the part of the bride and groom,
symbolic of the bride's chastity. On the day of the marr
agxe
^
iage
^
she would tie
thongs around all the openings of her combination suit and run from the groom.
He had to chase her until he captured her. He then cut the combination suit
open and touched her sexual organs, to symbolize the marriage, at which time she
would surrender and become his wife. Sometimes she was assisted in her flight
and struggle by other women. Formerly stealing of the bride was practiced.
Marriage residence in the majority of cases was patrilocal, though the married
couple could remain at the bride's house. In the former case the bride took only
her clothes and tools with her, and in some cases she brought a few presents for
the groom's
[]
family.
The family was organized along patriarchal lines, with the father as the
head of the family. The principles of seniority and mal domination were important.
Marraiges were rarely forced upon the girls, and therefore affection between
married couples was frequently found, and such extreme cases as suicide upon the
death of one's spouse have been recorded. Divorce was rare, and was simply a
separation, with the
hayd
boys remaining with the father and the girls with the
mother.
Articles for hunting and fishing were considered communal property, while
clothes and ornaments were considered to be personal property. The houses, nets
skin boats, spirit guardians and amulets, and household utensils were family
property and inherited from father to son. In the absence of a son they belonged
to the owner's brother. A married brother of the head of the household received
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
part of this family property and shared the use of the skin boats, if he re–
mained in the same village.
Reindeer belonged to the whole family, but were under the father's juris–
diction. Each new member of the family received his own animals, which were
marked with a special sign on the ears. The original herd was divided among the
sons, and daughters received a share of the original herd at their marriage.
The concept of reincarnation was expressed in the belief that the soul of
a newborn baby was the soul of some dead relative which had been sent into the
mother's womb by the Supreme Being. During her confinement the mother observed
a series of restrictions and food taboos. An experienced woman acted as mid–
wife and cut the umbilical cord with an ordinary iron knife, which was not use
e
^
d
^
again until the child was able to walk.
The newly born child was rubbed with moss and immediately put into a combi–
nation suit which served as a cradle. For one year after the child was born,
the mother could not eat the meat of the ringed seal, white whale, raw thong
seal, or fresh fish. She could not eat whale meat in the fall, but she was
permitted to doso in the winter. Other taboos were observed for the protection
of the infant. Since their souls were very timid they could not be taken out
of the hut during the winter, and had to remain there until after the spring
equinox. The child was given the name of the dead relative with whose soul he
was born. The name was determined by the father by divination.
Infants were nursed until about three years old, unless another pregnancy
prevented this. At an early age they were given pieces of reindeer or seal fat
to suck on. Children were well treated and generally well-behaved. They began
helping the adults with their work at the age of ten or twelve years.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Soul
The multiple soul concept was not well defined among the Koryaks. The
term
uyicit
applied to the main soul, but there was also a "secondary soul,"
or shadow. It was the principal soul which was the subject of attacks by evil
spirits, and when frightened by them left the body and rose to the Supreme Being.
After a man's death his soul would soar high above him, appearing in the shape
of a small fire. During an illness it would leave the body, staying close by
if the illness were minor but moving farther away as the sickness took on
greater proportions. Some great shamans could cause the soul to return even
after a man's death. The body and the secondary soul were thought to depart into
the world of shadow, the country of ancient people. The entrance to this world
was guarded by dogs, and therefore those who mistreated dogs on earth would
not be admitted. The guardian dogs could be bribed by placing fish fins in the
mittens of the dead person before burial. The underworld people lived in villages
with their families.
Burial
The usual method of disposing of a body was cremation. However, some groups
living along the seacoast where there was no timber for funeral pyres used sea
burial. The corpse was attired in funeral dress, tied to a long pole, towed
out to sea, and pushed into the water with poles.
Formerly on the day of a funeral all work in the settlement was stopped;
but later this applied only to the house of the deceased. The body was clad in
special richly embroidered clothing, mostly of white fawn skin, white being the
funeral color. As it took a long time to make the funeral dress it was prepared
in advance, but not completely finished, as that might cause the future owner to
die soon. For the same reason the preliminary work was done in secret. The dress
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
was finished, with the assistance of neighbors, only after the death, while men
entert
[]
^
ain
^
ed the deceased by playing cards on his body. Among the Maritime
Koryaks, the body, fully dressed, was taken for cremation on a sleigh pulled
by men or dogs. The Reindeer Koryaks used a team of reindeer, which were later
killed to serve the deceased in the other world, and their meat was eaten by
relatives.
The remains of the funeral dress materials, bedding, personal belongings,
and food were placed on the pyre along with some gifts which those present wished
to send to their deceased relatives.
Some Koryak groups dissected the bodies before burning to find out the cause
of death; among
i
other groups a survival of this custom consisted of piercing
the abdomen with a knife while the body was on the funeral pyre and stuffing
the wound with some rags.
For ten days after the funeral someone constantly occupied the place used
by the deceased to fool the evil spirits and make them believe they had failed
in their "hunt" among the inhabitants of this household. Ceremonial beating
of the drum took place after the funeral, and for some time brothers of the de–
ceased
wer
wore amulets to guard them against the spirit of the dead. The
anniversary of the dead was observed among some groups of Reindeer Koryaks by
killing reindeer at the place where the body was burned and piling the antlers
there. Occasionally small
wooden representations of the deceased were
made and kept among the sacred objects.
Religion
The Koryak religion was characterized by the development of animism, tribal
deities, family spirits, family shamanistic practices, and hunting festivals.
They conceived of all visible objects and natural phenomena as animate beings,
usually with vague anthropomorphic characteristics. Every
[]
object had two
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
forms, the natural, external form, and the supernatural, anthropomorphic form,
and could change its form at will. Thus a little ermine could become a man,
a spider turn into an old woman, Big Raven into a small bird or even into a
reindeer hair. Their cosmogony was ill-defined.
The most important among the benevolent spirits was the Creator known
under various names (Grandfather, Universe, Supervisor, Strength, The Maker on
High, and Dawn) who would not interfere much with the affairs of men. However,
the abundance of everything depended on whther or not he would look down on
the earth. His wife (Supervisor-Woman, Sea-Woman) sent souls into the womb from
the house of the Creator where they were hung up on beams; the span of each
life was measured by the length of the string on which the souls were suspended.
Sometimes the Creator was identified with Big Raven, or credited with creating
this important spirit.
Big Raven, who sometimes turned into a raven by putting on a raven's coat,
was the founder of the world. He had a wife and children, lived in an under–
ground house, and kept a herd of reindeer. Big Raven(or, in some versions,
the Creator), created all natural phenomena — plants, animals, and heaven.
He introduced order, taught the people to fish and hunt, and gave them the
drum, fire drill, and protection against evil
y
spirits, as well as incanta–
tions against disease. He waged constant war against the Malevolent spirits.
The most important among these were the
Kalau
, who were sometimes invisible and
at other times
w
visible and could change their size at will. They lived in
families. Some lived in the underworld, where everything was the opposite of
what it is on earth — day occurred during night on the earth, and so they
slept when people were awake.
Kalau
made themselves invisible and entered
human houses through the hearth. They hurt people with their hammers and axes,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
and thus caused headaches; their bites caused swellings, and they killed
people with invisible arrows. They could also tear off pieces of human flesh
causing wounds and sores.
Other
Kalau
lived on the earth in a valley far to the west, and entered
houses from above and could be visible. The Maritime
Kalau
kept bears instead
of dogs while the Reindeer Kalau herded reindeer and mountain sheep. The usual
North Siberian concept of the
"Owners"
was not much developed. There were however
the Owners of the sun, moon, and stars which were anthropomorphized and were
sometimes identified with the Creator.
In addition to these tribal spirits each family, individual, or an entire
village might have for protection a group of objects endowed with the ability
to care for man's welfare and keep away all evil. The most important among these
were the sacred implements for fire making, which consisted of a fire board
with holes in it, and shaped like a human being, with a head; a small fire bow
drill; and a small a leather bag with little pieces of coal in it. Among the
Maritime Koryaks the fire-making tools were considered the master of the under–
ground house and helper in the sea hunts, while among the Reindeer Koryaks they were
the master of the hearth.
In addition there was the sacred drum owned by every married couple, which
was the master of the sleeping compartment, where it was kept.
Among the Maritime Koryaks, the left side of the house, near the door, was
reserved for the sacred objects, and the altar was decorated with sedge grass.
There were, besides, a large number of
kamaks
— charms and guardians: (a)
Guardian of the Habitation which was a post tapering at the top, sometimes forked,
set near the village by the one who erected the first house. It was given
offerings of fat, blood, and antlers. (b) Others of the same shape on rocks
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
overlooking the sea, erected after a whale hunt by the owner of the boat whose
crew killed the whale. (c) Net
kamak
. (d) Little
kamak
, an image on a string
which protected against misfortunes. (e) Baby protectors. (f) Skin boat pro–
tectors. Other protectors were in the form of a ladder used for entrance into the
winter house, sacred arrows, shaman's guardian amulets, diving stones, and other
amulets.
Shamanism
Among the Koryaks, shamanism took two forms, family shamanism and profes–
sional shamanism.
The family shaman was connected with the hearth, whose welfare was under
his care. The family shaman had charge of the celebration of family festivals,
rites, and sacrifices and the use of family charms, amulets, and incantations.
Professional shamans (
enenalan
— one inspired by spirits) had their own
guardian spirits, who selected them for this vocation. These spirits usually
appeared in the form of animals or birds, which protected the shaman from evil
spirits, helped him in his fights with other shamans and attacked his enemies.
The receiving of a call was accompanied by great mental struggle against it;
sometimes the chosen one sweat blood on the forehead and
the
temples.
Professional shamans were not attached to any one group, and the stronger
they were the wider the circle in which they could operate. The Koryak profes–
sional shaman seemes to have developed from the family type, as he had no drum
of his own, and used drums belonging to the family in whose house he performed
the incantations. He wore no special dress.
Even at the time of Jochelson's travels (early 20th century) few professional
shamans were found among the Koryaks. Usually, nervous young men subject to
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
hysterical fits were selected for this vocation. They performed in almost
total darkness, beating the drum, singing incantations, imitating sounds of
wild animals, using ventriloquism, and performing conjuring tricks, self–
stabbing, etc.
The shamans were called to cure serious illnesses, tell the future, etc.
According to Koryak tradition, the powerful shamans were able to change their
sex at the command of the spirits, and they wore the clothing of their acquired
sex. Usually this change was accompanied by homosexual practices. The women
shamans transformed into men were considered especially powerful.
The Koryak drum was both a musical instrument and a sacred household object.
It was oval in shape and covered with reindeer hide on one side only, with a
handle formed by a double nettle cord off-center on the inside. The drum was
held in a slanting position and struck on the lower part. Each Korya
,
^
k
^
family
had one or more drums which any member could beat. The power of the drum lay
in the sounds it emitted, as they were
capb
capable of summoning spirits, and
placating them. The drum could be beaten by either sex during the festival
for proitiation of the spirits or as a musical instrument for
as
amusement.
Some women knew not only family incantations but many others besides, which
they could use outside the family circle when requested, and thus they developed
into semiprofessional shamans. In every family there was a woman who knew some
of the secret magic formulas used in the treatment of diseases and the conse–
cration of amulets and charms, and for attracting game animals and
drif
driving
away evil spirits. The contents of these formulas usually consisted of dramatic
narrative in which the Creator and his wife figured prominently, and when recited
the actions described were enacted by the narrator. Upon receipt of payments,
which varied in size, good formulas could be said for the benefit of an outsider
by a skilled and wise woman.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Ceremonies and Festivals
Besides occasional sacrifices, the Koryaks had several sacrificial
ceremonies which were regular or seasonal, all connected with the cult of the
animals on which their livelihood depended. Thus the Maritime Koryaks worshipped
sea animals, and the Reindeer Koryaks their herds. Among the Maritime Koryak
ceremonies were the whale festival, and the ceremony of putting away the skin
boat for the winter and of launching a skin boat. Among the Reindeer Koryaks
the ceremony on the return of the herd from summer pastures and the fawn festival
were the most important. Ceremonies commong to both groups were the bear festival,
the wolf festival, and
the
ceremonial practices in connection with fox hunting.
One of the most important ceremonies among the Maritime Koryaks was the
whale festival — encountered in some form also among the Central Eskimos, Aleuts,
and the Kamchadals. This was a communal celebration held after the killing of
each whale and especially in October after the capture of the white whale. It
was based on the concept that the slain whale made his annual visit to the village
and, if treated right, would go back to his "tribe" and induce them also to visit
the hospitable people.
The hunters were met by women clad in festive garments and grass masks who
danced in honor of the "honored guest." An offering of sacrificial grass was
given to the whale and while the whale was being cut, its head was covered with
grass to prevent it from seeing who was doing the cutting. A dog was sacrificed
to the Spirit of the Sea.
In the evening a ceremony was held at the house of the man who owned the
boat responsible for the kill. A wooden image of the whale and offerings of
whale's meat for it were placed on the altar with the family's sacred objects.
The cemerony began with loud and gay shouts of women: "Welcome dear guests!
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Come often! We have many berries!" Offerings to the household deities were
made and a piece of fat was thrown into the hearth. In the evening prophecies
were made by means of a charred reindeer shoulder blade. Three days passed
in festivities and feasting. On the third day, in the evening, there was again
a communal gathering with the beating of the drum, and the next morning the
"guests" were sent back home. During this ceremony a sign was sought to deter–
mine if the "guests" were satisfied and willing to depart. If they were not
it meant famine and misfortune.
The beaching of boats for the winter and launching them in the spring was
accompanied by celebrations of a family character, when the fire was lighted
by means of sacred fire-making tools, and sacrifices of fat were made to the
[]
sacred boat.
The main festival of the Reindeer Koryaks was held at the time when the
herds returned from summer pastures. They were met with firebrands from a new
fire made with the sacred fire board. Several reindeer were sacrificed to the
Supreme Creator and the fire-making board was smeared with their blood.
Another ceremony was held in the spring after the fawning period of the
reindeer to insure fertility, and was accompanied by ceremonial fire making,
beating of the drum, and feasting.
Both Maritime and Reindeer Koryaks held ceremonies in honor of killing a
bear or wolf, which mainly consisted of feasting "the guest," and sending his
soul back to his tribe.
Sacrifices played an important role in the religion of the Koryaks, and were
made either by individuals or by families. Dogs and seals were sacrificed to
placate the evil spirits. Bloodless sacrifices consisted of offering tea, tobacco,
and fat to the family spirits, accompanied by short incantations.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Koryaks
Koryak folklore is rich in imagery and humor. Jochelso
,
^
n
^
, who made an ex–
haustive study of this subject, feels that
[]
there are great similarities
with the tales of the North Pacific coast tribes of America and detects, as well,
some Eskimo, Slav, Ostiak, Tungus, and Mongol-Turk elements. The bulk of the tales
are concerned with the everlasting struggle of the Big Raven with his enemies —
evil spirits, cannibals, and wolves. Other tales of a humorous character depict
the various tricks Big Raven played on others or vice versa. A number of tales
describe the adventures of a cultural hero in quest of a wife, rivalry between
lovers, etc.
Bibliography
Bogorodski:
A Medico-Topographical Description of the Gijiginsk District
, Peters--
burg, 1853.
Czaplicka, M. A.
Aboriginal Siberia
, Oxford, 1914.
Diachkoff, G.T.:
The Country of the Anadyr
. S.S.A.C. Vladivostok, 1893.
Dittmar, C.
Uber die Koraken und die innen sehr nahe verwamdten Ischuktschen
. (Ac–
ademy of Sciences St. Petersburg, Beitrage zur kenntnissdes Russischen
Reiches (1839-1900) 1856)
Jochelson, Waldemar:
The Koryak
(Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History,
Vol. VI, New York, 1905-1908)
----.
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
. American Museum of Natural H
[:
i
]
tory, 1928.
Kennan, George:
Tent-life in Siberia and Adventures Among the Koryak and Other
Tribes in Kamtchatka and Northern Asia
. London, 1870.
Krasheninnikoff, S.P.
Description of the Country of Kamchatka
, Petersburg, 1755.
de Lesseps, M.
Reise durch Kamtschatka und Siberien
. Berlin, 1791.
Orlova, E. The Koryak of the Kamchatka Peninsula. "Northern Asia," No.3 (27), pp.
83-113, 1929.
Steller, G.W.:
Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtchatka
, St. Petersburg, 1774.
Yelistratoff:
West Coast of Kamchatka,
1742-1787.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Ostyaks
EA-Anthropology
(Eugene A. Golomshtak)
OSTYAKS
Contents
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Page
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Number and Distribution
|
1
|
|
Divisions
|
1
|
|
Habitat
|
2
|
|
Origin and History
|
3
|
|
Physical Anthropology
|
4
|
|
Houses
|
4
|
|
Clothing
|
5
|
|
Food
|
6
|
|
Reindeer Breeding
|
6
|
|
Hunting and Fishing
|
7
|
|
Transportation
|
8
|
|
Tools, Arms and Household Utensils
|
9
|
|
Language
|
10
|
|
Art and Knowledge
|
10
|
|
Social Organization
|
11
|
|
Family
|
12
|
|
Marriage
|
12
|
|
Birth and Attitude toward Women
|
15
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Death and Burial
|
16
|
|
Religion
|
18
|
|
Shamanism
|
20
|
|
Bibliography
|
22
|
EA-Anthropology
(Eugene A. Golomshtok)
OSTYAKS
Number and Distribution
The Ostyaks, (
Khante
), a Finno-Ugric group numbering 18,591 in 1911
and 22,272 in 1926, occupy, together with the Voguls, the Ostyako-Vogul
National Region in northwestern Siberia. The Ostyaks inhabit the Tobol
and Narym regions along the Ob, Irtysh, Kondo, and Vasugan rivers.
Their self name is
Khante
or
As-yakh
, (the people of the Ob). Some
derive the name Ostyak from the self name,
As-yakh
, and others believe it
to be a modification of the Tartar term
Ushtyak
, (the barbarian).
Divisions
The Ostyaks are subdivided into three major groups: (1) Northern
Ostyaks — in the Berezov region, along the Sosva, Kyzym, and Nyzym rivers;
(2) Eastern Ostyaks — in the Surgut and Narym areas; and (3) Southwestern
Ostyaks — on the Irtysh and its tributaries.
From the point of view of occupation we may distinguish three divisions:
(a) fishermen and horse breeders, who live along the Irtysh and Ob rivers
and are sedentary; (b) nomadic reindeer breeders and hunters, who constitute
the bulk of the Ostyaks; and (c) the Sosva Ostyaks who do not have reindeer
or horses and are exclusively hunters.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
The neighbors of the Ostyaks to the north are the Samoyeds, on the
west are the Voguls, and on the south are the Russians, some of whom,
together with Zyrians, live among the Ostyaks.
Habitat
The region is uniform in relief with small hills and knobs. It is
dotted with numerous small lakes and nearly one-third of the territory
is
covered with water. The principal rivers are the Ob and its right tribu–
tary, the Irtysh, which, with their tributaries, form the main arteries of
transportation. The Ob River has six navigable tributaries from the right
and five from the left. The Konda River (12,000 kilometers in length), which
is one of the large left tributaries of the Irtysh, is navigable for 700 km.
from its mouth.
The climate is severe and cold with relatively warm summers and strong
frosts in the winter, and increases in continental character toward the east.
The amount of atmospheric precipitation decreases toward the north, with half
of it occurring during the summer. The snow cover reaches its maximum during
the month of March and remains for an average period of 198 days. North of
the 63rd parallel permafrost is encountered.
Forests, mostly pine, cedar, fir, and birch cover 21% of the area. The
river valleys are covered by various grasses and wild berries. The fauna
is rich and plentiful. The forests abound in squirrel, fox, ermine, river
beaver, otter, brown bear, wolf, and reindeer. The birds include a variety
of geese and ducks, grouse, woodcock, field hen, etc. Fish are abundant
throughout the Ob basin system and are the most important source of natural
wealth. Amont the most important fish are the Siberian sturgeon, Ob herring,
nelma, moksun, taymen, carp, perch, pike, and salmon.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Origin and History
It is believed that the Ostyaks, together with some other Finno-Ugric
group, originated in the Altai region and moved northward following the
course of the Ob and Irtysh rivers.
The Ostyaks, together with Voguls, Votyaks, and Samoyeds were first
mentioned under the name
Ugra
, in Russian annals, as early as 1114. The
first definite account, written in 1499, states that Russian troops of Ivan III
met a crowd of peaceful Samoyeds, killed 50 of them, took 200 reindeer, and
made all the natives (including the Ostyaks) pay tribute.
In the 16th century the Ostyaks traded with the Russians, but were cheated
more often than not. In 1572 the Ostyaks, together with the Cheremias, Bashkir,
Votyaks, and other participated in an unsuccessful uprising against the
Russians. The Ostyaks continued to resist the Russian attempts at conquest,
but they were finally subjugated after many bitter battles. The remains of
Ostyak towers and fortresses testify, also, to the former bloody wars with
attacking Samoyeds. The Russians levied heavy tribute, and in 1753 each
Ostyak had to supply ten ermine and each locality 500 fish.
Even in later times trade was unfavorable to the Osytaks. One sack of
flour was exchanged for 100 squirrels or two best grade arctic fox skins,
1 pound of tea for one fox, and 1 quart of diluted vodka for 2 or 3 fox skins.
Early in the 18th century Ostyak boys and girls were sold into lifelong slavery
for as little as 25 kopecks each. Russian pressure and economic exploitation
resulted in a decline of the native population.
The Soviet revolution brought the establishment of the Ostyako-Vogul
National Region, and the introduction of schools, an alphabet, hospitals,
cultural centers, fishing and hunting cooperatives, etc.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Physical Anthropology
In general the Ostyaks are short and brachicephalic, with dark hair
and eyes. Some have blue eyes, perhaps the result of intermarriage with
Russians. The facial index is 79.6, the cephalic index 79.23, cephalic
module 161, mean stature 1579, and cephalic module stature index 10.2.
Ostyaks are very closely related to the Voguls, and in a number of
physical characteristics occupy an intermediate position between Voguls
and Samoyeds. Some investigators place them, together with the Voguls, in
a special Ugric group, which differs from the Finnish or Samoyed type because
it stands closer to Mongoloids of Siberia. It is also suggested, partly on
the basis of skeletal material, that this Ugric group were the most ancient
inhabitants of northern European Russian and western Siberia.
Houses
In former times the Ostyaks lived in semisubterranean earth huts which
have new almost completely disappeared. The foundation of the earth hut
was three feet deep in the ground, and the upper portion was surrounded by
poles and stakes and half filled with earth. It had no windows, and an
opening in the roof served to let in light and as a smoke hole for the hearth.
The hut was entered through a side door with steps leading down to it.
In later times, during the winter, the Ostyaks lived in Russian-type
log cabins or skin-covered conical tents (
q..v
. Samoyed). The Russian type
of winter log house had a slanting roof of wood or birch bark, one or two
windows with either ice or glass panes, and often had no ceiling. Near the
entrance was a hearth(
chuval
) made of long thin poles covered with mud.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
During the summer the Ostyaks lived in conical tents covered with birch
bark (q.v. Yukaghir). During the summer and fall migrations to the Ob and
back, small, square birch-bark tents were used for shelter. The framework
for these tents was always prepared ahead of time and carried from place
to place.
Clothing
Until the 20th century, Ostyak clothing was made exclusively of furs
and skins. The basic garment consisted of a long shirt or coat, often with
an attached hood, made of reindeer skin or cloth. Women wore crude nettle
fiber shirts embroidered with colored wool and decorated with metal pendents.
A cloth coat was worn over this shirt. At the present time many Ostyaks wear
Russian-type costumes consisting of coats, shirts, and pants. During the
winter they wear long reindeer skin coats with attached hoods.
Today, most of the Ostyaks wear boots and long-boots purchased from the
Russians, but some still use reindeer boots (
kisi
) during the winter. A
knife is worn on the belt, as are fire-making tools.
After maturity women wore leather pants and special chastity belts
(
vorop
) which cover the sexual organs. After childbirth women wore a string
on the calf of the left leg as a talisman against evil spirits.
Beads and metal pendants were used to decorate clothing. These orna–
ments represent animals and plants. Certain ornaments were embroidered with
reindeer or horse hair.
Both men and women wore their hair in braids; the men wore it shorter
than the women and tied their braids with red or blue woolen strings or
braided a ribbon into their hair. Women wore two braids, and either tied
them with string or ribbon, or twisted them near the ears into coils which
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
were held in position with strings.
Children were dressed like their parents.
Food
Ostyak food consisted of meat, fish, and berries. Fish and meat were
eaten raw, dried, roasted, and smoked. Reindeer meat and blood formed the
bulk of the diet, and bear and squirrel meat were considered delicacies.
In the summer, fish and berries were eaten in great quantity, and one of the
favorite dishes was berries mixed with fish fat. During the migratory season
ducks and other waterfowl were killed in large numbers and formed the basic
part of the diet.
Small fish, and the heads of large fish were sun-dried and pounded to
a powder in large troughs, to be made into fish cakes during the winter.
These cakes were widely used as provisions during hunting trips. Fish were
smoked on poles which are placed near a fire, in a slanting position. Bread
was baked in the Russian manner, in round loaves, in a clay stove standing
on four poles. On festive occasions fish fat and berries were added to the
dough.
Tobacco was smoked by all the men, about half the women, and many
children from the age of fourteen on. Many also chewed tobacco. Vodka was
introduced by the Russians.
Reindeer Breeding
Reindeer breeding was the basis of the economy of many Ostyak groups.
The herds move three or four times a year to definite grazing regions. In
June the Ostyaks would move to their summer grazing places in the open areas
and along rivers. The entire family, often assisted by dogs, participated
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
in tending a large herd and a special herdsman guarded the reindeer from
wolves and bears.
Small herds of reindeer were tame, but larger herds were quite wild.
The horns of old bucks and those animals given to fighting were b
f
^
r
^
oken to
prevent them from injuring each other. The herdsmen caught their reindeer
with a leather lasso, with a bone plaque which slides and gets entangled
in the animal's horns. During the summer special sheds of branches were
made for the reindeer. Smoke fires were kept burning in these sheds to
protect the animals from the insects which
^
pl
^
agued them during the summer.
Domestic reindeer were killed by a blow with the back side of an axe
on the forehead. When the animal fell the Ostyaks would turn toward the
west and bow. The warm blood of a freshly killed reindeer was considered
a special delicacy.
Though the herds were large they were often decimated by diseases and
famine. Reindeer were subject to many diseases: pregnant cows would catch
cold and die; the animals developed severe sores on their hooves during the
winter from breaking the crust of ice over the moss; in hot weather they
were subject to lung diseases and epidemics. If the grazing of the herd
was not controlled, the moss and grass could be stamped out and the animals
would then die of starvation. Thu
[:
]
, in the Ural-Tasovsk area 15,000 rein–
deer died in 1924 from various causes.
Hunting and Fishing
The most important animals hunted were the elk, reindeer, fox, brown
bear, sable, squirrel, ermine, and kolinsky. Birds, primarily waterfowl,
were hunted in great numbers.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Reindeer and elk were hunted in the summer during the seasons of mos–
quitoes and other insects. Birds and fur-bearing animals were hunted with
guns and bows and arrows, and also caught in traps. Self discharging bows
were used to trap fur-bearing animals by placing them in the animal's path.
A special type of trap was used for wolves. Ducks were hunted with nets
set in narrow passages on the shores of lakes and rivers. Traps were also
used to catch forest birds.
Nets of various sizes, traps, and hook and line were used in fishing,
and during the summer conical weirs of willow twigs were used. The weirs
were attached to a dam of poles and birch bark built across a river. In
more recent times most of the fishing gear has been purchased.
Transportation
During the winter, sleighs, drawns either by reindeer or dogs, were
used for transportation, and skis were used for traveling over the frozen
ground. During the summer, boats were the principal means of transportation.
The man's reindeer sleigh was long and narrow, while the woman's was
wider and shorter with a back-rest. Dog sleighs were smaller. The reindeer
was urged on with a long pine pole, 2 to 3 meters in length.
Skis were made of pine, birch, or cedar, either plain or lined with
reindeer hide. The lined skis were used for hunting or traveling long dis–
tances, while the unlined skis were for short trips and for teaching children
to ski.
There were two types of boats; (a) wooden boats, with a wide bottom,
and two sides, of boards fastened together with fibers of cedar tree roats
and cemented with pitch; (b) dugout canoes made of cedar logs. A paddle or
EA-Anthrop. Geolomshtok: Ostyaks
single-bladed oar was used. The handles were often decorated with carved
figures.
Tools, Arms, and Household Utensils
About half the guns used by the Ostyaks were of the flint-lock type.
The bow and arrow was not only considered as good for hunting, but was
preferred bymany.
The bow was of a composite type and made of three plies (pine or
cedar, birch, and "cheremukha"). Each part was soaked in pitch and the
three layers were tied together and covered with thick strips of birch
which were fastened with fish
^
g
^
lue. The whole bow was then tied tightly
with cedar roots. The bowstring, either of purchased string or nettle
fibers, was four or five inches shorter than the bow. It was first soaked
in water, and then dried and soaked in hot glue. In some regions reindeer
gut was used for the bowstring.
The arrows were from 62 to 80 cm. in length and were of several kinds.
Some, tipped with iron heads of various types and forms, were used for
hunting fox, geese, eider, and fish; for hunting ducks, spear or fork
points were used. Another type of arrow, blunt and thickened on the end
instead of having an iron head, was used for hunting squirrels and wood hens.
Still another type had a hollow arrow head which caused a whistling sound to
be emitted during flight.
All arrows were feathered with eagle feathers. Bone bow guards were
used to protect the left hand of the hunter from the backlash of the bowstring.
Children used a simple bow and were instructed early in the use of this weapon.
Another important weapon was an iron knife worn in a wooden or birch-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
bark sheath attached to the belt.
Household utensils were made of birch bark, which was boiled to soften
it and make it workable and sewn with reindeer sinew thread. Ostyaks used
buckets with round handles, tall containers for berries, storage boxes, and
cradles, etc. These objects were decorated with stylized representations
of reindeer horns, bears, ermine, tents, etc. Baskets of cedar roots and
bags of tanned rindeer skin were also made. Cups, plates, baskets, kettles,
and teapots were bought.
A wooden needle was used for making and repairing nets, and iron scrapers
with wooden handles were used to scrape reindeer skins.
Language
Although 17 dialects of Ostyak are recognized, most scientists divide
the Ostyak language into four major groups: (1) Obdors — Ob; (2) Beresovo —
Ob; (3) Surgut — Kondin; and (4) Vakhake — Narym. Many Russian, Zyrian,
and Samoyed words are incorporated in all of these dialects.
There is no native form of writing, and the only method of indicating
ownership was the
tamga
, a special mark which was cut out on each man's
implements, tools, etc. This mark was considered equal to a man's signature.
Only the father or head of a family had his own
tamga
, and after his death
it was used by his family, which was now headed by his wife or son. When
a son separated from his family he made his own sign which he cut on his
most valuable reindeer, sleighs, boats, etc.
Art and Knowledge
The Ostyaks had a simple device for counting, the
jukh-pas,
which
was a small wooden stick, 10 cm. long, 2 to 3 cm. wide, and 1 to 2 cm. thick.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Notches, usually based on the decimal system, were cut on this: a vertical
cut was equal to one, two horizontal lines equalled 5, X equalled 10,
crossed X equalled 100, and an eight-pointed star was equal to 1,000.
The Ostyak year contained 12 months for which they had descriptive
names which reflected their occupational cycle; e.g., April (month which
brings ice), May (leaf month), June (fish month), etc. They also had names
for days of the week.
The Ostyaks had musical instruments of their own invention. A five–
stringed violin (
nary-syukh
,
dombra
), with strings made of reindeer sinew,
was reserved for men. An eight-stringed harp called
chotuing
(swan) had
metal strings. A wind instrument made of bone was used by women. There
was also a two-stringed violin. Songs were monotonous and sung in a minor
key to the accompaniment of these instruments. Dances imitated the movements
of various animals and contained pantomimes which enacted the incidents of
daily life.
Social Organization
The Ostyaks were formerly divided into clans, each of which was a com–
bination of a large family and an independent political unit. They never
exhibited a tendency to unite into a nation or an organized tribe, but were
always grouped in independent clans, each having its own chief, which formed
alliances only in case of war against another tribe.
The clans were headed by military leaders and shamans. The elder of the
clan was called
urt
and was the real ruler in ancient times although on certain
important occasions there was an assembly in which the oldest members of the
clan were able to participate in discussion. The chiefs and their families
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
formed an aristocratic caste, a warrior class which defended the land from
foreign foes. Some of the princes or chiefs succeeded in conquering a con–
siderable amount of territory, thus creating a tribal or feudal type of
society with nobles, common people, and slaves. These slaves were usually
Samoyed prisoners of war and were considered to be private property. The
office of
urt
was abolished after the Russian conquest.
Family
The Ostyaks had a patriarchal type of family organization with women
in a subordinate position. The family consisted of parents, their children,
and the paternal grandparents. Other members could be children of destitute
families which remained in the new family group until they reached maturity.
The father's power, however, was nominal, as sons could marry or set up
separate residences whenever they wished. Daughters were more restricted.
They were trained in household duties from early childhood and often by the
time they were 8 to 10 years old they were placed in the family of their
future husband where they participated in the family work. Father and sons
hunted together and if a son hunted alone he brought the catch to the family.
All sons inherited equally.
Marriage
The Ostyaks formerly practiced polygamy. Marriage within the clan was
permitted for couples not nearer than the fourth generation removed if they
bore the same family name, which was handed down along the male line. Fathers
and sons or two brothers could marry two sisters. Levirate and solirate were
permitted, but not enforced.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
In selecting a bride her health and industriousness were very important.
The usual mode of acquiring a wife was by purchase. The bride price (
kalym
)
consisted of reindeer, dogs, copper vessels, etc. Its size depended on the
wealth of the groom's family. The bride brought a dowry approximately equal
in value to the purchase price.
A matchmaker, receiving five reindeer from rich prospective grooms or
only one or a large kettle from poor ones, would visit the tent of the bride's
parents and give a traditional speech which varied according to the season.
When an agreement was reached, the parents received gifts of cups or a
kettle and the bride received earrings, a dress, or other trinkets.
On a given day the matchmaker and the parents would meet and the groom's
parents would bring gifts for the bride's family. The groom was not present
so that often his parents erred and brought a sister of the bride instead.
After the feast the bride was dressed in her best clothes, reindeer
boots, furs, etc., and, seated on the first sleigh of the train, her brothers
or the matchmaker would take her to the groom's home. Upon arrival there
they would circle faster and faster from west to east with loud cries, with
the object of throwing the bride off the sleigh. If she fell it showed that
she would be unfaithful, but if she held fast she would be a true, loyal wife.
A similar ceremony with boats was substituted in the summer.
Feasting, when the best of foods and tea with sugar were served, lasted
2 to 3 days (less with poorer grooms). There was no dancing but singing was
permitted. No special songs existed. If the shaman lived nearby he attended
but his presence was not required.
Formerly matrilocal residence was practiced until the full bride price
was paid. In such a case, when the agreement was reached the groom went to
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
the bride's tent and paid part of the bride price. He then directed the
father to prepare a bed for him and have his daughter ready. At night
the bridegroom would lie in the appointed spot while the bride lay near
him on a separate bench covered with a particular fur, until the fires
were put out. Next morning the girl's mother would ask if the bridegroom
was satisfied with her daughter. If satisfied, he had to give the mother
a garment and a reindeer and she would cut to pieces the reindeer skin on
which the couple had lain. If not satisfied, the mother would give him a
reindeer. After this the bridegroom would sleep with the bride but could
not take her home until the whole
kalym
was paid. The bridegroom had to
observe avoidance customs with his father-in-law until the
kalym
was paid.
The dowry was provided from the
kalym
which was paid for the bride and
consisted of garments, bedding, etc.
Bride stealing was prominent, usually by agreement between the young
people. Relatives of the brids would try to return her by force, but were
opposed by the groom's relatives. Usually after a year or so both parties
made peace.
Customs of avoidance were carefully observed. A wife had to cover her
face and head by means of a kerchief or her hands from her husband; the
wife of the older son from her father-in-law and from the husband of her
husband's sister; the wife's mother from her son-in-law; the older sister
from her younger sister's husband; the stepmother from the husband of her
stepdaughters. A woman neglecting this rite brought reproach upon herself
and could even be excluded from the family and clan. She had to acknowledge
her guilt and punish herself by leaving. Her relatives would not persuade
her to stay but would drive her out, condemning her. She could not join
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
another family or clan until she had repented.
The custom signified respect for the person to whom it was addressed.
A wife not covering herself from her husband thereby indicated she did not
wish him well, and actually desired his death. He would then run away from
her and her family whom he would not visit until she was banished, and she
herself had to ask forgiveness through some member of her family. If she
did not ask forgiveness, the husband had to protect himself from death with
a sacrifice to the spirits, a ceremony in which the shaman participated.
No married woman could appear before her father-in-law, and the bride–
groom had to avoid his mother-in-law until he had children. If they chanced
to meet, they had to cover their faces. The woman did this in the case of
all male connections on her husband's side. There were also restrictions
on the relations between a girl and her brothers; she could not eat with
them or talk to them after she had reached the age of thirteen.
Avoidance customs seem to have been borrowed by the Ostyaks from their
former neighbors, the Tartars.
Birth and Attitude toward Women
Women were considered "unclean" from the time of their first menstrual
period. They could pollute not only fishing and hunting gear but the owners
of the gear, and were forbidden to cut or clean certain types of fish.
During mentrual periods and during childbirth the woman lived in a separate
hut and had to be purified afterward. A few days before the delivery of
her first child the expectant mother had to confess all her bad deeds since
childhood, to women she herself selected. She told
^
in
^
detail any instances of
faithlessness to her husband, even to unfulfilled desires for another man.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
She also confessed thefts, swearing, etc. Before subsequent births she
confessed only for the period since the last birth. For six weeks after
birth the woman had to keep her face covered with a kerchief and could not
go visiting or venture far from her hut.
The newborn child was washed and placed in a cradle lined with lichen
or powdered bark. The child was breast fed.
Death and Burial
The Ostyak graveyard was usually in a forest and burial generally took
place on the day of death. The body, fully dressed, was taken out of the
house through a window or a specially made opening and carried to the grave
by hand or on a reindeer. The reindeer had to be killed at the spot of
burial by placing a loop of rope around its neck and tying the other end to
a tree. The animal was then beaten with sticks, and in attempting to escape
it would choke itself with the rope. Only then was a wooden spear driven
into its heart. The flesh was eaten at the grave, the bones placed with the
corpse, and the skin buried close at hand.
Among the Ostyaks of the upper Ob, the graves were no deeper than three
or fout feet and the sides were lined with wooden planks or branches of trees.
The body was placed in the grave either in a small boat with flattened ends
and covered with branches, or, if no boat was available, in a coffin made
somewhat in the form of a boat. Above the grave a small roof formed of
interlaced birch branches was erected. The roof was slightly sloping, with
its sides about a foot from the ground, and three or four feet above this
another similar roof was erected. The small belongings of the dead man were
placed in the grave, and the larger ones, such as oars, boat, and skis,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
outside it. After the burial the relatives held a feast, some of the food
was placed on both sides of the grave, and then a cooking vessel with a
pierced bottom was placed inside the grave.
Among the Ostyaks of the lower Ob, similar funeral ceremonies were per–
formed, but no grave was used. They placed the body on the ground and
covered it with inverted skis. The wife of the dead man made a figure which
represented her husband, from portions of the boat, skis, branches, etc.
This figure, which was d
^
r
^
essed and adorned like the deceased, and whose features
were sometimes made by a careful widow to resemble him, was treated as the
husband for six months after his death; it was placed in the most important
seat, was fed by the wife who would sleep beside it.
No widow was permitted to marry during the period of mourning. To show
their mourning men wore their hair loose for five days, and the women for four
days; or they wore the hair in plaits in front of the face, the women for four
months and the men for five months. The men sometimes also wore a cord with
hanging ornaments around the neck.
A man, according to Ostyak ideology, consisted of three parts: body, soul,
and shadow. The soul of the deceased passes into the body of a newly born
child of the same stock, or at least of the same clan or nation. The shadow
had to climb high mountains and cross streams of fire. To assist it, one had
to burn the portions of hair and nails which were cut and preserved during
its lifetime together with a few feathers of spring birds. The implements
placed in the grave, and the food which was taken thither from time to time,
were also destined to assist the shadow on this terrible journey. Sometimes
the shadow of the deceased took with him the shadows of some relatives who
would therefore die soon. The land of the future life was situated under the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
ground in the Arctic Sea beyond the mouth of the Ob. It was ruled by the
underground god,
Kul-Odyr
. Here the shadow lived as long as the man lived
on earth, and followed similar occupations: if the man were a fisherman,
his shadow was the same in the shadow land. Toward the close of its life
the shadow would diminish in size and become as small as a black beetle
(
ker-khomlakh
), and, according to some natives, it actually would become a
black beetle and finally disappear. People who had lived evil lives had
to work continually in the other land, but their work would not be successful.
Religion
The spirits which influenced hunting and fishing constituted the most
important element of the Ostyak religion. Images of these spirits were kept
in every family, but they were respected only if they brought luck. The ven–
eration of some animals, such as the bear, was a part of this aspect of the
religion. Another element was the worship of clan deities which was usually
officiated over by the shaman, and a third aspect of the religion was the
worship of tribal spirits headed by the Creator
Torum,
and the cult of dead
leaders and heroes.
Torum
(
Turym
,
Torm
), whose name means "bright, clear," was formerly
a spirit of thunder and lightning and later, perhaps under the influence of
Christianity, assumed the character of a creator. He was visualized as a
small wooden or cloth doll which grew when one went away. He was the owner
of the earth, rivers, lakes, seas.
Weak dualism was manifested by the existence of
Kul
(or
Lunk
) who was
exiled by
Torum
for his cupidity and interference and became the chief evil
spirt.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Neither of these personages took a very active part in human affairs,
but worked through helpers, the numerous spirit owners of animals, localities,
etc., who inhabited the forest. These spirits each owned small lakes, rivers,
and valleys. They behaved very much like humans, quarreling among themselves,
and interfered with human activities, usually by demanding sacrifices. They
were dealt with by shamans who by their incantations and ceremonies could
demand the cessation of this interference. Innumerable small evil spirits,
menk,
interfered with man's normal activities as contrasted to
unkhu
, benevo–
lent lower spirits of the forest.
Sacrifices were the most common method of placating the spirits. Both
Torum
and his adversary
Lunk
demanded blood sacrifices but bloodless sacri–
fices were often made to the smaller spirits. It was even possible to promise
blood to the small spirits and then fool them and substitute bloodless offering.
Formerly great altars and sacrificial places were erected to the tribal
deities deep in the forest. Pallas describes one such altar some 70 miles
below the town of Obdorsk, where stood two large images, one male and another
female, having silver bands on their heads, dressed in fur coats decorated
with copper and iron pendants, representing various animals. Each image
stood in a wooden box near a tree, and the trees were covered with numerous
offerings in the form of pieces of multicolored materials, pieces of tin, and
bells. On the tree of the male figure were hung a great many bows and quivers,
and on the tree of the female image there were many animal skins, household
utensils, cups, kettles, tobacco, horns, etc.
Offerings and sacrifices to the hunter's spirits were placed in the
hollow of a tree and consisted of skins, clothes, and copper and silver coins.
Small idols were kept at home and carried from place to place.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
Each forest spirit (
Unkhu
) was the protector of the hunters in his
territory, and did not like trespassers. He was responsible for any
misfortune which took place during the hunt. He could be benevolent
toward strange hunters if they got permission to hunt from the local
people and made a sacrifice to him. A black stallion was always given to
Unkhu
. Before the hunt a feast was held at which
Unkhu
was present, although
invisible, and wine was drunk in his honor. When setting out on the hunt,
each Ostyak (or the group collectively) carried a long black coat, similar
to that used by the shaman, to the place of sacrifice. Bread, butter, sugar,
and dry fish were left in a special vessel near a sacred tree. Three or
four shots (blanks) were fired. Women were forbidden to participate in
the ceremonies either at home or at the sacrificial place. The hunter
would ask the spirit to make his aim good.
Shamanism
Both men and women could become shamans. The shaman chose one of
his sons as his successor, not necessarily according to age but according
to ability, and to the chosen one he gave his own knowledge. If he had
no children, he could pass on the office to a friend or to an adopted
child.
The Ostyak shaman occasionally sold his familiar spirit to another
shaman. After receiving payment, he divided his hair into tresses, and
fixed the time when the spirit was to pass to his new master. The spirit
having changed owners, made his new possessor suffer; if the new shaman
did not feel these effects, it was a sign that he was not becoming proficient
in his office.
Among Ostyaks of the Turukhansk region, the future shaman spent his
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
youth in exercises which stimulated his nerves and excited his imagina–
tion. At the consecretion the novice had to stand with his face toward the
west, while the officiating shaman would ask the Dark Spirit to help the
candidate and to give him a spirit to serve him. At the end of the cere–
mony, the shaman would sing a hymn in praise of the Dark Spirit, and the
novice would repeat it after him. The beginner was tested by the spirits,
who required certain sacrifices from him and also from his wife or son,
and he had to promise them various other sacrifices.
The Ostyak shaman's drum was round in shape, broad-rimmed, covered
on one side only, and had a diameter of from 30 cm. to 50 cm. Some drums
are reported to have had the same division of the drum into lower and upper
parts representing lower and upper worlds, as among the Tartars of Chern.
The practices of the Ostyak followed the usual pattern of travel into
the underworld, divination, and showing tricks.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ostyaks
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Ahlquist, A.
Unter Wogulen und Ostjaken.
Helsingfors, 1885.
2. Castren, M. A.
A Trip to Lapland, Northern Russia and Siberia.
N. Florev's Geographical Anthology, Vol.6, Moscow, 1860.
3. Czaplicka, M.A.
Aboriginal Siberia
. Oxford University Press, England,
1914.
4. Gondatti, N.
Traces of Paganism among the Natives of North-western
Siberia.
Moscow, 1888.
5. Jochelson, W.
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
. American Museum of Natural
History, N.Y., 1928.
6. Patkanov, S.
The Ancient Mode of Life of Ostyaks and Their Cultural
Heroes in Stories and Folklore.
Zhivaya Starina, Vol.1,
St. Petersburg, 1891.
7. Peredol'sky, V.
Shamanism Among the Ostyaks.
Protocols of the
Russian Anthropological Society, 1896-1898, pp.56-57.
8. Startzev, G.
The Ostyaks.
Leningrad, 1928.
9. Tokarev, S.A.
Ostyaks and Voguls.
In a volume, "The Religious Beliefs
of the Peoples of the USSR," Vol.1, Moscow-Leningrad, 1931,
pp.202-216.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Samoyeds
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
SAMOYEDS
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Page
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Origin and History
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2
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History
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3
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Language
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3
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Physical Anthropology
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4
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Houses
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4
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Dress
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6
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Occupation
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7
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Food
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9
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Transportation
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10
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Tools and Implements
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11
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Knowledge
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12
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Social Organization
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13
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Marriage
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15
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Birth
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17
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Death and Burial
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18
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Religion
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20
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Shamanism
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21
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Ceremonies
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23
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Amusements
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24
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Fol
d
klore
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25
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Bibliography
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27
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EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
SAMOYEDS
The Samoyed (Nenets), a large and varied native group numbering about
16,000 in Europe and Asia, inhabits a vast territory stretching from the
Archangel region in European Russia, across the Urals and along the northern
coast of Siberia and its islands as far east as the Khatanga River between the
Yenisei and the Lena.
The European Samoyeds are considered newcomers. They live in the northern
portion of the Archangel province and number about 4,000. The Siberian Samoyeds
are divided linguistically into three major groups: (1) the western branch,
the Yurak Samoyeds, numbering 5,377 (census of 1926), who live in the Tobolsk
and north Turukhansk region as far east as the Yenisei River; (2) the eastern
branch, or Yenisei Samoyeds, who number 1,326, including a small
[:
]
group
of Tavghians, and live in the tundra between the Yenisei and the Khatanga rivers
and in a portion of the Taimyr Peninsula; (3) the southern branch, the Ostyako–
Samoyeds or Forest Samoyeds, who wander south of the other two groups in the
Tobolsk, Yenisei, and Tomsk provinces and numbered 5,805 in 1887 and 1,630 in
1926. Many of these have turned to a sedentary life and now have horses and
cattle instead of reindeer.
The Eastern and Taz Samoyeds call themselves
nenec
or
xasovo
, which mean
"man," and some Samoyeds add a word
pya
(forest) —
pyan-xasovo
. The Yenisei
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Samoyeds call themselves
madu
, the Tavghians use
nganasan
, and the Ostyako–
Samoyeds call themselves
sel'kup
.
The area occupied by the Samoyeds is inside the polar circle bordering the
Arctic through which run the Pesha, Nesa, Pechora, Usa, Ob, Taz, and Yenisei
rivers. Most of it is treeless or stony tundra, with short scrubby birches,
willows, and mosses; there are some pines and birches in the valleys. The lower
slopes of the mountains in the Northern Ural, Pai Hoi, Yamal, and Yenisei regions
are covered with pine, cedar, and fir forests.
The average yearly temperature is minus 4 degrees Centigrade. During the
winter months cold northern winds bring frequent snow storms.
Rivers and lakes abound with a variety of ducks, geese, and swans in the
spring. Wild reindeer, arctic fox, wolverines, hares, and bears inhabit the
tundra, while the shores are populated by seals.
Origin and History
Castren concluded on the basis of linguistic evidence that the Samoyedic,
Finnic, and Turkic tribes all originated in Central Asia. These tribes migrated
from Central Asia to the upper Yenisei River and the Sayan Mountains, and from
there northward along the Yenisei; then some went west, across the Urals, and
some went east, as far as the Khatanga River. The Soyot, Koibal, and Karagass
tribes are believed to be Mongolized and Turkicized Samoyeds who remained behind
during the migration.
Strahlenberg believed that the Siberian Finns and Samoyeds came from Lapland,
but more modern Finnish investigators believe that they came from the Ural dis–
trict. Their well-developed reindeer culture shows that they have lived in
Siberia for a long time.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
History
The first accounts we have of the Samoyeds are found in 12th century
Russian annals, and in the writings of a Franciscan monk
[:
]
Plano Carpini,
dated 1246. The Samoyeds were conquered by the Russians in the 15th century
and paid tribute to Moscow. They engaged in wars with the Ostyaks and the
Tungus tribes at various times. Little was done by the Czars to raise the
standard of living of the Samoyeds, who were treated as curiosities, groups of
them being brought to St. Petersburg occasionally to be exhibited at reindeer
races. Christianity was introduced by the Russians only in the 19th century,
and 3,300 Samoyeds had been converted by 1830. They absorbed this new religion
into their own, however, becoming, to a great extent, Christian in name only.
The Samoyeds were the victims of exploitation by Russian and Zyrian
merchants up to the time of the revolution. Today National Soviets have been
established which give the Samoyeds a considerable measure of self-government.
This has resulted in the establishment of cooperatives, schools, and health
centers. There has been an increase in the general
[:
]
standards of the popula–
tion, both material and cultural.
Language
Castren divided the Samoyed languages into three groups: (1) northwestern
or Yurak Samoyed, (2) northeastern or Tavgi Samoyed, and (3) southern or Ostyako–
Samoyed. Modern Soviet anthropologists distinguish the Yenisei Samoyeds from the
Tavgi and divide the Yurak language into five dialects: (1) Kanin and Timan, (2)
Izhem, (3) Bolshezemelskii and Obdorsk, (4) Kondin or Kazym, (5) Yurak. Similar
dialects exist in other major groups.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Grammatically and lexically the Samoyed languages are close to the Finno–
Ugric languages and occupy an intermediate place between them and the Tungus
group. Some explain the similarity to Tungus by later influences, when a con–
siderable number of Russian and Zyrian words were also incorporated.
Physical Anthropology
Samoyeds are of short stature; the Kanin group averages 157.9 cm., the
Bolshezemelskaya tundra group averages 156.8, and the Ob Samoyeds, 154 cm.
The cephalic index, 83.95, dimishes with the decrease of stature. The
face is of medium width with pronounced cheekbones, wide flat nose, wide mouth,
thick lips, and slanting eyes, but without the Mongolian eye-fold.
European Samoyeds frequently intermarried with Russians and Zyrians, which
accounts for the fact that there is some difference in physical type between
them and the Asiatic Samoyeds.
In general Samoyeds are sturdily built, and do not suffer as much as some
of the other Siberian tribes from scurvy, but smallpox, colds, and rheumatism are
prevalent. Trachoma and syphilis are rare.
The bulk of the following descriptions applies to the Samoyeds in general,
thought it is based mostly on material concerned with the eastern group. The
Tavghians are described elsewhere.
Houses
According to Samoyed folklore, in ancient times they lived in caves during
the winter and under the shelter of trees or a lean-to in the summer. As late as
the 18th century,
[:
]
Samoyeds lived in semisubterranean huts in winter, and
this type of dwelling was encountered on the Yamal Peninsula as late as the be-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
ginning of the 20th century. At that time the nomadic groups used two types of
dwellings, the winter and the summer conical hut,
mja
, and the sedentary groups
used semisubterranean huts and log houses taken over from the Russians and the
Zyrians.
The conical hut had a circular ground plan 3.5 to 4.5 meters in diameter.
Its framework was formed by several long poles, shorter in length than the diameter
of the ground plan and stuck into the ground about one meter apart. The top end
of the poles passed through a ring to which was attached a long strip of reindeer
skin which circled several times around the framework and served to keep the
covering in place. A series of short connecting poles (
ma
), forming 2 or 3 rows
parallel to the ground, completed the framework which, in winter, was first
covered with a layer of reindeer skins with the hair inside (
mjujko
), then with
a layer made of old reindeer skins (
jeje
), and finally, at the top of the struc–
ture, with a third layer of skins or birch bark (
nur
). An opening between the
poles served as an entrance and was covered with a skin. Snow and moss were
piled outside the hut, against the covers, and birch twigs or pine needls were
spread inside. Some Samoyeds used a mat made of birch branches tied with cord.
This mat was spread on the ground and covered with another made of seaweed (
umpaga
).
The hearth was in the center of the hut. Formerly it was on a slab of stone,
but later an iron sheet was used. Horizontal poles served to hold the hook for
the kettle over the fire.
One side of the hut was reserved for sleeping quarters, the other for uten–
sils. The space opposite the entrance (
[:
]
) (
senukoi
) was considered sacred
and reserved for icons or sacred household objects.
The wooden houses had stoves but no chimneys. Sometimes the huts had a
primitive earth oven for baking, which consisted of a depression under an iron
sheet.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
An unlined shallow pit (
t'in
— which also means "grave" and "prison") was
dug in the ground and served as a storage place for provisions in winter, or as
a temporary storing place for game which could not be taken home. These places
were never touched by anyone but the owners.
Dress
All Samoyed clothes were made by the
s
^
w
^
omen who sewed with reindeer sinew,
split and twisted, Three to five strands were used to make one thread.
The men wore a sleeved undershirt (
mal'che
) made of reindeer skin with the
hair inside. Gloves with a slit in them were sewn to the sleeves. The outer
shirt (
sovak
), made of reindeer skin with the hair outside, had a hood (
sova
).
Sometimes the
sova
was separate and had long straps which were tied under the chin.
A belt (
ni
) was fastened tightly around the undershirt which thus formed a pocket
for pipe and tobacco to be reached through the collar.
The women wore an undershirt (
jandy
) which was the same as the men's
mal'che
,
but the outer shirt (
pany
) was open in front and longer than the man's. It was in
the form of a long coat or
kaftan
. The hood was made of white or blue fox fur
and covered with cloth, leaving visible only an edge of fur. Ribbons and metal
decorations were used on the hood. Sometimes the outer shirt was actually a fur
coat made of dog skin and cloth. The shirt was tied with a wide belt decorated
with copper rings and plaques and fastened with a large copper buckle.
Both men and women wore short reindeer skin pants reaching to the knees.
In the summer only one layer of clothing was worn and an open coa
st
^
ts
^
was used.
Both sexes wore high hip-length boots with leggings. The boots were made of
reindeer skin in two styles, with the hair inside, or with hair outside. Men
sometimes wore short boots (
hoty
) made of cow hide. These are adapted from the
Zyrians. Dress and shoes were decorated with applieque designs cut out of
reindeer skin and colored cloth.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Hair was worn long and braided by both sexes. The women adorned their
hair with ribbons, beads, buttons, silver coins, and bells. Facial and
[:
]
pubic hair was plucked. Women had pierced ears and wore pendants and earrings.
Bedding was made of reindeer skin. Later, pillows were adapted from the
Russians and Zyrians.
Occupation
The bulk of the Samoyed people were nomads whose main occupations were
reindeer breeding and hunting, while fishing played a lesser role. Some Samoyed
groups were sedentary, with horse, cattle, and sheep breeding and a limited
amount of agriculture as their chief
[:
]
means of subsistence. They raised only
two crops: barley and potatoes. Although the Samoyeds were breeding reindeer
as early as the 10th century A.D., it is believed that they were originally hunters.
They may have learned the domestication of animals from the Sayan-Altaian group.
Reindeer supplied the Samoyeds with materials for food, clothing, and construc–
tion and served as draft animals for the transportation of man and material.
The Samoyed reindeer breeders recently had a total of 340,000 head of rein–
deer. The average family owned from 500 to 1,500 head, and any group having less
than 200 head was considered poor. The herds were often decimated by epidemics
and Samoyeds who lost their reindeer usually turned to fishing or became herders
for another owner.
Dogs were used for herding, with not less than two and no more than five for
each 1,000 reindeer. Wolf cubs were also trained for this purpose. Reindeer
were caught by two or three men using rawhide
[:
]
lassos (
tynze
) varying in length
from 25 to 60 meters.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Within the clan, reindeer stealing was severely punished. For each
stolen animal, the thief had to pay sixteen animals, one for every toe.
The Samoyeds hunted the arctic fox, arctic bear, fox, wolf, ermine,
wolverine (
gulo
), bear; also seals — both
nerpa
(
Phoca hispida
) and the bearded
seal (
Erignathus barbatus
) — and porpoise (
Phocaena phocaena
). They also hunted
such birds as the goose, eider and other ducks, and the Siberian grouse. Hunting
was done both individually and in groups.
The most profitable fur animal was the arctic fox which made up 30 to 40%
of the kill for the year. As many as 20,000 fur-bearing animals were killed
during the year and, in a good year, one man might kill as many as 100 arctic
foxes.
Eighty to one hundred years ago, the Samoyeds used the bow and arrow for
hunting, and some are said to have been still using them as late as around 1930.
The bow was five feet long and the arrows were from two to three feet in length.
Arrowheads were made of deer or mammoth bone and later of iron. Guns later
replaced the bow and arrow. At times, traps and snares were used for birds and
small fur-bearing animals.
Sea animals were sometimes hunted by husband and wife together. The man
shouted, played the mouth organ or beat a drum to attract the animal's attention,
and the wife shot it. Sometimes the roles of the man and the woman were reversed.
During the month of July, when waterfowl shed their feathers and cannot
fly, they were surrounded and killed. Three or four men with their dogs would
go to the upper part of streams in boats and drive the birds before them. Each
family would kill as many as 300 to 500 birds a day during the molting season,
and the feathers and salted meat were sold. During the rest of the year, water–
fowl were hunted by individuals who used guns.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Large communal hunts were sometimes staged. Thirty to
^
^
forty men would
form a large circle around an area suppsedly containing game and slowly move
forward. All the animals killed were divided equally among the men and were often
sold to a rich man. Hunts of this kind were rarely unsuccessful.
Small nets and traps, as well as hook and line, were used for fishing which
was done both individually and in groups. Fishing was never a major occupation
among the Samoyeds, probably because it was not one of their original pursuits.
Food
Fish and meat were the staples of the Samoyed diet, but the sedentary
Samoyeds used and stored many berries and mushrooms.
The major part of the year, from August until May, reindeer meat was the
basis of the diet. From May to July, grouse were abundant and eat
^
e
^
n in quantity.
Geese and ducks were in season in July and August and provided variety to the
diet. The Samoyed male ate approximately 1,000 to 1,400 grams (1-1/2 lbs.) of
meat per day.
Meat was salted, smoked, sun-dried, and eaten fresh, often raw. Frozen
meat was a great delicacy, and broiled meat was eaten only twice a week because
of the shortage of fuel. An unsalted soup was made from fresh and smoked meat
and frozen blood. The soup meat was often eaten separately. Dogs were fed from
the same vessel as their owners and ate what was left from the previous meal.
Fish was usually salted, dried, or smoked, but was sometimes broiled. It
was
[:
]
split lengthwise for drying and placed on the fire or exposed to the sun.
Flour products were rare and the little flour used was obtained from the
Zyrians. Some bread was eaten and, occasionally, flour was put into the soup.
Bread was baked on stone slabs or in the kettle after it had been smeared with
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
reindeer grease, fat, and butter. Reindeer fat and blood were added to the
dough, giving the bread a reddish-brown color. Soft reindeer horn was consi–
dered a delicacy by the children.
Flour products were rare and the little flour used was obtained from the
Zyrians. Some bread was eaten and, occasionally, flour was put into the soup.
Bread was baked on stone slabs or in the kettle after it had been smeared with
reindeer grease, fat, and butter. Reindeer fat and blood were added to the dough,
giving the bread a reddish-brown color. Soft reindeer horn was considered a
delicacy by the children.
There were food taboos on the seal, bear, eider, and several species
of duck. There was a taboo against killing the hare and certain fish.
The poorer Samoyeds were more limited in their diet, which although it
included the meat of dogs, of the arctic fox, the seal, and other animals,
consisted for the most part of fish and berries. They drank no tea, but made
a tea of birch-buds or drunk leaf or moss tea.
Vodka was introduced by the Russians and was called
sarka
(Russian word
charka
, meaning a goblet). It was drunk by almost everyone, including children.
Tobacco was sometimes chewed but mostly sniffed. It was smoked by men, boys
and old women.
Transportation
The Samoyeds never used the reindeer as a saddle animal. Their main
means of transportation was the reindeer-drawn sleigh. In the winter, two
reindeer could draw a sleigh carrying about 500 lbs. and in the summer they
could draw about 250 lbs. For rapid driving, two or three animals were used.
In some cases, as many as seven reindeer were
[:
] employed. The additional animals
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
were tied to the leader and the sleigh with short leather straps. The harness
was made of two parts, the yoke (
podiar
) worn on the neck, and a saddle-like
belt (
soine
). The man's sleigh (
xan
) was 1 to 1.5 meters long and 1 meter wide.
The runners were made of birch or willow with two or four joints. 75 meter long.
The woman's sleigh (
sabu
), lower and wider than the
xan
, had decorated backboards
made by the women. A pack sleigh slightly different in construction was used for
carrying
chum
poles, planks, and clothing, while for transporting kegs of fish
and meat a sleigh having only two connecting joints was used. There were special
sleighs for food and for transporting boats, and a fourteen-join
s
^
t
^
ed sacred sleigh
was used to transport idols. Novaya Zemlya Samoyeds used a long narrow sleigh
drawn by dogs. Unlike the Tungus and Yakuts, the Samoyeds drove from the left.
Russians and Zyrians adopted most of the Samoyed reindeer complex.
Boats were formerly made of birch bark, but the Samoyeds later used large
covered sail boats for ocean and river travel. They could carry up to 2,000
lbs. and were usually Russian-made and were owned collectively. Another type of
boat made out of pine boards by the Samoyeds themselves could carry three people
or 400 lbs. These boats were carried on special sleighs by each family during its
wanderings.
The Samoyeds used two types of skis.
Lambau
were 1.5 meters long and 11
to 14 cm. wide. The ends were not deliberately curved, but cur
[:
]
ing resulted from
the way in which the skis were made.
Lambau
were decorated with red paint and
used for household chores such as gathering wood.
Hoptana-lambau
, longer than
lambau
and lined with reindeer skin, were adopted from the skis used by Zyrian
hunters.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Tools and Implements
The Samoyeds used both imported and home-made tools and implements.
Among the household articles dishes, spoons,
[:
]
ladles, kegs, and boxes were
made of wood, while kettle, cups and saucers, bottles, wine glasses, and buckets
were purchased. Pipes were made of wood and mammoth ivory and were encrusted
with metal. The Samoyeds used a glue made of reindeer horns, hoofs, and bones,
and made candles of reindeer fat. They had a
[:
]
simple apparatus for weaving
belts and garters which was apparently of native origin.
The most common tool was the knife (
xarn
), which was used by men, women,
and children. Knives, once made of bone and copper, were later made of iron,
by cold forging and sharpening them. The handles were made of wood and ivory
and the sheath (
xarn-se
) was decorated with metal and worn on the left side.
Other home-made tools were the awl (
puni
), bone needle (
nixe
), drill (
paro
)
with an iron point, and small simple saw (
sak
). Samoyeds purchased the axe
(
tupka
), steel needles, and large saws.
Knowledge
The Samoyeds used a counting device (
wol'uta
) similar to that used by many
other Siberian natives. It consisted of a wooden stick on which they cut symbols,
identical with those used by the Ostyaks, representing the decimal system of
numerals.
They knew the points of the compass. Their year was divided into twelve
months, and they distinguished the four seasons. Writing was introduced after
the revolution, and today the liquidation of illiteracy has made great
[:
]
strides.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Social Organization
The Samoyeds had two types of social grouping: (1) the large group,
jerkar
,
or clan; and (2) the small group,
tenz
, or
[:
]"family-clan," all members of which
carried the same surname; the
tenz
was part of the large group and resulted from
the splitting up of the large clan.
Clans were exogamic, but there is no accurate information available as to
their size and number, since various authorities give conflicting information.
Clans and "family-clans" were self-sufficient units, linked together on the basis
of blood-relationship. The family size unit including relatives varied from5
to 200 persons, while the clan size unit varied from 200 to 1,500 persons.
Wars between clans or groups of clans took place in the past, continued
[:
]
sporadically in recent times. (Information exists indicating that there
were wars in the 16th century, but this may have been between tribes, as they
culminated when the vanquished were virtually exterminated.) In 1900 Samoyeds
of the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra group raided a group of Trans-Ural Samoyeds who
invaded their territory with their herds, and carried off a large bounty of
reindeer. In 1910-1911 the Trans-Ural group attacked and took 60,000 reindeer.
In 1918 the Samoyeds of the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra attacked the Trans-Ural
again, and in 1921-1925 the Trans-Urals once more attacked their enemies.
Shamans were war leaders and were believed to be immune to arrows, knives,
and axes. Magic was employed in these attacks. Images of the wolf were used
to cause wandering packs of wolves to attack the herds of the enemy. Formerly
prisoners were sacrificed to idols by strangulation.
The clan tribunal consisted of the clan elder, two or three old men, and
the shaman, and they decided in cases of conflicts between families. The prin-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
cipal causes of trouble between families were disputes about the bride price,
reindeer theft, insults, and murder.
The "bear oath," or any one of its variations, was a common device employed
as a defense by the accused in cases of theft or murder. The accused cut the
nose of a
[:
]
bear or wolf skin, while claiming innocence of the crime, and
invoked the wrath of the spirit to punish him if he were lying. A live reindeer
was used as a substitute when necessary. While this oath was used instead of
punishment, it did not constitute an acquittal. If the individual died subse–
quently during a hunt for a bear or a wolf, this showed that he was guilty of
the crime. Fines were imposed for smaller offenses, and usually consisted of
one or two reindeer or dogs.
The folklore indicates that the punishment for murder was burial in the
earth up to the neck while still alive, or slavery in another clan.
The clan also assumed a certain amount of responsibility and care for
its members. Loans without interest or outright gifts of reindeer were made
by more fortunate members of the clan to those in need of such aid.
Relationship between two clans on the basis of marriage did not affect
the rest of the clansmen. While clans were exogamous, marriage did not consti–
tute blood relationship. Thus, a man could marry his mother-in-law or his
wife's sister; a woman could marry her father-in-law or her husband's brother.
Constant intermarriage created within the large groups (clans) smaller groups,
clan-families. Women retained the sur-name of their own "family-clan" after
marriage, and this also sometimes applied to their children.
Terms of relationship were classifactory with age and sex differentiation
both on male and on female lines. Thus, all older brother of one's wife were
called
ynob
; all older sisters of one's wife,
xado
; all brothers of one's husband
older than he,
ynob
; all older sisters of one's husband,
xado
; all younger brothers
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
of one's wife,
jena
; all younger sisters of one's wife,
ne-jena
.
Age group classification also existed. Thus the term
xada
, grandmother,
applied to all female relatives older than one's mother, such as father's
mother, mother's mother, fathr's older sister, mother's older sister, father's
older brother's wife, mother of the older brother's wife, etc.
Correspondingly there were classes of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
sons, and daughters; but, in practice, these groups were important mostly in
observing the rules of etiquette during feasts and entertainments; in marr
^
i
^
age
rules they were retained only along the male line.
M
Marriage
Marriage was exogamic within the clan. Men and women could marry three,
four, or more times.
A father could marry the sisters and mothers of his son's wives or even
the wives themselves. He often took away his son's wife, even after several
years of marriage, but the son could refuse to live with the somen if she re–
turned to him. Sons could marry the sisters of their stepmother, their step–
mother, and their mothers-in-law. An older brother could marry his younger
brother's wife. Brothers might agree to exchange wives. Cousins were permitted
to marry. Older people could marry children they had adopted and raised.
The marriageable age for girls varied from 14 to 25. Before reaching
the marriageable age, boys and girls of different clans could not speak or even
look at each other.
Pregnancy outside of marriage was severely censured because of the possi–
bility of transgressing the clan's exogamic regulations.
A negotiator, usually a good friend of the potential groom, arranged the
marriage. The bride-to-be was chosen for her economic status,
^
and
^
love or beauty
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
rarely entered the picture. The negotiator brought a stick with him marked with
as many notches as the bridgroom was willing to pay reindeer as
kalym
for the
bride. The bride's price varied from 8 to 50 reindeer. The negotiator indulged
in feasting with the bride's father and family, while the bridegroom — who often
accompanied him — remained outside of the hut with the sleighs. Besides rein–
deer, the kalym consisted of clothes, household goods, and trinkets. The bride's
dowry was usually of the same value as the
kalym
and consisted of a tent (
chum
),
sleighs, harness, clothes, and some reindeer. If the bride's price was not paid
in full, the groom remained with the wife's family until he worked out the balance.
After the
kalym
was paid, a feast was prepared, during which the son-in-law
and father-in-law sang to each other, the father telling the son-in-law to love
his wife, and the son-in-law recommending himself to the father-in-law.
On a day decided upon in advance, the husband arrived with a number of women.
The women accompanying the bridegroom took the bride and tied her to the bridal
sleigh. All the gifts included in the dowry were placed on other sleighs and
they all journeyed to the husband's hut, the bride's sleigh leading the way. Upon
arrival in her new home, the bride had to make the bed where she was to sleep
with her husband.
The Samoyed made the bride's mother a present if the daughter turned out to
have been a virgin when married.
The bride visited her father's house a number of times during the period
shortly after her marriage, and the father was obliged to make presents to her at
the end of each visit, so that she had no occasion to ask her husband for anything
for a while. Orphans married without any bride price, dowry, or ceremonies. There
was no bride price for a widow if she married within her former husband's clan,
but she had to bring a dowry. Marriage by capture could take place when the bride's
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
parents refused to permit the marriage, or without any knowledge on the part of
the parents. The bride's relatives would organize a pursuit and often return
the bride to her home. If the bridegroom still wanted her, he had to pay the
bride price.
A woman had to observe various taboos. She could not
[:
]
appear barefoot
in the presence of men, step over fire, ropes, threads, sleighs, or a log. During
the menstrual period she was considered "unclean" and could not go over hills or
approach sacred images. Women were not permitted to eat bear meat, or to step
over bear, wolf, or fox skins.
The women sewed, cooked, tended the fire, washed, preserved food, took care
of the children, helped the men to care for the reindeer, set up and dismantled
the hut, and even hunted when free to do so. The man's job was only hunting, and
even in tending the reindeer the major part of the work fell to the women and
children.
The husband could punish his wife for infidelity by beating and starving
her. The offender was likewise punished, and the husband, upon encountering him,
could take away several reindeer. In case of divorce initiated by a woman, the
bride price was not returned. A woman's dowry was i
[:
] inherited by her chil–
dren, mostly by the girls. A man's property was inherited by the children, or in
their absence by a wife. During the father's lifetime, adult sons were given
separate herds of reindeer which they tended themsleves under the guidance of the
father, if they lived with him.
Birth
Women gave birth in a special hut or outdoors. If by any chance a child
was born in the common but, men had to leave until it had been purified by burn–
ing pieces of beaver fur, entrails of reindeer, and juniper leaves. The puri-
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
fication lasted a week and included the purification of the mother's sleigh and
reindeer.
Some skilled old woman would assist at the birth by giving the mother various
extracts of herbs and by burning juniper in the fireplace. The newborn child was
washed with warm water. If a girl was born, she was taken outside for several
minutes. The father made a cradle, a shallow birch-bark container lined with
dried white moss which was changed when necessary.
The mother nursed the child up to two years. After this, raw reindeer
meat and bread were added to the diet. Until he could walk, the child was
carried in the cradle tied to a woman's back. Boys were trained to hunt very
early, and by the time
[:
]
they were 13 to 15 they had become full-fledged
members of the family.
Death and Burial
Fear of the dead was prevalent, and a dead man's name could be used only
by a shaman. The nominally Christian Samoyeds and the sedentary groups washed
the body before burial, a custom absent among the Yamal and other groups. The
body was either firmly swathed in cloth or, as among the groups on the Kara River,
the body in its ordinary clothing was wrapped in reindeer skins in winter and in
birch bark in the summer. Sometimes the head was sewn into a piece of cloth.
The body of an adult was placed either in a board coffin, or — among the
Yamal group — in half of a boat or in a barrel. In a man's coffin a knife,
pipe, powder horn, and comb, were placed; in a woman's, a needle, knife, reindeer
ligaments, and pieces of skin.
The body was taken out through a specially made opening in the wall of the
hut opposite the door, so that it would not find its way back. The coffin was
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
carried on reindeer to the cemetery which was usually located on some elevation.
Each small clan had its own burial ground. The grave was shallow, and at one
time the coffins were placed on the surface, a custom which survived among the
trans-ob groups. The grave was surrounded by a fence within which were placed
the dead man's sleigh, extra clothing, eating vessels, an axe, etc. Al l
these utensils had to be broken. The body was placed with the head toward the
west and slightly on one side. Often the reindeer which carried the body were killed
on the grave, by driving a sharp pole through the anus. The head and skin were
left on the grave and the meat was eaten.
Upon
[:
]
returning from the burial, those who had carried the body or had
taken part in the washing of the corpse had to be purified by crossing the fire.
The hut was also purified by the smoke from burning beaver's fur, reindeer
entrails, and juniper.
The Christian Samoyeds erected a cross over the grave. The Yamal group
placed a bell over a woman's grave, and others who were in contact with the Yeni–
seians or Tungus used wooden images of birds.
No special memorial ceremonies were held — except on some rare occasions
by the sedentary group of the Christianized Samoyeds.
According to the Samoyed concept, the dead man in the other world had an
existence similar to the one he had on earth. The eastern group made a small
wooden image of the deceased which was kept in the hut and given offerings of
reindeer blood and fat, but in general the dead were soon forgotten and much
feared.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Religion
The ancient Samoyed religion underwent great changes due to the impact
of Christianity and the influences of neighboring tribes, with whom European
groups especially came into contact. It became a combination of the hunter's
cult, represented by numerous spirits who were able to influence the outcome of
the hunt, whose images were erected in the forests or hills,and home-kept
anthropomorphic family spirits and general tribal gods for whom there were large
and elaborate altars with wooden or stone images. Interwoven with this was
shamanism, with shamans playing important clan and tribal roles, sometimes in
the capacity of war leaders.
Samoyed tradition relates that in the beginning there was only water and
the great spirit
Num
, and one evil envious bird
Aa
which became the chief under–
water spirit. Another version of this dualistic concept substitutes
Gilyik
,
the devil, for
Aa
, and accounts for the present-day world by a series of
[:
]
acts
of creation in contests between the spirits. Samoyeds believed that there were
seven layers of heaven and seven layers of earth. Stars were hair on the roof of
heaven, One could enter heaven through a hole in the sun.
[:
]
Num
, the Creator, remained passive in comparison with his main helper
Xehe
, the Spirit of Lightning, who constantly warred with evil spirits at whom
he discharged his arrows. Thunder was the noise produced by the sleigh of
Xehe
.
Jid-jeru
was the evil Spirit of Water who sent strong western winds and helped
evil shamans. He was the chief enemy of
Xehe.
Jam-jid-deru
, the Spirit of the
Sea, was the strongest of the evil spirits but he never appeared on earth. When
angry he raised great waves. He lived in a country where the sea was always
covered with ice.
Saru-jeru
, the Spirit of Rain, and
Ty-jeru
, the Spirit of the
Reindeer, were helpers of
Num
, along with the multitude of lesser good spirits.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Opposed to them were innumerable evil spirits, chiefly helpers of
Gilyk
, who
formed the second part of the dualistic Samoyed pantheon. Some writers have re–
ported the terms white and black spirits and the concept of white, red, and dark
earth (Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds).
Representations of family good spirits were kept in a special place in the
hut and were given offerings of reindeer blood or fat after a successful hunt.
Special altars
^
, dedicated to
Num
and
Xehe
,
^
were erected for tribal spirits on rocks and hills near rivers and
lakes. One such altar on Vaigach Island had a very large number of wooden images
of spirits and offerings of reindeer skulls with horns, polar bear skulls, piles
of axes, chains, harpoons, broken rifles, locks, etc. In former times images
were also made of stone and reached one meter in height.
According to their jurisdiction, these spirits could be divided into
three categories: (1) Tribal spirits like
Num
,
Xehe
, spirits of the sea, etc.,
(2) clan spirits representing ancestor spirits; and (3) family household spirits.
In addition there were the shaman's spirits who helped him to perform his duties.
The domestic spirits were represented by objects of unusual shape or anthropomor–
phic figures and were transported and kept in a special sleigh. Sometimes the
generic term
Xaha
was applied to them. Much revered was
Siadei Nikola
, St. Nicholas,
who was offered both candles and bloody sacrifices.
Shamanism
The shaman (
tadibei
) was an intermediary between the people and the spirits
whose wishes he interpreted. He knew religious secrets and
[:
]
the order of religious
ceremonies and acted as an adviser and
[:
]
medicine man. His office was hereditary,
but only those men and women who had a psychological predisposition to and an in–
terest in the office could become shamans. There were benevolent and malevolent
shamans, weak and powerful ones. It was believed that good shamans do not die
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
and when old are raised to the moon to live. There eternal summer reigns and
they are all dressec in new clothing and never get sick or die. On the other
hand, the evil shaman dies on the earth in terrible suffering caused by his "own"
spirits. These shamans always caused suffering to people and could cause them
to become sick or die. Sometimes an evil shaman would capture the spirit of
sickness driven out from the body of one man by a good shaman and send it into
the body of another. They could cause sickness of reindeer and send packs of
wolves against them. The powerful shamans could fly in the air, swim under water,
alight on the clouds, descend to the depths of the earth, and assume any appear–
ance.
This division into good and bad, weak and powerful, may represent a certain
stage of development from the individual through the family type of shamanism,
or a weakened adaptation of the more developed Ostyak-Tungus shamanism.
Among the most impo
t
^
r
^
tant functions of the good shaman were curing the sick
and propesying. Women shamans were sometimes very successful as healers but
they did not participate in religious ceremonies and were barred becauseof their
sex from making offerings to domestic gods.
The usual procedure of a shaman followed the pattern of other Siberian
tribes such as the Ostyaks and Tungus. He invoked his spirits who lived on the
moon and appeared in the shape of man, wolf, raven, bear, eider, etc. These
spirits were stubborn and cunning and often did not heed the admonitions of the
shaman, and fooled him with false prophecies. The shaman's dress in remote
localities
[:
]
was very elaborate, and in general was similar
[:
]
to that of the
Ostyaks although it had fewer iron pendants. It consisted of a skin coat decora–
ted with colored cloth, fringes of cloth, plaques, silver coins, iron representa–
tions of spirits, bells, and metal buttons. According to some authorities, the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
shaman's hat was an indispensable part of his ceremonial costume, and its
fringes covered his face.
The shaman's drum was an oval wooden frame, one side of which was covered
with reindeer skin. A cross-shaped wooden handle inside the
[:
]
frame had
carved images of spirits. The frame was made of a special tree indicated to
the shaman by a spirit in a dream. It is interesting to note that many families
had drums and a shaman could use the family drum. Formerly a stick was used
instead of the drum which, together with the costume, seems to have been adopted
subsequently from the Ostyaks. The drumstock was also not standardized; a
rabbit, dog, or reindeer foot, or a skin-covered stick could be used.
Ceremonies
While any male member of the family could make offerings of objects or
portions of food directly to the family spirits, sacrifices of reindeer or dogs
to the higher spirits were made through the shaman. One important distinction
was observed. If offerings to the family spirits were made by an individual,
care was taken that no blood be shed and the animals sacrificed were strangled.
If, however, blood was shed, a shaman had to be called. On important occasions,
formal sacrifices with a shaman officiating were made. Reindeer could also be
consecrated to the high spirits by freeing them from any work.
An elaborate yearly ceremony was held to replace the sleigh on which the
images of the family spirits were kept. A shaman usually conducted the ceremony.
A new sleigh was mad by a number of people and it was an honor to parttipate
in this task, from which women were excluded. Later a shamanistic performance
was held in the hut with all members of the family present. The images were
placed facing south, the abode of light and life, while the old sleigh was turned
to face north, the land of darkness and death, and later deposited in the sanctuary.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
The ceremony of the "clean hut" (
chum
), sometimes called the sun festi–
val, was designed to
[:
]
insure general abundance and fertility of men and animals.
Toward the end of the winter with its darkness and cold, poor hunting conditions,
and sickness, the community requested the shaman to construct a "clean hut."
Each Samoyed brought a pole, and the covers were made of the skins of the best
black animals. The
chum
was set near the lake. An image of a spirit was placed
at one end and a sacrifice was made to him. On the opposite side, facing north,
a tail of
Herudno Tuaro
was made out of poles placed fanwise and smeared with
reindeer blood. The foundation poles of the
chum
were
[:
]
smeared with dog's
blood.
The shaman would leave his
chum
and go to the "clean
chum
" blindfolded,
avoiding fallen trees and stretched ropes which had been placed in his path.
When he reached there, he would walk around the
chum
three times, and, bowing to
the statue, enter the
chum
.
Young boys dressed in their best clothes wrestled, fought, and jumped ropes.
In the meantime the shaman drank warm blood and started his incantation. In the
presence of older men and other shamans he asked the blessings of spirits for
the community. He prophesied and showed tricks, such as cutting his throat or
piercing himself with sharp sticks. The ceremony lasted nine days and was so
timed that the sun appeared on the sixth day. The shaman beld a ceremony each
day, and on the sixth began the dance during which
[:
]
sexual licence symbolic
of fertility was permitted.
Amusements
Chief amusements among the Samoyeds were various games: Running contest
(
savykorc
), in which both sexes participated. A stick sharpened on both ends
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
was thrown upward by each of the participants; the one whose stick failed to
stick in the snow had to try to catch the others. Ball game (
xaskorc
), played
with a ball made of dressed reindeer skin, filled with rags, stones, and bits
of wood, varying in size from 5 to 15 cm. The two opposing parties would try
to hide the ball when it was caught and run to the goal to place it in a specially
dug out hole. The opponents tried to prevent this by guessing who carried the
hidden ball and wresting it away. The reindeer game, in which one of
[:
]
the
participants tried to throw a lariat over others who played the part of reindeer.
Capturing two or three, he would tie them and try to drive them as reindeer.
Sometimes the captured ran so fast that the "master" would fall, producing
laughter among the audience. Archery contests, in which both sexes participated
were popular. Children played hide-and-seek in the huts, in the bushes, in the
snow. They had dolls and various other toys.
Folkore
Though extremely rich, the Samoyed folklore has not been studied much and,
comparatively speaking, few of the
[:
]
texts have been recorded. In general, it
is characterized by an abundance of legendary-historical epic poems and folk
tales full of complex dramatic fables, comic situations, and apt comparisons.
It reflects vividly the world of social interaction as well as the animals and
the natural conditions of the Arctic. Almost every Samoyed was the creator of a
song which he c
[:
]
composed for various occasions. The themes included such a
variety of subjects as the arrival of wild geese, a fox hunt, a market fair,
quarrels with the wife, a glass of vodka, a chunk of frozen blood, a new sharp
knife, or a new shirt.
The epic poems and fairy tales were told both by men and women. There were
some professional story-tellers famous throughout the region who told the stories
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
in a recitative manner. The epic poems were especially lengthy and were much
in favor. Listeners forgot about their hunting and their reindeer for hours.
In fact, the recitation of these poems sometimes lasted one or two days.
Characteristic of this type of Samoyed singing was its low volume and
the recitative called
xynac
, as distinguished from
jangorc
, the loud, full–
voiced, and drawn-out singing of the Russians, which reminded the Samoyeds of
the roar of wild beasts. The melodies were built on the monotonous changes of
fourths and fifths and abounded with syncopation. The chief form was the tale
which was sung, as distinguished from the tale which was told.
Added to this were many shaman songs, burial songs, and matchmaking songs.
The usual tale recited the various events in the family or clan life, told by
a hero in the first person. The older type of tales were myths which portrayed
the wanderings of a cultural hero, usually a shaman, his struggle with other
shamans (often Yakut) whom he fought on land, in the sky, and under water. While
gods and spirits did not play the main part in these tales, they were constantly
mentioned. The hero possessed an ability to transform himself into an animal
without ceasing to remain human. One of the best examples is the epic poem
of the cultural hero
Itte
who, although forced by foreign evil spirits to leave
his native land, will return some day to make his tribesmen happy.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Samoyeds
Bibliography
Babushkin, A.I.:
The Samoyeds
(in a volume "The Komi Region," Vol. I, Ust-Sysolsk,
1926)
Benjamin, Archdeacon: The Mezen Samoyeds. Viestnik of Russian Geographic
Society, 1885.
Carruthers, D.
Unknown Mongolia
. Two volumes, London, 1913.
Castren, M.A.:
Reiseerinnerungen aus den Jahren 1838-1844
. Nordische Reisen
und Forschungen, Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg,
1853.
----.
Versuch einer Jenissei-Ostjakischen und Kottischen Sprachlehre nebst
Woerterverzeichnissen aus den genannten Sprachen
. Nordische Reisen und
Forschungen, Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg, 1858.
----.
Ethnologische Vorlesungen ueber die Altaischen Voelker nebst Samojedischen
Maerchen und Tatarischen Heldensagen
. St. Petersburg, 1857.
----.
Trip to Laland, Northern Russia and Siberia
. Journal of Geography and
Travel, Geographical Volume of N. Frelov, Vol. IV, Moscow, 1860.
Czaplicka, M.A.:
Aboriginal Siberia
, Oxford, 1914.
----. "The Influence of Environment upon the Religious Ideas and Prattices of
the Aborigines of Northern Asia," FL XXV, 1914.
----.
My Siberian Year
. London,
1917
1916.
Gorostchenko, K.I. and Ivanovski, A.A.:
Natives of the Yenisei Region
. Russian
Anthropological Journal, XXV, XXVI, Moscow, 1907.
Heidenreich, G.: "The Kanin Samoyed."
The Soviet North,
No. 4, 1930.
Lepekhi
h
^
n
^
, I.I.:
Diary of a Journey 1768-1772
. Vols. 1-3, St. Petersburg, 1771-1805.
Startzev, G.:
The Samoyeds
. The Institute of Northern Tribes, Leningrad, 1930.
Stepanoff, A.P.:
The Yeniseisk Province
. Petrograd, 1835.
Verbov, G.D.:
The Forest Samoyeds
. Leningrad, 1934.
Zograf, N.I.:
Anthropological Notes on Samoyeds
. Bulletin of Friends of Natural
Science, XXXI, Moscow, 1878-1879.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Tavghians
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
TAVGHIANS
|
|
Page
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Habitat
|
1
|
|
Language and Origin
|
2
|
|
Origin
|
2
|
|
Physical Anthropology
|
3
|
|
Houses
|
3
|
|
Dress
|
4
|
|
Food
|
5
|
|
Domesticated Animals and Transportation
|
6
|
|
Hunting
|
7
|
|
Daily Routine
|
8
|
|
Social Organization
|
9
|
|
Marriage Customs
|
10
|
|
Birth Customs
|
11
|
|
Death and Burial
|
13
|
|
Religion
|
15
|
|
Shamanism
|
18
|
|
Bibliography
|
22
|
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
TAVGHIANS
The Tavghians or the Tavghi Samoyeds, the smallest of the Samoyed groups,
number about 615 (1926). They occupy the Taimyr Peninsula of eastern Siberia,
which they share with the Dolgans. The Tavghians live in the tundra while the
Dolgans inhabit the forests. The Tavghians call themselves
n'a
.
Habitat
The Taimyr Peninsula forms a part of the Taimyr National Region of eastern
Siberia. The most important elevation on the peninsula is formed by the Byrranga
Mountains, which extend for about 600 km. and reach a height of 800 meters. The
southern portion of Taimyr is a hilly plain 200 meters in elevation, bordered by
the central Siberian plateau to the south. The most important rivers are the Pia–
sina and its tributary, the Dudypta, in the west, and the Khatanga and its tribu–
tary, the Kheta, in the south. Between the Piasina and Khatanga rivers is Lake
Taimyr.
The climate becomes gradually more continental from west to east. Because of
the comparatively warm summers, accompanied by moderate winds, the forests extend
farther north, especially along the Khatanga River, than in the area of the Yenisei
River. Three-quarters of the peninsula is dry tundra, which in the northern part
assumes the type known as "spotty."
The fauna of Taimyr is typical of polar regions. The most important quadrupeds
EA-Anthropology. Golomshtok: Tavghians
are the polar fox (
Alopex lagopus lagopus L.
) and wild reindeer (
Rangifer taran–
dus sibiricus
). The tundra lakes abound in fish, and in summer there are immense
flocks of geese and ducks.
While for administrative purposes the Tavghians are divided into three National
Soviets, the Avam, the Taimyr, and the Vedeya, they are nomadic people and move
about within the confines of the grazing territories of their reindeer. During the
summer pastures are available for their herds and they move northward. During the
winter the most thickly populated region is between Avam and Dolgany. The Taimyr
Tavghians, the most northerly group, spend the summer along the lower reaches of
the Taimyr River. Another large group migrates eastward to the shores of Lake
Taimyr during the summer.
Reindeer breeding and hunting are the main occupations of the Tavghians. The
former is the more important and
[:
]
the Tavghians have the greatest number of
reindeer of all the peoples in the area, 25,000 head according to the census of
1936. The reindeer serve as a means of transportation, for food, and as a source
of material for clothing.
Language and Origin
The Tavghians
[:
]
speak the Tavghi dialect of the Samoyed language, one of the
major divisions of the Ural-Altaian group of languages. The Vedeya and Avan
Tavghians do not understand the dialect of the Yenisei Tavghians.
Origin
The origin of the Samoyed in general is still an unsolved problem. On the
basis of linguistic evidence, Castren derived them from Central Asia; from there
they moved to the upper Yenisei and the Sayan Mountains, migrating farther north
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
along the Yenisei and spreading to the west across the Urals and to the east as
far as the river Khatanga. Strahlenberg and others derived them from Lapland,
and believed that they migrated west, northeast, and southwest.
Physical Anthropology
While precise data on anthropometrical measurement among the Tavghians is
lacking, it can be stated that on the whole they are of average stature (167.0
cm.) and are taller than their neighbors the Dolgans and Tungus (165.0). The
Tavghians are sturdily built with well-developed muscles in arms, legs, and chest.
They are brachycephalic, with pronounced supraorbital ridges and prominent cheek–
bones. The face is of medium
e
width with a prominent lower jaw, reminiscent of
the Patagonians, and the nose is of medium height, often humped and more pro–
nounced than that of their neighbors. Sometimes "Indian-like" types are encoun–
tered. The hair is coarse, straight, and black, hair coverage is light, and both
beard and moustache are absent. They have thin lips and a prominent fold of the
upper eyelid, though the slanting of the eye is less pronounced than that of the
Tungus. Their eyes are dark, in contrast to their light skin.
Houses
During both winter and summer the Tavghians lived in conical huts,
ma
,
covered with reindeer hides. The winter hut had a double reindeer hide covering,
djiej
, and the continuation of this covering formed a flap which served as a door,
nuora
.
In the center of the hut was a fireplace,
tuj
, consisting of an iron sheet
placed on two blocks of wood,
tori
. Two horizontal poles,
ria
, tied to the frame–
work
[:
]
served to support a wooden hook,
huo
, from which kettles and pots were sus–
pended over the fireplace.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
The right side of the hut was occupied by the owner and the more respected
members of the two or three families which inhabited it. The younger members
of the family and the children lived on the left side of the hut. Women had
a special place near the door where food, eating utensils, and a small table on
low legs were kept.
Dress
All clothing was made of reindeer skin. Manufactured goods were used in small
quantities for decoration.
Men's Clothing. Honie
and
ninka
were short under and outer pants, respec–
tively. The former were made of dressed reindeer skin while reindeer hide with
the fur on was used for the latter. On both garments
[:
]
a yellow and black
fringe of dressed reindeer skin was sewn on the outside, in front of the sexual
organs. A leather belt
tuliej
served to hold the outer pants up. A coat,
lu
,
with a cape, made of the skins of unborn calves, was worn as a shirt. Strips of
black and white morocco leather, and arctic fox and dog fur were used for decora–
tion, along with gaily colored fringes of tanned skins which were sewn to the back.
An outer winter coat,
hik
, was sewn of white and black reindeer skin, with the fur
on the outside. Fur hip-length boots,
fajmu
, were made without an instep thus
creating an air space between the foot and the bootwall, which served as insula–
tion. Two sets of small leather thongs were used to tie the boots to the belt
and under the knee. Summer boots of the same shape were made of reindeer hide.
Women's Clothing
. The
honie
or underpants were the same as the man's. The
bojem
was a combination garment of shirt
^
[:
]^
and pants, decorated with semilunar
yellow brass plaques on the chest; a row of copper tubes which were needle
containers were sewn in a vertical line for decoration
l
. On the side of the
shirt was sewn a long chain with an iron pipe-cleaner and a fire-flint set.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
A similar combination garment with the fur on the
[:
]
inside was also worn. A
coat,
litherie
, was made of the skins of unborn white reindeer calves, and
decorated with black and red cloth, morocco leather, and painted decorations in
black and yellow. A hat,
somu
, which took the place of the hood in the man's
coat
[:
]
was worn by the women. It had the shape of a cowl and was made of the
white skin of unborn reindeer calf, trimmed with black dog fur. The footwear
of women was similar to that worn by the men, but the boots were shorter, reach–
ing only to the knees. Long reindeer-hide stockings were worn.
Miscellaneous
. Reindeer skins formed both the bed and the communal blanket,
one end of which terminated with a sack while the other had leather thongs
with which it was tied to the poles of the hut, thus forming a low tent into
which the mother, father, and young children crawled.
A square reindeer bag was used to keep the feet warm while traveling in the
winter. Snow goggles of metal plaques with narrow slits were used.
Food
The main food of the Tavghians was meat and fish, with the latter playing a
secondary role. Drying was the most widely used method of preservation of food,
and the meat,
nimsa
, of wild reindeer was dried in the shape of long, narrow strips,
cyruby
, or small pieces,
nilimi
. A great deal of raw meat was eaten, either frozen
or freshly killed. Meat or fish bouillon was eaten only on exceptional occasions
such as when there was a lack of tea. Bone marrow was added to meat or eaten
frozen. Brains and spine marrow were considered great delicacies. Rendered goose
fat was used a great deal.
Fish was eaten raw, broiled on a spit, or boiled. Frozen fish was cut into
shavings. Dried fish was prepared in a shape called jukala, which was a double
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
part of the back portion, or in the shape of
huokki
, split whole and boned. A
favorite dish,
varki,
, was powdered fish belly and fish oil.
Bread was used in small quantities bought in the form of biscuits. Brick tea
was their favorite beverage and was used in enormous quantities. During the Czar's
time a great deal of vodka was drunk. Tobacco was widely used by adults and
children alike, both for smoking and chewing.
Domesticated Animals and Transportation
The Tavghians had two domesticated animals: the dog and the reindeer. The
Tavghian dogs were small, short-legged, white animals which resemble the arctic
fox. They were used to corral the reindeer and for hunting, and their skins were
used for clothing. The dogs were treated with great respect by the Tavghians who
valued them highly. They lived in the same hut as their owners and were fed from
the same utensils.
The Tavghian reindeer
[:
]
was small in size and height but well developed and
sturdy. While not so strong as the Dolgan reindeer, it surpassed the former in
endurance. The predominant coloration was spotted or white. They were used both in
winter and summer as draft animals. The yoke differed from the Dolgan and Tungus type,
the driving rein running along the left side of the
[:
]
animal instead of the right.
The harness,
qutar
, was made out of leather and was stuffed with reindeer hair.
Teams of from 2 to 8 animals were hitched to a sleigh by means of straps made of
reindeer skin which passed through rings made of bone or wood. Tavghians had various
types of sleds. The kinta, or women's sleigh, was constructed with 3 supporting
crossbars connecting the top to the runners. The seat was formed by a wide board
across the back. The back and front were high and usually covered with white towel–
ing material decorated with tassels of red cloth and copper disks. A freight
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
sleigh with 4 to 5 low supporting bars was used for general transportation
during the summer. A small double-support sleigh,
irenka
, without a seat was
used especially for transporting firewood and but poles.
Hunting
The wild reindeer was the animal primarily hunted by the Tavghian because it could
supply almost all his needs. Reindeer were hunted in two ways: with guns by an in–
dividual hunter or small party, or by large parties with a net (
bugur
) 2 meters –
high and 300 meters long. Protected by a snow-covered shield or a white covered
bone sleigh, which was smaller than the normal sleigh, the Tavghian
.
approached
his prey silently.
^
when hunting with a gun.
^
In some cases the hunter would chase the wild reindeer openly,
using a reindeer-drawn sleigh in his pursuit. In the spring a large party would
construct a V-shaped stockade of poles, the narrow end with the poles close to–
gether to give it strength. Across the narrow opening was stretched a net,
supported by high poles which made it impossible for the reindeer to jump overit.
The poles were covered with long feathers and pieces of cloth which were blown
wildly by the wind, so the reindeer were afraid to pass between the widely spaced
initial poles because of these strips.
The hunters drove the reindeer into the stockade by shouting and screaming
loudly, and the deer were attacked, as they rushed along, by hunters, armed with
bow and arrows and spears, who concealed themselves behind the stockade poles.
When the animals rushed blindly into the net and attempted to force their way
through it, they were attacked by all the hunters, who rushed in to spear them.
In areas where reindeer were known to cross rivers at certain places year after
year, the hunters would attack them in the water from boats. The spoils of the
hunt were divided according to the merit of each hunter.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
During the mating season, trained reindeer cows held by long ropes were
used as bait for luring wild reindeer bucks within range of the hunters.
Daily Routine
The daily routine of the Tavghians was dominated by their nomadic mode of
life.
The reindeer train of moving Tavghians was headed by aleader riding on a
light sleigh. He was usually the elder in the family, who knew the terrain well.
His sleigh was followed by the
shaitan
sleigh carrying the family's sacred objects,
the sacred stones and wooden representations of spirits. Following in order were
the men's sleighs, the women's sleighs, and the freight sleighs which carried
clothing, food, the tent, and firewood. The herd of free reindeer was driven
after the train.
When the train stopped for the night, the women would unhitch the reindeer,
erect the hut, cut the firewood, and arrange the household utensils inside the
hut, while the men looked on. If, as a result of bad weather, the erection of
the hut took too long the men would bring their sleighs together and sit on them
with their feet inside their riding bags and listen to stories.
When the women had erected the hut, brought in the bedding, built the fire,
and started cooking the food, everyone would sit around the fire, smoking, scratch–
ing themselves, or killing lice with their teeth. When the thick brew of tea was
ready and the meat was cooked, the mistress of the hut would drive away the dogs,
distribute the pieces of meat, and set out unwashed cups. All conversation would
cease, and only the sound of the smacking of lips could be heard. The fire would
catch the glint of the sharp knives with which the participants cut pieces of meat
near their lips by a swift motion upward.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
When the women had erected the hut, brought in the bedding, built the fire,
and started cooking the food, everyone would sit around the fire, smoking,
scratching themselves, or killing lice with their teeth. When the thick brew of
tea was ready and the meat was cooked, the mistress of the hut would drive away
the dogs, distribute the pieces of meat, and set out unwashed cups. All conver–
sation would cease, and only the sound of the smacking of lips could be heard.
The fire would catch the glint of the sharp knives with which the participants
cut pieces of meat near their lips by a swift motion upward.
Somewhat later the repast was usually repeated and this ended the day. In
the morning the hunters would leave before anyone else was up. The Tavghians did
not wash. Children, black from dirt, ran around naked. Women's faces were often
covered with scabs from the dirt. Once a month before a visit to the trading
center, men would wet their faces by taking some water in their mouths.
In the morning, if the family intended to stay a day or two, after the same
repast of meat and tea, everyone became busy with his work. The men would look
after the reindeer, repair the sleighs and harness, and the women would repair
clothing, and do sundry household chores.
Social Organization
The basis of the social organization was the family. A number of families of
one locality formed a loose local group or clan which was exogamic. Its functions
were well defined. If the members of one family were impoverished, a general meet–
ing of the clan could decide to assign the task of feeding that family to one of
the richer members. If a poor man had children, they could be taken to be raised
(until maturity) by someone who could better afford them. When they grew up, they
had to support their real parents. This clan responsibility was a matter of common
law, and no repayment was expectd.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
Quarrels between individual members of the clan were subject to a general
judgment
[:
]
by the entire clan. If an outsider or a member of another tribe was
present, his advice was often sought.
Property was inherited from father to son along the male line. The most
valuable possession of the Tavghian, the reindeer, was marked with individual
ownership brands,
tamga
, which consisted of cutting out the hair of the reindeer
in the form of a specific figure. All but the youngst son had their own reindeer.
After his father's death, the youngest inherited his
tamga
as well as all his
branded and unbranded reindeer.
Marriage Customs
Marraige was exogamic between the clans. Polygamy was formerly practiced,
and a rich Tavghian could have as many as three wives, which he kept in the same
^
o
^
or separate huts, depending upon his wealth. As a rule the oldest wife had the
most prestige. Exchange marraige was practiced, in which case two men might
marry each other's sisters, or a groom might give his niece in exchange for a
bride of another clan. A younger brother could not marry a girl from the clan
of his elder brother's wife, because after the death of the elder brother his
younger brother had to marry the widow, thus retaining the value of the bridal
price within his clan. In this case no special ceremony was performed. The
elder brother, however, could not marry his younger brother's widow, as he was
like a second father to her. A widower had to marry the oldest of the younger
sisters of his dead wife. No marraige could take place between the clans of a
sister's husband and a wife's brother. Step-mother, sister, and aunt were also
included in the nonmarriageable class. Marriages took place at the age of thirteen
or fourteen years, and the consent of the girl was not necessary. Marraige by
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavgians
purchase was practiced, the bridal price consisting of furs, household goods,
a
[:
]
d reindeer.
Marriages were arranged by a go-between who visited the potential bride's
family, bringing a wolf's skin as a present. If the girl's father refused the
skin no further negotiations took place. If, however, the union was desirable,
the bride's price was agreed upon. The bride in her turn brought from 8 to 10
sleighs each, drawn by a pair of reindeer, which were laden with winter and
summer covers for a hut, a dress for herself, and full festive dress which she
had specially prepared for her future husband. The actual marriage consisted
of the
[:
]
delivery of the bridal price and taking the bride home. Upon arrival
at her new home the bride rode around it three times in the direction of the sun.
The wedding night was spent in a special hut brought and set up by the bride,
who also prepared the bed.
The following morning the groom, dressed in the costume brought by his wife,
would go out after a wild reindeer so as to prepare a feast from its meat. If
he failed to find a wild reindeer, a domesticated animal was substitute. Before
his departure the bride would smear his hair with fat, dress it, and braid it
near the ears with copper plaques or buttons braided in.
Barrenness of a woman, or infidelity were grounds for divorce and the husband
could demand in exchange the younger sister of the bride or the return of the
bride price.
Birth Customs
Pregnant women were considered "unclean," and were forbidden to cross the
tracks of hunted animals. During the last months of pregnancy they did not go
out at all and were fed with reindeer meat. It was forbidden for any person to
pass between the pregnant woman and her husband.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
Successful delivery was believed to depend upon the attitude of the Spirit
Owner of the Moon. A woman gave birth without assistance, kneeling and holding
on to a pole which was set obliquely and tied to the pole of the hut. Her bed
of several skins was separated by a low snow partition to prevent contamination
of the others in the hut. The grandmother washed the newly born child, and dur–
ing the first three days of the
[:
]
child's life the mother kept it near her bosom.
The mother was fed from old vessels which had to be disposed of later because of
contamination. Food was handed to her on one end of a long board for the same
reason. The snow partition remained until after the purification ceremony, and
until that time even the dogs were chased away from the mother. Even the grand–
mother, although she had not touched the mother, was "unclean," and could not
touch the fire. The grandmother remained
[:
]
in the hut until the umbilical cord
fell off. Three days after the birth the first purification ceremony took place.
This consisted of placing fat, pitch, or dog's hair in a skillet which was heated
until it gave off a great volume of smoke which purified everyone present. All
the guests were feasted on this day. After the umbilical cord fell off,
The the
camp was abandoned and the strips of hut covering and poles, which had been over
the place where delivery took place, as well as all the cloths and vessels which
had been used by the mother were abandoned. The husband also left his under pants
and belt behind. If a boy was born a toy bow was left at the place of birth. When
the family was ready to move to another camp, a reindeer and a dog were strangled
[:
]
and placed across the road, and all sleighs with household goods had to pass over
them to finish the last purification. For one month following the birth of the child
the young mother was forbidden to cross the path of the
shaitan
sleigh, lest she
contaminate it. A female reindeer was dedicated to the Spirit Owner of the Moon
after the first birth and was marked by a special
tamga
, after which the animal
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
was set free and never used again for work or killed.
Pregnancy of unmarried girls was not censured and the
^
^
child would remain with
the mother. Children were not named until they were three or four years old.
Babies were kept in decorated cradles. The education of children consisted of
preparing them for their future tasks as members of the clan. Tbys were reindeer
teeth, carved-out figures of sleighs, etc.
Boys were preferred, since women's position after maturity was difficult,
and they were subject to various restrictions due to the concept of "uncleanness."
They could not sit on a man's sleigh lest they pollute it, and could occupy only
the back part of a cance.
Death and Burial
Death was always caused by evil spirits. Members of the same clan usually
died from the same type of sickness, sent by the special spirit of the disease.
Every Tavghian had special "death clothing," prepared beforehand and made
of good material more richly decorated than everyday dress. In addition, a special
red cloth reindeer harness decorated with beads and hut covers of black reindeer
skin were prepared for burial. Women's death clothing was especially elaborate;
special household utensils and other things used by women were prepared for burial.
In winter the corpse was clothed in "death clothing," with red cloth covering
the eyes, and kept in the hut for two days. One of the relatives was selected to
sit near by and play the part of the deceased, carrying on conversations in his
name with grave diggers and consuming the funeral food prepared for him. He would
issue orders to capture a "funeral reindeer," and would promise to help in this task.
Only old and dark-colored animals were selected (they would become light and young
in the other world) and instead of the usual method of harnessing they were tied
to the sleigh.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
The body of a dead man was taken out by removing the cover of the hut and
spreading the poles apart, and was placed on the first sleigh of the funeral train,
together with his gun (without the barrel). On the second sleigh his clothing and
hunting gear were placed. A reindeer buck (for men) or a cow (for women) was killed
by strangulation, and the hind quarters of the animal were placed on the second
sleigh. Another reindeer cow and a dog were killed by strangulation and placed
across the road to be driven over by the funeral train and all those participat–
ing. Before starting, relatives would place some trinkets on the first sleigh as
"death decorations." The relative selected to play the part of the deceased drove
the first sleigh. The grave was lined with reindeer clothing and a pillow, and
the body, placed with the head toward the setting sun, was covered with a blanket.
The grave was covered with a layer of poles, then a piece of hut covering, and
finally with earth.
The funeral sleighs were placed over the grave and five reindeer (two for
each sleigh and the "luring" animal) were ceremonially killed and placed in their
original position in lifelike poses with bent knees and heads stretched toward
the sunset. The man who played the part of the deceased made motions as if he
were driving them and carried on a conversation with the relatives about his forth–
coming trip. After purification by the smoke from dog's fur which was thrown into
the fire, some meat and tea was eaten and everyone would take his leave saying
goodbye to the deceased and requesting him to send luck in hunting. All utensils
were made
[:
]
useless by perforating them at the bottom and they were placed on
the first sleigh. In returning home, care was taken to conceal the path from the
deceased by driving for several hours without looking back along a circuitous road,
in the wrong direction.
At the same time the rest of the relatives would move to a new camp, leaving
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
behind all poles and those covers which had been above the dead man's bed.
Upon hearing the approach of the funeral train, three women would rush out–
side and throw down three burning sticks of firewood with dog fur for the
sleighs to cross over.
In the case of a woman's death the funeral reindeer were captured by women,
and a woman play the part of the deceased. All her belongings were left at her
grave, and all clothing which she had made for others had to be traded within
a year. Men present at a woman's funeral would abstain from hunting for a month.
Relatives of the dead would not braid their hair for three years; the spouse of
the deceased would not sleep on the spot which he had formerly occupied. The
grave was visited yearly for three years, and a hitched reindeer carrying food
was strangled on the grave and left there, together with the food.
Religion
The Tavghian religion was characterized by a combination of shamanism and
animistic fetichism, in which the household spirits were prominent. The cos–
mogony and pantheon were not well defined. The Creator of the Universe,
Nulita
nuo
, lived on the seventh layer of the sky which was so high that it could be
reached only by the most famous shaman.
Nilitia nuo
, having once
[:
]
created
the universe and a definite number of male and female spirits for each tribe, would
not participate in running it, relegating this task to
her
his servant,
Kuo
, the Sun.
The servant of the Creator's wife (
N-am
) was
Ciraruo
, the Spirit Owner of the Moon.
This concept of the creator may be a reflection of the Christian influence, as the
sun is actually the most venerated spirit of the Tavghians.) The sun was re–
sponsible for plant life and was appealed to for help in the event of various
calamities and sickness. When the sick recovered, a white reindeer was sacrificed
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
to the sun; its meat was eaten by all but the shamans, and the skin with head and
hoofs was hung on a tree. A sacrifice was made by every family in the fall before
the final setting of the sun for the polar night, when a reindeer, usually the
best lead animal, was marked by a special sun
"tamga"
resembling the sun with its
rays, and killed by strangulation. The bones were collected and together with the
stomach were placed under the tree where the skin was hung. Another method of
sacrifice was the dedication of specially marked reindeer to the sun by setting
the animals free.
Next in importance was Ciraruo, the Spirit Owner of the Moon (
Kicceda
), which
was visualized as a suspended raft. This spirit lived on the moon and was re–
sponsible for successful
[:
]
birth. Before delivery prayers were made to it, and
after birth it was presented with a reindeer.
The Spirit of the Water,
Bida nuo
, received as a sacrifice a black reindeer
marked with a
tamga
representing waves. The reindeer was either set free or
killed by strangulation of the river or lake shore. In the spring after the ice
cleared a reindeer was sacrificed to this spirit by strangulation, its meat was
eaten, and the
[:
]
stomach with its contents was left on the river shore. The
bones, heart, kidneys, and lungs, a head dress decorated with beads, and three bells
were all placed in the skin, which was weighted with a heavy stone. Two men in two
canoes along
i
side of each other, each holding the skin parcel with one hand, would
row with their free hands to the middle of the river, where they would drop the
sacrifice. Immediately after this they would circle the spot three times in the
direction of the sun, thus symbolically encircling the parcel.
There were two Spirit Owners of the Earth. The first was a benevolent spirit,
Bujkuo nuo
, The Gray-Haired Old Man, to whom each family sacrificed a white reindeer
or a white dog upon returning to their winter camp.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
The other Spirit of the Earth was a malevolent one,
Fannida
, who lived be–
neath the turf under a tree and with open mouth waited for dying men. To escape
him a black reindeer, specially marked by his brand, was sacrificed to him.
In addition, there were spirit owners
[:
]
of each locality, the spirit owners
of fire,
Hyde Huonka
, and his wife,
Zali Hella
, owners of the hut, of plants,
of snow storm, and the spirit owners of various animals such as fish, wolf, bear,
goose, wild reindeer, arctic fox, etc., who received specially marked reindeer
as sacrifices.
Contrasted to these was a whole group of malevolent spirits inhabiting
the dark under world without sun or moon. The most powerful and feared of these
was
Barusi
.
A separate place was occupied by the spirits living in sacred objects,
shaitan
,(a word of Tartar derivation meaning the devil.)
Shaitans
could be
objects of unusual shape selected and consecrated by the shamans, wooden images
of spirits made at the shaman's direction, or iron pendants of the shaman's cere–
monial dress bequeathed to the family by the deceased shaman.
The
[:
]
shaitans
were divided into (a) household spirits, protectors of the
hut, fire, etc., (b) protectors against evil spirits, (c) spirit helpers in the
hunt or other occupations.
Shaitans
of the first two types could be of both
sexes. In addition some families had the
shaitan-shamans
, anthropomorphic
miniature images dressed in shaman's costume, which were invoked when a dream
was desired.
With the sunrise at the end of the polar night all
shaitans
were fed the smoke
of burning reindeer marrow. They were carried on a sleigh drawn by special
reindeer, and for female
shaitans
only reindeer cows were used. If for some rea–
son this
shaitan
reindeer had to be killed its meat was not eaten by shamans or
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
women. The
shaitan
sleigh had three supports and sometimes was decorated with
a sign of the sun in the form of a semicircle drawn with blood. Every two years
at the end of the polar night a new sleigh would be made and the old one aban–
doned. To consecrate the new sleigh a reindeer was killed and its skin, with head
and hoofs, was hung on a tree facing the east; then the new sleigh was brought
and placed as if it were hitched to the hide of the animal, and left that way for
three days.
A special small sleigh was used to house the
shaitan
of the fire, whose two–
headed image was made out of a split log.
In order to revenge an insult, the Tavghian would come home, open the sleigh
with his
shaitans
, set them up, kill a reindeer, and smear the image with its
blood, lift the front of the sleigh and loudly complain against the offender.
Another method was to bring one of the
shaitans
inside the hut and blacken its
face over the fire saying, "May my enemy's face burn in the same way." This
method was supposed to kill the enemy by producing anthrax of the face.
Shamanism
Shamans,
n'da
were defenders and protectors of men from all sorts of mis–
fortunes. A shaman was selected for his profession by a spirit and could not
refuse it. According to the Tavghian belief, the soul of the shaman underwent
a very long and painful period of training, during which it was transformed,
acquiring the necessary psychological qualities. As a rule the future shaman
had numerous sicknesses as a child. The shaman would officiate in a special
costume prepared during the period f of winter darkness and decorated with iron
pendants inherited from some deceased relative shaman. During the spring addi–
tional pendants were forged by two blacksmiths in a ceremonial enclosure.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
Among the Khanta Tavghians, future shamans would act abnormally, swallow–
ing burning coal, needles, copper rings, etc. An elder shaman was called to
stop the evil spirits who were torturing the novice.
Initiation into the shamanistic profession was conducted by an elder
shaman in a solemn atmosphere, with a large audience present. During the
ceremony the novice was tested to determine whether he had actually been
"called" by the spirits. His eyes were covered and he was made to walk in
the direction of a spread net which he had to avoid if he had been trulychosen.
While a man had one soul -
n-ilim
, which had the shape of a bird, the famous
shamans had two additional souls, which underwent tortures during his
[:
]
initia–
tion; his third sould remained with his family after his death.
The shamans operated with the assistance of special spirits, the most
important of which were the souls of the shaman and his relatives along either
the paternal or maternal line. Some of these spirits were not trustworthy;
they would lie and deceive the shaman, and had to be restrained by the three
main
[:
]
helpers who would tie them or lock them up. These spirits could incite
the shaman into performing evil deeds. The spirits were fed with the smoke of
burning fat, and multiplied in the same manner as human beings. One shaman
stated that some of his spirits were his children as the result of sexual inter–
course
with
^
of
^
the spirit with his wife.
Often a shaman was forced to perform shamanistic rites, against his will,
by relatives who considered him the main defense against evil spirits.
The functions of the shaman were varied and, besides the main function of
curing the sick, included carrying various requests to the spirits concerning
the fertility and multiplication of domestic and wild animals, defense of the
herds from wolves, and intervention against natural phenomena such as snow storms.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
The Tavghian shamanstic incantations were very short, with a pause every
five or ten minutes. Before each pause the shaman would ask the audience whether
his incantations were true and would refuse to continue unless begged to do so
by a special spokesman.
During the ceremony of curing the sick and recovering a stolen soul, the
shaman had to have a helper,
tuoptata,
who would direct him. A black reindeer
calf was killed; its head, bones, and stomach were placed near the fire and a
pillow was made from its skin for the sick man. During the ceremony the
would re-enact his trip to the Upper and Lower Worlds, accompanied by the souls
of all present, who during the ceremony at specific times would imitate the
[:
]
cries of a swan, hawk, and grebe to call the spirit helpers of the shaman.
When the shaman returned, bringing the soul back, he would make the sick
person pass through a split pole, held lengthwise by two men. Afterward this split
was firmly tied and wrapped with skin to complete the purification of the sick
man.
The ceremony addressed to the Spirits of the Lower World was held in the
evening. To cure the patient completely, the shaman had to take his soul to the
Upper World to be cared for by one of the Upper Good Spirits. This ceremony was
held immediately
[:
]
if the patient was strong enough; if not, it was performed
three, six or nine days after the first one. Only a strong shaman could achieve
this as he had to pass by the abode of the terrible
S'r'nuo
who would threaten to
devour the shaman's wife and children. When he reached the Upper Spirit the
shaman would ask him how long the sick person would live.
Some shamans were endowed with supernatural visions enabling them to find
thieves or people lost in the snow.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
Ceremony of the "Clean Hut
." The ceremony of the "clean hut,"
magusja
,
was held annually after the end of the polar night and has been described by
some authors as the sun festival. During the ceremony the shamans would ask
for luck, general well-being, and abundance of game for the coming year. This
festival had a clan character, and all neighbors arrived dressed in a special
elaborate funeral dress which they had prepared for their own burial and wore
only once a year, to this ceremony. The ceremony took three, five, seven, or
nine days, and a special hut was constructed with a number of poles equal to
seven times the number of days proposed for the ceremony. The thickest of the
poles had an image of the spirit
Hor'a
carved on the top. This spirit would
guide the shaman during his trip to the Upper World. A number of other rules
were observed during the construction, including the use of a flint in lighting
the fire.
The keynote of the festival was the prayers to insure propagation. Imitat–
ing the sounds of reindeer cows, the women would dance in a circle asking for
fertility, while the men would request virility. The shaman would perform during
this time, enacting a complicated and difficult journey to the Upper World,
carrying the requests of his tribe. As indications of his power and as good
omens for the future, he would perform various tricks, such as finding his way
into the "clean hut" while blindfolded, avoiding various obstacles place in the
way, and finding objects hidden by participants in the ceremony.
A characteristic feature of the ceremony was the great freedom permitted be–
tween boys and girls, who could make arrangements for a short time (not more than
one month), for sexual alliances, a device both to insure multiplication of ani–
mals by imitative magic as well as to attain growth of the population; the chil–
dren born as the result of those alliances were left with the parents of the girl.
wide space
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Tavghians
Tavghian folklore is very rich. It abounds with tales of shaman's exploits
and examples of epic poems with vivid poetical imagery, sharpness of comparison
and humor. A great many songs, fairy tales, riddles, and proverbs have been
recorded.
After the revolution, Tavghians together with other Siberian tribes for the
first time achieved some measure of equality with their Russian neighbors. Measures
to introduce education, via newly devised alphabets, systems of schools, hospital
cooperatives, etc., culminated in the establishment of the Taimyr National Region,
with three national soviets. The government
[:
] aids native industry — reindeer
breeding, hunting, and fishing — by supplying trained instructors, hunting and
fishing gear, and by organizing the disposal of furs.
Bibliography
A. A. Popov:
The Tavghians
(Trudy of the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography,
Vol. I, Pt. 5, Leningrad, 1936)
L. N. Dobrova-Yadrintzeva:
The Native of the Turukhansk Region
(1925)
B. Dolgikh:
The Population of the Taimyr Peninsula and Adjacent Region
(Soviet
Asia, No. 2 (26) 1929)
Krivoshapkin:
The Yenisei of Region and the Life There
(1865)
A. F. Middendorf:
Trip to the North and East of Siberia
(St. Petersburg, 1878)
Tretiakov, P.I.:
The Turukhansk Region, Its Nature and Inhabitants
(St. Petersburg,
1869).
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Northern Tungus or Evenki
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
NORTHERN TUNGUS OR EVENKI
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Page
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Divisions
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1
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Language
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2
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Physical Anthropology
|
2
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History
|
3
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^
-
^
Dwellings
|
5
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^
-
^
Clothing
|
5
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^
-
^
Food
|
6
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^
-
^
Household Utensils
|
7
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Hunting Gear
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8
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^
-
^
Transportation
|
8
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Occupations
|
9
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Reindeer breeding
[:
] |
10
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Fishing
|
11
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^
-
^
Social Organization
|
11
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^
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^
Marriage
|
13
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-
^
Wedding
|
14
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^
-
^
Divorce
|
16
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^
-
^
Birth
|
16
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^
-
^
Burial
|
18
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^
-
^
Religion
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18
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^
-
^
Cosmogony
|
18
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Hunting-Reindeer Cult
|
19
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^
-
^
Pantheon
|
19
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Cult of the Animals
|
20
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^
-
^
Cult of the shaman ancestors
|
21
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^
-
^
Shamanism
|
22
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^
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The Cure
|
23
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Folklore
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26
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Games and Dancing
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26
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Bibliography
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28
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Northern Tungus or Evenki
The
Tungus
or
Evenki
are one of the largest native groups in Northern
Siberia. The term Tungus (probably derived from the Yakut term "Tunus"
which was used for all peoples living in the Yakutsk region, or from "Tung-hu"
by which the Chinese call all Manchurian peoples) has been widely applied to
a number of linguistically related Siberian tribes. For the purpose of this
article the term Tungus will be used to refer only to the Northern Tungus or
Tungus proper, who inhabit Eastern Siberia from 60° Eastern longitude to the
Pacific, and from the Arctic to the Chinese border. This area includes the
groups known as the Lamuts and Orochens and excludes the Southern Tungus –
the Amur River and Manchurian Tungus: the Goldi, Solons, Daurs, Olchi, Orochi,
and Manchus.
In 1897 the Tungus numbered approximately 63,000. At present they form
the basic population of the Evenki National Region, and partly of the Vitim–
Olekma National Regions in the Yakut and the Buriat-Mongol A.S.S.R. (q.v.)
Small groups live in the Far Eastern Province and in parts of the Olhotsk area
(q.v.)
The Tungus call themselves "Evenki", a term apparently of Turkic origin
which is translated by some as "lake dwellers. It may also be derived from
the Chinese meaning "Eastern Barbarians".
Divisions
:
In addition to the Tungus proper, a portion of the Tungus known as
Lamuts
(coast dwellers), numbering 1,050 in 1897, live in the Kolyma and
Verkhojansk areas of the Yakut Republic and along the Kamchatka-Okhtsk shores.
Another Tungus group, the
Orochon
(herdsmen or reindeer Tungus from the Manchu
oron
- reindeer, numbering 750, inhabit the Trans-Baikal Region. They are
N. Tungus
identified culturally and in dialect with the Tungus proper. Another group,
the Manegers, (The reindeer breeders) numbering 110 in 1897, live along the
left bank of the Amur River.
The Tungus, inhabiting as they do a vast territory which ranges in natural
condition from forests to inaccessible mountains to tundra with lakes which are
transformed in winter to vast snowy expanses, may be divided according to their
mode of living into nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary.
The nomadic Tungus number about 29,000 and wander all over Eastern Siberia
with their reindeer. The semi-nomadic cattle breeders and fishermen, numbering
about 30,000 have seasonal places of abode. They are found in the provinces of
Trans-Baikal and to a lesser exten
c
^
t
^
in the Yakutsk region. The sedentary
Tungus numbering about 4,000 are mostly agricultural and live chiefly in the
Trans-Baikal province. About 45% of this group live in Irkutsk and the Marititime
Province. These are cattle breeders or fishermen.
Language
:
The Evenki language belongs to the group of Tungus tongues, sometimes
included in the Altayan group, and is characterized by agglutinative-suffix
construction, harmony of vowels and a well
[: -]
developed word-construction and
word-changing apparatus. The language is rich in words reflecting the culture
and poor in abstract words. Since the revolution many terms have been borrowed
from the Russian and formed on the basis of Evenki roots to express new concepts.
At present more than half the Tungus have adopted foreign languages such as
Russian, Buriat, Yakut and Yukaghir. Up to the revolution there was no Evenki
writing.
Physical Anthropology
:
Data on physical anthropology of the Tungus is inadequate. They are of
average stature (163 cms) and are slightly but firmly built. The cephalic index
N. Tungus
varies from 79.6 for some groups to 83 (brachicephalic) for others. The facial
index is 81.26, cephalic module 158.3 and cephalic module-stature index 9.7.
The forehead is square and well developed. The eyes are narrow, straight
or almost straight, and are dark or dark brown. The skin is brown, the hair
thick and black, and the mouth is large with long thin lips.
History
:
Most authorities believe that the original home of the Tungus was much
further south than in the present territory. Some investigarots (Schmidt,
Talko-Grintsevich) place the original home of the Tungus in Machuria; others
place it in Northern Mongolia, while others (Shirokogorov) derive them from
the middle and lower courses of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. According to
Chinese sources, the Tungus waged wars against the Chinese, Koreans and Mongolians
some 2000 years ago, and the Tungus-Manchu dominated China three times in their
history.
Shirokogorov, who made a detailed study of Tungus history on the basis of
Chinese sources and clan names and their distribution, reconstructs three main
migrations of the Tungus: a) the Northward movement of the proto-Tungus;
b) the southward movement - four waves; and c) along the southern border of
the reindeer breeding area. Then, pressed by the expanding Chinese, the Tungus
[:
]
moved northward and eastward, forming two main divisions: 1) Northern
Tungus who pushed the Paleoasiatics north and east and occupied the territory
north of Lake Baikal and west along the Lena River; 2) Southern Tungus who
settled along the right bank of the Amur and Sungari Rivers.
By the first millenium B.C., the Yakuts, pressed by Mongolo-Turkic tribes,
spread along the Lena, pushing the Tungus both south and east. The Southern
Tungus adopted the sedentary-agricultural complex, while the Northern Tungus
became a reindeer breeding tribe and pushed southward by the Yakuts, introduced
N. Tungus
reindeer breeding into Manchuria.
According to the meager historical data available, the Evenki, even
before the 14th century,
[:
]
occupied the taiga section of the Lena basin.
In the 14th century, after bloody battles with the Yakuts, who were advancing
from the direction of Lake Baikal, the Evenki were pushed from the Amguno-Lena
plateau and moved twoard the Yenisei River, to the right tributaries of the
Lena along the Stanovoi Mountains, and into the Amur region.
The first Russian conquerors of Siberia encountered the Evenki in 1605 or
1607. For twenty years the Evenki, armed only with "palma" (a spear with a
wide blade set on a long shaft) and bows and arrows battled the Cossacks who
had firearms. The Russians finally conquered and tribute (
yasak
) was exacted
from the natives. Even after the conquest there were several uprisings against
the new masters, the most important in 1629, by the Evenki of the Lower Tunguska
River, which was very curelly crushed by the punitive expedition of the Samson
Novatsky.
By the least quarter of the 17th century Christianization of the Evenki
had begun together with exploitation by merchants and officials. In the 18th
century Russian colonists began pushing the
[:
]
Evenki northward from their
hunting territories.
The law of 1832 divided the Tungus into groups in order to exact tribute,
and fixed clan privileges along a hereditary line. Three hundred years of
exploitation resulted in the impoverishement and gradual dying out of the
Evenki, a process which was stopped only with the advent of the Soviet Regime.
By 1933 20% of the Evenki were collectivized. There has been a tendency
to change the sedentary mode of life. Cooperatives and cultural education
help in the formation of the national entity. Several cultural bases have been
constructed, the Evenki have been relieved of taxation, and there is a network
N. Tungus
of boarding schools and hospitals. In 1931 the alphabet was created. During
1930 and 1931 almost 100 Evenki were students at the Institute of Northern
Tribes in Leningzed. Fourteen of them were graduated and returned to the
kolkhoz to teach.
Dwellings
:
The basic Tungus dwelling is a conical pole tent (
golomo
)covered among
the reindeer people with reindeer hides (30-50) and with canvas or birch bark
among the non-reindeer breeding Tungus. The Okhotsk Tungus cover the lower
cylindrical parts of the tent with rectangular pieces of birch-bark sewed
together with thongs. The Sakhalin Evenki have a light tent - for three or four -
^
people
^
which can be placed on a sled for use during hunting.
The tent has an opening at the top which is used as a chimney and is
covered for protection against snow and cold in winter, and against mosquitoes
in summer. This window-less, easily dismantled tent is well suited for trans–
portation.
About one-quarter of the Tungus are semi-sedentary and live in Russian–
type, wooden houses.
Since 1920 the Soviet government has been manufacturing and selling
ready-made canvas-covered, fur-lined tents.
Clothing
:
The basic dress is a light coat of very simple cut worn directly against
the naked body. The woman's coat reached to the kaees, and is always decorated
with numerous pendants, coins and beads. An "apron" or piece of skin tied
around the neck and waist and reaching to the knees, and pants of tanned skin
with fur stockings are worn by both sexes. The Tungus fur coat has a tail-like
prolongation at the back.
Two types of foot wear are used -
Unty
or
Bakari
- long, reindeer-leg fur
N. Tungus
boots reaching to the knee are used for travel and hunting. Short shoes
decorated with beads are worn at home.
Both sexes wear wide belts decorated with beads. A sheathed knife and a
tobacco pouch with a pipe are hung from the belt. Sometimes men wear a shoulder
strap decorated with beads, from which a flint and firemaking apparatus, a
small bag containing tobacco, bullets, etc., are suspended.
Women often wear a breast piece decorated with metal or with round
massive copper mirrors, (perhaps a Chinese influence).
The Tungus we
[:
]
r their hair long and pull out their facial hair with iron
tweezers and either tweeze or shave their pubic hair.
In recent times native dress has often been replaced by Russian garments.
Food
:
The Tungus diet consists of fish, meat and various purchased foods. The
women prepare all the food.
Fish is prepared in four ways: a)
Ukola
- dired fish - for everyday use;
b)
Porsa
- fish flour; c)
Kochemaza
- badly dired, half-spoiled fish, used as
dog food; d)
Balyk
- well-salted.
They also eat dried fish eggs, and pancakes baked of fish eggs. With
the exception of Balyk, all fish is kept in birch-bark vessels in storage
houses, built on piles to keep the food away from animals. In the summer, the
fish is boiled with wild onions without salt, or eaten raw, and
Ukola
is baked
in hot ashes.
Meat may be prepared in several different ways: a) boiled without salt;
b) in rice soup with salt; c) fried in fish oil with salt; d) broiled; or,
e)
Ulutka
- boiled, cut fine and dried. Domestic reindeer meat is a delicacy,
and is killed for sale only by the rich Tungus, although formerly it was a sin
to sell reindeer meat. They also eat wi
d
^
l
^
d-reindeer, mountain goat, bear, hare,
N. Tungus
seal, and sea-lion meat. The cartileges of leg joints, bone marrow and liver
are eaten raw.
The reindeer is milked and gives a high quality milk with 4-5% more fat
than cow's milk. Birds are killed and eaten in the spring. They are never sold,
but are often given to
t
others. Roots, berries, and nuts are also used.
Purchased foods are mostly flour, cow and horse meat, butter and rice.
The amount of purchases can be seen from the fact that each year a group of 24
families used 14,000 lbs of four, 17 families used 4000 lbs of cow meat,
16 families used 8000 lbs of horse meat, and 19 families used 3600 lbs of butter.
The average family buys about half the food they use, including tea, sugar and
vodka. The flour is used to make a type of unleavened bread.
Products are not washed before cooking. Dishes are sometimes washed, or
rinsed, then wiped with wooden shavings - "
khatka
."
In addition, Tungus buy some dry goods: kerchiefs, belts, buttons and
thread.
Household Utensils
:
Dishes are made of animal, fish, and bird skin, as well as wood, and
birch-bark. Round birch bark containers are covered with tanned reindeer skin
and beautifully decorated. Similar containers are used for reindeer milk.
In addition two or three tea-kettles, usually copper, a large copper
kettle for meat and fish, a skillet, wooden bowls, etc., are used. A low
taboret serves as a table.
Clothing and food are kept in birch-bark containers, covered with reindeer
skins, suitable for pack transportation on reindeer. Reindeer skins and carp
[:
]
ts
of the skin of reindeer forehead are used as bedding. Reindeer skins are used
for tent covers, sleeping bags, saddle covers, saddle and pack bags. Cured
skin is used for footwear and summer clothing.
N. Tungus
Raw leather provides materials for straps, lariats, etc.
Fish bones are used to make glue.
The knife is the indispensable tool of every man and is worn in wooden
sheaths.
Hunting Gear
:
Hunting tools consist of 1) guns - still some of the flint lock type;
2) various types of traps for ermine, sable, kolinsky, arctic fox and wolverine,
and snares for fox and arctic fox; 3) bow and arrow: the short hunting bow,
(th
[:
]
war bow is longer); large and small arrows. The arrow points are made of
iron, mammoth ivory and bone (sometimes with split points.) Special arrows are
made of reindeer horn with a heavy blunt knob.
The Tungus knew metals before the advent of the Russians, and native
blacksmiths (
sapkal
- "one who knows") prepare arrow points, swords, spear–
heads, knives, axes, etc.
While exchange of clothing or furs for metal objects was in practice
between clans, within the clan it was not encouraged.
Transportation
:
The main mode of transportation is on reindeer. Canoes made of wooden
frames covered with sections of birch bark and sealed with pitch are used
with one two-bladed oar.
Tungus reindeer are used primarily for riding and carrying packs and
only occasionally for drawing sleighs. The Tungus caravan ("
argish
") consists
of reindeer that carry packs containing tent covers, spare clothing, indoor short
boots, supplies of hides and tanned skins for making clothes, and other necessary
equipment for sewing and food. The reindeer bridle is made of leather strips,
cheek pieces are made of carved mammoth ivory, and the forehead piece is made
of reindeer horn.
N. Tungus
For drawing a sleigh, tow animals are used. In traveling, several sleighs
each with a pair of animals are tied one after another, with the first freight
sleigh driven by a leader. This type of transportation is used in sparse
forest areas.
Under saddle, a reindeer can carry 65-70 kg, while two animals can draw
a sleigh with 160-180 kgs. of freight. In the fall up to 100 kgs. can be
loaded on one reindeer, and in the spring only 40-50 kgs. Although a rider
may weigh
t
much more, he balances himself and it is easier for the animal to
carry a rider than dead weight. Children in cradles are carried on reindeer
and balanced with a sack on the other side.
Occupations
:
The economy of the native population is based on three main occupations:
1) hunting; 2) reindeer breeding; and 3) fishing. Of secondary importance for
a portion of the population are transportation of freight on reindeer, black–
smithing, sleigh making, and dress making out of reindeer skins.
As a rule, the main occupation of the
[:
]
poorer groups is fishing and
hunting. Reindeer breeding is more typical of the richer Tungus. Fishing is
more characteristic of the northern portion, hunting and fishing of the middle.
Fur bearing animals are important as the basis of their budget because
the furs are used an an exchange medium for food and manufactured goods. Elk are
pursued on skis.
In winter they hunt on reindeer back; in spring on wide snowshoes over
the hard crust of the snow; and during the summer and fall either on reindeer
back or on foot. The communal group hunt includes the construction of a corral
several kilometers long into which the animals are driven by the participants.
The Tungus hunt primarily with guns (rifle or straight), various traps,
^
c
^
crossbows, and snares. Blunted arrows are used in some areas to hunt squirrel.
N. Tungus
The meat of wild reindeer is equally divided among the hunters; the skin
of the head is given to the one who killed the animal, and the whole skin is
given to someone else. If several mountain sheep are killed, part is given to
neighbors.
Reindeer breeding
:
Reindeer is important a) as a means of transportation and b) as a source
of meat and materials. It provides the Tungus with the following: 1) food –
tasty and nutritious meat, blood, marrow and milk; 2) skins - undressed for the
outer tent cover, dressed for the inner cover and for summer footgear, harnesses,
and ropes used in capturing animals; 3) horn - for knife handles, saddle frames,
harness forehead pieces; 4)sinew - for sewing thread. Reindeer products are
used only in the native economy and not for barter.
Reindeer herds are of two types. Large herds numbering from 100-400 head
and small herds. The large herds are driven by herders to some moss-rich area
near a river for winter grazing. Toward spring, supervision by the herders
lessens and the herds are left to wander to higher places to escape mosquitoes.
In summer-fall the animals wander in search of mushrooms, and control by the
herders practically ceases. At this time the percentage of loss is highest.
These animals are usually castrated in the fall. Marking is made once a year
by cutting the ear. Thirty-to fifty tame animals are kept near the habitation
for transportation. Smaller family herds are kept under constant observation
and are counted every 2-3 days. For the calving period 4-5 families stop
moving and build a joint corral.
Reindeer grazing fields can be recognized by the hard packed ground.
Their wanderings are confined within a certain general region. The productive
capacity of the herd depends upon the number of cows which averages from 32-48%.
Bulls are better for transportation, and tame bulls are often used during the
"run" period as a lure for wild reindeer bulls which are killed when they begin
N. Tungus
to fight with the domesticated bull. The reindeer cows are milked, but produce only
a small supply (about half a bottle a day from June to October) because calves
are permitted to suckle.
With the help of the Soviet Administration, the number of Tungus reindeer
has increased from 38,962 in 1926 to 65,872 in 1932.
Fishing
:
The Maritime Tungus being their seaward migration in mid-April, reaching
the shore in mid *May when most of the rivers flowing into the Okhotsk Sea become
free from ice. Only enough fish is caught to supply the daily need. However,
after a critical shortage of fish, especially during the spring when the
winter supplies are exhausted, much fish is consumed. Winter supplies are not
prepared until the end of the summer when the better types of far-eastern fish
enter the rivers to spawn.
Fish is caught with hair nets, scoops, and even iron hooks.
Social Organization
:
As early as the 18th century the Tungus were divided into three groups –
Horse, Reindeer, and Dog.
The largest social un
t
i
^
t
^
is the tribe, composed of 9-10 clans. Within
the
tribe there
[:
]
are phratries composed of clans for the purpose
of the reciprocal exchange of women.
The clan (
tagaun
), a group of families, is patrilineal and usually
named after some male ancestor (clan Kurkagir after Kurkoce, etc.). Some clans
are named after rivers or hills in their former habitat. All members of a
clan are considered to be blood relatives, and, consequently, can not inter–
marry. A council of clan elders elects a civilian clan chief, "keeper of the
clan property", whose functions include organization of the communal hunt,
maintenance of communal traps and fishing gear, selection of pastures, super-
N. Tungus
vision of corral building, and distribution of hunting territories. Under the
Russian Administration the civilian chief was given the additional duty of
collecting taxes. A popularly elected war chief was required to protect the clan
territory from attack, to teach the art of war, and to instruct the blacksmith
in the manufacture of weapons. Both the civilian chief and the war chief were
subjected to test-initiations in which the former demonstrated
t
his hunting skill
and prowess and the latter his ability to dodge arrows.
The clan council elected a clan shaman, made decisions affecting revenge,
declared war, made judgement among members, etc.
The basic unti of Tungus social organization is the biological family,
husband, wife and their children. Its functions are reproduction and economic
activity such as hunting, manufacturing clothing, utensils, etc. An active
man and an active woman are necessary for the maintenance of the family since
the division of labor is such that the man must hunt and fish and the woman
must follow her mate, transport the killed animals, saddle and unsaddle reindeer,
etc.
Inheritance is through the patrilineal line, the children inheriting from
their father or his relatives, while his wife inherits nothing. The husband,
however, inherits from the wife. If a widow remarries into another clan she may
not take the children of the deceased with her since they are the property of
his clan. These children go to the husband's brother.
The Tungus terms of relationship are of a classificatory type and are
arranged in three age groups. These groups are peculiar in that they contain
members of two generations on the basis of the principle that brothers or sisters
younger than the individual belong to a younger class, and those older than the
individual belong to an older class. Thus the groups may be classified as follows:
1) "My" class consists of all my older brothers (direct or collateral) and members
of my father's generation younger than my father -
N. Tungus
2) "Class younger than I" consists of my younger brothers, my children, and
children of my older brothers
3) "Class older than I" consists of my father, older brothers of my father, and
younger brothers of my paternal grandfathers
The women in the group are considered as follows: all wives of those in
the individual's group are in the same class as his own wife and may be con–
sidered as potential wives--sex license and relationships with them are
permitted. Wives of those in the older class are in the same group as the
individual's mother, and the younger women in a group with one's daughter.
Strict taboo is maintained for the two latter groups.
Terms for son, daughter, brother, sister, grandchild, grandfather, etc.,
may, therefore, refer to many individuals in accordance with the above scheme.
Marriage
:
Marriage among the Tungus is socially important since it is aimed at
insuring the continuity of the clan and increasing the population, at satisfying
the emotions (an important consideration among the Tungus) and at strengthening
the economic position of the family.
Although marriage is most important, premarital relations are not forwned
upon. A girl need not be a virgin to be married. Sexual relations with non–
Tungus are disapproved, and between members of the same clan are strictly
prohibited.
Girls may marry before they reach physical maturity in which case the
marriage is consummated later. Sometimes the bethrothed couple will have
relations before the wedding - the payment of the bride price.
There are several ways of obtaining a wife - the main one being marriage
by purchase - the payment of the bride price of
kalym
- in animals or goods.
However, marriage by exchange (when daughters are exchanged for sons between
N. Tungus
families is more advantageous for both clans, as no
kalym
is required. There
may also be marriage by service when the groom can not afford the
kalym
and
therefore works for the bride's family for a stipulated length of time. Marriage
by capture or elopement is rare, and is used sometimes when the parents do not
consent, but is not a serious crime.
Marriages are arranged by matchmakers (
kuda
) whose main job is to agree
upon and transact the bride price, the payment of which constitutes one of the
important parts of the wedding. They may arrange for the bethrothal of young
children, or arrange with the relatives of two people who are already agreed, or
arrange the formal settlement for a love match. In all cases both parties must
consent.
The bride price is paid to the bride's
p
parents and consists of animals,
vodka, money, clothing and goods, part of which is paid upon betrothal and the
remainder at the wedding.
After knowing that they will be favorably received, two skilled married
members of the groom's family visit the bride's parents bringing vodka. They
converse generally, drink the vodka, and the host pretends he does not know
the nature of their visit. The bride's mother and other relatives are present
and participate in the conversation, but the bride herself, although she may be
present does not take any part in the presence of the matchmakers. After the
kalym
has been agreed upon, the matchmakers prepare a feast for both clans, which
lasts two to three days.
The bride brings with her a dowry of domesticated animals, money, clothes,
and tools, which, as a rule, remain her personal property, inherited by her
daughters, and which she can take with her, should she leave her husband's clan.
Wedding
:
Weddings take place usually when the Tungus do not hunt. The date and
place are fixed beforehand. Several days before the ceremony the people from
N. Tungus
both clans gather, each in its own camp, with a rivulet, gulley or long trench
separating them. Clansmen of different groups are not permitted to stay in
the same camp.
The day before the wedding the groom brings presents to the parents of
the bride and spends the night with her in her tent. The next morning the
kalym
is loaded and brought to the bride's camp. Criticism of the size and quality of
the
kalym
by the bride's clan is customary, and often two supplementary laods
are brought before they a
^
p
^
pear satisfied. The dowry is then loaded on a rein–
deer and the bride is dressed in three or four coats at once, several shawls and
a handkerchief attached to her belt. She receives gifts from her relatives, is
mounted on the reindeer and leaves for the groom's camp accompanied by an old
man of her clan, never by her father) who leads the animal.)
As soon as the caravan reaches the demarcation line a sham battle takes
place. The bride's relatives try to turn the caravan back, and members of the
groom's clan try to capture one of the bride's clansmen. He submits, and an
old woman from the groom's clan takes the bridle, then the caravan circles
around the groom's tent three times. The bride is then taken inside, seated on
a skin rug, and she gives food offerings to the fire spirits of her husband's
clan. Meat vodka and tea are served to the guests.
The groom, dressed in the new clothing brought by the bride, then appears
and the couple receive their guests, who kiss the bride's hand. The go-betweens
spit on the bride's hand three times, which constitutes the final rite. A
feast is prepared then with places of honor for the men facing northwest, and
for the women - southeast. Drinking, speeches and ring dances follow. The same
is later repeated in the bride's camp and general visiting, feasting and dancing
continue for three days.
The new couple then leave
s
the camp and start their own household as a
new unit.
N. Tungus
Divorce
:
A man may divorce his wife i
s
^
f
^
she systematically betrays him, drinks
too much or leaves him. He may then get back his
kalym
, in full or in part,
and she may lose her dowry. A wife may divorce her husband if he mistreats her
(very rare), fails to provide her with food and skins, or leaves her for another.
If the intervention of his clan is not effective, she may ask for a formal
divorce, and the
kalym
is not returned. Divorces are generally rare.
Three categories of prohibitions are imposed on women.
The first applies to all women. No woman may sit under the sacred
container for spirit images, or mount horses or reindeer to be used to carry
this container, or possess such animals. Among some Tungs groups this prohibi–
tion includes fishing, while among others fishing is not prohibited to women.
Prohibitions of the second type apply to women during the period when they
are capable of childbirth (from the onset of puberty to the menopause). They
may not sit on an uncompleted skin, eat bear or tiger meat, touch bear skin or
work on it. A woman is not allowed to touch the harpoon, cross or go along a
river bar, or approach the fishing places or touch fish until men hand it to
her. She may not stride across a man's clothes, sit on them or sit on his
saddle. She may not come near the spirit image container, nor step across a
lying man or his hat.
Finally, the third type of regulation applies to women when they are
menstruating or have given birth recently, and sometimes when they are pregnant.
In such cases a woman may not assist at any sacrifice or shamanistic ceremony.
If she is a shaman herself, she is forbidden to deal with any spirits including
her own, nor may she shamanize. If she is pregnant, the taboo lasts the entire
period.
Birth
:
When a woman becomes pregnant all the clan members are happy. It is
N. Tungus
believed that in every third generation the soul of the deceased return to its
clan, falls into the hea
t
^
r
^
th, from there into the womb, thus causing her to
become pregnant. When the child grows up the relatives determine whose soul
had entered into him on the basis of facial features and behaviour. During her
pregnancy the woman continues her work if she can, otherwise other women help
her. Except for sexual intercourse she is under the same restrictions as when
menstruating. Food prohibitions are not practiced, but special foods are
provided if she has any particular aversions.
Shortly before the time of delivery the husband or other women build a
small tent near the large family hut. Inside is a stand made of two vertical
poles, 70 cm. high, with a crossbeam. The woman wears old clothes which are
usually burned before she returns to normal life. Some groups re-use the clothes
after they have been carefully washed and smoked.
Although formerly she was left along, at delivery the woman is assisted by
experienced women of her husband's clan or other women. No men are present.
She enters the tent at the last pssible moment, since the temperature is the
same as outside. She leans forward, supporting herself on the stand with her a
arms over the crossbeam. Delivery is usually painful and lasts sometimes 2-3
days. The assisting women can turn the child if the position is abnormal.
Shamans do not approach women in childbirth. The child is caught by the assistant
or falls to the ground. The umbilical cord is cut and tied either by the mother or
the assistant. The child is covered with skins or cloth and three or four days
later it is washed in a special birch bark vessel. Among some groups the end
of the umbilical cord is preserved, other groups bury it. All groups bury the
placenta. After delivery the mother rests from two to ten days. She does
not work, and food is prepared for her. During the summer the mother remains
in the small tent for about a month, but during the winter she only remains
N. Tungus
about ten days. She does not enter the family hut until after purification.
This consists of burying or burning the clothes used during delivery and the
post-partem period, of using certain plants for smoking, and washing herself,
the child, and all the utensils used. She must also pass through the fire
three times. The husband is not allowed to see the mother and the child for
a month, but this is often neglected. After her return home the woman is free
of restrictions and takes her meals with the family.
Burial
:
The corpse is sewn in a reindeer skin together with his weapons and a
cooking vessel, the bottom of which is pierced and hung on a tree. Sometimes
the corpse is put in a wooden coffin which is placed on a high spot. During
the simple funeral ceremony a reindeer is killed and eaten. The bones are
also placed on a tree.
Sedentary Tungus burry their dead. Care is taken when returning from
the funeral to obliterate the tracks in the snow or cut trees across the path
to prevent the dead spirits from follwoing.
Maritime groups sometimes place their dead in coffins, on a platform in
a specially constructed shed so that the face of the
[:
]
corpse faces the sea.
The usual purification rites are practised.
Religion
:
Although officially the Tungus have been Christians for a long time they
preserve a great many original beliefs which are very complex and have numerous
local variations of ritual and terms, due to contact with neighbors.
Basically, the Tungus religion is a combination of three main elements:
hunting and reindeer-breeding beliefs, cult of the clan shaman-ancestors,
and well developed shamanism.
Cosmogony
:
The world, in the Tungus' concept is divided into three main parts:
N. Tungus
The Upper World (consisting of nine levels of sky), the Middle World - earth,
and the Lower World - the deep precipice, also with subdivisions. The Upper
World is the abode of benevolent spirits, the Lower, of evil spirits, who,
however, are encountered in the other two worlds.
The Lower World is ruled by the powerful Spirit of the Earth. The souls
of dead shamans live there. Somewhere on the earth is the abode of shadows
and souls of the dead people.
Hunting-Reindeer Cult
:
The hunting and reindeer cult is characterized by the importance of the
Spirit-Owner concept so prevalent among the hunting Siberians. Such are Spirit–
Owners of various cosmogonic elements, geographical localities, animals and
peculiar objects. Some of these Spirit Owners are more powerful and acquire the
stature of Deities. Such are the Creator, the Owner of the Earth, Fire, Ocean,
etc. They are usually strongly anthropomorphized and visualized as old men
living with their families.
Pantheon
:
Tungus Pantheon is very large and loosely organized. The following
concepts are among the most important. The proper names of spirits vary greatly.
The One Eternal Being (
Buga
) equal to the World
[:
]^
Creator
^
, and addressed
only on exceptional occasions such as the divisions of a clan. No images are
made.
Spirit of Heaven (
Dagachan
or
Dzhulaski
,) mostly benevolent, if angry he simply
does not help. (non-Tungus in origin)
Spirit of Earth (
Dunde-Mukhunin
or
Bykhydor
) borrowed from the Chinese by the
agricultural Tungus.
Spirit Owner of the Arctic Ocean - with a head covered with icicles, lives at
the bottom of the ocean and rules the snow storms, fogs, cold, and the Aurora
Borealis.
N. Tungus
The Spirit Owner of the Thunder - loves warmth, departs to the south in the
winter and returns in the summer. He loves to sniff tobacco, and kills his
spirit adversaries with stone arrows.
The Spirit Owner of the Fire - has a wife who protects from the evil spirits.
He is often asked for advice.
The Spirit Owner of the Mountains - is mischievous, loves to tease and mock
people. The echo is his voice. Often, to fool him, Tungus speak Russian in
the mountains.
The Spirit Onwer of the Forest - (
Dunda-Mukhuvin)
is also sometimes called
Urotko
,
Bayanai
. He lives with his wife and children, mostly on high mountain
slopes which about in game. He owns all animals and uses a white stallion, tiger,
or an enormous dog for travelling. He is a pale old man without a beard and
hunts squirrel on snow shoes which leave no tracks. When a Tungus approaches
a mountain with a great deal of game, he kills a reindeer, and with the warm
blood smears the image of the Spirit of the Forest, which is set at the cross–
roads or at the place of good hunting.
In addition there are
Enduri
- Spirit Owners or protectors of various
localities, objects, animals or occupations.
Among the evil spirits are very important
Arenki
, numerous lesser spirits
inhabiting forests, mountains, rivers, tec. They are usually souls of unburied
people, seen as little fires or balls of light in motion.
Another type of evil spirit is called
Bon
. They act like humans, have
dark red blood, are very hairy, feeble, and lack a lower jaw. They may be a
transformation of people who fall into a lethargic sleep.
Cult of the Animals
.
The bear cult is very strong among the Tungus. The bear is strongly
anthropomorphized and is referred to as "grandmother" or "grandfather". The
Bear's skin is never referred to as "skin", but as "nanmakyn" - the outer
N. Tungus
garment. The bear's ksin and paws serve as amulets. The bear's oath is much
used.
The reindeer is also venerated, and its behavior is thought to predict
the outcome of the hunt.
Cult of the shaman ancestors
:
All the dead, referred to as
Khargi
, are feared, but the souls of the
ancestor-shamans are considered protective, and venerated. After a shaman's
death his soul protects his relatives. The images of the shaman ancestors
constitute the household idols, made of wood, iron and copper. They are
placed in a bag or a box, on a sledge covered with whole skins of wild reindeer,
and kept near the hut with its front pointing toward the south. During
travels this sledge is in the center of the train and is drawn by white reindeer
dedicated to the Main Upper Spirit.
All souls of dead shamans are also called by the generic term,
Khargi
.
They are divided into clans and live in the Lower World -
Kharga
, under the
leadership of the oldest
Khargi
, who is also in charge of both the Middle World–
earth, and the Lower World. He
[:
]
selects a young man and sends into him
one of the souls of his subordinate younger ancestor-shaman. The selected youth
thus becomes a shaman with the soul of his ancestor shaman in him. This group
of gouls of dead shamans, living in the lower world is headed by a Lower
Khavoki
,
(main spirit).
The term
Khavoki
, evidently means a supreme deity or spirit, a distant
and direct ancestor of shamans. In every day life
[:
]
he is referred to as
Amaka
-Grandfather.
There are three
Khavoki
; one in charge of each of the three main subdivi–
sions of the universe. The Lower
Khavoki
is the oldest and the most important
N. Tungus
of the three, in charge not only of the souls of living Tungus but also of the
souls of their ancestors.
Kharga
, the soul of the shaman after his death goes to the oldest
Grandfather Kharga
, who lives in the Lower World, to report all unfinished
businesses which were entrusted to the spirit helpers of the dead shaman. The
Old Man
Khargi
listens and takes corresponding measures.
Very little precise information is given about the Upper
Khavoki
beyond
the fact that he is a good kind spirit.
Shamanism
:
Tungus shamanism represents a transitional step from the vocational to
the hereditary type inasmuch as the future shaman is the recipient of a "call"
but is selected for this activity by his ancestor-shaman who sends the soul of
another ancestor-shaman into the novice.
Very little evidence exists pointing to a division into black and white
shamans. A real shaman has super-human attributes such as the ability to
understand the language of animals, to penetrate all of the three worlds, to
kill an adversary at a great distance, and to send illnesses into humans and
animals.
A shaman's paraphernalia consists of a coat or apron, in itself a
living, flying superantural being, decorated by iron pendants which represent
various spirit helpers, and may be given to a successor. The shaman often
wears a hat with iron horns, special shoes, and uses an open oval drum with a
drumstick.
The main functions of a shaman are to cure sickness, to obtain good
luck, and to drive away misfortune.
In Tungus shamanism the "
etam
" spirits, the shaman helpers, play a very
important role both during ritual ceremonies and in the private life of the
shaman. As a rule, different species of fish, animals, and birds, corresponding
N. Tungus
to the local fauna, are the different spirits of the various Tungus tribes.
The spirit helpers are selected by the shaman's ancestors. When a shaman dies
his soul travels to the Lower World - "
Kharga",and his spirit helpers, whose
duty was also to protect the clan territory from foreign evil spirits, having lost
their master, remain unattached in the Middle World until further orders from
the main master, some ancestor, are received.
The cure
:
In his dream the shaman sends one of his souls to the abode of his
ancestors to learn which of the evil spirits entered the patient's body and
thus caused the sickeness. He tells the relatives that an offering should be
made to that spirit by killing a young reindeer,
^
and
^
hanging its skin on a young
fir-tree. During the seance, the shaman gathers his spirit-helpers and sends
one of his souls into the patient through the mouth or anus to learn the
precise cause of the sickness. The returning soul tells him that a foreign
shaman sent an evil spirit,
[:
]
who turned into a needle and entered the
patient's chest.
The shaman turns one of his Spirit-helpers into a hare and sends him to
the foreign shaman to learn the terms of calling off the evil spirit. Often the
terms are unacceptable and a substitute abode is demanded, such as the body of
the patient's wife or daughter, woman being preferred as "their entrails are
sweeter as food for the Spirit."
When such a deal is refused the shaman continues his efforts on the next
day, when another sacrifice is made. If negotiations do not help, the shaman
himself starts on a journey to the other worlds either to fight the enemy or
to get orders from the higher spirits to have the evil spirit recalled.
In his travels he undergoes tremendous dangers and difficulties. He
puts on his iron head-gear "to protect himself against lightning when passing
by the 'thunder". Describing his passage through deep snow, the shaman
N. Tungus
imitates a wobbling progress on snow shoes with the aid of a snow stick. He
shivers from cold "passing through the cold country."
Shamans hold seances in specially constructed huts, especially for such
important occasions as curing the sick, sending his spirit to kill an enemy,
the consecration of a new drum, etc.
This
[:
]
hut is larger than the ordinary one and has two specially
constructed enclosed corridors 1)
darpe
, leading to the entrance into the hut,
and 2)
onang
, starting from the outside wall of the hut, opposite the entrance.
Both corridors are made out of young fir trees, are covered with branches, and
are built by the young men and women of the clan.
The
darpe
represents a bridge formed by the horns of gigantic reindeer, who
stand with their long legs on the bottom of the "shaman's river." The fir
branches represent water grass. On their "backs" are placed wooden images of
"shaman's fish", along both sides are wooden, anthropomorphic images representing
the souls of living men — spirits who are holding this bridge to prevent the
current from washing it away. This bridge connects the earth with an island of
the Lover World - "shaman's earth" which in this case is the hut.
At night, before the seance, the participants and audience drawl into the
hut through the
darpe
, being protected from the sight of evil spirits. The
entrance into the hut is then closed.
The second corridor is also guarded by spirits - the souls of ancestors.
Living people can not go through
onang
, since it rperesents the road along which
the shaman's souls communicate with his ancestors.
[:
]
While all objects of
darpe
are made of green trees, thos of
onang
are made of dead, dry wood - the symbol of death. Images of ancestors are made
of decayed stumps.
Directly in front of the entrance are two images of fishes, who take into
their mouth the souls of the people before they enter the hut and keep them until
the end of the seance. In one of such seances to determine the cause of measles
N. Tungus
epidemic - the following took place: When the hut
is
^
was
^
ready the shaman gave
a signal, the audience gathered inside the hut in silence. The drum was heated
and handed to the shaman. He began to sing a simple melody in a minor key
accompanied by guttural sounds, groans, and improvised rymed text. He called
his Spirit-helpers, swallowed them by yawning, checked the guard of spirits in
the hut and along his path to the other world.
His soul -
Kharga
, accompanied by a number of Spirit helpers travelled
into the Lower World to learn the cause of the epidemic. Wandering in the
darkness the
Khargi
stumbled against rocks, lakes, islands. Shaman keeps in
contact with his soul by means of Spirits - birds, directing its progress. All
this was enacted in his song. Learning the cause of sickness, the soul returned
and told the shaman
^
that an Ostiak shaman had caused it,
^
and this was communicated to the audience in song. Again
the soul was sent to learn the remedy. Since the Tungus shamans are stronger than
the Ostiak, he should send the evil spirits to the clan of the Ostiak shaman to
kill them. This would cause the Ostiak shaman to call off his evil spirits.
Helped by experienced Spirit helpers sent by the shaman's ancestors, the
army of evil spirits is made up ready to attack the Ostiaks. The shaman, tied
with leather thongs to a pole, graphically described his army: half-men, half wolves:
half-grebs, half snakes, men with legs bent in various directions like an anchor,
cows with reindeer horns, horses with bear heads. These black monsters, invisible
in the darkness, are flying astride on spirit-birds lead by the shaman's soul –
Khargi
, in the shape of a man through the smoke opening of the hut.
The shaman began his dance with the accompaniment of a drum which was
[:
]
beaten in turn by his helpers.
The dance reached a state of wild excitement. The Shaman hit his head
against the poles, bit his lips causing them to bleed, imitated the flight of
the monsters in his dance. His jumping scattered the ashes of the fireplace,
causing an acrid and heavy smoke to fill the hut.
N.Tungus
The audience watched him in silence, following enactment of the journey
over rocks, mountains, waterfalls, wide rivers, etc., on the road to the
Ostiak country.
Suddenly the shaman was motionless. He slumped down supported only by
the leather reins with which he was tied to the pole. When he was untied he
dropped to the ground and fell into a deep sleep. The seance ended.
Folklore
:
In addition to a large body of folk-tales dealing with the exploits
of hero-shamans, stories explaining the origin of the world and its institu–
tions, the actions of various Spirits, there is a body of oral tradition dealing with
the ancient forms of clan organization and its functions.
Of the first type is a tale explaining the origin of gnats and methods
of combatting them with smudge fires. Another story explains the origin of
the fork-like shape of a fish bone. Many stories tell how mammoths (
kholi
)
made rivers - the roads, lakes -
^
and
^
places where they lay.
According to one legend the sun is a beautiful maiden
Dyljacha
, set up
by a hero named
Lhemelenik
to enable him to have light while hunting squirrel.
Much work is being done at the present time by Soviet anthropologists
to collect and preserve the Tungus folklore and which will soon be made
available.
Games and Dancing
:
Children's games are mainly imitations of adult activity implemented
by the use of dolls or knuckle bones which represent humans, reindeer, dogs,
or other animals.
In one such game -
mata ombra-a
(the guest arrival) - the children
arrange knuckle bones in a circle to represent a gathering, place wood splinters
in the ce
r
^
n
^
ter - a fire - and then imitate adults by holding a conversation.
telling tales, etc. Often the children change their intonations so as to
N. Tungus
act like several different persons.
Another game imitates the traveling caravan. Here the bones represent
lead reindeer with women and children and pack reindeer. The children act as
reindeer drivers, dogs, etc. and imitate the various sounds, animals, bells,
etc.
A shamanistic ceremony is portrayed with drums, animals, tent, in
miniature. Here one child acts as the shaman.
Dancing and singing (
ikan-jöhövjö
) takes place at the large summer
gathering. The children, dressed in their best, stand in a circle, holding
hands. One child improvises a song, then the others sing a refrain. Dancing
consists of movement in either direction (left or right) with changes in
tempo.
Adult games include tag, catch-play, blind mans bluff, dancing, singing,
wrestling, jumping, and target shooting. The circle dance is similar to
that of the Yakut who adopted it from the Tungus. Usually men and women
dance separately. Other forms of amusement consist of jumping up form a
crouching position, shooting arrows at one another and dodging arrows, and
jumping over a rope.
1. Anisimov, A.F.
The Class Society of Evenki (Tungus)
Trudy of the Inst. of Northern Tribes, Vol. I.
Leningrad 1936
2. Czaplicka, M.A.
Aboriginal Siberia. A Study in Social Anthropology
.
Oxford, 1914
3. Gapanovich, I.I.
The Tungus, Negidel Tribes of the Amgun Basin: Their Future
Memoirs of the Manchuria Research Society, Section of
History and Ethnography, Series, A, Vol. 20, Harbin, 1927
4. Kurilovich, A.P. & Naumov, N.P.
The Soviet Tungus Region
Moscow 1937
5. Mainov, I.I.
Some Data Concerning the Tungus of the Yakutsk Region
.
Bulletin of the Imp. Russ. Geogr. Society
St. Petersburg, 1885
6. Margaritov, V.P.
On Orochi of Port Imperial
.
St. Petersburg, 1888
7. Matiunin, N.
Aboriginal Population and Immigrants of the Sungari
River Basin
.
Memoirs of the Amur Section of the Imp. Russ. Geogr. Soc.,
Vol. I, Habarovsk, 1895
8. Pekarskii, E.K. & Zvetkov, U.P.
Sketch of the Material Culture of the Aian Region Tungus.
Trudy of the Anthropological and Ethn. Museum of the Imp. Academy
of Sciences, Vol. II, Part 2., St. Petersburg 1913
Bibliography
(Con'td)
9. Poppe, N.M.
Materials for the Study of Japhetism
U.S.S.R. Ac. of Sciences
Leningrad 1927
10. Rychkov, K.M.
The Yenisei Tungus
Zemlevedenie, Vols. 3-4,
Moscow, 1917, 1921-1922
11. Schrenck, L. Von.
Reisen und Forschungen in Amur-Lande in der Jahren
1854-1856
.
St. Petersburg 1858-1900.
12. Shirokogoroff, S.M.
Essay on an Investigation on General Theory of Shamanism
Among the Tungus
.
Memoirs of the Historical Philological Faculty, Vol. I,
Part I
Vladivostok, 1919
13.
Study of the Tungus Languages
Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic
[:
]
Society, Vol. LV.,
Shanghai, 1924.
14.
Ethnological and Linguistical Aspects of the Uralo-Altaic
Hypothesia
Tsing Hua Journal, Vol. VI,
Peiping 1938
15. ----------Talko-Hryncevicz, J.D.
Anthropology of the Tungus. The Khamnagan of Iroi
.
Memoirs of the Troitzko-Savsk and Kiakhta Branch of the
Imp. Russ. Geogr. Society, Vol VII, Fasc. 3,
Troitzko-Savsk (Transbaikalia), 1904
N.Tungus
Bibliography
(Concl'd)
16. Titov, E.I.
Some Data as to the Cult of the Bear Among the
Kindygirskii Tungus
.
Sibirskaja Zivaja Starina, Vol, I, Irkutsk, 1923
Notes on the Ethnography of the Tungus, the Barguzin
District of Transbaikalia.
Herald of Asia, No. 52, Harbin 1924
The Voguls
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
THE VOGULS
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Language
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History
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Physical Anthropology
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Occupation
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Reindeer Breeding
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Hunting
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Fishing
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Food
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Transportation
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Dwellings
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Dress
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Tools, etc.
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Arts and Knowledge
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Social Organization
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Shamanism
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Death and Burial
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Bilbiography
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^
our only office copy
^
THE VOGULS
The Voguls (self name:
mans'
,
manch'
,
manse
, meaning "People)
are a small tribe (6,000 in 1926, 7,476 in 1928) living in the
present Komi-Zyrian Autonomous Republic, along the eastern and
western slopes of the Ural Mountains between 59° and 67° North
Latitude.
In the European part of the U.S.S.R. they live along the
upper reaches of the Ilych and Shugav Rivers, and the right tribu–
taries of the Pechora. The majority of the Voguls live in the
Asiatic part between the middle part of the Ob' River from Berezov
to Tobol'sk, along the Ivdil, Loz'va, Upper parts of the Tura and
Tagil, southern and northern Sos'va, both Kondas, and Tavda Rivers.
Linguistically, the Voguls belong
^
to
^
the Finno-U
rg
^
gr
^
ic group, and ^✓^
are called
Iogra
by the Zyrians, a name reminiscent of the ancient
Russian term
Yugra
. The name "Voguly" or "Vogulichi" is the present
Russian term. In Russian Annals they are referred to as the "Ugrichi,
Ugra, Yugry."
They may be broadly divided into two groups: the first and
larger group, the sedentary Voguls, have left their former occupa–
tion, live in Russian type villages and dwellings, practice agricul–
ture, cedar-nut gathering, intermarry with the Russians and are
strongly assimilated.
The second group, the nomadic Voguls, are hunters and fishermen
who live in temporary settlements, such as Bakhtiairov, Kovzizhin,
Yelesin, Ukladov, Shien, Pershin, Lachinsk, Mitiaev, Usmanov, and
Urtas. They speak very little Russian, and use reindeer clothing,
etc. The nomadic Voguls are sometimes incorrectly called the
Liapinsk Ostiaks.
Voguls
There are also a series of geographical divisions, made accord–
ing to the names of the rivers on which they live: the Polomkhom,
along the Pelym River; the Askho
[:
]
m, along the Ob' (Oas, the native
term for Ob'); Kondakhom, along the Konda; Sakkhom, along the Sigva
(Sak-ya, Vogul for Sigva); Taapskhom, along the Tapsa; Taikhom,
along the Sos'va (Tait — Sos'va); and Lousomkhom, along the Loz'va
River.
Language
. The Vogul language, together with the Ostiak, forms
the Ob' - Ugrian branch of the Uralo-Altaic languages. Phonetically,
morphologically, and lexically, it is very close to the Ostiak. At
present it is spoken by about 5,000 people and is divided into four
dialects: (a) Northern Vogul - along the Pelym, Loz'va, Sos'va and
Ob' Rivers; (b) Eastern Vogul - along the Konda and its tributaries;
(c) Southern Vogul - along the Pelym, near the city of Vagil'sk,
and the lower and middle Loz'va, and (d) the Tavda, spoken along the
Tavda River.
The Vogul language has a large number of Samoyed, Tartar,
Zyrian and Russian borrowings. Before the Soviet Revolution, there
was no native alphabet, nor books, except for some translations of
religious books made by missionaries, in which Russian script was
used.
A number of the Voguls have lost their native tongue, and use
only Russian.
History
. Very little is known about the pre-history of the
Voguls. Some indications that their forefathers lived in the general
area for a long time may be seen from the remains of the ancient
hunting culture discovered in the Gorbunov peat bog near the Tagil
factory, very much like that of the present Voguls. D. N. Eding
Voguls
dates these remains as belonging to the second millenium B. C., and
they are now preserved at the Historical Museum in Moscow.
The first definite
^
^
mention of the Ural-Altaic groups appears
in the Russian Chronicles of the 11th century when the term
Ugra
was
used to refer to the present Voguls and Ostiaks.
The Voguls were brave forest people who fought to preserve
their national independence. They battled with the soldiers of
Great Novgorod, but by the 12th century were forced to pay them
tribute and under pressure, moved across the Urals. In 1936 mention
of the Voguls as the "Vogulichi" was made in the Chronicles, and in
the 15th century, numerous wars with the Zyrians were waged along
the Pechora and Vychegda Rivers.
The Vogul settlements in the 11th to 13th centuries were loca–
ted on the tributaries of the upper Kama River, along the Chusovaya
and Sylva rivers. Beyond the Urals, the Voguls were concentrated
along the Loz'va and Pelym Rivers. On the upper part of the Pelym
there was a settlement by the same name, which was later destroyed
in the 16th century by the Russians.
In 1455, during one of their raids against the Zyrians, the
Voguls reached the Vychegda River, under the leadership of Prince
Ass'jan. They are credited with having killed two Permian bishops,
one during the battle, and another during a sermon. Moscow sent a
military expedition against the Voguls in 1483, and defeated them
on the Pelym River, and forced them to pay tribute. However, the
Voguls again rebelled in 1499, and Tsar Ivan III sent a new military
force of 400 soldiers to suppress them. In 1581, the Voguls again
attacked the Russian Stroganov settlements in the Urals, and the
next year attacked the town of Cherdyn, so that a permanent garrison
was established in the Vogul country.
Vogul
The 15th and 16th centuries are marked by strong resistance
against Moscow invasions and conquests led by the Vogul Princes
Asyk and Yumshan, and later by Begbelij, Kikhek and Ableger
^
i
^
m. Prince
Ablegerim was defeated and executed soon after 1590. In 1593, a
Russian commander, Prince Gorchakov established the town of Pelym
as a fighting base against the Voguls, and later the town of Berezov.
Strong Russian colonization began about the 18th century. In
1678, the Cherdyn Voguls sent a petition to the Tsar complaining
that Russian colonization had caused a decrease in fish and fur ani–
mals, and the tribute of 167 sables was too heavy. Evidence that
the Voguls formerly lived further south, as far as the Chuvosai River,
may be found in the numerous geographical names taken from the Vogul
in this region. As a result of Russian pressure and industrial
development in the Urals, the Voguls moved toward the less inhabited
eastern slopes of the Ural along the Loz'va River and its tributaries.
Attempts to introduce Christianity were made as early as the
15th century, but it was not until 1722 that the bulk of the Voguls
became Christians. This date marks the beginning of rapid Russian–
ization of the sedentary group.
At the present time, the southern Voguls, who live near the
Ural mining towns, have become quite Russianized, and work as un–
skilled labor in the mines. They have lost most of their native
culture (dress, language and customs,) but they have not adapted
themselves to these new conditions. Although they live in Russian
type wooden houses, these are as a rule badly built and poorly furnished.
The northern Voguls are richer and healthier, particularly the
reindeer breeders, for they have herds, which, although small, still
furnish their owners with food and material for the polar type dress.
^300^
Vogul
Physical Anthropology
. The great amount of intermixture with
the Samoyeds and Zyrians may account for the diversity in physical
type among the Voguls. Thus, Alquist describes the northern Voguls as
"mostly of average stature, short people are rare, and tall people
frequent." Maliev says the average height is "average to low with
only an occasional tall person." The average height of the Voguls
is 154 cm. and the women tend to be quite short.
The Voguls are primarily doli
o
chocephalic, differing from the
other Finnic and Mongolic tribes, and similar to the Cheremiss.
The cephalic index is given as 77.90 and 78.30.
Their features are predominantly Mongoloid: prominent skull
bones, high forehead, flat, wide and long face, slightly slanted (in
some women) deep-set eyes, gray, brown or blue in color. The
m
^
M
^
ongo–
loid fold is not prominent. Hair is dark brown, and is scanty on the
face, and they pluck what little there is. The nose is small and
flat, the lips are thin and the teeth small.
Occupation
. As was indicated above, the sedentary Voguls left
their former occupation and live like Russian peasants, practicing
agriculture, raising horses, cows and sheep, and gathering cedar nuts.
The nomadic Voguls, however, depend on reindeer breeding,
hunting and fishing.
Reindeer Breeding
. The Voguls have large herds of reindeer
which provide almost everything needed in their economy: skins and
leather for clothing, bedding and harness; bones and horns for tools
and implements; meat for food, shed fur for wool. Some of the products
are sold for money.
The reindeer feeds primarily on white moss (
Cladonia rangifer
^
in
^
a
)
^
262
^
Voguls
which he digs out from under the snow with his strong hoofs. In
addition, they eat lichens (
Usnea barbata
) which grow on coniferous
trees, and several types of grasses. The herds must be constantly
moved from one pasture to another for grazing, to insure good pasture
land for the following year. Care is also taken to prevent the young
fauns from freezing, because it is very cold in the mountains in
April, when the cows bear their young.
Dogs are used to prevent the herds from scattering during the
cold weather.
Sleds are used both in winter and summer. The sled is made
on slightly bent runners, to which a low seat with a low back is
attached on three pairs of stanchions. The seat is about two and a
half feet above the runners, thus permitting the rider to cross
small springs or deep snow. The seat is covered with reindeer fur.
A loop around one of the runners serves as a brake during descent.
The harness is made of reindeer skins and consists of a wide
yoke around the neck of the animal. A single rein connected to the
leader is used for driving. The rein is jerked several times to
make a right turn, and is slightly tightened for a left turn. The
rein is pulled sh
^
a
^
rply to stop, thus turning the lead animal toward
the sled. A long pole is used to prod the animal in the side or
back. A lasso of braided leather with a metal ring at one end forming
a loop is used to catch the animals before harnessing.
Only
^
females and
^
castrated animals
(male and female)
are used for driving,
and the leader of the team is usually a male.
The epidemics of 1848 killed more than half of the Ural and
tundra reindeer.
Dogs are the other domesticated animals, and are used to draw
^
312
^
Voguls
sleds in winter, for hunting, and to guard the reindeer from other
animals. The Voguls are very fond of their dogs and treat them well.
A Vogul legend tells that the supreme deity,
Torm
^
,
^
"deciding to create
the dog, gav
^
e
^
it bows and arrows, taught it to speak the human language
and made it a helper to man. But
Torm's
mother (
Torm-cheek)
told him
that man would become very rich and snobbish in this way. So
Torm
took the bows and arrows away and also the dog's memory. Now the dog
can only understand."
Hunting
. Hunting is the basic and favorite occupation of the
Voguls, even among those who are primarily reindeer breeders. The
Voguls hunt with ancient type bows and
^
^
iron-tipped, eagle-feathered
arrows, flint guns,
[:
]
traps with cross bows, and traps with loads,
etc. Elk hunting is the most profitable. In summer the elk is
hunted near marshe
[: s
]
where the animals come for the juicy grasses.
Dogs are used to find the animal and attack him, and then the hunter
[:
]
approaches. In the fall and early spring, the elk migrate
to the eastern slopes of the Urals, and the stragglers are easy prey
for the hunter, because the deep snow hampers the animals.
The Voguls use large bows which are set on poles along the
path of the yearly elk migrations. Stockades or fences are also
built with openings at regular intervals. On both sides of the
oep
openings, large bows with sharp iron arrows are set, and as the animal
passes through and touches the string, the arrow is released and kills
it.
Next in importance is
^
wild
^
reindeer hunting. In the fall, during the
mating season, the wild males approach the herds of domesticated
reindeer. The hunter takes advantage of this, and with a lead animal
used as a cover can approach the prey. During the winter, the reindeer
^
302
^
Vogul
is
^
are
^
hunted from behind rocks or
is
pursued on sleds, or
is
driven from
the denuded sections of the mountains into the deep snow and pursued
on snow shoes. Winter storms are an especially good time for rein–
deer hunting.
The bear is killed only accidentally, often by arrows intended
for elk. Fur-bearing animals are hunted at the first snow (squirrel,
marten, etc.) These animals provide the Voguls with meat, skins and
valuable furs.
Fishing
. In fishing the Voguls use a sack-like net (
syrp
)
twelve to fourteen feet long, about five feet deep, and ten inches
high, dyed in vegetable juice to make it unnoticeable in the water.
The lower part of the net is attached to thin poles about twelve
feet long, which permit it to be dragged along the river bottom. The
upper rope has strings attached, and the fisherman holds one end so
that he can tell when a fish is caught.
Two methods are used: (a) two boats drift down stream spreading
the
^
^
net between them, or (b) when a school of fish is seen, two boat
^
s
^
stop, spread the net below the school, and the fish are driven into
the net. In addition, traps with covered baskets and station
^
a
^
e
ry nets
placed across the river are used.
In ancient times the Vogul clan groups practiced communal fishing.
In the fall, after the river had frozen, the Voguls would construct a
barrier of poles across the river, leaving spaces into which they
could place traps. These traps were made from the roots of cedar trees,
fifteen feet long and six feet wide, and were used to capture the fish
as they descended from the upper reaches toward the sea. The barrier
could be 700 to 2000 feet across the river, and was divided equally
among the families. Each family would place its traps in its parti–
^
308
^
Voguls
cular section. Since these locations were not all of the same value,
the sections were rotated form year to year, so that each family
would have the benefit of good fishing grounds. The use of community
lakes was also rotated in similar fashion.
Food
. The meat of various animals (reindeer, elk, bear, horse,
squirrel, beaver, etc.)
[] and fish form the basic Vogul diet. They
also use chicken and wild turkey eggs, and various berries. Mush–
rooms are considered unclean and are not eaten.
Reindeer meat is preferred raw, but other meats are cooked.
The Vogul does not feel satisfied
^
^
unless the meal includes reindeer
meat which is eaten in the following manner. A long strip of raw
meat is placed in the mouth, and with a swift motion of the knife is
cut off at the lips. It is swallowed almost without chewing.
Bone marrow is also eaten.
In the fall, during the reindeer hunting season, the Voguls
prepare the meat for future use by drying it in the sun on special
poles. It is allowed to darken, and if there is rain, becomes covered
with mold. Reindeer fat is smoked and is considered a delicacy, as
is the reindeer blood, which the Voguls drink or use to dunk meat.
In July, when the reindeer horn is soft, it is skillfully broken
off and the flow of blood is stopped by ty
p
ing the cut edge with a
string. The cut part of the horn is scorched slightly, the skin is
then carefully stripped and scraped and eaten as a delicacy.
Only men can prepare the bear meat, for the bear was once the
son of younger brother of
Torm
, and therefore women are forbidden to
touch the bear.
Those Voguls in contact with the Russians use some bread, but
It is considered a delicacy. The bread used is either bought ready–
made or the flour is bought and made into flat pancakes baked on coals.
^
321
^
Voguls
Flour is also used to make a thick kind of soup to which meat is
added. Vodka, obtained from the Russians, is drunk by all -
[:
]
men, women and children, until the supply is exhausted. Tobacco is
used for snuff but not smoked. It is interesting to note that the
Voguls do not eat pig meat, and consider the pig an unclean animal.
This is evidently an old tradition, for pig bones were not found among
the animal remains in the ancient sacrificial Chan'evsk cave.
Transportation.
The main mode of summer transportation among
the Voguls is the
oblas
, a dug-out canoe, with extra side boards
sewed on with cedar-root fibres. These are used for fishing. The
fisherman sits directly on the bottom, and
^
^
uses either a short paddle
or a long double oar. A large covered boat, with several pairs of
oars and a sail, the
kajuk
, is
^
^
used for seasnal travel.
Throughout the year the reindeer is used for transportation.
It is hitched to a light sleigh on high stanchions. The horse can
be used only in some pla
^
c
^
es because of the abundance of marshes.
Dwellings: kol'
. According to their traditional folklore, the
Voguls formerly lived in caves, called
keers-kol'
(dwelling in the
rock), and later in wooden huts,
nor-kol'
(
[:
]
wooden dwelling).
The reindeer breeders used a portable tent (
I
^i^
orn-kol
'). This is the
Samoyed type of dwelling which the Voguls adopted together with the
whole reindeer complex. During hunting or fishing, a temporary shelter,
kol'bal
, was used and another special type of hut was used when a
woman gave birth.
At the present time, two main types are used: (a) the
iorn-kol'
used by the nomadic reindeer breeders in summer, and the
nor-kol'
used in winter
^
by the nomads
^
, and used by the sedentary Voguls during the entire year.
^
306
^
Voguls
The
iorn-kol'
is a conical tent, built on poles. It is round
at the base, and is covered with square pieces of boiled birch
bark of double thickness and sewn together. An opening at the top
serves
^
^
as
^
^
a chimney and one of the pieces tied on a rope serves as
the door. In colder weather, a cover of reindeer skins is some–
times used. In the center of the tent there is a stone hearth
over which a kettle is suspended on a wooden hook. The household
belongings are kept opposite the entrance. In both types of dwell–
ings, skins, meat and fish are stored suspended on high wooden poles.
The wooden hut,
nor-kol'
, is rectangular in shape, abut six
feet high, twelve to thirteen feet long and ten to eleven feet wide.
The front part of the plank roof is covered with birch bark and
earth and protrudes somewhat. Several poles are placed up against
this extension to form an open space or entrance way. A small
opening, cut high in the wall, barely large enough for a person to
crawl through, is covered with a door and serves as the entrance to
the hut.
The hearth,
choval
, is at one end, and is made of long poles
smeared with clay, forming a sort of chimney which reaches through
the roof. The lower part, which is somewhat wider, has an opening
three to four feet high where the fire is built. A cover of birch
bark is placed above this opening to retain the heat.
Dress
. Male summer clothing consists of a long, cotton, knee–
length shirt,
suup
, and trousers,
man'sup
, which are fitted into
long stockings of thick white cloth (
manch-vai
), and shoes,
niar
,
of reindeer hide with the fur outside. The stockings are tied to
the belt with leather thongs. A knife in a sheath is suspended from
Voguls
this cloth or leather belt, and the lower part of the sheath is
tied to the leg to facilitate drawing out the knife. A leather
purse to hold sharpening stones of slate, and a similar purse or
bag for matches (formerly for fire-making tools) and for money
are also suspended from the belt. A kerchief is worn around the
neck. In recent times, Russian style jackets have come into use.
Women wear similar long shirts, and wear a cloth robe tied on
the side and decorated along the edges and bottom with colored
ribbons. Sometimes square metal pieces are added for decoration.
Women wear the same type of foot-gear as the men. A kerchief
which is lowered over the face in the presence of the husband's
relatives is worn on the head.
Winter clothing is similar to that of most northern tribes.
It is made of reindeer skins, sewn with sinews. A shirt with fur
inside (
moolcha
), is worn. On very cold days a similar shirt with
fur on the outside with a hood, and gloves attached to the sleeves,
is worn over the first shirt. Sometimes the outer garment is
gaily decorated and made of young reindeer skin, called
porkha
(from
the Samoyed "
parka
").
Winter shoes are made of the leg skin of the reindeer, and the
soles are made from the forehead skin (this being stronger). The
finished shoes are smoked, and the upper part is edged with cloth
and a draw string to tie around the leg.
The Voguls use the Samoyed type of warm footwear for driving
reindeer. These are long topped "Samoyed stockings",
iorn-vai
. A
second pair of stockings made of young reindeer skin with the hair
inside are worn under these shoes. This outfit is worn at home or
when riding. The Voguls use short boots -
niara
, when they use
snow shoes.
Voguls
The women's fur coat
^
^
is double with fur both inside and out and
is sometimes decorated. It
^
^
is tied with a red woolen belt around the
waist.
The Voguls have a special device for carrying objects:
luz
.
This is a lined square piece of material with an opening in the center
which passes over the head. One side is open and provides a pocket
for carrying game, provisions, etc. It fits over the shoulder,
chest and back and provides for even distribution of the load
m
^
,
^
protects the chest and back from the cold and
^
^
does not interfere with
free use of the arms. The word
luz
may have been borrowed from the
Zyrian, in which
luzany
means to drag or to carry.
The Vogul women love silver and copper rings (
tulia
), beads (
sak
)
and figured crosses and medals.
The men wear their hair in two long braids with red cord inter–
twined. The women wrap their braids completely with cord so that
they stand up like horns, and attach rings and bells to the ends. Be–
tween the braids, at the back of the head, they wear a piece of leather
decorated with five military metal buttons.
The Voguls decorate their skin with tattoos which is done by
puncturing the skin with hot needles. The wound is then rubbed with
burnt fat from the kettle or ground powder, and pieces of ice are
applied to ease the pain. Usually the design is made on the arm just
above the wrist or on the leg. The designs vary. Stylized represent–
tations of birds, sleds, musical instruments, etc., are used, in
addition to dark lines, circles and zig-zag lines. Similar designs
(
tamga
) are used as signatures or ownership marks, and are marked on
trees under which the killed game
s
has been temporarily placed when
the hunter has not had time to take the kill home. The signature
signs usually consist of several str
^
a
^
ight or curved lines combined un-
Voguls
der various angular lines. Similar designs made with red paint,
probably by the ancient Voguls, were found on rocks along the shores
of the Vishera River.
Tools, etc
. The Voguls make few things themselves. They make
their sleds, driving poles, clothing, cradles, storage containers
and some other
[:
]
tools. Their bone work is not as good as that
of the Samoyeds, and bone articles are often bought, as are their
guns, copper and iron kettles and dishes.
A gun, fire-making apparatus, a knife, and an ax
[: e
]
are the indis–
pensable tools of any adult Vogul.
The cradle (
aapa
) is an oval shaped, birch bark box with a high
bent back. Another box with lower sides is placed inside it. Soft
shavings of dry rotted wood and covered with reindeer hide are placed
in the inner box and these shavings and hide are changed when neces–
sary. The growing infant is placed in a half-sitting position in
the cradle. He is wrapped in skins and tied to the sides with
leather strips to prevent him from falling. During a trip, the cradle
is tied to the corner of the sled. The cradle is light and can be
held on the knees, or may be suspended from a pole and rocked.
The Voguls also use birch bark boxes (
saan
) which are easily
made in a few minutes, and which serve as dishes, cups, vessels
^
in which
^
to
salt fish, knead dough, keep food, water, etc. The bark is stripped
from the trees in the spring or early summer when the tree is full
of sap. It is then bent to form a box, the folds are bent and
^
^
pinned
to the sides to make them firmer. The Voguls also make these boxes
round in shape. Very often these boxes are decorated both inside and
out with designs scratched with a knife. These designs consist of
geometrical ornaments of alternating light and dark lines running
parallel to the bottom and forming a herringbone design.
Voguls
Arts and Knowledge.
Six colors are used by the Voguls in
decoration: white (
yang
or
vorchi
), red (
vygyr
), black (
samol
),
green, blue and grey. The last three were presumably introduced
later and have the Russian names.
The Vogul folklore is very rich with many heroic epic poems, songs,
folk tales, riddles, etc. The songs are generally monotonous, relating
the ordinary events of the day. They are accompanied by a native
musical instrument, a sort of jew's harp, called
turman
. It is a
bone plaque about seven inches long and an inch wide. A "U" shaped
cut along the length produces a tongue to which a sinew is attached.
The plaque is held between the teeth, and by pulling the sinew, sounds
are produced which vary in pitch depending on the position of the lips.
Another musical instrument is the
shangura
, a boat-shaped
mandolin with a round bottom and five metal strings -
sangul'p
meaning (to play a bear). This instrument is used during the bear
festival. The
shangura
is very similar to the five-stringed instru–
ment of the Ostiaks, and may have been borrowed from them.
Among the Voguls the concept of time is a limited one. Their
year consists of thirteen months, the new year beginning with the
first new moon in the spring. Two seasons are recognized: winter
and summer. The name for month corresponds to the name for the moon.
They have words for a 24 hour period (day-night), and for a seven
day week. The smallest unit of time is
pot
, the time necessary to
cook fish chowder.
Social organization
: In ancient times, apparently, the Voguls
formed large units consisting of groups of families and ruled by a
leader, who was probably elected and often called "prince" in the
Russian chronicles. Sometimes several such groups would be united
Voguls
under one leader thus forming a larger tribal unit which acted
together for defense and attack.
The smaller unit, the so-called "clan", however, was a more
permanent one, exercising the ownership right of hunting and fish–
ing territories, usually centered near a river where the traps for
birds, animals and fish were set. Hunting in the territory of
another clan was a serious crime.
The basic economic unit of the Voguls was a patriarchal commu–
nity, an
[:
]
enlarged family group, which collectively owned the
fishing and hunting territories.
In the Vogul family relationships, the man was the head of the
family, and the legal owner of all the property. Monogamy was the
prevailing practice, and the only legal marriage was marriage by
purchase. Child marriages were frequent. A girl was considered
ready for marriage by the time she was twelve or thirteen years old.
Upon reaching maturity, the girl would wear a chastity belt,
vuryp
,
made of leather and birch bark.
The bride price varied from time to time. For an average Vogul
family in the late 1880's, the price was 100 to 200 rubles in cash,
five to fifteen reindeer, two to three copper kettles, several yards
each of red, green, blue and yellow woolen material, two to three
sables, four to five foxes, 100 squirrels for a woman's fur coat,
averaging a total of about 350-500 rubles.
The woman would bring a dowry with her consisting of one new
skin-covered hut, five to six sleds with ten to fifteen reindeer,
loaded with her clothing, a large sack of reindeer fur, fish meat,
towels made of wood shavings, and cooking utensils.
Sometimes the payment of the bride price was omitted, as for
example, in the case of the remarriage of a widow. In this case,
Voguls
if both parties agreed to live together without payment of the
bride price, they would go to a special tree (cedar), circle it
three times in a counter sun-wise direction, and thus legalize their
union.
Children born out of wedlock had the same rights as legitimate
ones. Fecundity among the Voguls was generally low. There were
many childless couples, and child mortality was often as high as 75%.
Quarrels between married couples were settled by the community,
which could also permit divorce. The father of a woman who had
been mistreated by her husband could take his daughter and her
children away. After divorce, a woman could remarry, and the same
bride price had to be paid. A man who was found guilty of adultery
with another man's wife, would have to pay the same amount that her
husband had paid, and had to take the woman. Otherwise he had to
pay a fine.
Birth took place in a special hut. When a woman suffered in
childbirth, she would take off the red woolen belt worn around her
fur coat, and tie in it as many knots as the sins she had committed
against her husband. Sometimes there were so many knots that another
belt was needed. The husband would count the knots and forgive her
because of her suffering.
Religion.
The religion of the Voguls, much as that of their
neighbors, the Ostiaks, reflects their occupation. The deities con–
nected with forest and water are of greatest importance in their
lives for the Voguls believe that they can influence the results of
hunting and fishing. Images of these deities are kept in every
family. Before a hunt, sacrifices are made to them, and if the luck
is poor, the deities are chastised. Animal veneration, particularly
of the bear, is practiced in connection with hunting practices.
Voguls
Finally, there is a more or less formalized pantheon, headed
by the tribal central deity
Torum
or
Torm
. Perhaps under the
influence of Christianity, he has achieved his importance.
The Vogul d
ie
^
ei
^
ties may be divided into two classes, malevolent
and benevolent gods. The chief of the benevolent deities is
Yanykh-Torum
or
Torm
(also called
Numi-Torum
or
Voykan-Torum
). The highest of
the gods is
Kors-Torum
(the Creator) the progenitor of all the gods.
The Voguls believe that he has never revealed himself to man and
and they say they can not picture to themselves what he is like;
whatever is known of him is known only through the lesser gods. He
never descends to earth but sometimes sends his eldest son,
Yanykh–
Torum
who has the form of a man but shines like gold from the
splendor of his raiment. like his father he never carries any
weapon. He descends to earth to look in on men's affairs about
once a week and in response to their prayers about weather he gives
commands to his younger brother
Sakhil-Torum
who dwells in the dark
clouds.
Sakhil-Torum
also has the form of a man and drives reindeer
which have tusks like a mammoth, in the clouds. They are laden with
casks of water and when they are sluggish he whips them; as they
plunge under his strokes the water in the casks is spilled and
falls on the earth as rain.
Yanykh-Torum
has seven sons, the youngest of whom,
Mir-Susne–
Khum
, is the ruler of his brothers and of men, whom they try to
keep in peace. There are many other gods of secondary rank who are
specially connected with individuals, the family, or the clan. Each
category of gods has its own special sacrificial places. The
principal evil deity is
Khul.
Kul-Odyr
, or
Kul
, is the chief of
the spirits of darkness and the secondary evil spirits are known as
Menk
or
menkva
. They resemble the Koryak
kelet
in having the power
Voguls
to change their forms. They are very tall with heads of a conical
shape, and they sometimes kill and eat human beings. Malicious
spirits called
uchchi
, having the paws and teeth of a dog, inhabit
the forest along with
Mis-Khum
. He has many daughters who try to
entice men to live with them as their husbands. This brings good
fortune to the fathers of the men captured. The good god,
Vit-Khon
,
and the evil god,
Vit-Kul
, live in the water. The former was sent by
Yanykh-Torum
to have charge of the fish. Crude representations of
gods and fetishes are made of wood, metal, or bone.
According to the belief of the Finnic tribes, man is composed
of three parts: body, shadow (
isi
), and soul (
lili khelmkholas
).
At death the soul passes to an infant of the same clan or, if the
clan has become extinct, of another clan, but never to an animal.
The shadow goes to a cold underworld ruled over by
Kul Odvr
. Here
it lives for as long as the term of the dead man's former life on earth,
and follows the same pursuits. Then the shadow begins to grow
smaller and smaller until it is no larger than a black beetle and
finally disappears completely.
The practice of the bear cult among the Voguls is similar to
that of the Ostiaks and is very important in their culture. The
bear is considered the younger brother of
Torum
. As such he is
omniscient, treated with great respect and can not be addressed by
his proper name. Instead he is referred to as "he" or "the old man
who lives in the forest."
When a bear is killed on the hunt, a celebration follows. The
carcass is carried home on the first sled and the people come out
to greet it. Upon their return, the hunters are rolled in the snow
by the women of the group. Then the bear's skin is stuffed with
Voguls
hay and metal circles are used for eyes. The image is placed in
the honored corner of the hut and candles are lit before it. When
the neighbors gather, the "denial" ceremony takes place. The new–
comers are sprinkled with water and then they give offerings of
colored bits of material, and rings placed on the image. The owners
of the bear, dressed in pointed hats and special festive clothing,
address the animal, and point out that it was not they but a Russian
who killed him. Feasting and drinking are followed by a special bear
dance, and a series of plays, usually of a comic nature. The actors
wear birch-bark masks and unusual clothes. The festival lasts for
seven days. Afterwards, the head and paws are cut from the skin and
kept for a year. The meat is eaten and the skull is preserved in a
special storage house, usually near the sacrificial place. The
bear oath is also practiced among the Voguls. (cf. Ostiaks).
There is a definite trace of ancestor worship among the Voguls.
Two former Vogul leaders,
Vizi oter
(the small hero), and
Yany-kenyt–
ansykh
(the great prince, the old man with a great hat), are very
much venerated. According to tradition, the main idol of the Voguls
stood in the dense forest of the Konda. Another such image was in
the upper part of the Sosva River.
Shamanism
. The Vogul shaman conducts his performances dressed
in a plain, knee-length shirt without pendants or decorations, but
trimmed with silver fox fur along the edges. His drum is round and
has several notches on the inner handles. The shaman is called upon
to cure the sick and to find lost articles, or to officiate in sacri–
ficial ceremonies. The knowledge of these ceremonies is handed down
to the shaman's children. Sacrificial offerings are apparently an
Voguls
ancient custom among the Voguls. They are mentioned as early as 1692
when Izbrandson wrote of the use of horses and goats for sacrifices.
The nomadic groups use the reindeer for sacrifice, and white–
skinned animals are selected for the White or Benevolent deities.
The birch tree is also dedicated to these deities, and can not be
used to make images of the evil deities -
Menk
.
Death and Burial
. At the moment of death, the relatives would
place a small stick in the mouth of the corpse and cover its head.
The body was then dressed in its best clothes and laid in the
sleeping place. The silence which prevailed was broken when the
women loosened their hair and bewailed the dead, extolling his vir–
tues. Meanwhile, the men would make the coffin and prepare the
grave. The body was placed in the coffin by members of the same
sex and sometimes a bird or fish was drawn on the lid with char–
coal. Then the eldest woman raised the coffin slightly and, if
she found it heavy, promised to make sacrifices to the spirits.
Each member of the family followed suit, first the women and then
the men, in each case beginning with the youngest. After this the
coffin was taken to the grave. The body was usually buried on the
day of death and was carried out through a window of the house or,
if a conical hut, through a specially made hole. The graveyard was
usually in a forest and the body was either carried or drawn by
reindeer which had to be killed on the grave by a special method of
strangulation. The flesh was eaten at the grave, the bones placed
with the corpse and the skin buried close by.
^¶^ Among the Vogul
of the Upper Ob' the graves were only three or four feet deep with
sides lined with wooden planks or branches of trees. The body was
placed in the grave in a small boat with flattened ends or in a
Voguls
coffin made in the form of a boat, and covered with branches. A
small, slightly sloping roof made of interlaced branches of the birch
tree was erected about a foot above the grave, and another roof was
erected three or four feet above the first. The small belongings of
the deceased were placed in the grave, and the larger ones outside
it. If a Vogul man dies away from home, exactly the same ceremonies
were performed for him in his village. After the burial the relatives
held a feast, some of the food was placed on both sides of the grave,
and a cooking vessel with a pierced bottom was placed inside the
grave.
The Southern Voguls generally followed the Greek Orthodox ritual
in burying their dead.
Since the Soviet Revolution in 1917 there has been a general
increase in the population of the Voguls. The Soviet minority policy
introduced collectivization in 1931. Reindeer and hunting collectives
were established and by 1932 more than a quarter of the population
were collectivized.
The V
oguls have had a national self government since 1926.
The Ostiak-Vogul national region was created in 1931 with the adminis–
trative center located in the town of Samarov. A large number of
Voguls are being trained in education, animal husbandry, medicine
and other professions.
Voguls
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ahlqvist, A.E. Unter Wogulen und Ostjaken. Acta Societatis
Scientiarum Fennicae, XIV, Helsingfors.
Chernetsov, V. Sacrifices Among the Voguls (Etnograf-Issle–
dovatel', 1927, No. 1, p. 21-25)
Glushkov, I.N. The Cherdyn Voguls. (Etnograficheskoe Obozrienie,
1900, No. 2, p. 15-78)
Gondatti, N. Traces of Paganism Among the Aborigines of
Northwestern Siberia. Moscow, 1888.
" ------ The Bear-Cult Among the Aborigines of Northwestern
Siberia. Bulletin of the Imperial Soceity
of Friends of Natural Science, Anthropology and
Ethnography.
Infant'ev, A Trip to the Country of the Voguls, St. Peters–
burg, 1910.
Kharuzin, N. N. The "Bear Oath" and the Totemic Bases of the
Bear Cult Among the Ostiaks and Voguls. (Etnogra–
ficheskoe obozrienie, 1898, Nox. 3 and 4)
[:
]
Mainov, V.N. The Ugrian Peoples. 'Istoricheskii vestnik, 1884,
T. 16.)
Maliev, N. The Voguls. (Russkii antropologicheskii zhurnal,
1901, No. 1)
Nosilov, K. The Law Customs of the Man'si (Voguls). (Sbornik
of Materials on Ethnography, the Dashkov Ethno–
graphical Museum, Moscow, 1888, Vyp. 3)
Ostroumov, I.G. The Voguls or Man'si, Historic-ethnographical
Description, Perm, 1906.
Voguls
Pavlovskii, V. The Voguls. Kazan, 1906.
Silinich, I. P. The Voguls, Moscow, 1905.
" ------ The Voguls (craniology). (Russkii antropologi–
cheskii zhurnal, 1907, Nos. 3-4)
St. Sommier Sirieni, Ostiacchi e Samoi
^
e
^
di dell Ob. Firenze, 1887.
Stepanov, N. The Problem of Ostiak-Vogul Feudalism. (Sovetskaia
etnografiia, 1936, No. 3, p. 19-35)
The Voguls Bol'shaia Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia
The Voguls Uralskaia entsiklopediia
The Voguls Sibirskaia etnsiklopediia
Yakuts
EA-Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
YAKUTS
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Envi
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nment and Territory
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1
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History
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2
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History of Investigation
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3
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Language
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3
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Physical Anthropology
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4
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Subsistence
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4
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Material Culture
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5
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Social Organization
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8
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Life Cycle
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10
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Religion
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13
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Art and Knowledge
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17
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Present Day Yakutia
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19
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Bibliography
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EA-Anthropology
[Yakuts by Eugene A. Golomshtok]
YAKUTS
Envi
or
^
ro
^
nment and Territory
The Yakuts, the largest Turkic group of Siberia, number about a quarter of
a million (240,562 in 1926). They form the basix population of the Yakut Auto–
nomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. They call themselves –
Sakha
, which originally meant man. The ancient name of the Yakut was
Uriankhai.
The Yakuts occupy a territory of nearly one and a half million square miles
in northeastern Siberia, extending from the Lena River about 2,000 miles east to
the Kolyma River and 1,000 miles south from the shores of the Arctic Sea. The
northern part of the region lies in permafrost territory. The tundra occurs in
the northern and middle part of this area; south of the tundra there are forests,
covering the slopes of numerous mountains (the branches of the Stanovoi (or
Yablonovyy), the Kolyma, the Tungus, the Vilui and the Aldan mountains. The
main rivers of the region are the Lena with its tributaries (the Aldan, the Olekma,
the Vilui, and the Vitim), the Yana, the Indigirka, and the Kolyma. The region is
studded with nearly 10,000 lakes. The climate is characterized by long, cold
winters and short, warm summers. The winter temperature drops to −50° C. and on
occasion even lower near Verkhoyansk. This region has the largest range of
temperature
[:
]
in the world — nearly 60° C. Flora and fauna are typical of the
tundra and northern portion of the forest area.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
History
The most widely accepted theory is that the Yakuts are a pastoral group of
Turkic origin who originally lived in the steppes of the upper Yenisei or
[:
]
Uriankhai regions where they became very much Mongolized. Later (some authorities
think in the ninth century) they moved to the region of Lake Baikal, where they
encounted Buriats and acquired some of their cultural traits, such as agriculture
and an elaborate pantheon. In the 13th and 14th centuries, under the impact of
pressure by Buriats, the Yakuts moved north along the Lena and occupied the Lena–
Amgun plateau. They
d
adapted themselves well to their new environment and pre–
served the animal breeding which constituted their main occupation. Their herds
increas
d
^
e
^
d and they became a strong and numerous tribe. The greater portion of
the Yakuts lived in the center of the southern part of this region and it was only
after the Russian conquest of Yakutia that they moved on. In their new habitat
the Yakuts came in contact with the Tungus and Yukaghirs, curbed their resistance,
and settled in the Yana, Indigirka, and Kolyma valleys. Others crossed the
Stanovoi Mountains and reached the Sea of Okhotsk. The process of displacement
of Tungus continued into the 18th century.
In the 17th century (c. 1620) the Yakuts were visited by the Russians who,
in 1642, erected on the Lena a small fortress, the future town of Yakutsk, and
exacted tribute from the Yakuts. The conquest of this territory by the Russians
was ruthless. After the conquest, the Yakuts were subidivded into 35 districts
for the purpose of exacting tribute. In the 18th century these districts were
redivided into five
a
regions or
uluses
. Tribute was collected in furs until
the middle of the 18th century, when money was substituted. Russian colonization
of Yakutia was accompanied by the impovershment of the native population. Early
in the 1700's Christianity was introduced.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts --
The Bolshevik revolution resulted in the formation in 1922 of the Yakut
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and great changes in the material and social
status of the Yakuts.
History of Investigation
After the Russian conquest, a number of investigations were made into the
ethnology of the Yakuts. The bibliography (see below) contains a number of titles,
and represents the work of many students. Among the most important investiga–
tors of the language must be included Otto von Böhtlingk, S. V. Yastremsky, and
E. K. Pekarsky. Several persons made anthropological measurements of the Yakuts,
among them N. L. Hecker, F. J. Kon, and I. I. Mainov. Various other aspects
of the Yakut culture were described by many authors, among whom were Troshchansky,
Mainov, Jochelson, Khudiakov, Ovchinnikov, Popov,
et al
. The Sieroshevsky
monograph,
The Yakuts
, is the most complete thought it is not very reliable.
W. Jochelson,
The Yakuts
, and E. A. Golomshtok,
The Religion of the Yakut
, are the
main English sources.
Language
Some authorities (Samoilovich and Jochelson) believe that the Yakut language
belongs to an independent subgroup of the northeastern division of the Turkic
family. As a result of separation from other Turks in very remote times, the
language exhibits considerable deviation from the general type of Turkic dialect.
Radloff and others contend that the Yakuts are not of Turkish stock and were
Turkicized comp aratively recently. The Yakut language consists of 32% Turkic
elements, 25% Mongol elements, and the rest of unknown origin or borrowed from
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Tungus, Samoyedes, Yenisei Ostiaks, and Yukaghirs. It contains 21 consonants
and eight vowels, and harmony of vowels is characteristic of the language. The
best grammar is Yastremsky's and the best dictionary is by Pekarsky.
Physical Anthropology
Two physical types can be distinguished among the Yakuts: one pure Mongol,
with broad face and flat nose; the other with long face and narrow, more prominent
nose, closely akin to the Tartar of southwest Siberia. Average stature: males,
1,617 mm.; females, 1,509 mm. Cephalic index: males, 82.60; females, 82.94.
Average head length: males, 191 mm.; females, 186 mm. Facial index: males,
79.25; females, 78.87. Cephalic module: 160.3. Cephalic module stature index: 9.9.
Subsistence
[:
]
Formerly a nomadic horse-breeding tribe of the Central Asiatic steppes,
the Yakuts, in their present abode, added cattle breeding which gradually became
predominant over horse breeding to such an extent that oxen later replaced horses
in agriculture. Horses required large pasture lands protected from the invasion
of other herds, and hunting demanded inviolability of the hunting territories.
This resulted in the dispersal of population, isolation of clans, and lack of
concentrated settlements. The introduction of cattle, which require relatively small
pastures and large sheds and food for the winter, tended to influence the transi–
tion toward a sedentary mode of life and concentration of settlements. Formerly
the average settlement consisted of 4 to 5 houses with 20 to 30 inhabitants. Later
they became much larger. Winter houses, however, were more widely dispersed than
summer abodes.
Contact with
[:
]
Tungus in the north added reindeer breeding, in which the Yakuts
came to surpass the Tungus.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Kumiss (fermented mare's milk) and horse flesh, formerly the staple foods,
gradually became available only to the rich. They preserve their ceremonial
importance.
Fishing and hunting remained important in the north but in the south was
gradually supplanted by agriculture, which has grown in importance in the last
40 to 50 years.
Under the prerevolutionary Russian regime, the Yakuts were very poor, es–
pecially in those regions where natural conditions were bad. To keep himself
alive and pay the tribute would have required that each Yakut own 50 cows, while
in the whole of the Verkhoyansk region only 5 or 6 families had the required
number.
Material Culture
Houses
. The main type, the earth hut, was a form of truncated pyramid, some–
times combined with the cow shed. The walls and roof were covered by a mixture
of mud, clay, and cow dung, to which a layer of snow was added in the winter. The
earthen floor was sunk two feet below the ground and small square windows were
covered by ice sheets in the winter and by fish membrane or other material in
the summer. The entrance always faced east. An open hearth served both for heat
and for cooking. It was made of a square wooden box, lined with clay, five feet
long and eleven inches high. A chimney was made of poles tied with twigs and
lined with clay. Tables and tabourets, adapted from the Russians,
[:
]
later
came into use.
Other forms of shelter included a conical birch-bark tent
ona
on a wooden
frame, which was formerly used as a summer dwelling; a polygonal sloping-roofed block
[:
]
house, used in some localities instead of the conical tent; and log houses
occupied by wealthy Yakuts. A temporary shelter, made of two or three reindeer
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
skins, sewn together and tied to a stick, was used a s a windbreak by the Yakuts
during their travels. In winter it was banked by snow.
Clothing
. The basix garment of both men and women was a short single-breasted
coat (
son
) made of reindeer skin, plush,
^[]^ or cloth, lined with fur in the winter
and a thin material in the summer. A cloth overcoat (
supun
) was worn over the
[:
]
-
son
on journeys, and long fur overcoats (
sanayax
) were worn in winter. Women's
sanayax
were sometimes lined with squirrel, decorated with brocades and silver
ornaments, and embroidered with silver thread and beads. The
sanayax
was formerly
worn on the naked body but later undershirts of Russian calico came
[:
]
into use. Short trousers of reindeer skin were later developed into long tight
pants tied around the waist and ankles with strings; fur lined pants were used
in winter. A stomach protector was worn attached by a leather thong to the trousers.
Footwear consisted of hip-length horseskin waterproof boots, wide boots of
elk skin worn over fur stockings for riding in winter, calf skin stockings worn
by women in winter, and women's horse skin boots. Fur knee-protectors were tied
around the legs below the knees.
Hats with long ear protectors were worn by both sexes and fur hoods lined
with fox fur were worn by women. Rich women wore cloth hats decorated with fur
trimming and silver plaques.
Yakuts also wore mittens, boas, and belts or leather girdles decorated
with metal ornaments. Pipe and pouch were carried in the right boot leg.
Bedding.
Bedding consisted of a fur robe and a blanket of hare or fox skin.
Poor people slept on grass mats and used their fur coats for covers. Pillows were
of calico, filled with feathers of down. Usually two people slept under one blanket
with their heads in opposite directions.
Food
. Meat of various animals, birds, and fish were the basix Yakut diet.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Milk and its products were also used extensively. Favored dishes were mare's
milk, especially in its fermented form, kumiss (sometimes with butter added) and
horse meat, particularly horse giblets and fat from around the heart or near the
abdomen. Drinks included tea made of imported tea bricks, and vodka, introduced
by the Russians. Poor Yakuts in the North used a certain grass,
sardona
, which they
dried, ground, and made into soup to which a portion of sour milk was added. In
some cases a species of field mouse was eaten.
Industries
. Pottery was handmade, fired in the hearth, and had stamped
decorations on the rim or upper part of the vessel. The most common form was a
flat-bottomed, egg-shaped pot. Some pots had lids.
The Yakuts knew and used iron, copper, brass, bronze, silver, gold, and tin.
Iron was the most important metal among these people who knew the art of extracting
it in their former habitat. Some districts in their present homeland were noted
for iron working. Iron was reduced in jug-shaped clay furnaces and double
[:
]
leather-bag bellows were used to keep the fire
g
going.
Native tools included the knife, iron scissors, axe, adze, spade, sickle, a
cutter for slicing brick tea, strike-a-light, and small pincers for plucking hair.
Weapons consisted of a curved iron sword, a war lance, a bow and quiver, and
arrows with four types of heads. A leather coat with small iron plates fastened
to it was formerly used as armor.
Copper and
[:
]
silver, molded or cast, were used to make ornaments and jewelry.
Large kettles and pots were made of copper and engraved cups and saucers were made
of silver.
Silver was also used for decorating saddles, which were made with wooden frames
to which feather cushions and highly ornamented leather side skirts were attached.
Short stirrups were attached to the front of the saddle.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Domestication of Animals
. The Yakuts brought the knowledge of horse and
cattle breeding to their new habitat. Originally acquired from the Kirghiz,
these animals deteriorated in the north, so that the average ox weighs 700 pounds,
and the average cow gives only about 1,230 pounds of milk a year. The northern
Yakuts breed reindeer for driving and riding.
Riding horses were the best means of transportation, because of the poor
roads. In winter, sleighs were drawn by horses or, in the north, by reindeer
or dogs.
Social Organization
The Yakuts were divided into
[:
]
exogamic patrilineal clans (
a
^
[]
^
v-usa
)
which formerly had clan councils, courts, and elders, and clan ownership of the
land and pastures. The father's clan was divided into branches,
ija-usa
, or
mother's clans, in which descent was reckoned along patrilineal lines. The
mother's clan included all children and grandchildren of one wife, indicating
that polygamy was practiced. Affiliation to the same mother's clan was no ob–
stacle to marriage.
Clans (
us
) w ere joined into groups called
nasleg
, to which the rules of
exogany applied. Each clan reckoned its origin from one man. The clan took
care of its members in case of misfortune, sometimes supporting whole families.
Its membership was closed to outsiders. Only girls of another clan could be
adopted, boys had to belong to the same clan. The old clans were ruled by family
representatives and women often played an important role. Clan vengeance and
blood feuds existed but reconciliation was often achieved by paying ransom or
giving a girl in marraige.
The elder of the father's clan had jurisdiction over small disputes of clan
members and some religious functions. Under the influence of the Russians, the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
clan elders acquired more power and wealth since they were made the collectors
of tribute, a custom which aided in the disintgeration of the clan as an impor–
tant institution.
The Yakuts practiced slavery. The slaves were stolen or were prisoners of
war. They were considered equivalent in status to domestic animals, the mater
having the right to kill them at will. Slaves' children became free but they
could marry only women on their own economic level.
The family unit was called
[:
]
korgon
; a household was known as
[:
]
yal
. The family consisted of blood relatives, relatives by marriage, adopted
children, laborers, and slaves of both sexes. The father,
a
^
[]
^
a
, was the head of
the family and ruled until he became infirm or sick. Aged parents were
a
doomed
to death.
Marriage by capture was once practiced but was replaced by marriage by pur–
chase. If a wife left her husband, the bride price was not returned. The husband
acquired complete ownership rights over his wife. He had the right to send her
to work and collect her pay, but he could not sell her. The woman retained owner–
ship over the results of the handicrafts which she did in her spare time. Women
did not inherit land, which was kept within the clan. Brothers who inherited
property after the father's death had to take care of unmarried sisters and marry
them off, supplying the dowry. The husband was the legal owner of the wife's
dowry and, at her death, it reverted to the husband and children. In the case
of his death without children, she could take her dowry and return to her family
if the husband had made no
di
other disposition before his death. A widowed
daughter returning to her father's family was again subject to his jurisdiction.
The young Yakut acquired full social standing only after his marriage.
Hs
His
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yatkus
father's choice in selecting a wife was very important, and the mother had
similar rights in selecting a husband for her daughter. The custom of
betrothal of young children was prevalent. After the first payment of the
installement of the bridal price, the groom often visited the bride's family and
slept with her. There was no definite value attached to virginity. The unmarried
girl with children was looked upon as a good future wife.
Boys were valued above girls and the childless Yakut was contemptuously called
xatyryk-uota
(the fire of the bark).
Life Cycle
Yakut beliefs and customs concerning birth and burial were intimately
connected with the concept of the soul. They distinguished two types of soul:
Kut
(of which there were three varieites), the source of life, and
sur
, which
embodied the psychological qualities.
Birth
. The soul was granted by the Mother Goddess,
Ajysyt.
The expectant
mother was placed on some hay under a tent of horsehide erected by the husband
inside the hut, and, supporting herself on the crosspiece, gave birth aided by
the future grandmother. To facilitate the first birth, all storage places were
unlocked and every woman in the house untied her shoelaces, and unbuttoned her pants.
When the newborn child was
q
washed, an offering of butter and wheat fritters
was given to the Mother Goddess, imploring her blessing. Then the guests were feasted
for three days with meat of cattle killed in a ceremonial way, without spilling
too much blood. On the third day the grandmother gathered the bay on which the
pregnant women had lain, and hung it on an alder or birch tree, at the foot of
which she placed the poles which had formed the delivery tent, after having
smeared them with butter (as an offering). The head of the cow which had been
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
killed for the feast was cooked whole and given to the grandmother, who ate
it without breaking the bones, and hung the skull and the hoofs on the same tree
with the hay.
A ceremony intended to foretell future motherhood took place on the third day.
Three small birch-bark tents were erected and a variety of figures (elk, reindeer,
sun, moon, and a small bow and arrows if the child was male; cows, colts, scissors,
needles and thread, if it was female) were made and placed inside the tents. The
female guests, wearing their fur hats backwards, in imitation of the Mother Goddess,
gathered around, and a virgin shot toy arrows at the figures. They then smeared
themselves with melted butter, poured the remainder of the butter into the fire,
[:
]
into which they also threw the birchbark figures, and then began to laugh. The
one who laughed first, or toward whom the smoke was drawing, would give birth the
next year.
A barren woman sat on a white horsehide under a special tree, wearing her
festive hat, with a pot of melted butter near her. She invoked the Spirit of
Locality to grant her a child, and waited, as a sign, for some insect to fall down
from the tree. If a beetle fell, she would have a son; if a spider dropped,
it indicated that she would give birth to a girl. As soon as any insect fell
on the skin she dipped it into the butter and swallowed it.
To prevent the death of young children in a family, the newly-born child
was stolen by relatives who put a black puppy in the cradle to fool the evil
spirit,
[: abaey]
abasy
. A tiny model of a raking iron, and dried bear paws were
amulets against the evil spirits. For boys, a small knife with a birch handle,
and for girls, a pair of scissors, were added to the baby's bed.
Death and burial.
All deaths were caused by evil spirits who took away one
of the souls (the
kut
type) and waited for a man's death to devour the remaining
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
two. During this time the evil spirits, speaking through the dying man, begged
for food to reinforce them for the long journey into the lower world.
Preparation of the corpse for burial required observance of a number of regu–
lations, such as putting a cow's bladder on one's hands to prevent them from –
weakening as a result of washing the corpse. Burial clothing could not contain
any knots, or the soul of the dead man would be knotty. No horse-hide or gold
objects could be used. The body was dressed in a wolf-fur overcoat, and the man's
hunting gear and pipe and butter and meat were placed in the grave.
R
A funeral feast preceded the burial. For this feast, a horse, whose soul
would later serve the deceased for his journey beyond the grave, was killed
ceremonially and its carcass was cut without severing the ligaments, so that its
soul would not be lame. The boiled meat was consumed and the skin, arranged to
simulate the living animal, with saddle, trappings, skull, lower jaw, and verte–
brae, was hung on a tree near the grave. The body was borne to the grave on a
sleigh drawn by another horse. Upon its return, this horse had to be purified
and the sleigh and the grave spade were abandoned.
Two methods of burial were used. The ancient one was a suspended grave.
The body was placed in a coffin made of two hollowed-out sides of a split log.
The halves were connected with hoops and placed above the ground on poles in the
midst of a thick forest. The other method of burial consisted of the usual inter–
ment practiced up to the present time, with special ceremonies which reflected
former religious beliefs. The coffin was dug out of a whole log, and tobacco,
metal coins, and small household objects were put into the grave with the corpse.
At the burial of a nobleman, a saddled horse and a very capable youth, called
the saddle boy, were buried near his grave. It was the duty of the saddle boy to
serve his master after his death and he was chosen from those most favored by the
dead master.
^
→
^
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Saddle boys were interred at the burials of noble women, and rich clothing was
placed in the grave in addition to the above-mentioned objects.
A shaman always participated in the burial and it was he who killed the
horse, which was eaten, and hung the skin on the pole near the grave. Later,
the custom of burying live horses and saddle boys died out.
In very ancient times there was a custom of killing feeble old men
,
who
were no longer able to work. The old men were bound and brought to a deep
pit in the middle of a forest, where they were either thrown into the pit or
shot with a bow and arrow. In those times there were no wooden superstructures
over graves and the place of burial was marked only by a small mound surrounded
by a fence. In later periods there was another type of grave consisting of a
gabled wooden burial chamber with a horse's head carved out in the rear and
carved decorations on the ridge of the roof.
Religion
As in other aspects of Yakut culture, the religion reflected the cultural
influences of their neighbors and, consequently, three layers can be distinguished:
1. The "pastoral" religion, consisting of the Upper Deities (aj
[:
y
]
), creators,
who inhabit various levels of the Upper World and are very much anthropomorphized.
The creators have estates, horses and cattle, houses, servants,slaves, wives,
children, etc., just as human beings do but in a much grander ("shinier, more
silvery") way. Such are
Ürün Aj
[:
y
]
Tojon
(The Great White Lord Creator),
Ïäjäxsit
(The Spirit of Fertility),
Aj
[:
y
]
syt
(The Spirit of Propagation), etc.
2. Superimposed on this is shamanism with its rich demonology, a multitude
of
abāsy
(evil spirits),
üör
(the souls of the dead),
ämägät
(shaman's spirit
protectors) and the ter
^
r
^
ible patron of shamanism,
Ulū Tojon.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
3. The "hunting" religion, connected with the cult of animals (bear,
eagle, lynx, etc.), of Spirit Owners (
icci
), and Spirit Protectors
[:
]
(
äsäkän
).
While the concepts of
aj
[:
y
]
, the creators and
äsäkän
, the spirit owners,
sometimes overlapped, the main distinction reflected the differences in view–
point between the pastoral peoples, who thought in terms of creation, propaga–
tion, and the hunter who thought in terms of spontaneous, uncontrolled multi–
plication.
Corresponding to this, the creators were asked to bless the multiplication
of men and domestic animals, while the spirit owners were requested to allow
men to capture already existing and spontaneously multiplying animals.
This difference was also reflected in two types of offerings or sacri–
fices: (1)The so-called "white" or bloodless sacrifices (libation of mare's
milk, butter, or vodka, or setting animals free, dedicated to some deity) for
activities which have nothing to do with hunting. The blood sacrifices (by
killing or smearing with blood) were made either by shamans or hunters.
The spirits were located in a general way on the three levels of the
world (upper, middle and lower) and their subdivisions, and also on the points
of the compass. Thus Benevolent Deities,
aj
[:
y
]
, and the Evil Spirit, the terrible
Ulūtujar Ulū Tojon
, lived in the Upper World. The Lord of the Underworld —
Arsan Duolai
lived in the Lower World; the lesser evil spirits, abāsy, lived
both in the Upper and Lower worlds and appeared in the Middle. Most of the
icci
,
spirit owners, lived in the Middle World, where the souls of dead Üör also lived.
While the division into benevolent and malevolent spirits was very definite,
both types occasionally acted contrary to their general characteristics. What
was perhaps characteristic of these spirits was that they did not interfere with
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
each other (no clear-cut dualism), were rather indifferent to human needs, and
had to be bribed or flattered to do good.
The attitude toward the Upper Spirits could best be seen from the kumiss
ceremony (
ysyax
) which was a pastoral festival, basically intended to ask
the blessing of the spirits of the upper World to insure multiplication of the
herds. Apparently it was a communal or clan ceremony, as it was officiated
over by the head of the group or a clan; while the shaman in later times took
part in it, he did not act in his original capacity and did not wear his cere–
monial dress. Modified or abridged
ysyax
were arranged for other occasions,
such as construction of a new house, childbirth, funerals, etc.
Along with the veneration of the Upper Deities, creators, there was
an elaborate cult of the
iccita
, the spirit owners of places, geographical
localities, inanimate objects, and animals. Thus there were spirit owners of
the corral, the hitching post, the horse, the fire, etc.
A variation of this concept was the
äsäkän
, spirit protector of specific
animals, who was addressed by the hunter with the request to send out some of
his subjects for the hunter to kill. This hunting cult of
äsäkäns
(or their
modification,
bayanai
) reflected the influence of the Tungus, the traditional
hunters of the Yakuts' new homeland.
[:
]
A great deal of mixture and contradiction resulted when the elements
of the pastoral (clan) religion (creators, spirit of fire, etc.) came in contact
with the hunting pantheon. The large number of taboos and regulations concern–
ing hunting and fishing indicate a degree of antagonism of the cult of the Fire
and Spirit Owner of the House to the Spirits of the Hunt and Spirit Owner of the
Forest. Thus, hunters had to conceal their activities or camouflage them when
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
entering the house because blood or killing was displeasing to the Spirit of
House and
^
the
^
Spirit of the Fire. The meat of the elk, killed with the crowwbow
could not be allowed to get in direct contact with the fire and had to be
cooked in a pot.
A multitude of evil spirits surrounded the Yakut and caused all sicknesses,
misfortunes, and difficulties in his daily life. Added to this group were a large
number of
Üör
, evil spirits of the dead, and various demons.
To cope with these evil spirits and, at times, to placate the anger of the
offended Upper Deities, the Yakuts employed shamans.
While Yakut shamanism was not hereditarys and the future shaman received
a "call" which he could not refuse, some traces of development of hereditary
shamanism may be seen in the fact that only certain clans could produce
especially powerful shamans, and a
pi
spirit of some deceased shaman usually
participated in selecting the new one. The three
a
degrees of shamans (poor,
ordinary, and famous) applied only to their relative power. The division into
the White and Black, so pronounced among some Siberian tribes, was not well–
defined among Yakuts.
The main function of the Yakut shaman was to cure the sick and to prophesy.
He did this clad in his formal dress, used a drum, and enacted his trip to the
Upper or Lower World to learn the cause of misfortune and remedy it. His task
was to wrestle the stolen and tormented soul of the sick man from the spirit
who had taken it, and this he did either by threats or bribes.
On some occasions when the sickness might have been caused by the presence
of an evil spirit in the body of the patient, the shaman had to persuade the
spirit ot leave the patient and go back to his former abode. The successful
s
shaman was able to do this by making the spirit enter into an animal to be
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
to be sacrificed to him. By killing the animal the spirit was dispatched
back to the Lower World.
The ceremonies were complex and not standardized, leaving a great deal
of room for individual variation. The dramatic recital of the shaman's trip was
full of poetic imagery and occasional humor. His singing, acting, and drumming
undoubtedly produced a great effect on the anxious audience in the dimly lit
yurta
.
The Yakut religion occupied an intermediate position between the Altai–
Buriat type, on the one hand, where the influence of Zoroastrianism and Lamaism
was very prominent and resulted in pronounced dualism, a highly organized
pantheon, and hereditary shamanism; on the other hand, there was the Tungus
type of hunting religion with its emphasis on spirit owners and animal cults,
and with shamanism practically restricted to the curing of the sick and exorcism
of evil spirits.
Art and Knowledge
Art
. Carvings of wood, bone, and ivory were rather crude and were charac–
terized by rigidity of execution. Realistic representations of human beings and
animals were avoided and most ornamentation consisted of conventionalized geo–
metric designs. Ornamented and
[:
]
carved bone boxes, combs, and ear picks were
common, as were woven and embroidered goods and fur rugs.
They had a dance called the Circle Dance in which both men and women par–
ticipated. Arm in arm, but in no definite order, they formed a circle and, with
stamping feet, moved from right to left at a gradually increasing speed.
Calendar
: The year consisted of lunar months and was equal to about six
months by our count, spring and summer being counted as one year and fall and
winter as another. The month, consisting of thirty days, was divided into two
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
sections: (1) the new, when the days were counted from one to fifteen, and (2)
the old, when the days were counted backward from fifteen to one. A special
device, a small board with holes representing the number of the days in the week
and days of the month, hung in every house. Certain dates are remembered by
important events such as floods and epidemics.
Measures
. Measures were linear
[:
]
and were usually related to the
length of some portion of the human body. Such were
bylas
, length of outstretched
arms,
ullugax
, length ofsole of the foot, and
ili
, fingers. Another method of
calculation was used for road lengths, which were measured in
kos
(six miles),
the distance which could be covered in trav
^
e
^
ling at one
in
time with all the
herds and household goods.
Time of day was determined in connection with milking time. There was a
unit of time equivalent to the time necessary to cook food in a pot.
Folk Medicine.
The Yakuts had
[:
]
folk remedies for many diseases. They
divided diseases into two
[:
]
categories, (1) Russian (syphilis, tuberculosis,
etc.) and (2) Yakut (minor local diseases).
Folklore
. In conformity with the Yakut elaborate pantheon, native folklore
is very rich. It consists of many riddles, proverbs, myths and tales of culture
heroes
s
, exploits of famous shamans or princes.
Much attention is now being paid to collecting and preserving this rich
natural heritage by the Soviet and Yakut cultural workers in a specially created
Yakut Scientific Institute of Language and Culture, which publishes texts and
translations and stages radio broadcasts and native plays based on folklore
traditions.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Present-Day Yakutia
The advent of the Soviet regime brought drastic changes to the native
populati
^
o
^
ns of eastern Siberia. In addition to administrative and socio-economic
changes, there was a drive to bring the native groups rapidly up to the general
level of the country and to develop and utilize the largely virgin resources
of the region. One of the major factors which changed the Yakut economy was
the introduction of collective farming, fishing, and hunt
^
i
^
ng; groups of natives
were organized into
kolkhoz
with administrative help and direction. The
kolkhoz
settlements changed the character of the Yakut villages, stimulating their
growth and causing the introduction of schools, hospitals, cultural bases,
movies, and cooperative organizations. As a result, many natives are changing
from a semi-nomadic mode of life to living in permanent settlements.
Many new industries were introduced and others were developed. Production
of gold is the main industry of the region today and there is a constantly
growing production of lead, molybdenum, silver, salt, coal, and oil. The con–
struction of roads and the introduction of water power and electricity have –
enabled the industry to grow on a much larger scale than in the past. The lumber
industry, fishing, the leather industry, and construction are likewise encouraged
and are important factors in
[:
]
raising the standard of living of both the
Russian and native population. The purchasing power of the population increased
from 25 million rubles in 1928 to 280 million rubles in 1936.
A concerted effort was made to wipe out illiteracy. In 1917 only 2% of
the population could read and write, but by 1937 the figure had grown to 75%.
In 1925 the large-scale publication of books in the Yakut language began and
a number of
[:
]
classical works have been translated. Native arts and
crafts are encouraged and the Yakut national theater was formed in 1925. Natives
are encouraged to enter into all branches of science, and medicine and medical care
of the population has increased tremendously since 1917.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yakuts
Bibliography
Böhtlingk, Otto von.
Uber die Sprache der Yakuten
(St. Petersburg, 1851).
----.
Zur Jakutischen Grammatik
(St. Petersburg, 1859).
Czaplicka, M. A.
Aboriginal Siberia
(Oxford, 1914)
Ergis, G. U.
Companion of the Yakut Folklore Collector
(Yakutsk, 1945).
Golomshtok, Eugene A.
The Yakut Religion
(ms).
Hecker, N. L. Contribution to the Characterization of the Physical Type of the
Yakuts
(Izvestia of the ESSRGS, vol. 3, pt. 1, Irkutsk, 1896).
Ionov, V. M.
The Problem of the Study of Pre-Christian Beliefs of the Yakuts
(Sbornik of MAE, vol. 5, pt. 1, Petrograd, 1918).
Jochelson, Waldemar.
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
(American Museum of Natural
History, 1928).
----.
The Yakut
(Anthropological Paper of the American Museum of Natural History,
vol. 33, pt. 2, New York, 1933).
Kharusin, N.
The Law Customs of the Yakuts
(based on material collected by N. P.
Pripuzov)
The Ethnographical Review
, no. 2, 1898).
Khudiakov, I.
The Verkhoyansk Volume of Yakut Tales, Songs, Riddles, etc.
(Zapiski
of ESSRGS, Ethnographical Section, Vol. 1, pt. 3, Irkutsk, 1890.
Kon, F. J.
Physiological and Biological Data on the Yakut
(Minusinsk, 1899).
Mainov, I. I.
The Yakut
(Russian Anthropological Journal, vol. 3, no.4, St. Peters–
burg, 1902).
Pekarsky, E. K.
Dictionary of the Yakut Language
(Academy of Sciences, 12 parts,
1907-1927).
Priklonsky, V. A.
Materials for Ethnography of the Yakuts of the Yakut Region
(Izvestia of the ESSRGS, vol. 17, no.1-2, vol.18, Irkutsk, 1887)
Sieroshevsky, V.A.
The Yakut
. Vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1896).
Yastremsky, S. V. A Complete Grammar of the Yakut Language (Leningrad, 1934).
Eugene A. Golomshtok
The Ketts or Yeniseians
EA-Anthropology
(Eugene A. Golomshtok)
THE KETTS OR YENISEIANS
The Yeniseians (Ketts) or Yenisei Ostiaks from a tiny island of Paleo–
Siberians among the predominantly Neo-Siberian tribes. They form 13% of
the total population of the Turukhansk district of Eastern Siberia. They
live along the shores of the Yenisei River and its tributaries, from the
mouth of the Sym up to the Kureika River, and along the lower part of the
Podkamenna
^
ya
^
Tunguska, the Yelogui, Kureika, Bakhta, Imbat, and Surgutikha
rivers.
The Yenisei River in its middle course is wide and there are a number
of islands covered wi
^
t
^
h trees and grass. It is 50 feet deep and is abundant
in fish. The shores of the river and its tributaries are covered with forest
along the upper course and with marshes near the mouth. Winters are severe
with a great deal of snow, and summers are dry and hot. The average winter
temperature is 20° below zero Centigrade.
Divisions
Originally the Ketts were a large group, but due to assimilation, disease,
and war they greatly decreased in number, and there is a discrepancy in the
figures on their present number. While the official Soviet census of 1926-27
gives the figure 1,046 (969 nomadic and 77 sedentary) and later figures (1934)
indicate an increase to 1,164, a detailed breakdown, evidently on the basis of
the same census, shows several hundred more.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Distribution
With the exception of a small sedentary group of 12 families, numbering
about 70 (the Dogun group), the Ketts are seminomadic and, according to the
territory they cover, may be divided into the following seven groups:
1. The Podkemennaya Tunguska group, which in 1926 numbered 58 house–
holds or 301 people. In the spring they start from their camps to the mouth
of this river for their annual fair. They spend the summer on the Yenisei,
fishing in and around the mouth of the Podkamennaya Tunguska. In the fall
they gather near their coope
^
rat
^
ive on Chernyi Island, and spread out in both
directions along the river shores, sometimes as far as 250 kilometers from
the Yenisei. The winter snow is very heavy here, and unsuitable for reindeer.
They spend the winter (6 to 8) months hunting squirrels and other fur-bearing
game in the mountain region, which is quite isolated from the rest of the Ketts
and the Russians.
2. The Dybches group — 8 families, 32 people — who live in the basin
of the Dybches River, in low lands covered with pine forest.
3. The Yelogui group — 56 families, 295 people — who spend both winter
and summer on the Yelogui River, the basin of which is low and marshy, with
pine forests quite suitable for reindeer breeding, which they learned from
the Selkups (Ostiako-Samoyeds).
4. The Upper Tez group is usually classified with the Selkups because
this group of Ketts borrowed the language and many features of material culture
from them. They number 19 families and 95 persons.
5. The Upper Imbat group — 57 families, 324 people — have bases on the
banks of the Yenisei, where they fish in summer and in winter hunt various game,
including wild reindeer.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
6. The Turukhansk group — 23 families, 106 people — who live near
the city of Turukhansk on the Yenisei.
7. The Kureika group are the northernmost of the Ketts — 121 families
with 249 people.
Physical Anthropology
The present-day Ketts show a strong admixture in their physical type.
Two main types are indicated: (a) narrow and long face zone, with long nose —
Americanold; and (b) wide faces, prominent cheekbones, small narrow eyes —
Mongoloid. The basic Americanoid type is mixed with the Mongoloid, and with
the light European, so that some round-headed people have long noses and
straight eyes but prominent cheekbones. Generally their hair is finer and
lighter in color than that of the other Yenisei valley tribes.
Only meager data on physical measurements are available: stature in males,
158.7 cm.; females, 152 cm.; cephalic index, 83.1; cephalo-facial index, 79.1,
with no facial index or sex differentiation given.
Before the Revolution it was reported that 30% of the sedentary group
of Ketts had syphilis, and trachoma was found almost universally. In addition,
they suffered from scurvy, and
f
^
v
^
arious forms of hysteria.
Language
The Kett language occupies an unique position among its neighbors, as
well as among all other north-Asiatic peoples and its classification among
the Paleo-Asiatic languages is merely a formal one. In its structure, lexical
character, and morphology, the Kett language is close to the now extinct lan–
guages of the Arines, Assams and Ketts who inhabited the slopes of the Sayan
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Mountains and were completely Turkicized by the end of the 18th century.
Some of the characteristic features of this language are: change of root
vowels in the formation of plural nouns; different endings in the genitive
for animate and inanimate objects; the formation of conjugation forms by pre–
fixing a personal pronoun to the verb root (in some cases with a change in
the root vowel); often there are male and female designations in pronouns and
predicates.
These modifications do not follow the pattern of Mongoloid languages,
and investigators have indicated various parallels with different language
groups: with Tibetan and Burmese (Ramstead); with Chinese, Japanese, and Indo–
Chinese (Kai Donner); and with Sumerian, Hittite, and American Indian (Marr).
At present, about 78% of the Ketts speak an imperfect Russian.
History
The early history of the Yeniseians and their origin still remains an
unsolved riddle. The linguistic and archaeological evidence extant has re–
sulted in a divergence of opinion among both Russian and foreign specialists
regarding their origin, the origin of their language, and of their knowledge
of reindeer.
Archaeological and quasi-historical evidence, coupled with the fact that
some groups use the self name
Din
, has prompted some investigators to derive
the Yeniseians from the fair-skinned, light-haired, blue-eyed peoples called
Din-lin, mentioned in the Chinese annals as far back as the second century B.C.,
who shared these characteristics with the Uigurs and the Khakas (Kirghiz). One
group of Din-lins lived between the Ural and the Altai, and the other north of
the territory of the Kirghiz, with whom they warred frequently along the Yenisei
River.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
The evidence of physical anthropology is far from being conclusive. The
present Ketts differ from their neighbors the Samoyeds, the Tungus, and the
Selkups in that their hair is lighter and some blue-eyed individuals are found
among them, which may possibly represent an admixture with the Russians.
Apparently the Ketts and the related tribes of the Assams and the Arines
were comparatively numberous in the beginning of our era. Some were killed
off by invading Samoyeds and others became Turkicized, so that only a small
number remained who still retained the original language.
By the end of the 16th century Russian traders reached the territory of
the Ketts. In 1600, Miron Sheklovsky and Danila Khripunov reached the Taz
River and built a fortress, the future town of Mangazeya. In 1607 they built
another fortress at the mouth of the Turukhansk River (the present Turukhansk)
and subjugated the Imbats, as they called the Ketts of the Imbat River.
Thus, by the 17th century, the Russians found the descendants of the Din–
lins in this region largely Turkicized and subjugated by the Kirghiz; and only
small groups of Arines, Assams, and Ketts still preserved their original lan–
guage. The first two tribes soon became extinct and the bulk of the Ketts mixed
with the Ostiaks and Samoyeds. Some investigators consider the present Ostiako–
Samoyeds (the Selkups) as Samoyedized Ketts.
The first scientific study of the Ketts was made by the great linguist,
A. Castren, who traveled in their country during the middle of the 19th century
and compiled a grammar and dictionary. Kai Donner, Hans Findesin, and V. I.
Anuchin also contributed to our knowledge of their culture, along with the mis–
cellaneous accounts of travelers. Since the Revolution, considerable work has
been done by Soviet scientists both in the further study of the language and in
archaeological investigations.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Measures to preserve the cultural identity of this small group have
been taken by the Soviet Government which introduced the alaphabet, schools,
medical help, cooperatives for fishing and hunting, etc. A number of Ketts
have studied in the Leningrad Institute of Northern Tribes and later have
come back to their people to take positions as teachers, etc. At present,
there are some Ketts who are university graduates.
The reconstruction of native economy and the process of collectivization
have caused a gradual change to a sedentary mode of life. In 1923 the Ketts
were organized into clan soviets, and elections at conventions were introduced.
Occupation
Hunting was the primary occupation of the Ketts, and was done mostly
on foot, as only a small portion of the Ketts had reindeer. Fishing and
cedar-nut gathering were auxiliary occupations. Generally the Ketts would
spend the summers along the rivers and in winter move toward the forests for
nomadic hunting. Squirrel hunting was the most important, with the hunting
of sable, fox, kolinsky, ermine, etc. playing a lesser role.
The Ketts may be divided into three groups according to their occupations:
(a) The Northern Ketts, wandering along the Kureika and Turukhansk rivers,
had a typical forest-tundra economy. They fished a great deal, did much hunt–
ing, and used reindeer transporta ion. (b) In contrast to these Northern Ketts,
there is the Podkamennaya Tunguska group who had a purely forest economy. They
had no reindeer, and used a special type of boat -
ilimka
— dogs, and large
boats for transportation. (c) The third group, living on the western shore of
the Yenisei, may be classified as being somewhere between these two. Their
economy was based on forest hunting, but because of the decrease in squirrels
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
and increase in sables, and the proximity of the forest-tundra region of the
Taz River, they gradually adopted the use of reindeer for transportation. Al–
most two-thirds of this group have reindeer, although they still use dogs and
boats for transportation.
In hunting, the Ketts used guns (mostly in the south) and traps (in the
north). Squirrels constituted 80 to 98% of the total value of the furs hunted.
The hunting season began about the middle of October and lasted until about
the first of the year. The most intensive period was from the middle of Nov–
ember to the middle of December, when the hunters did not return to their
earthen huts for weeks at a time. A good hunter might kill up to 1,000 squir–
rels, with 600 considered average.
Since January is the coldest and darkest month of the year, the Ketts
rested during this time. In February they would migrate to distant regions,
wandering with their households from valley to valley. During this time they
hunted bear (using a forked spear), hare, kolinsky, fox, ermine (using traps),
and elk. Elk were hunted on snowshoes, by driving the animals into pits cover–
ed with branches, or capturing them at watering places. Fifteen to twenty elk
were considered average for the season. They constituted the bulk of the meat,
and the skin was also used.
Birds were hunted during the summer from canoes. The Ketts were prohibit–
ed from shooting the eagle, but they could pluck the feathers from young birds
found in nests to feather their arrows.
Reindeer breeding among the Ketts was very primitive and was practiced
only by a small group, situated along the upper Taz River. There was no reindeer
breeding on the right, or eastern, shore of the Yenisei. Even among those Ketts
who owned reindeer no one family had more than 100, and out of 95 families who
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
had reindeer in the 1926-27 census 60% had less than 10.
Like their neighbors the Selkups, the Ketts used reindeer only when
there was snow on the ground, and let them loose during the rest of the year.
This neglect of the herds, particularly of the pregnant cows, resulted in a
great annual loss, which was disastrous for owners of small herds.
This primitive mode of reindeer domestication, so unlike that of other
Siberian groups, has suggested to some authorities that the Ketts evolved this
trait independently. However, the bulk of evidence seems to point to the fact
that they adopted reindeer breeding from their neighbors, the Selkups. In the
course of their history the Ketts apparently became mixed with Samoyedic elements,
not with the reindeer-breeding group — the traditional enemies of the forest
people — but with the Selkups (literally the forest people) who were not too
far advanced in their development. While the Selkups moved northward along the
Ob-Yenisei water divide toward the upper Taz, the Ketts proceeded parallel to
them along the Yenisei.
The Ketts and Selkups show many traits in common: similarity of tools,
fishing and hunting methods; similar types of dwelling construction; a similar
system of reckoning relationship, and in shaman's dress. The main difference
between them is that the Selkups were reindeer breeders, while most of the Ketts
were hunters on foot.
In places the Ketts even adopted the Selkup language, almost losing their
tribal identity. Thus, sixteen Kett families along the upper Tax, with the
surname Irikov, derived from the Kett clan Konyn, were not included in any of
the Selkup clans but had forgotten their own tongue, spoke Selkup, and wandered
in Selkup territory.
The following tale taken from Kett folklore supports the view that the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Ketts were primarily hunters:
"The God Yez created a reindeer and ordered the people to prepare to
accept this gift. The sly Tungus (Khenby) killed an elk and cut its hide into
strips from which they made a net. The Ketts also made a net, but they used
the birch bark (tiski) that they used to cover their tents.
"The reindeer thrown to the Tungus was caught in the strong net, but the
one thrown to the Ketts broke the birch-bark net and ran away. From this time
on, wild reindeer appeared, so that while the Tungus have domesticated
^
re
^
indeer,
we, the Ketts, have none."
Another story relates that the Ketts first got reindeer while
^
warring
^
with the Samoyeds.
Fishing was practiced by all the Kett group. Most of the catch was for
domestic use, but some was sold. Various methods were used:
A long
^
ro
^
pe was stretched across the river. Shorter ropes with large,
sharp hooks were suspended at intervals from the long rope, supported by cork
floats. (This method was borrowed from the Russians.) Wooden grills, varying
in length from 2 or 3 meters to 100 meters (for large streams) were set across
the body of water, with a gate leading to the trap, or a sleeve from which the
fish were taken. Nets (
negspokl
), belonging to several families, were also
used; formerly these were made of cedar-root fiber or willow bark, and later
of rope. Wooden hooks (liume) were made of an angle-shaped branch (the short
end at a 40° angle), carefully sharpened and tied to cedar-root lines about
35 feet long.
The Ketts also used night fires as lures for the fish, which they then
killed with iron harpoons. These harpoons (
kvoligos
) had three teeth, were
native-made, and ended in a point which was set into a shaft. Various types
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
of basket traps were also used.
The main type of Kett water transportation was the
ilimka
, a boat about
8 meters long, with a compartment in the center in the shape of a birch hut
with a gabled roof, about 3 X 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 meters, divided by a partition —
the front section for people, the back for storage. A mast for a sail was set
in the center of the cabin. The river was crossed by using cars, or, when
the wind was right, the sail was used. For passage along the shore, the women
and dogs pulled the boat. This type of boat was introduced in comparatively
recent times and was borrowed from the Russians about a century ago. Its name
was derived from the Ilim River, a tributary of the Angara.
Smaller boats were also used. Dugout canoes were used mostly in the
southern regions, in shallow waters, for fast communication with the heavy,
slow-moving
ilimka
. Other canoes were made of aspen, cedar, or pine. They
varied in length from 6 to 14 meters and from 35 to 60 cm. in thickness. The
felled tree was carefully shaped, and any cracks resulting from uneven thick–
ness were filled with pitch. Additional boards could be sewn to the sides
with cedar-root fibers. The cars had lance-shaped blades and slightly oval
handles, made of one piece of wood (not board). These canoes were very light
and easily upset, but were skillfully handled by the Ketts.
Since early times the Ketts have used dogs for hunting and transportation,
and sometimes their skin was used for clothing. One or two dogs were used to
pull a sleigh (in contrast to the use of 5 to 7 dogs who swiftly carried the
sleighs in the northern regions). During the winter wanderings, the men of
the group would go ahead on snow shoes, often dragging small sleighs themselves.
They were followed by the dog-drawn sleighs, which in turn were followed by
sleighs drawn by women. Usually, the Ketts had more sleighs than dogs.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
The Kett dogs were long-haired and of various colors, and mixed with
Russian mongrels, more like the Ostiak dogs than the short-haired, well–
built Tungus dogs.
Dwellings
The Ketts had two basic types of dwelling. One type was the semisub–
terranean hut
bangus
, 1.5 meters deep, 3 to 3-1/2 meters wide, covered by
several layers of sewn birch bark stretched on poles and covered with earth,
with a small hearth made of poles smeared with clay or, more recently, of
brick. The door was of crudely jointed wooden boards. Sometimes these semi–
subterranean huts had two rooms: an entrance room, covered with fir branches
and supported by a low frame used for storage only, and an inner living room
which sometimes had a window with an ice pane. This hut was used during the
"small" run (short hungting period) from the beginning of December to the be–
ginning of February. The old and sick lived in these huts throughout the year.
The
kuss
was a conical tent used both during winter and summer. It was
covered with strips of birch bark, and a special flap for the door. These
strips — 1 meter wide and 3 meters long — were first boiled in water and
then sewn together with bought woolen thread and were inexpensive and waterproof.
In winter this cover was several layers thick and was used during the "long
run;" in summer only one layer was used. The tent itself was about 3 to 4
meters in diameter, and 2 to 3 meters high. The frame had 16 to 20 poles,
each 5 or 6 meters long. There was no special fireplace, and the fire was
made right on the ground. Entering this hut one would find, to the left of
the door, firewood, then the cooking utensils and food; next, the sleeping
place of the parents, then (opposite the door) for the younger children, the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
boys, next for the guests, then for the daughters; then a place for mis–
cellaneous objects and then, to the right of the door, more firewood. In
smaller families, the parents would sleep to the left of the door and the
children to the right. The bedding consisted of boiled birch bark sewn to–
gether, and reindeer skins to lie on. Reindeer rugs were lined with hare
skins, and when traveling, the household objects were packed in these skins.
The sleeping quarters of married couples were separated from the rest by
cloth curtains. A crude conical tent covered with fir branches served as a
storage house.
This type of hut was easily dismantled (part of the women's work), and
transportable. The Ketts preferred it to the Russian-type wooden house in
summer because it was better ventilated. A few Ketts, living in the southern
outskirts of the tundra where timber was abundant, built log huts which they
would use in winter for several years in succession.
Dress
The comparatively modern dress of the Yeniseians represented a combina–
tion of the old native dress and the influence of modern times.
The summer coat,
kotlyma
, was a short coat, formerly made of white rein–
deer skin and later of cloth, which reached to the knees, with decorations
along the shoulders and the edges. The winter coat was of fur with a squirrel
lining, of the same cut as the summer coat. Both winter and summer coats were
worn with the right side overlapping the left (like the Ainu, and unlike the
Tungus).
The pants,
slepk
, were formerly made of tanned reindeer skin and later
of cloth. Woolen or cotton stockings reaching to the knee replaced the early
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
use of leggings which reached to the belt.
Footgear consisted of leather shoes or, in winter, reindeer-hide shoes.
Elk skin was also used for shoe lining. No hats were worn, only white cotton
kerchiefs protected the head. The neck was left uncovered. The women wore
cloth dresses in summer and fur coats in winter. Both sexes braided their
hair, and among some of the forest clans the men wrapped their braids in green
cloth. Both sexes wore cotton underwear which they rarely changed. Only the
bachelors bathed naked. Married men would not show the naked body and even
during the hot summer weather would go into the water fully clothed. The
Ketts washed their faces daily sometimes using soap.
Reindeer or bear skin served as bedding, and there were many parasites
in the clothing and bedding.
Food
The food of the Yeniseians was generally boiled and sometimes broiled.
Fish was prepared in several ways. It was often eaten raw, or in dried form
(
itn
), which was done by splitting, stretching, and drying the fish in the
sun, or it might be made into a flour. For this the fish was cooked in a
kettle until all the water evaporated, and then it was kept on a low fire
until it changed into a fatty yellow flour,
porsa
.
They ate the meat of elk, hare, squirrel, and bird, and bear meat was
considered a great delicacy. Often pancakes were used instead of the bread
which they bought from the Russians. They could also buy flour and do the
baking themselves in small ovens which they built in their temporary stopping
places.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Social Organization
Before the Revolution the Ketts were divided by the Russians into two
and then three
Upravas
(administrative units). After the Revolution they
were divided into six Soviets, still however, preserving their own clan
divisions.
B. Dolgikh, who did research on the Ketts in 1927, cites four clans:
the Khanta, Bogdei, Konyn, and Olgyt, but apparently the Khanta and Olgyt
were the two basic clans. Thus, the Bogdi, according to Kett tradition, were
the result of a split from the Khanta, even though they were mentioned in the
annals as early as 1629. (The names may be translated as follows: Khanta –
the Kan people, or, according to Kett translation, the ring on the ski pole;
the Bogdi - the Flaming Ones; the Konyn - the Pine Needles; and the Olgyt –
Water or Water People.
The clan were exogamic, but did not necessarily live in one locality.
While members of different clans lived together, and exchanged brides, those
from the clans which were the result of splitting could not intermarry.
In the Podkammenaya Tunguska and the Yelogui groups there were 114 fam–
ilies, 42 of which were of the Khanta clan, 55 Bogdi, and 3 Konyn, the clan
affiliations of the others unknown. The northern Ketts belonged mostly to
the Konyn and the Olgyt clans.
Marriage
Marriages were arranged by the parents of the young people. Very often
the marriage took place at a very early age, and girls of fourteen of fifteen
had children. Sometimes the bride and groom would not know each other before
the marriage.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
The shaman played an important role in the marriage ceremony. The Ketts
would sit on the ground in a circle around the young couple. In the circle
with them were the shaman and another young man, his helper. The couple was
covered with a cloth. The shaman slowly circled around the couple, singing
all the time, drumstick in hand, but not beating the drum. His helper would
follow and also sing in a recitative style. From time to time the shaman would
toss the drumstick (
khaubl
) to someone in the audience, who would throw it back.
After about half an hour, the bride, still covered, was taken into her
husband's hut. After the marriage, if there were evidences of defloration, the
bed was ceremonially shot to pieces with guns.
The bridal price consisted of 300 squirrels, two or three copper kettles,
and some manufactured cloth, and was payable before the ceremony. Afterward
a feast followed.
The Ketts were very fond of the Tungus Women, especially because they
were better squirrel hunters than their own Kett women, but the traditional
tribal endogamy forbade taking wives from other tribes.
Generally the sedentary groups had smaller families than the nomadic
groups.
Some of the Kett beliefs were as follows: Everything that exists has a
soul. Man has secen souls, and an animal one. The souls exist always and are
immortal, living in either men or animals, or outside their bodies.
Birth and Death
An unborn infant has one to six souls received from those animals or
plants that were eaten by the mother. A few days before birth it receives
the principal soul,
ulwej
, which causes warmth in the mother's womb and thus
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
induces labor spasms. But this soul is always just outside the man's body, and
is actually his alter ego. Any sickness is really something that happens to
the
ulwej
.
Sometimes labor pains could be alleviated if the woman confessed illicit
sex relations. It was believed that the unborn child was separated from the
mother's bowels by a caul which was released with the afterbirth. The placenta
was wrapped in birch bark and hung on a tree. The umbilical cord was preserved
and kept near the child, and the stump was later sewn in a skin which was
embroidered and fastened to the back of the child's fur coat. If it disap–
peared, the child would die.
A stillborn child was buried in a hole carved in a cedar tree and covered
with wood and bark.
The Ketts believed that a man dies when the goddess Khosadam devours man's
chief soul,
ulwej
. But the goddess
^
does
^
did not know that this soul is immortal
and that it is released with her excrements or her vomit. Often
Alba
, the
heavenly blacksmith, would frighten her so much that she would have diarrhoea
and thus liberate many souls, or
Alba
might hang her upside down and thus many
souls would be vomited up.
After death it was believed that all the souls stay in an enormous cave
in the Lower World, where the only animal is the mammoth. There was no sun
or stars, only complete darkness. The souls did nothing there, and after a
certain period would come on the earth again as animals or plants.
It was believed that the soul of a bear is a dead man's soul. When the
time comes for a bear to die he goes to his relative, man, so that the man may
kill him and liberate the
ulwej
. After the animal had been killed, the man
would try to discover whose soul was living in the body of the bear. He did
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
this by using the paw for divination and asking, "Who came
,
^
?
^
Grandmother or
grandfather?" The bear was venerated and after a kill a special festival
was held. The spoils of the hunt belonged to the group, the skin to the one
who first tracked down the animal. When a man would eat too much bear fat
at a bear festival and become sick, it was a sign that he would find no more
bears. When a man was wounded by a bear, he would remain lying on the ground
and the next day he would be given bear blood to drink.
After the festival, an image of a man was made on a piece of board and
together with the bear's gall bladder was hidden in a tree hollow.
There was no special ancestor veneration among the Ketts, nor were mem–
orial services held. The dead were not feared. While the coffin was being
prepared the covered body was left lying on a bench. Formerly the bodies were
buried in canoes or sleds, which had been previously broken, and personal be–
longings were placed with the body. In later times burial was usually in a
primitive coffin, which was covered with a piece of boiled birch bark. A
broken cup was placed near the head, which was pointed eastward. Before the
coffin was lowered into the grave, a fire was lighted, and as soon as the
grave was filled the fire was extinguished.
Sometimes a high tree stump was split and hollowed out. The body was p
placed in this hollow and covered with the other half of the stump and secured
with wooden hoops.
The burial ground was always on an elevated place. A bunch of pine
branches or a forked stick was placed on the grave, or, in recent times, the
cross came into use.
After the burial, the Ketts would sit silently for a while around a light–
ed fire. After each of them had stepped over the fire in turn, the fire was
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
extinguished and they would all go into the hut where the memorial feast took
place.
Religion
The Ketts religion represents a combination of hunting beliefs and a
strongly developed professional shamanism, but without differentiation into
black and white shamans. Some of their religious concepts were: The universe
consists of three parts equal to each other — the Upper World, the Lower
World, and separating these a flat disk, the earth, which is the Middle World,
the abode of people, animals, and souls of those who have committed some crime.
These souls wander at night and feed on men whom they capture.
Above the earth are seven layers of heaven, the Upper World, the abode
of the great deity
Es
, who lives in a great birch bark tent, inhabited by the
souls of Ketts who did not commit crimes. Below the earth are also seven layers
of the Lower World with its own forests, rivers, mountains, and inhabited by
the Lower World people who live much as the Ketts do. Around the earth are
seven seas.
The sun is a heavenly fire and each layer of heaven has its own sun.
The moon, Khyp, is the grandfather. The fire,
Bok
, is referred to as
Bokam
,
Mother Fire, and is venerated. It is much disliked by the chief evil goddess,
Khosadam
.
The Kett pantheon is headed by a male deity
Es
, visualized as an old man
with a black beard, dressed in Kett clothing, who can not be seen, and if one
sees him one becomes blind. Es lives above the seventh heaven in a transpar–
ent p
^alace^, is kind, and omnipotent, but do
^e^s not participate much in Kett lives,
relegating this to a multitude of secondary spirits, warriors, and great shamans,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
his helpers. Once a year, on the longest spring day, he reviews the earth.
On this day a special festival is held during which the women perform an erotic
dance. According to other accounts,
Es
is a symbol of the sky. He may grant
good luck.
Some measure of dualism (already evident in the Upper and Lower World
concepts, was expressed in the position occupied by the main evil spirit
Khosadam
(or
Khosedenbam
), a female deity, formerly the wife of
Es
. Once
Khosadam and her many servants went to the moon (
Khyp
) whom she married. The
angry
Es
threw her down to earth, and now she lives there in a stone house
which stands at the end of the world, far away on the sea where the waters of
the Upper World empty into the Lower World. This evil spirit
Khosadam
was a
symbol of cold, darkness, and epidemic who feeds on human flesh. The other
spirits exiled with her were the own to earth and fell in various places, be–
coming the evil spirits of the forest, mountains, marshes, etc. The spots on
the moon are traces of Khosadam's life there. The moon was also punished and
was forced to tell people the time and the weather.
According to other accounts, the evil goddess lives in an ice hut on "dead
men's island," where she was driven after many battles by the powerful warrior
Alba
. She reigns there with a mass of lesser evil spirits collectively called
kyn
and sends sickness and storms to people. The Ketts made a wooden image of
kyn
as a black bird, either with a snake's head or with a sharp beak curving
downward. The mournful groaning of the wind is the cry of
kyn
. Numerous
stories were told about the feud between
Khosadam
and the heavenly blacksmith
Alba
and the great shaman
Dokh,
relating the adventures of this great shaman
who existed on earth when the gods lived there, his struggle against
Khosadam,
and his creating the half-wood, half-iron trees which grow in her country.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
Other evil spirits included the spirit of the forest -
Litys
- who is
hairy as a bear, leaves reindeer tracks, is very lascivious, and at times
rapes women who then give birth to monsters.
The spirit of the water,
Ullitys
, a gray-bearded man, lives in the water
and hibernates during the winter. He is not very harmful for he only tangles
the fishing nets.
Ullitiskim
, the daughters of
Ullitys
, the water numphs or
"white women," love the moon, sing beautifully, and lure men. The spirit of
the mountain,
Dototam
, is an echo, assumes the shape of night birds, and his
best friend is the bat.
Third in importance was a benevolent female deity,
Tomam
, (Tom-mother).
She lives in the south in a beautiful palace and is extremely beautiful: "her
eyes are like the sky, and her cheeks like a sunset." Every spring she appears
on the shore of the Yenisei and scatters the dawn from her sleeves, which is
transformed into the geese, swans, and ducks that fly to the Ketts.
There was a group of strong men, warriors, or cultural heroes who former–
ly were mortals and lived on the earth. For their great deeds and to protect
the Ketts from their enemies, they were taken to live in the first three heavens.
The chief among them is
Alba
, the heavenly blacksmith, who has a great hammer
with which he crushes rocks. He made a track on the sky, the Milky Way. When
he returns to earth the good life will return forever for the Ketts.
Next in importance was a series of great shamans with
Dokh
as their leader.
They have the power to resurrect the dead, and they live in the sky. Most of
the incantations of the shamans end with the statement: "
Ton Dokh daskasiha
,"
(thus saith Dokh.)
Finally, there were
eskinsi
, heavenly spirits who live in the sky and
serve
Es
. Some of them, in the shape of metal figurines and pendants, are the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
helpers of the shamans.
Alalt
was the Master, or Owner. There are Alalt's of various animals,
such as Squirrel Alalt, Mice Alalt, etc. The House Alalt is a female spirit,
the keeper of house and hearth. At night she takes care of the household,
chases away the evil spirits, caresses sleeping children and braids their hair,
keeps the fire burning, and helps in household work. If a stranger stays for
the night,
Alalt
keeps the master from sleeping too soundly.
The images of the House
Alalt
were made of cedar, and represent a crudely
hewn small human statuette dressed in cloth and furs, and kept out of sight
in a box, a miniature sled. It was inherited as the bulk of the property by
the youngest son. When a man built a new home, he made an image of Alalt,
and with the help of a shaman would induce the spirit to live in his house
A typical diving myth accounts for the creation of the earth when the
great shaman Dokh sent a bird to dive downtto the bottom of the sea and bring
back some mud out of which he made the earth.
Usually it was said that
Es
"gave," sent, men and animals. One story
tells about a world where there were no men, and the women in need of pleasure
used to go to the forest where phalluses grew in abundance. One lazy woman
decided to bring one home, but while she was using it, it got stuck, so that
neither she nor anyone else could take it out. Then
Es
sent a man who at that
time had no phallus, and he was able to take it out. The grateful woman started
to give him food and wine, so that soon both his hands were occupied. He put
the phallus between his legs so that he could use both hands and the phallus
became attached to his body.
The four points of the compass were in relation to the Yenisei:
uta
, up–
stream, south;
tyna
, down, north;
tynban
, the stone earth, east; and
ulban
, the
water earth, west.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
The Ketts distinguished a number of stars: the Big Dipper, called
Kaj
,
the elk; Venus,
Khynkakh
, the morning star, the oldest of the shaman's stars;
Orion,
seld
, the head of a reindeer, used by the great
Alba
.
Shamanism
No one could learn to be a shaman (
senin
,
temde
,
senim
) — one had to be
born with this gift. Shamanism among the Ketts was hereditary, transmitted
from parent to child, with a sex alternation each time: father to daughter,
then to her son and to his daughter. If the turn was missed, for example, if
a male shaman's daughter did not become a shaman, then it was transmitted to
one of her sons, etc.
Each future shaman received a "call" from his ancestor who appeared to
the novice accompanied by a multitude of spirit helpers who would not leave
him alone and caused him to wish to dance and sing. If a man resisted this
call, he might die. In the state of transition to his profession he received
the gift of clairvoyance; he behaved in a peculiar way, often cried without
cause, and was easily frightened. He was seeking "his shamanistic road:"
there were seven paths before him and he had to find the real one or he would
become insane. This lasted from one month to two years.
Once the shamn had found his road and had become the master of his spirits,
he ordered a drum and drumstick to be made and received the title of
Khyny–
senin
— the small shaman. The first drumstick was made of rotten wood because
it would not be needed for very long. There was no initiation ceremony. About
a year later the shaman ordered a new drumstick and head and chest pieces, and
thus becmme a real shaman. He gradually ordered the other parts of his costume
to be made in ritually prescribed succession.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
The Kett shaman paraphernalia was among the most elaborate in the whole
of Siberia. It consisted of 10 items which the shaman received in the follow–
ing order:
1. The cedar drumstick (
Khat-bul
); the drum's leg had one side covered
with reindeer skin; the other was decorated and the metal figurine of a lizard
was attached. The lizard was a symbol of the third leg, which helped the shaman
in his travels, and was used for fortune telling.
2. The head band,
sendady
, the shaman's hat (received after one year)
was a piece of cloth or reindeer skin which covered the forehead and was tied
at the back. It kept the hair from the eyes and was supposed to protect the
shaman's head from enemy blows in the same manner as the crown would later.
Only male shamans received ^the^ crown, while the women retained the head band.
3. The breast piece,
kutn
, also made of reindeer skin, was about 53 cm.
long and 13 to 18 cm. wide (wider at the bottom). It was tied to the breast
by strings around the neck and chest, and decorated with painted figures, copper
and iron pendants, representing the great shaman, the sun, the moon, and leg–
endary warriors, and was embroidered with reindeer hair. The ornaments usually
represented a stylized penis and vulva, symbols of propagation and of the
shaman's strength. The phallic motif was also found in other parts of the
shaman's dress, and figures prominently in Yeniseian folklore.
4. Shoes were of the usual design but decorated with black paint (made
of soot mixed with fish glue) with representations of the phallus, men, trees,
and stars. In addition there were several metal figurines representing a bear's
thigh bone, leg, or paw designed to give the shaman's feet supernatural strength.
5. Gloves of reindeer or elk hide were similarly decorated with embroid–
ery and pendants.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
6. The drum,
khas
, was round in form and about 80 cm. in diameter.
The making of a drum was a festival in which everyone in the camp participated
except the shaman himself, who only directed the work. The rim was made of
that portion of cedar which faces south. The women prepared the reindeer skin
for the covering. The outer part of the skin was decorated with painted de–
signs representing the whole world: the seven seas, the entrance into the Lower
World, the seven heavens, the shaman, the sun, and the moon. A wooden handle
with cut-out designs transversed the drum from the inner side across the dia–
meter. Figurines and rattling objects (two-headed birds, the Dokh's eagle,
a swan, grebes, etc.) were suspended on a network of iron rods and leather
thongs which crisscrossed the inner side of the drum.
During his lifetime the shaman would change his drums several times (from
3 to 7 times). The first drum had no figurines, and each successive one was
more ornately decorated, as the shaman's power increased. When the shaman
died, the drum had to be broken by a hard blow.
7. The staff was made of a thin iron rod, about a meter in length, termin–
ating in either a trident or a double prong. Several short crosspieces showed
the degree of the shaman's power. A shaman who had no drum would strike his
staff, which
^
he
^
would hold in his left hand. If he had a drum, he alternated its
use with the staff.
8. The cape and crown of the shaman were his two highest attributes and
were acquired only after many years of experience. The cape was made of rein–
deer skin in the form of a coat, short in the front and open, but in the back
it terminated in a long pointed tail (possibly the symbol of a bird). (It was
the eagle who taught the Yeniseians how to shamanize, and thus the shaman could
"fly"). Formerly the shaman killed a male reindeer, and with its blood sprinkled
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
the metal pendants which he inherited. The cutting, sewing, and painting
of designs was done by women, but the men attached the metal pendants. The
shaman would fast for three to seven days before using a new coat. All the
pendants were on the back (unlike the custom of other Siberian tribes).
Most of the pendants had a symbolic meaning and represented reindeer
horns, an eagle with the "wise snake," the grebe, the earth with seven seas
and roads, the sun, the Milky Way, and the "shaman's sun," which would light
his way during his travels. The representation of the
ulwej
, the shaman's
soul, occupied an important place; and tiny copper and iron spears and a
staff served as the shaman's supernatural arms.
9. The crown was received at the same time as the cape. It was made
of three iron bands. One formed a ring which encircled the head; the second
was bent to form a half-circle in the form of a dome, atop which iron rein–
deer horns were fixed; the third, also a semicircle, bent upward in a knife
shape, and served to cut through the clouds in the shaman's travels.
10. The second drum was almost the same shape as the first, but was
acquired only when the shaman had attained the rank of Great Shaman, for only
then could he have two drums simultaneously. On such an occasion there was
great festivity in the camp. The position of Great Shaman was rare and diffi–
cult and carried with it many responsibilities. Few attained it, usually only
very old men.
The functions of the shaman were to tell the future, to divine and prophesy,
to cure, and to drive away the evil spirits. He would drive away the evil
spirits at childbirth, going around the hut which he was not permitted to enter.
He would determine the object from which the child's soul came and name the
child, making a number of predictions. In marriage, he predicted good luck,
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians
and in death he could tell whether the soul had departed to the Upper or
Lower World.
The Ketts turned to the shaman with every misfortune — lack of chil–
dren, loss of something, bad luck in hunting, illness, etc. Finally, he
could shamanize for entertainment, as he was the best teller of native folk–
lore, a good mimic, and was often a ventriloquist.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians - Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Anuchin, V.I. "A sketch of Shamanism among the Yenisei Ostiaks."
Sbornik
of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology,
Vol. II, No. 2, St. Peteraburg, 1914.
2. ----. "Preliminary report on the trip to the Yenisei Ostiaks
in 1905."
Izvestia
of the Russian Committee for the
Study of Middle and Western Asia. No. 6, St. Peters–
burg, 1906.
3. Castren, M.A
Versuch einer Jenissei-Ostjakischen und Kottischen
Sprachlehre nebst Worteryerzeichnissen aus den gen–
ännten Sprachen
. St. Petersburg, 1858.
4. Czaplicka, M.A.
Aboriginal Siberia
, London, 1914.
5. Dobrove-Yadrintseva, L.N.
The Natives of the Turukhansk District
.
Novonikolaevsk, 1925.
6. Dolgikh, B.
The Kets
. Moscow-Irkutsk, 1934.
7. Donner, Kai "Beitrage zür Frage nach den Ursprung der Jenissei–
Ostjaken,"
Journal de la Societs Finno-Ougrienne
,
Holsinki, 1920;
Trudy
of the First Siberian Ethno–
logical Congress, Vol. V, Novo-Sibirsk, 1928.
8. ----. "Ethnological Notes about the Yenisei Ostiaks."
Memoires de la Societe Finno-Ougrienne
, Vol. LXVI,
Helsinki, 1933.
9. Findesin, Hans "The Trip to the Keto in 1927-28."
Soviet Asia
,
Vol. II, Moscow, 1929.
10. Jochelson, Waldemar
Peoples of Asiatic Russia
, American Museum of
Natural History, 1928.
11. Karger, N.K. "The Kett-Yenisei Ostiak language." Languages and
the Art of Writing among the Northern Peoples.
Vol. III, Moscow, 1934.
12. ----. "Reindeer Breeding among the Yenisei."
The Soviet
North
. No. 6, Moscow, 1930, pp. 28-38.
13. Kytmanov, D. "The Natives of the Turukhansk Region."
Soviet Asia,
Vol. II, III, Moscow, 1927.
14. Lvov, A.K. "A Trip to the Yeniseians of the Yeloguj Clan."
Soviet
Asia
.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Ketts or Yeniseians - Bibliography
15. Marr, M.A. "From the Summerians and Hittites to the Paleo–
asiatics."
Doklad
of the Academy of Sciences,
Series B. Leningrad, 1926, Nov. -Dec.
16. Pomanov, F. "The Natives of the Lower Yenisci."
Siberian Life,
1899, No. 2.
17. Sinelnikov, N.A. "The Yenisei Ostiaks as observed by Anuchin."
Izvestije
of the Society of Lovers of Natural History,
Anthropology, and Ethnography, Vol. XXIV,
Trudy
of
the Anthropology section, Vol. XXVIII, Part 1, 1911.
18. Skalon, V. N. "Fishing methods in the basin of the Taz River."
The
Soviet North
, No. 9, Moscow, 1931. pp. 42-65.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Yukaghirs
EA- Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
YUKAGHIRS
|
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Page
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Introduction
|
1
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|
Physical and Other Characteristics
|
2
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History
|
3
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|
Dwelling
|
4
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Clothing
|
5
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Food
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7
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Transportation
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8
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Tools and Utensils
|
9
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Weapons and Armor
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10
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Numeration and Measures
|
10
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Art and Pictograph Writing
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11
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Occupation
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11
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Social Organization
|
13
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Marriage
|
14
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Birth
|
16
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Death and Burial
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17
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Religion
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17
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Souls
|
19
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Shamanism
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20
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Games
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23
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Folklore
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23
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Bibliography
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23
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EA: Anthropology
[Eugene A. Golomshtok]
YUKAGHIRS
Introduction
The Yukaghirs, a rapidly disappearing Paleo-Siberian tribe, were, before
their contact with the Russians, a numerous people occupying the area between
the Lena and Kolyma rivers from the Verkhoyansk Range north to the Arctic Sea.
At present isolated groups of Yukaghirs live in the midst of alien tribes which
have settled on their former territory, and are assimilating them. One thousand
and three Yukaghirs were counted in 1897 and only 45 registered during the census
of 1927. The chief rivers, the Yana, the Indigirka, and the Kolyma with its
tributaries that flow northward, provide a means of travel and a source of fish.
The climate of the Yukaghir region is extremely severe and continental, with
a very large amplitude of temperature range, and the area contains the coldest
spots on the earth's surface. Only on the coast of the Arctic Sea are the severe
winter frosts moderated by the proximity of the sea. The greatest precipitation
occurs from August to November, and the least from February to April. Frost
occurs even during the warmest months. The winds are chiefly moderate.
The typical arctic flora includes the East-Siberian larch, stone pine, two
species of poplar, aspen, birch, willow, alder, bushes of dwarf birch and arctic
willow, mosses and lichens, and many edible berries.
The fauna consist of black bear, polar bear, wolves, foxes, ermine, squirrel,
polar hare, elk, reindeer, mountain sheep, and mice. There also are many species
of water fowl and fish.
EA: Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Physical and Other Characteristics
The Yukaghirs and Chuvantzy (
q.v
.) once formed a single ethnic unit, but
[:
]
later became very differentiated. The present data applies mostly to the
Yukaghirs proper. The term Yukaghir is unknown to the Yukaghirs themselves and
its origin is not clear.
[:
]^
The
^
Yukaghir self name is
Odul
(plural:
Odulpe
), meaning
the "strong one." The Chukchis and Koryaks call them
Atal
or
Etal
.
The Yukaghirs are divided into two groups: the Reindeer Yukaghirs and the
Dog-breeding Yukaghirs. The Reindeer Yukaghirs wander roughly between the lower
reaches of the Kolyma and Yana rivers. The Dog-breeding Yukaghirs live in
villages on the upper reaches of the Kolyma and its tributaries, the Yasachnaya
and the Korkodon. A very small group lives in the Anadyr District. Their language
occupies an isolated position and differs morphologically from the Ural-Altaic
group. It has much in common with Paleo-Asiatic languages and some similarity
with some of the American Indian languages. Lexically, it has borrowed numerous
Russian, Yakut, and Tungus words. A number of dialects exist, the major ones being
the Kolyma and Tundra dialects.
The majority of the Yukaghirs speak some other tongue. In 1897 only 9% spoke
their native tongue, but 307 Tungus considered the Yukaghir language their mother
tongue. The tundra Yukaghirs and Tungus speak Yukaghir, Tungus, Yakut, and
Chukchi.
In spite of the fact that they are so intermixed, the Yukaghirs differ
somewhat in physique from the Tungus, even today. As to stature, they are one of
the shortest tribes in northeastern Siberia, the average for men being 156 cm.
and for women 147 cm.
The cephalic index averages 80.4 for men and 80 for women. There are two facial
types; one an oval, flat shape with a straight, low forehead; the other an angular
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
square face with prominent corners on the lower jaw — a face typical of many
Tungus tribes. The nose is mostly short with a low bridge, but it is not flat.
The hair is straight with a rich, dense growth; the predominant color is dark
brown. The growth of hair on men's faces is scanty, often absent, and pubic
hair is scanty in both sexes. The prevailing eye color is dark brown. The
Mongoloid fold is only slightly developed and is sometimes absent. A marked
percentage have a wide open eye.
The Yukaghirs suffered greatly from measles, smallpox, and syphilis, which
were introduced by the Russians. Rheumatism was prevalent, and influenza,
bronchitis, and pleurisy often occurred. They also suffered from eye diseases
and scurvy. Arctic hysteria occurred among the upper Kolyma Yukaghirs in its
highest degree of development.
The Yukaghirs had a fairly correct idea of human anatomy and were somewhat
acquainted with the functions of the organs. They used herbs for medicinal
purposes. Marriages are frequently sterile and there is a high percentage of
infant mortality.
History
The first contact of the Yukaghirs with the Russians was in 1638. During
the years that followed the Yukaghirs rebelled several times and killed a number
of Cossacks in battles, though on several occasions they helped the Russians in
expeditions against the Koryaks and Chukchis. Epidemics, especially of smallpox,
in the 18th and the early 19th centuries resulted in the virtual extinction of
this once numerous tribe.
The best study of the Yukaghirs has been made by Waldemar Jochelson who
visited them on several occasions in 1895, 1896,
[:
]
1901, and 1902.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Dwelling
The Russianized Yukaghirs of the lower Kolyma River lived in Russian type
flat-roofed, roughly hewn log cabins, built of long-lasting Eastern Siberian
larch. The earth floor was usually covered with planks, and the low door was made
of planks joined by wooden pegs and covered with reindeer skin on the outside.
Small windows were covered with stretched fish skin, animal guts, or split mica,
or with thick panes of ice during the winter. The lower parts of the walls were
insulated with snow and the seams were sealed with moist snow.
Wide benches covered with reindeer skin were built along the walls and served
as seats and beds. Small sleeping tents of reindeer skin or cloth were hung over
the benches at night. Married couples and young girls had separate sleeping tents.
The bench opposite the door was regarded as a place of honor for guests. At the
right of the entrance, the chimney of the open hearth, on which the fire was kept
burning all day, reached to the roof and ended in a funnel made of rods lined
with clay, which was plugged at night.
The upper Kolyma Yukaghirs lived in winter in similarly constructed but
partly subterranean log huts, often with
[:
]
storehouses attached. The log houses
of the Korkodon Yukaghirs were half sunk into the ground and covered with earth.
Formerly completely underground dwellings were used, but their exact form is not
known.
While hunting, the upper Kolyma Yukaghirs lived in portable conical tents of
circular ground plan, with three smoked reindeer skins stretched over a framework
of long poles bound on the top by a rope or a willow ring. The opening at the top
served as a vent and permitted the penetration of sunlight. An opening between
two poles formed and entrance which was covered by a reindeer skin flap. In the
center of the floor was a fireplace encircled with stones, over which was set a
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
a wooden tripod with hooks for banging pots. Seats of soft willow twigs covered
with reindeer skins, which also served as sleeping places, were placed all around
under the slope of the tent.
The larger compound tent of the tundra Yukaghirs consisted of a lower
cylindrical section one meter high and an upper conical section. The height of
the tent in the center was 3.5 to 8 meters. The frame of the cylindrical section
was formed of short stakes tied in pairs with crossbars forming a wide circle to
which were tied the lower ends of the poles which formed the conical section.
The upper ends of the slanting poles were held together with thongs, and supported
by a tripod of heavier poles, the lower ends of which were dug into the ground on
three sides of the fireplace. The cover was of dressed skin without hair. The
inner arrangement was the same as in the conical tent. It is probable that this
tent was adapted from the Tungus type.
The Yukaghirs were much cleaner than their neighbors. They washed their
faces every morning and often bathed in the river in the summer. They knew the
value of soap and even bought it when they
[:
]
could afford it. They wiped
their dishes, kitchen utensils and tables.
Clothing
The M Yukaghirs adopted the Tungus type of clothing though it was not as well
suited to the climate as was the ancient Yukaghir clothing, which was of Chukchi
style. The recent Yukaghir costume consisted of tight trousers, an apron cover–
ing the breast and abdomen, a closely fitting coat with flaring skirt and open
flaps, and boots. The costumes of both sexes are fundamentally alike.
The winter coat of the upper Kolyma Yukaghirs was made of reindeer skins
with hair on and the summer coat was made of waterproof curried and smoked rein–
deer skin trimed with calico or flannel. Two pairs of leather strips in front -
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
were used to fasten the coat which was too narrow to close over the apron. The
woman's coat was longer than the man's, reaching to the calf instead of the knee,
and was more ornamented.
While hunting, the man wore an ornamented belt with a small bullet bag
attached. The hunter tucked the corners of the skirt under the belt when running.
The tundra Yukaghirs wore reindeer skin clothing with the hair on all year round.
Their coats were collarless and women's coats were made of white or light gray
fawn skins and decorated with two long leather tassels at the side of the back.
In winter the double overcoat was worn. The outer coat was of full-haired fall
or winter reindeer skins and the undercoat was of short-haired summer skins or
fawn skins with the fur inside. Two strips with tassels made of seal skin were
attached to the back of the man's coat.
Under the coat an apron was worn. The upper part of it was made of reindeer
leather and the lower part of reindeer-leg skins. It was tied with leather strips
at the neck and waist and the upper part was very narrow. Women's aprons were
decorated with tassels, fringes, and metal pendants which had definite functions.
The lower part of the body was covered with tight-fitting trousers, either short
or long. Winter trousers were of reindeer skin with the fur inside; summer
trousers were of curried and smoked reindeer leather. All trousers had an
attached belt, with rings for carry
^
i
^
ng knife sheaths, which was regarded as the
most characteristic part of the Yukaghir costume. Women seldom wore long trousers.
Footgear consisted of
[:
]
boots which
[:
]
were made in two styles: short and high.
Winter boots were made of reindeer-leg skin, hair side out. The leg was made of
two kinds of fur, black in back and grayish white in front. The soles were made
of the neck skin of elk. Summer boots were made of curried reindeer skin. With
short boots and short trousers long leather stockings tied to the belt by leather
thongs or leggings were worn.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
The Yukaghirs wore fur caps, cheek and chin protectors, boas, fur-lined
mittens and gloves. Snow goggles of leather, wood, and birch bark were essential.
Children over six months of age were dressed in fur trousers with a chest pro–
tector instead of an apron, with the same slit in the crotch and fur flap as used
by Koryak children. The trousers had closed bottoms and the fur coat worn with
them had closed sleeves. Small infants wore a combination garment of the Koryak
type.
Food
The staple food of the Yukaghirs was fish. In the fishing season it was
mostly eaten fresh, dried, boiled, fried, or baked, and, in winter, raw and frozen.
Fish heads were eaten raw and the cartilege was considered a dainty. Dried fish
heads were used for dog food. Fish roe was dried. Lean fish was boiled, ground,
and dried in the sun, yielding a flour to be eaten with fish oil as a delicacy.
They were fond of
salamat
, a gruel made of fish guts cooked with berries.
Reindeer or elk meat was also eaten boiled, sun-dried, fried, broiled on
spits, or raw and frozen. Bone marrow and fat in any form were a favorite food.
They ate the meat of the wild mountain goat, hare, waterfowl, ptarmigan and wood–
cock. They did not eat decayed food.
Vegetable food was seldom used, except when meat and fish were not abundant.
They ate lichens extracted from the paunch of reindeer and mixed with blood, and
the inner portion of willow bark. They drank the sap of poplars and willows.
The Yukaghirs liked flour but it was usually too expensive for them. When
obtainable it was boiled with water like gruel or baked into unleavened cakes.
They considered bread and biscuits, which were imported, as delicacies. They ate
moderately taking two meals a day and drinking tea between meals.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
The Yukaghirs are the most constant tobacco users of all the Siberian natives.
Men, women, and children smoke and mothers place pipes in the mouths of suckling
babes to quiet them. They do not chew, but old people sometimes snuff tobacco
ground and mixed with ashes.
Transportation
Reindeer and dog sleds, boats, snowshoes, and skis were used for transporta–
tion. The Yukaghirs used the East Siberian loop type of dog harness. The lower
Kolyma Yukaghirs attached the dogs in pairs, on bothsides of the main leather line
which runs to the middle of the front bow of the sleigh. Upper Kolyma Yukaghirs
used only six or seven dogs alternately on the right and left of the trace. Due
to the scarcity of driving dogs, several families would join their dogs, attach–
ing them to one sleigh and sometimes women and girls would harness themselves to
the sleighs to help the dogs draw them. Little children, the old and the infirm
alone were carried on sleighs, which were primarily for freight. The Yukaghir
dog sleigh was made of birch and had three pairs of stanchions with each pair
joined at half its height by a round crossbar. Three planks, fastened together,
rested on these crossbars, and two rails attached to the upper ends of the stan–
chions and lashed to the boards with thongs formed a netting on each side of the
sleigh. The runners were flat with sharply curved front ends which were tied to
a strong wooden
[:
]
bow that was lashed to the foremost stanchions. The runners
were about 3 meters long, 9 cm. wide, and 3 cm. thick.
The reindeer sleighs were of the Chukchi and Koryak type (
q.v.
), with arches
instead of stanchions, and were made of larch, except for the runners which were
of birch imported from the Omolon River. Reindeer sleighs were ridden astride.
Pack sleighs were wider and used to carry family freight and tent covers and
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
poles. The trace of the reindeer was attached to a crosspiece fastened to the
horizontal arch in front of the sleigh. If two animals were used, their har–
nesses were joined by a large strap of hide which is slung across the crossbar.
The Yukaghirs also rode the reindeer, using a saddle without stirrups, fastened
by means of a leather saddle girth. Very young children were carried in orna–
mented cradles which hang on both sides of the saddle like double saddlebags.
Before they learned to build Russian-type boats, the Yukaghirs used, in
addition to canoes, a kind of triangular raft. Upper Kolyma Yukaghirs made and
used dugouts and board canoes. The dugout, made of poplar, was 5 to 6 meters
long, and about 65 cm. wide, and weighed about 65 pounds. The board canoe,
made of thin boards sewn together with sinew threads, was more stable than the
dug-out because the bottom was flat. They used a double paddle or put with two
slender sticks.
The boats, 18 to 24 feet in length, were made of poplar and larch, in three
parts. They were caulked with moss and had oarlocks. They were towed by long
ropes when traveling upstream.
Yukaghir skis were broader than those of other northeastern Siberian tribes.
They were 149 cm. long and 29 cm. at the greatest width. Netted snowshoes 65 cm.
long and 20 cm. wide were also used.
Tools and Utensils
In recent times the Yukaghirs did not work in stone, but did some work in bone,
and perhaps they used bone implements and weapons before they became acquainted
with metal. Most Yukaghir tools and implements were made of iron. They evidently
learned the blacksmith's art from the Yakuts and used the same kind of double
bellows, but they were not acquainted with the art of tempering iron. Among the
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
homemade iron tools were the axe, adze, curved adze, various kinds of knives, strike–
a-light, iron pincers for pulling out facial and pubic hair, bow drills, planes
(copied from the Russians), and iron scrapers used in dressing skins (which is
done by women).
The Yukaghirs used lamps
[:
]
made of scrap metal which burned fish oil and
reindeer tallow, and imported iron or copper kettles and teapots. Among the home–
made utensils were wooden trays and dishes, birch-bark cups, and spoons made of
reindeer antlers and wood. Ancient stone axes of unknown origin were used to chop
meat and grind fat and berries. Reindeer and fish skin bags were used for
[:
]
carrying household utensils.
Weapons and Armor
The ancient Yukaghir warrior wore armor consisting of rings of reindeer ant–
ler strung on elk sinew. His chief weapon was a spear with a point of elk rib,
and a knife or dagger of the same material. He carried a bow and arrows which
he used from behind the protection of a circle of upright sleighs. The Yukaghirs
had two kinds of bows, a compound bow used for hunting, and a simple bow, used
for practice. The compound bow, averaging 164 cm. in length, was made of larch
and birch glued together with sturgeon glue. The outer side was covered with
sinew. The bow string was twisted reindeer hide. Arrowheads, both single and
double pointed, were formerly made of bone, ivory, or wood, and were later mostly
of iron.
Numeration and Measures
The Yukaghir system of counting was based on two principles: the quinary and
the tertiary. They used notches made on sticks for keeping accounts and for a
calendar. Length and breadth were measured in fingers, hands, steps, etc. Distance.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
was usually measured in terms of time such as a
midol
— distance covered in a
days' traveling. The year was divided into twelve lunar months and there were
six seasons.
Art and Pictograph Writing
The Yukaghirs of the Yasachnaya and
[:
]
Korkodon rivers used pictographs
as a device for communication. They traced figures and lines on the inner sur–
face of birch bark with a knife point. One type, with realistic symbols, was used
to communicate the exploits and experiences of one person or group to others, and
to draw maps, which show the relative location of geographical landmarks and a
knowledge of the four cardinal points. Highly conventionalized human figures,
expressing abstract ideas, were used in love letters written only by girls.
Yukaghir carving and engraving was very rough. Wooden objects were ornamented
with painted engravings of geometrical designs.
Occupation
The main occupation of the tundra Yukaghirs was reindeer breeding, with some
hunting and fishing. The sedentary dog-breeding Yukaghirs were, in the main,
fishermen and hunters.
The herds of the tundra Yukaghirs were small and the whole reindeer complex
was probably a comparatively recent acquisition. The recent Yukaghir reindeer
were of Tungus stock. They bore a strong resemblance to the mountain wild reindeer
and were gray in color, taller, longer legged, and with lighter weight antlers
than the Chukchi Koryak animals. The reindeer was used for both driving and rid–
ing. Most families had fifteen reindeer each, and such a herd was not sufficient
for leading a nomadic existence. To move from place to place the owners of such
small herds joined their herds and took turns carrying their belongings from place
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
to place. The Tungusized Yukaghirs of the Indigirka region were much richer than
those of the Kolyma tundra.
Only about 25% of the Yukaghirs bred dogs which they used for driving. The
sedentary fishing Yukaghirs subsisted mainly on
[:
]
various species of migrating
salmon which entered the rivers in the spring, and also on the numerous other types
of fish found in lakes and rivers. Formerly they used only willow traps and seines
in fishing. In more recent times the Yukaghirs used nets or seines made of im–
ported twine, and also fish gates to which large trammels or willow traps were
attached. Sometimes several owners would pool their nets and divide the catch,
according to their needs. In winter they broke holes through the ice for their nets.
The elk, once the most important game animal of the
[:
]
Yukaghirs, is now
practically exterminated and is rarely killed. The wild reindeer has also lost
its former importance because of its scarcity. Nevertheless when fish supplies
were low at the end of the winter and in the spring, the sedentary upper Kolyma
Yukaghirs depended on the wild reindeer for their subsistence, which they hunted
on snowshoes, with
[:
]
guns or bow and arrow. The tundra Yukaghirs also used decoys
when hunting.
Birds were hunted with shotguns and caught with sinew snares. The molting
waterfowl were driven into nets. In some localities the technique of killing
waterfowl with a
[:
]
bird-dart and bola survived.
The red fox was the most important fur-bearing animal and was caught in
traps adopted from the Russians. In fox hunting dogs were used to discover the
burrow and kill the fox after it had been smoked out. The squirrel was hunted
with firelock guns, snares, and automatic bows.
The ermine, bear, polar hare and polar bear were also hunted. About
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
10,000 ermine skins were exported annually. On the tundra the wolf was hunted in
order to protect the reindeer herds. The skins were used for trimming but were
not exported.
Social Organization
Among the Yukaghir there was a very feeble consciousness of ethnic unity in–
asmuch as definite tribal organization was absent.
The ancient Yukaghir clan consisted of a number of families inhabiting
a common territory with a central group
[:
]
comprising several families claim–
ing common patrilineal ancestors, which included sons-in-law who came to live–
with the wife's family.
The Yukaghir clan was based upon the supremacy of the oldest male (
po'lut
).
The
po'lut
dealt with the Russians, who divided the Yukaghirs into administra–
tive groups along the native clan lines, preserving the native names. The clan
elder, later elected, directed war and hunting expeditions, selected fishing places,
made sacrifices to clan ancestors, and officiated at festivals. He acted with
the support of a council of older men of the separate families. Eachclan had one
dead and onel living shaman who had to be a member of the original clan. In addio
tion to his other duties he
[:
]
acted as an intermediary between the dead and the
living members of the clan. The third member of the clan in importance was "the
strong man," who was traditionally endowed with some supernatural strength with
which to defend the clan against its mortal enemies. Wars were often decided by
combat between these "strong men." Finally "the clan hunter," with the assistance
of others, was in charge of hunting. He received the head of the killed animal,
while the rest was distributed equally among the clansmen.
The family was a much more stable unit, headed by the father. Property
rights were affected by the communal distribution of the results of hunting and
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
fishing. All furs were turned over to the family elder for payment of tribute
and for barter with merchants. In later times some adults kept some furs for
private use. Individual ownership applied to clothing, hunting implements,
ornaments, and smoking
[:
]
gear. Boats, fishing nets, houses, and household im–
plements were communally owned by the family.
After the father's death the mother would take control as the head of the
family, and upon the death of both, control was transferred to the next oldest
member of the family.
Marriage
There were three major bases of Yukaghir marriage regulations: relatively
free sex relationships, the avoidance taboo, and the rules imposed by the
Christian church, which was officially embraced by the Yukaghirs soon after
its introduction by the Russians.
Sex life proper began at puberty when a girl was given a separate tent, and
could receive visitors. These free sex liaisons occurred only among those who
were permitted to marry, and were usually based on mutual attraction. However,
in the practice of hospitable hetaerism, the lover accepted without protest the
fact that his sweetheart was given to a guest; the latter's refusal of this hos–
pitality was considered
[:
]
an insult to the girl.
The system of reckoning relationship was characterized by age groups, recog–
nition of seniority, and descent through the male and female line.
Thus the term
emjepul
designated an age group of brothers and sisters and first
cousins (male and female) on both sides for every generation. Special terms for
each with distinctions for elder or younger
emjepul
existed. The
emjepul
of the
older generation included father, mother, and their brothers, sisters, and cousins.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
The father's elder brother was called "big father" and his younger brother" little
father." Similar terms existed for the mother's sisters.
A special group called
n'exi'yini
(the bashful ones) had to practice certain
forms of avoidance, and this group included all those who are in the
enjepul
type
of relationship, as well as some relatives by affinity: father toward sons and
daughters-inlaw, mother toward son-in-law, elder brother or cousins toward younger
brother's or cousin's wife, or the wives of their children. Yukaghirs, even of
the same sex, in an avoidance of relationship, could not speak directly to each
other, look into each other's faces, use relationship terms, speaks of sex matters
in the presence of each other, expose the sexual organs, or, of course, marry.
On the other hand, people not included in the
n'exi'yini
group were in the
so-called "joking" relationship, in which a great deal of license of speech and
action, and marraige were permitted.
Thus, while in practice the Yukaghir marriage was closely
[:
]
endogamous,
and a man seldom married into a strange clan, it had exogamic tendencies. In
addition to
n'exi'yini
rules, Yukaghirs were subject to and usually observed
Russian Church regulations prohibiting the union of blood relatives to the sixth
degree of consanguinity, which covered practically the class of people included in
the
n'exi'yini
(avoidance) group.
In practice the "free love" relationship of the young people amounted to a
trial period before the permanent relationship was established. Having made
his choice the young man began to work for the
[:
]
girl's relatives. If he
was undesirable he was told to go. His work was not regarded as payment, but
as a test of his ability and character. The length of the period depended on his
ability or the will of the father. On the day of his marraige he would spend the
night in the girl's sleeping tent, as he had done before, but this time he would
EA-Anthrop. GolomshtokS: Yukaghirs
bring his gun, bow, etc., into the house, and place them in a prominent spot,
symbolizing that he had made his home there. This constituted marriage.
Birth
A pregnant woman, her husband, and those around her
e
were subject to numerous
taboos designed to ease her labor. At the first sign of labor pains, the woman
and the midwife would undo their braids, and both women and the future father had
to unbutton all buttons, unfasten all hooks and buckles, and untie all knots in
their clothing, so that the birth of the child would not be hampered.
All males, except the husband
[:
]
and the father of the girl, were sent out
of the house in which all the women of the village gathered to assist in the
delivery. The expectant mother had to walk around the room supported by two
women. Finally she was seated upon her husband's knees, while he braced his
feet against specially set stakes, encircled his wife's body with his arms, and
pressed downward on her abdomen. Two women helped him by pressing his arms
against his wife's body. His father-in-law embraced
[:
]
the couple from behind
to add more pressure. Sometimes a towel or leather belt was used for this purpose.
From the front a midwife pressed on the lower part of the woman's abdomen, while
she supported herself on a leather strap suspended from the ceiling. Jochelson
ascribes the large number of mother deaths during childbirth and the high rate
of still-born children to this method of delivery.
For forty days after childbirth, the mother was considered "unclean" and for–
bidden to touch the hunting or fishing gear.
The child was nursed for four years unless another pregnancy interfered. In
the pre-Christian era, the child was not named until it began to speak. The entire
village celebrated the birth of a child. Sterility was thought to be a punishment
of the spirits, and was grounds for divorce.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Death and Burial
It was believed that death was caused by an evil spirit which entered the
body and destroyed the inner organs, or occurred as a result of the long absence
of the head soul.
Except in the case of a shaman, whose body was dissected, the Yukaghirs
used to place the bodies of the dead on four-posted, elevated platforms (
kuril
)
in a wooden coffin. These platforms, situated near the larger villages, were
at one time very numerous, but were ruthlessly destroyed by the Russian priests
and officials. The platforms for the coffins may have originated from a desire
to protect the dead from carnivorous an
^
i
^
mals, since it was possible to dig only
shallow graves in the permanently frozen soil. After each hunt, a fire was made
under the platform and a burnt fat offering made to the dead.
In more recent times, in accordance with the Christian faith, the dead were
interred. The body was carried to the grave on a sleigh. The more recent
burial prayers also reflected the Christian influence. After the burial, the
harness was cut, and the sleigh and tools broken ("killed"), and the reindeer
were also killed in order to provide transportation in the other world. The
tundra Yukaghir, probably under Tungus or Yakut influence, would break the
sharp points of arrows or tools to prevent the dead from using them against
their relatives. Before they returned home, the mourners would perform a
series of purification rituals.
Religion
Although the Yukaghirs were officially Christians, they showed many Tungus,
Yakut, and Russian influences in their religion. It was characterized for
the most part by the cult of the "owner" connected with hunting and fishing,
and the cult of the ancestors and shamans. There was an almost complete lack
of higher deities and cosmogonic folklore.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
The term
Pon
(something) referred vaguely to a concept of the Supreme
deity who supposedly controlled all the visible
[:
]
natural phenomena, but to
whom no prayers or sacrifices were addressed. The Father-Fire, residing in the
sky, was thought to be a benevolent spirit. When the sky opened and one could
see the surora borealis it was thought of as the light emanating from the
Father-Fire.
The sun was the protector of the oppressed, guardian of justice and morals.
The sky was the spirit which supplied men with food. When fish were abundant,
the Yukagirs said they had fallen from the sky.
The various "owners" were more clearly defined and more numerous. These
spirits controlled various domains of nature. The most important of these was
the "Owner of the Earth." Others were the Owner of Fresh Water, of the Sea,
and of every mountain, forest, tundra, and other distinctive locality. All of
them were supposedly subject to the Owner of the Earth.
The secondary order of spirits:
moye
or
moru
, "keepers" or "guardians,"
were in charge of various types of animals. Every animal also had a special
individual protector,
pejul
, whose permission had to be obtained before a hunter
could kill the animal. After the animal was killed, he was treated like an
honored friend. Inanimate objects had no
pejul
.
The Owner of the Fire, the guardian of the family hearth, appeared at times
as a tiny naked girl, without any hair on her head. The crackling of the fire
was the spirit's way of warning against misfortune or of foretelling famine.
The Owner of the House guarded it against evil spirits.
A number of amulets, miniature wooden images of men, endowed with souls
(
pejul
) with representations of birds and animals drawn on them, served as family
guardians and protectors, and as helpers of travelers and hunters. In more recent
times, iron crosses came into use as well.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Evil invisible spirits which brought disease were called
kukul
; they
entered a man's body and caused illness. They lived in the underworld which
was divided into an abode of the dead, inhabited by souls, and a lower part
which was the land of the Grandfather with the Pointed Beard, the leader of
the evil spirits. Only the most powerful shamans dared descend to the lower
underworld.
Another type of evil invisible spirit was thought to live on earth and had
a special name. Some of these were
ni'nyuoye
, which lived in clothing, looked
like elk, and caused rheumatism. "One-who-leads-into-sin," would seduce sleep–
ing women, thus causing the birth of monsters, nervous diseases, and womb
hemorrhages.
The Echo, another evil spirit living on cliffs over valleys, would catch
passers-by with their words and drag them to him with these words.
Foreign evil spirits were thought to cause a number of important diseases.
There was also a mythical race of giant cannibals capable of carrying an
elk tied to the strings of their coats, which used to attack men. They were
infested with mice instead of lice.
A special category of spirits was made up of the spirit helpers of the
shaman. This included the souls of birds and animals, and even those of mammoths.
The most powerful of these were the spirits of dead relatives who had been shamans.
Souls
According to Yukaghir beliefs, there were three souls (
a'ibi
): The first
dwells in the head and perhaps represents the intellect; the second, in the
heart,
[:
]
controls motion or the ability to change their place; and the third,
inhabiting the entire body, governs the physiological functions.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
When a man became sick it was believed that the head soul had been
frightened by the evil spirits in the body and had departed into the country
of shadows, or escaped to the underworld to its relatives. The shaman could
retrieve this soul and save the man's life. The vital life principle resided
in the heart soul. The third soul threw shadows on the ground, as the dead
had no shadows.
Before birth it was believed that the head soul of some deceased rela–
tive entered the child. Such souls were released by the deceased relatives
only out of sympathy for the living, and none was sent if the duties toward
the dead had not been fulfilled. A shaman could plead for a soul, or even take
one by force to be placed in the womb of the pregnant woman. The identity of
the relative whose soul had entered the
[:
]
infant was determined by divination,
by lifting the bones of a dead shaman and naming the various deceased relatives.
When the right name was uttered, the weight of the bones became less.
Shamanism
Among the Yukaghirs, the shamans,
a'lma
, with the aid of special spirits,
could influence the course of events, cure the sick, foretell the future, and
hurt the enemies. Formerly the shaman was the protector of a related group —
the clan. In more recent times the Yukaghir shaman acquired a number of Tungus
habits and lost much of his ancient character. Every Yukaghir could trace his
origin to some shaman, thereby combining the concept of clan shaman with the cult
of shaman ancestors. Vestiges of this cult could be seen in the elaborate
ceremony of shaman burials.
Upon the death of a shaman, his body was dissected. The bones were removed,
dried, and distributed among the relatives. The flesh was cut into strips, dried
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
in the sun, and then worn in leather pouches as amulets. The shaman's children
kept the skull, which was set on a round block of wood and covered with a mask.
This figure, called
xoil
, (the Yukaghir term for the Christian God and also
for ikons and saints), was kept in a wooden box. Before embarking on a trip or
a hunt, they would make a sacrifice to this image by throwing some fat into
the hearth. The outcome of the expedition could be determined by the relative
ease with which the image was lifted.
The image of the ancestor shaman, called
can-coro-mo
(wooden man) was for–
merly hung on trees near mountain paths, and was the object of sacrifice and
prayer. The supernatural ability of the shaman and his skills were considered
hereditary and were passed on to his sons. Later changes in the Yukaghir
shamanism resulted in a loss of clan and hereditary affiliations, and the shamans
acquired a professional status as healers.
There was an ill-defined division into good and evil shamans, the latter
called
antaja-ye
(one who pronounces incantations), but these are considered
later (Tungus) innovations.
There were no women shamans among the Yukaghirs, either in fact or in folk–
lore. Even the presence of women, except virgins, was an impediment to the
summoning of the spirits during the shamanistic ceremonies. Family shamanism
such as occurs among the Koryaks and the Chukchis was not found among the Yukaghirs.
The shaman's dress was borrowed from the Tungus (
q.v.
) and the metal decora–
tions were derived from the Yakuts (
q.v.
). These were representations of a bird,
giving rise to the idea that the shaman could fly. The tassels represented the
feathers; the fringes, the bottom of the tail; and the sleeves, the wings.
The drum of the Yukaghir shaman was oval, measuring 88 cm. along the axis,
with iron cross handles inside the drum, and small rattling attachments, which
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
stem from Yakut influence. The term "to drum" was equal to the term "to act
as a shaman."
The shaman's incantations for curing the sick were held in a hut, where he
would sit on a reindeer skin, beat his drum, imitate the cries of animals and
birds, and conjure the spirits. Often he would fall into a trance,
u
^
du
^
ring which
time he was supposed to be traveling into the Lower World, where he tried to
retrieve the sick soul.
When he would come out of his trance, his rigid legs were rubbed by two
virgins who were present for this purpose. Then he approached the patient and
restored the soul. The Yukaghir shaman also acted as an intermediary between
the hunter and the spirit owners controlling various animals. In special per–
formances, which at one time were part of the summer games, he would fall into
a trance during which he traveled to the Owner of the Earth, and begged him to
give him the soul of a reindeer stag, which he then took to earth and tied to
the chief hunter's head. The next morning the hunter would go to the river where
a reindeer would come to meet him. The shaman could also address the Onwer of the
Forest and ask that a fox hunt be successful.
Numerous legends tell of the battles believed to have taken place between
rival shamans.
Sacrifices were of two types: bloody sacrifices of dogs, and later of rein–
deer, made to placate the anger of offended spirits and to appease the spirits
of a deceased shaman. For this each relative killed his best dog.
Bloodless sacrifices of food, ornaments, and reindeer antlers were made to
benevolent spirits, ancestor spirits, and hostile spirits. Reindeer tallow
burned in the hearth was the most common offering, and was given to the skull of
the shaman and placed uner the elevated graves of relatives.
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Games
Ball games were played with a large skin ball which was kicked upward with
the feet.
Other games included: arrow-shooting contests, running, walking, jumping,
and pushing of the log, when two parties of opposite sex lift a heavy log and,
pressing it with their chests, try to throw their opponents to the ground.
Folkore
The bulk of the Yukaghir folklore is composed of animal tales, epic poems,
songs and riddles.
At its present stage the Yukaghir folklore shows many traits borrowed from
Tungus, Russians, Yakuts, and
[:
]
Chukchis. It is characterized by a lack of
cosmogonic tales. Animal tales are very plentiful with the raven an important
chara
^
c
^
ter, not as a creator but as a trickster. The hare is pictured as being
[:
]
clever and alert, and the fox as a sly and deceitful animal. Episodes
involving transformation of men into animals are common. Mythical headless
people are met, with one eye in the middle of the chest and a mouth under the
arm. The theme of giant cannibals who hunt men frequently occurs. Marriages
of men and animals, chiefly between boys and mice, girls and frogs, are described.
Usually any mention of iron men, iron house, silver clothing, etc., indicates
the Yakut or Tungus influence.
Bibliography
Bogoras, Waldemar:
The Psychology of Shamanism Among North-Asiatic Tribes
, The
[:
]
Ethnographical Review, 1910, No.1-2.
Diachkov, G.:
The Anadyr Region. Zapiski on the Society for the Study of Amur
Region
. Vladivostok, 1893
EA-Anthrop. Golomshtok: Yukaghirs
Jochelson, Waldemar:
The Peoples of Asiatic Russia
. Am.M.N.H. 1928
----.
Trip on the Rivers Yashachnaya and Korkordon
. Izvestia of Geographic
Society, V. XXXIV, 1898.
----.
Materials for the Study of Yukaghir Language and Folkore
, St. Petersburg,
1900.
----.
The Yukaghir and Yukaghirized Tungus
. Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol.
9, Leiden-New York, 1920-24.
Eugene A. Golomshtok
Acculturation
Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
EA-Anthropology
(T. F. McIlwraith)
ACCULTURATION: ESKIMO-WHITE AND INDIAN-WHITE
At the time of European contact, not only were the natives of North
American living under varied climatic conditions which in themselves pro–
duced cultural diversity, but in their own social and religious life there
were differences even more significant than those enjoyed by environment.
Some Indians were hunters, Others were agriculturists; some Indians lived
in flimsy bark shelters, others in houses of clay; some Indians were ruled
by powerful hereditary chiefs, others had no chiefs at all; some Indians in
Central America were proficient metal workers, others used the crudest stone
and bone tools. These diverse forms of life were relatively stable. Changes
were going on, but, by and large, each tribal group had become completely
adjusted to its mode of life; and that mode of life was integrated into a
sum total of sociology, religion, economics, and mythology. Everywhere life
was full, and everywhere the natives regarded their way of life as the normal
one, the one which they knew and liked. In every case the coming of the white
man was a cataclyam. New tools, new materials, new drinks, new standards, and
a new religion came in contact with this range of conservative aboriginal
cultures. To a great extent, the impact was disastrous. The importations
of the white man were too strong for the native way of life, and partly de–
liberately, partly unthinkingly, the old was swept away. It was not a develop–
ment, it was a replacement. The old standards and the old skills were no longer
of value, and, particularly in those areas where the white man settled, the
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
Indians had to start afresh as ignorant hangers-on of a dominant and arrogant
white civilization in a land that had once been their own.
In the Arctic, both among the Eskimos and among the northern Indians,
the pattern of culture contact followed these lines, although the slowness
and sparseness of European settlements has delayed the most serious problems
of cultural adjustment. To understand these problems, one must understand
the significant aspects of both cultures. Too often it has been assumed that
the point of view of the white man alone is important; for the purpose of
this article it may be taken for granted that the reader knows in general the
policy of European expansion in the Arctic. The way of life of the northern
natives is equally significant in the process of cultural change, and to under–
stand this it is necessary to grasp the outstanding features of Indian and
Eskimo life.
To begin with the Eskimo: Along the shores of the Arctic, from Bering
Strait to Greenland, the Eskimo has lived in sparse communities for several
thousand years. It is not necessary to consider their origin, nor indeed to
discuss the varying facts which throw light upon their history, nor to surmise
what may have been the reason for the richness of life in early times along
the shore of Bering Strait. Our problem is the small groups of Eskimos who
lived in this enormous area in the 18th and 19th centuries when the white man
came. First of all, it must be remembered that they were seashore dwellers,
dependent upon the seal to a greater extent than almost any group of mankind
has been dependent upon any single mammal. To the Eskimo, the seal meant food,
the rich food needed in the arctic cold; the seal meant clothing, clothing both
for protection by day and covering by night; the seal meant light; the seal
meant the material for tool handles; and the seal was prominent in the mythology
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskim
^
o
^
-White and Indian-White
of the people. The hunting of the seal was almost everywhere a dominant
feature of Eskimo life, a long, laborious task. If successful, here was
light and food and clothing; failure meant death. The Eskimo survived, which
meant that the number of seals was sufficient to supply his needs. The dead
seal was carried in not as a mere carcass, but, in the central regions, as a
child of a supernatural Mother of Marine Beasts, a creature which had allowed
itself to be taken for the benefit of mankind. It was laid on a pillow of
snow, water was poured in its mouth, and all unseemly behavior was forbidden
while the seal was in the house. Truly the hunting of seals was not a mere
economic occupation, it was the very core of Eskimo life.
Seals were not the only source of food in the Arctic. Fish and birds
were important in summer; some Eskimos hunted whales, others used the walrus
for dog food. It must always be remembered that the taking of these marine
mammals meant arduous labor. So would it have been to any people, but the
Eskimo depended for his weapons upon bone and stone and ivory, and the problem
of killing a walrus with a stone-pointed harpoon was one which taxed his in–
genuity and his courage to the full. Similar paucity of material was char–
acteristic of every phase of Eskimo activity. In Greenland and in Alaska the
houses were rude cave-shelters or semisubterranean dugouts covered with the
large bones of whales over which a covering of turf was allowed to freeze.
Clothing was entirely of seal and caribou skins; cooking in stone lamps or
cooking pots was a difficult task with blubber, and everywhere the difficulties
of existence demanded ingenuity and cooperation to a degree. The Eskimo sur–
vived because of his skill in carpentry and his willingness to cooperate with
his fellows in a series of small family groups.
But life was never a mere struggle for existence without the development
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
of other activities. The Eskimos lived not only in a world of seals and fish,
of storm and of short summer; they lived in a world populated by equally real
beings of their own imagination. To win the support of these creatures de–
manded a way of life which was as exacting as the actual struggle in their
own physical environment. Taboos were numerous and rigidly observed. Signs
and omens were followed and the seer who had supernatural assistance was a
leader in the community. True chieftainship was unknown; each man was the
equal of his fellows and the respect shown to the successful hunter was his
in virtue of his prowess, but lasted only as long as he was able to command
the respect of his fellows. Even the priest was a person whose prestige de–
pended upon his success; once it was felt that he was no longer
en rapport
with the supernatural, his influence waned.
There were small semipermanent settlements on the Alaskan coast and in
Greenland, and still smaller and less permanent settlements in Arctic Canada.
Nowhere was there the concept of a tribe, and nothing approaching the idea of
a hereditary chief. The Eskimos were completely ignorant of the existence
of their fellows beyond those living in a limited environment within range of
their own settlement. They were a merry people, fearful at times of the forces
with which they were surrounded, but capable of finding pleasure in their
simple life and facing the future with fortitude. Death and starvation were
near at hand, but life prevailed and the Eskimos tended to look on the cheer–
ful side. In many ways they may be described as a simple people whose outlook
was circumscribed by their environment, but within which they had developed
a high degree of specialization.
I have treated the Eskimos as if they were culturally uniform; this is
not the case. For example, on the west side of Hudson Bay a small handful of
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
Eskimos lived entirely upon the region of vast rolling plains known as Barren
Grounds, seldom seeing the ocean and lacking the seal blubber which was the
essential of all other Eskimo groups. In spite of this it has been possible
to speak of the Eskimos as a unit, while the northern Indians present an en–
tirely different picture of cultural diversity. In Alaska the Eskimos were
in contact with small tribes in Cook Inlet and elsewhere, who were profoundly
influenced by the rich cultural heritage of the northwest coast, from whom
they had even derived ideas founded upon wealth and totemic cults. In Alaska,
the Northwest Territories, and on the arctic prairies there lived Athapaskan
"tribes," purely inland hunters whose linguistic affinities were with some of
the wandering tribes of the southwestern United States, while across on the
eastern side of Hudson Bay were to be found the Montagnais and Naskapi, lin–
guistically and, to a certain extent, culturally akin to the widespread Algonkian
tribes of whom the Cree and the Ojibwa are well-known examples. Finally, in
Newfoundland the Indians were represented by the Beothuk, that peculiar "tribe"
now extinct, about whom so little is known. A Montagnais transported by some
magical means to the country of the Loucheux on the Alaska border would have
felt far more a stranger than an eastern Eskimo similarly transported to the
Eskimos of Alaska.
Nonetheless, there were certain cultural traits running throughout the
^
Sub
^
arctic. The caribou, and to a lesser extent the rabbit, were the dominant
mammals, not those of the ocean. The caribou served as food and clothing.
From its sinews and tendons were prepared the babiche used so extensively for
snares and netting. Houses varied from semisubterranean shelters in the west
to conical skin tents in the east, but everywhere life was hard and rigorous,
depending upon seasonal changes in the everlasting quest for fish and mammals.
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
Life was on a family basis; concept of the tribe was practically unknown,
and the idea of chieftainship was rudimentary except perhaps in a few of
the western tribes. Material culture was weak, and comforts, in the European
sense of the word, were almost as few as among the Eskimos. The pattern of
life, however, as among the Eskimos, though it varied appreciably from one
area to another, was still a pattern to be followed without question.
It is unnecessary to sketch the approach of the white man to these hunt–
ers of the north. Influenced in part by the hope of finding a short route to
the Orient, and later by the wealth of arctic foxes, maritime explorers pen–
etrated to the Arctic, both from the east and from the west. Contact with the
Indians was on the whole a contact for trading purposes alone. Posts were
established at strategic points and the Indians lured to them to exchange
their furs for the white man's goods.
Strangely, perhaps, it is the northern Indians rather than the Eskimos
who have suffered the most severe dislocation by cultural contact. The white
man wanted the skins of beaver and of arctic foxes and was willing to give
iron and guns, traps and flour, and other unobtainable luxuries in exchange
for selected skins. Consequently the Indian tended to abandon subsistence
hunting, whereby he pursued different game at different seasons of the year,
and instead concentrated on whatever type of skins the white man wanted. In
this way he obtained the white man's wealth, but in so doing he lost his own
independence to become a parasite upon the vagaries of fashion of an alien
civilization. Metal traps and guns facilitated hunting, and within a genera–
tion or two the northern Indian lost his own knowledge of snares and deadfalls,
of the bow and arrow, and of the stone-tipped spear. As a result of this they
were bound forever to the white man. Their own manufacturing went by the board,
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
their clothing was replaced by importations; they could no longer support
themselves in their own land without the aid of the alien trader. Trading
posts vecame the center of their social and economic life. Native languages
tended to give way, particularly in the Northwest Territories, to that of the
superior white man. Indian religions were profoundly influenced by the works
of the missionaries; their social structure was no longer sufficient to hold
its own in a new world.
It would be possible to describe the cultural adjustments of the northern
Indians in the legal terminology of treaties and of government regulations.
I have chosen, rather, to describe it in terms of cultural change; and the
general point of view which I have outlined above is that which governs their
life today. Hunting is still their main occupation. Canadian and American
governments alike take responsibility for these northern Indians and give them
varying assistance in the way of education, of guidance, and of medical care,
but in the last analysis the Indian must still seek his means of subsistence
by hunting, and by hunting those mammals which he can sell to the trading post.
Where species have been depleted, his life is hard indeed. However, hunting
is still one of the dominant industries of the north, and the Indian has,
therefore, still a significant part to play. In mining and prospecting he
serves as a canoe man and as a packer, but the fact remains that his own cul–
ture is no longer able to support him.
Perhaps as the Subarctic is opened up, the northern Indian, who alone is
accustomed to it, will again be able to take a full part in the life of this
area. As it is he lives in the north, dependent upon the white man, with most
of his old culture a thing hardly remembered, but lacking the educational facil–
ities and the occupational skills which would enable him to compete on equal
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
terms with the white immigrants. His natural advantages have not been suf–
ficient to compensate for the disadvantages which he has suffered in the
^
b
^
reakdown of his own culture. His food has become scarce, and with depend–
ence upon that of the white man his health and energy have been impaired.
The picture among the Eskimos is a rather different one. The Eskimo
also has suffered from new tools, new materials, and new ambitions, but his
way of life has survived to a greater extent than that of the Indian, or in–
deed of that of any other native group in North America. The reason for this
is that Eskimo culture, though rigid, was capable of assimilating certain new
materials without destruction of everything that had gone before. Metal tools
facilitated seal hunting and house-building, but they did not eliminate either.
In places the caribou has been exterminated by the introduction of the white
man's gun, but the seal and the arctic fox still hold their own in most areas
and the Eskimo is still a successful hunter.
Most whie traders and missionaries use Eskimo clothing and, on occasion,
fall back on Eskimo houses as well as depending on Eskimo dogs and Eskimo sled
^
ge
^s
for traction. Thus there have been a considerable number of Eskimo traits which
have had transfer value into the culture of the newcomer. In maritime activity
the Eskimo has shown a great facility in mastering motorboat engines; many of
the small craft of the Arctic are owned and run by Eskimos. No arctic expedi–
tion would think of traveling without the aid of Eskimos. Intermixture between
Eskimo and white has taken place on an extensive scale, as between white and
Indian, but the half-breed offspring play a considerable part in the modern
life of the Arctic.
Many Eskimos have been converted to Christianity, and have taken a full
part in Christian life. In regard to houses, many of the Eskimos continue to
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
use the simple structures of Alaska and Greenland, and in the Canadian Arctic
the snowhouse is still the common winter dwelling. In clothing, most of the
Eskimos use their own style of fur garments, except in those areas where the
caribou have been so depleted that skins are not available. For food, too,
they still rely upon seals, fish, and birds; the foods obtained from traders
are luxuries and their teeth show the ill effects of too much sugar, but they
have been less contaminated by the lures of the white man than have their
southern Indian neighbors. Or to put the same statement in another form, more
of their traits have had a survival value.
What of the future? The Eskimos are fortunate in having had relatively
well supervised white contact, limited to well-equipped arctic expedition,
^
whalers? in W. Arctic
^
to government officials, police, and missionaries. They have been spared the
degrading influence of the down-and-out white man who was such a curse to the
Indians of the last century throughout the Middle West and the Plains. Their
religion is changing, their taboos and their rich mythology are passing away,
but enough of the old remains to carry over into a new life, so that there will
not be a complete breakdown of Eskimo morale. The white man's education, the
white man's trades, are being taken over by the Eskimo and adjusted to his own
particular needs, without the wholesale elimination of his own aboriginal crafts,
an elimination which, elsewhere, has proved so demoralizing. Government con–
tacts have been reduced to a minimum; the police rest
^
rict
^
the Eskimos in var–
ious ways, but their mode of life has not passed away.
These, then, are the principal problems of cultural adjustment in the
Arctic. It should be possible to integrate much of aboriginal life into the
future of the north. Its complete disappearance would be an irreparable loss.
Northern Eskimo and Indian alike have adjusted themselves to a specialized and
EA-Anthrop. McIlwraith: Acculturation: Eskimo-White and Indian-White
rigorous environment. The Eskimo particularly has shown himself able to
incorporate a great many developments of the white man into his own life, th
thereby enriching it without destroying it. The northern Indians, on the
other hand, are more culturally disintegrated, and the problem of adjustment
to chan
^
g
^
ing conditions is a more severe one. Care and judgment on the part
of the government is needed if both groups are to survive the inevitable dis–
turbance of the imposition of an alien culture, and to avoid the cataclysmic
disaster that has followed such contacts in many parts of the world.
T. F. McIlwraith
Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
EA-Anthropology
(Richard Slobodin)
NORTHERN ATHAPASKAN ACCULTURATION
CONTENTS
|
|
Page
|
|
Introduction
|
1
|
|
Tribal Distribution and Nomenclature
|
1
|
|
Basic Conditions of Acculturation
|
1
|
|
History of Culture Contact
|
2
|
|
Monopoly Fur Trade
|
3
|
|
Culture Change in Early Contact
|
4
|
|
Yearly Cycle in "the Old Days"
|
5
|
|
Missions
|
6
|
|
Competition in the Fur Trade
|
8
|
|
The Gold Rush
|
8
|
|
The Rise of the Muskrat
|
10
|
|
The White Trapper
|
11
|
|
The Second World War
|
12
|
|
Postwar Tendencies
|
12
|
|
Contemporary Material Culture
|
13
|
|
Subsistence Activities
|
13
|
|
Dwellings
|
13
|
|
Food Habits
|
14
|
|
Liquor and Tobacco
|
14
|
|
Dress and Ornament
|
14
|
|
Transportation
|
15
|
|
Government
|
15
|
|
Economy
|
16
|
|
Kinship and Marriage
|
17
|
|
Recreations
|
18
|
|
Religion
|
18
|
|
Health and Welfare
|
19
|
|
Population Figures
|
20
|
|
Basic Attitudes and Personality Structure
|
21
|
|
Literature on Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
|
22
|
|
Bibliography
|
24
|
EA-Anthropology
(Richard Slobodin)
NORTHERN ATHAPASKAN ACCULTURATION
Introduction
Tribal Distribution and Nomenclature
. The northern Athapaskan-speaking
peoples discussed here are those of the Arctic and Subarctic, whose territory
is contiguous with that of Arctic Eskimos. Following Osgood's nomenclature
and grouping (1936; p. 4) they are, from west to east: Ingalik, Koyukon,
Kutchinm, Hare, Bear Lake, Dogrib, Yellowknife, and Chipewyan.
The cohesiveness and stability of these groupings diminishes as one
passes from the relatively sedentary and complex cultures of the Pacific
drainage to the simpler, atomistic cultures of the Arctic drainage. Extensive
aboriginal commerce and the influence of North Pacific coast cultures led to
the development among northwestern Athapaskans of political controls and dis–
tinctions based on wealth. These did not exist among the eastern tribes.
Basic Conditions of Acculturation
. The history of contact between whites
and northern Athapaskan Indians has been largely conditioned by the relative
absence of permanent white settlement and exploitation of the territory. The
principal medium of contact has been the fur trade, monopolistically controlled
for a long period. This trade has been dependent upon the preservation of
the native population and the precontact ecology, in contrast to colonial
economy in other areas, which has involved the destruction or enslavement of
native peoples.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
The remoteness of the region from industrial centers, and the difficul–
ties of transportation and supply have necessitated white dependence on native
good will in many situations, and white adaptation to native cultural traits.
History of Culture Contact
Like most non-Europeans, the northern Athapaskans experienced indirect
effects of white expansion before encountering the whites. Central Algonkian
tribes, supplied with firearms and organized for the fur trade during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, expanded their hunting grounds at the
expense of tribes to the west and north. The tribal designation "Slave" is
said to derive from this period, having been contemptuously applied by the
Cree to Athapaskan groups which they dislocated during their westward expan–
sion. (V. Mackenzie, 1927; p. 137n.)
Fort Churchill was established by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1717 as a
deliberate attempt to circumvent Cree opposition to direct trade with the Atha–
paskans. The Chipewyans thus contacted followed a course similar to that of
the Cree, driving west to the Athabaska and Peace rivers, and maintaining a
profitable position as middlemen between the posts on Hudson Bay and the Beaver
and Slave Indians.
As the white traders advanced form Hudson Bay and from the Pacific, each
tribe in turn resisted, with varying force, the abandonment of a lucrative
position as middlemen. Notably truculent in this regard were the Kutchin —
Alexander Mackenzie's "Quarrellers" — who succeeded during the first half of
the nineteenth century in preventing direct trade between the Hudson's Bay
Company and Mackenzie Eskimos. The violent opposition of a Kutchin band to
what they considered a disturbance of their Eskimo market by Sir John Franklin
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
nearly resulted in the ambush of his party in 1826. (Franklin, 1828; p. 177ff).
Murray (1910) described the unsuccessful attempt of the Kutcha Kutchin to pre–
vent other tribes from trading at Fort Yukon in 1847-48.
Monopoly Fur Trade
. From 1799 until the sale of Alaska in 1867, trade
on the Yukon, below Fort Yukon, was controlled by the Russian-American Company.
During early decades of American ownership, the trade was dominated by the
Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco. In Canada the trade was completely
controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company until several decades after the sale of
its royal land grant in 1869.
A function of the monopoly situation in this region was the wide spacing
of trading posts, in contrast to the frequent pairing of posts by rival compan–
ies during the fur wars around Hudson Bay and on the northern plains. Posts
were established for the most part at or near the mouth of a tributary of the
Yukon or Mackenzie. Trade was carried on at each post with members of several
tribes, some of whom traveled nearly five hundred miles each spring. Shifts
in trade routes and occupation centers thus induced led to the disappearance
of some bands, such as the Tokkuth Kutchin, and the emergence of others, such
as, perhaps, the Great Bear Lake groups. (Osgood, 1933; p. 33)
Developing the fur trade has involved in each area the establishment of
a demand for novel commodities and the re-direction of economic activity. In
the region of monopoly control, tobacco was employed, rather than liquor, as
a habit-forming luxury. Tobacco did not impair the efficiency of the natives
as hunters and trappers, nor did it involve precautions against violence. The
tobacco of the early trade, in coiled black strips, was given away at first,
as were a few clay pipes for each band, until the smoking habit had been well
established.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
In the Pacific drainage and on the lower Mackenzie, strings of dental–
ium shells, prime objects of intertribal trade, were important in the establish–
ment of the white man's trade. The use of the shells as body decoration and
symbol of wealth reached a climax during the decades immediately following
white contact.
As elsewhere, the whites set up or confirmed in authority leaders through
whom they might deal with each group. These men were usually given uniforms
and badges of distinction. Among the eastern peoples, the power of the fur
trade chiefs has not been widely recognized. In the Pacific drainage, however,
where authoritarian patterns had been rather well established before contact,
the chiefs controlled trapping and trading to a considerable extent. Many of
them were outfitted by the whites for secondary trade among their own people.
Culture Change in Early Contact
. Each trading post, of necessity almost
self-sufficent, employed dog drivers and trainers, fishermen, hunters, carpen–
ters, and boatwrights, as well as traders and clerks.
First of these functions to be assumed by local Indians was that of post
hunter. Able hunters might eventually be rewarded by possession of the muzzle–
loading muskets they used. Muskets were so expensive that their possession
through trade spread very slowly.
European tools and techniques in carpentry and boat building remained
for several generations in the control of sedentary mixed-blood families. The
same was true of the manufacture and use of twine fish nets.
Except on the lower Yukon, where the Ingalik had long been strongly in–
fluenced by Eskimo culture, the use of dog-traction spread slowly during the
nineteenth century.
Most widespread change in clothing habits until the close of the nineteenth
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
century was the diffusion of the parka, long in use among the Ingalik. As
adapted from upper garments of North Pacific coast peoples, this design was
carried up the Yukon and Kuskokwim by employees of the Russians. Its use
spread slowly in the arctic drainage, where the aboriginal caribou-skin tail
coat was fairly common until the First World War. The blanket parka appears
to be partially
^
a
^
development from the cloth capote of the Canadian fur trade
voyageur.
The distinctive lower garment of the Kutchin with foot-and leg-covering
combined, was abandoned soon after contact in favor of caribou-skin trousers
and various types of moccasin.
During the monopoly period of the fur trade, few items of food and cloth–
ing were imported. Tea early assumed importance as did flour during the later
nineteenth century, followed by rice, oatmeal, and raisins.
Yearly Cycle in "the Old Days
." A yearly cycle of activities developed
which persisted throughout the nineteenth century and, in some areas, well into
the twentieth. It is this annual round, stable throughout several generations,
that is referred to by natives as "the old days."
In late summer, shortly before freeze-up, the Indians would leave their
fishing locations on foot, in poled scows, or in large bark canoes. Mackenzie
and Yukon drainage peoples journeyed upstream into mountainous country for
the winter. The more easterly peoples went into the Barren Lands by way of
lake-and-stream waterways.
As before white contact, the winter hunting and trapping was conducted
in groups ranging from two to a dozen families, the larger groups centering
around a fur trade chief or other able and influential hunter. Such stability
as the larger groups maintained depended primarily on the prestige of the leader.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
There appears at this time to have been no concept of hunting territory, or
trap line tenure.
At rare intervals throughout the winter, young men would be sent on foot
to the trading post for tobacco and tea.
In the Mackenzie and Yukon drainages, a majority of each tribe gathered
far up their home river at spring break-up, and constructed a number of flat–
bottomed boats. These were made of about twelve moose skins each, sewn to–
gether and stretched on spruce frames. Although part of the precontact culture
of the mountain peoples, such boats appear to have gained greatly in importance
during the nineteenth century. On their arrival downriver at the trading post,
the skins of whi
^
c
^
h the boats were made were sold to the traders, either intact
or in the form of babiche.
The tribe's stay at the trading post was marked by intense trading carried
on through interpreters or in a trade jargon, and by social activities. The
latter included feasts, games, dances and — among the western tribes — pot–
latches. The rest of the summer was occupied in fishing and preparing dried
fish. Many fish eddies had been identified with particular families since
aboriginal times.
Missions
. Probably the northern Athapaskans who first encountered the
white man's forms of worship were those trading into Hudson Bay in the early
eighteenth century. However, the first white missionary reported among the
northern
^
Ind
^
ians penetrated the western periphery of their territory. This
was Father Kolmakov, of the Russian Orthodox Church, who established a mission
among the Ingalik on the lower Kuskokwim in 1818.
The first missionaries in the Northwest Territories were Roman Catholic
priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who arrived at Great Slave Lake in
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
1852.
^
4?
^
One of these reached the Arctic at Fort McPherson in 1850, closely
followed by a minister of the Church of England.
Rivalry between denominations throughou
y
^
t
^
the area, which in some cases
was bitter, frequently involved the traders. The predominance of Catholicism
in northwestern Canada despite the opposition of most Hudson's Bay Company men
there has generally been explained, as by Stefansson (1913; p. 25), in terms
of highly trained personnel, devoted to lifetime work. Corroborating this view
is the fact that where Protestants have succeeded in maintaining a firm posi–
tion, there have usually been long incumbencies by strong and able missionaries.
The dynamics of the acceptance of Christian worship and denominational prefer–
ences can be understood only in terms of the value-systems and and personality pat–
terns of those who are being converted. Stefansson (1913; chapters 26 and 27)
has shown this strikingly for the Mackenzie Eskimos, while Honigmann (1946;
p. 135n) has an interesting comment on northern Athapaskan Catholicism.
Occasional efforts were made by missionaries to equate Biblical figures
with northern Athapaskan supernaturals. Thus the Kutchin understood Archdeacon
James MacDonald to assert that their culture here was John the Baptist. Father
Petitot (1886; III), who considered the Janus supernatural of the Mackenzie
Athapaskans to be their supreme ^de^ity associated this concept to some extent
with the Christian God in his missionary work. Petitot (1876; p. 65) also
at–
tributed to the Hares a belief in a trinity.
Of great importance in the establishment of Christian doctrine and ritual
was the activity of the many native catechists trained by the pioneering mission–
aries, a
^
nd
^
of Indian women church workers. The latter were in many cases the
wives of traders, and thus among the first natives to acquire some mastery of a
European language. These persons assisted in the translation of Scriptures,
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
prayers, and hymns into the native languages. They were the first natives
to attain literacy, usually in transcriptions of the native languages which
were developed by missionaries with their help.
Among the social changes wrought by nineteenth century missionaries were
the introduction of Christian baptism, marriage forms, and burial ceremonies,
and the discontinuance of polygyny. The obsolescence of wrestling for wives
and some other forms of courtship was in part due to Christian influence. Most
natives were in contact with the missionary only during the summer gathering
at the trading post, although religious service conducted by catechists in the
camps became increasingly common.
Competition in the Fur Trade
. Monopoly control of trade kept the northern
Athapaskans from direct contact with the money economy until the late nineteenth
century on the Yukon; and until after World War I, east of the Mackenzie.
Competition among American trading companies on the Yukon in the 1870's
brought some money into that region, while American whalers wintering at Herschel
Island from 1890 to 1904 constituted a strong challenge to the private currency
and credit system of the Hudson's Bay Company on the lower Mackenzie.
The Gold Rush
. Far more important in its impact on the northwestern Atha–
paskans was the influx of gold seekers into the Yukon drainage at the turn of
the century. Large parties of prospective miners camped among Kutchin, as well
as Han and Tanana, in regions which no whites had visited before, and where few,
if any, have been since that era.
The
^
d
^
iversity of trade goods at the mining centers, and the gold-boom
profits to be made in selling meat to the miners constituted an attraction
that drew northwestern Athapaskans into concentration around the major boom
towns. The yearly cycle of the monopoly fur trade was interrupted.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
Breech-loading rifles and shotguns, which had begun to appear among Yukon
natives in the early '90's, became fairly common. Caribou lodges were rapidly
displaced by canvas wall tents. At the same time, the open fire in the lodge
was replaced by sheet-metal heaters with stovepipe, although there was consid–
erable resistance to this innovation, due to the emotional importance of the
open fire.
Cloth dresses, shawls, costume jewelry, three-piece suits, and Stetson
hats became marks of distinction. Serge trousers tended to replace caribou–
skin undergarments as male working attire. Blanket parkas became standardized,
as did duffle socks of blanketing materials.
Dog teams became increasingly common. The hand-drawn runner sleds of
the Kutchin and Koyukon were replaced by toboggans. The light, built-up Yukon
sled appears to be a nineteenth century development.
Canvas and paint for canoe construction were among the many novel items
stocked by the established fur traders at this time to offset the attractions
of the gold rush.
Novel occupations as well as novel materials and techniques came into
northern Athapaskan life at this period. Some Indians took up mining, usually
as employees of whites. Many worked as deckhands on river boats in the Yukon
system. A few became river pilots. Work on the boats conformed with northern
Athapaskans' high valuation of travel. Reminiscences of experiences on the boats
indicate an interest in the trips for their own sake.
The natives say of this period that they became "rich" quickly and that
they died as quickly. The introduction of foreign disease spread by unwonted
crowding, the accessibility of liquor, and sudden changes in dietary habits
contributed to high mortality.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
With the decline in gold-mining activities during the second decade of
the twentieth century, the northwestern Athapaskans tended to move back into
their old hunting grounds. They were able to do so easily because they had
been for the most part peripheral to the mining centers rather than incorpor–
ated into them. The basic sub
s
sistence activities and the values attached
to them had not been deeply affected.
The Rise of the Muskrat
. Before 1917, muskrat pelts were of almost no
economic importance. Demand for low-priced fur during and immediately after
World War I brought the muskrat price u to $1.50 and $2.00 a pelt. It be–
came possible for a family in a favorable creek and lake district to make a
larger profit in four months of trapping and shooting muskrats than in eight
months of much more arduous pursuit of fine fur. Muskrat country, such as the
Yukon Flats, the Crow River Flats, and the deltas of the Mackenzie, Yukon, and
Kuskokwim, assumed new significance. Before this, year-round residence in
these and similar lowlands had been disdained by all but a few specialists in
beaver hunting. Now, the long winter journeys into the mountains or the Barren
Lands became shorter and less frwquent.
It became the custom to return to the settlement before Christmas for
trading, churchgoing, and holiday festivities lasting well into January. Many
families then waited downriver until the opening of the ratting season. An
Easter ingathering at the settlement, to trade the early trapped rats, also
became increasingly popular.
The settlement, centering around trading posts and mission, acquired more
importance in native life than it had had anywhere except on the lower Yukon,
where community ceremonialism was strongly developed. During the 1920's, most
families erected for the first time a permanent home at the settlement, for
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
occupation chiefly during the Christmas-New Year, Easter, and summer in–
gatherings.
A more direct result of the increase in ratting activity was the rapid
diffusion of factory-made ratting canoes and of outboard motors. This was
closely followed by increase in the use of inboard boat engines in homemade
wooden scows.
The use of steel traps had not spread rapidly among northern Athapaskans
during the nineteenth century. Before dog traction became common, it was al–
most impossible for a family to carry an adequate supply of them during the
winter. Moreover, nineteenth century steel traps were less reliable and more
damaging to fur than were aboriginal snares and deadfalls. The rise of the
muskrat to economic supremacy appears to have been responsible, more than any
other single factor, for the establishment of the steel trap among the northern
peoples. Deadfalls, such as those used for beaver, were not practicable for
the large-scale trapping of muskrats on the ice in early spring. As the emphasis
in ratting is on quantity rather than quality, occasional damage to pelts is
of less importance than facility of use.
Intensified contact between Indian, Eskimo, and white trappers, in the
muskrat-bearing river deltas, has resulted in rapid convergence of clothing
habits and design. It is striking that Eskimo and Indian food habits remain
sharply distinct.
The White Trapper
. The number of white trappers in the area has been
slowly increasing since World War I. As elsewhere, the white are likely to
trap out a region, whereas the Indian tends to be a conservationist. On the
other hand, white trappers have been largely instrumental in teaching natives
how to ship their best fur out to the auctions, and to arrange transfers of
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
credit from fur auctions to supply firms.
White trappers, especially those who have married natives, stand in a
social position intermediate between sedentary white residents of the north–
ern settlements, and the natives. Cultural change has been by no means one–
sided in the North, and among the whites it has been the trappers particularly
who have shown the effect, not only of the compelling arctic ecology, but of
native values and attitudes.
The Second World War
. World War II was a boom period for northern Atha–
paskan trappers. Fur prices were the highest in history, fur returns good in
many areas, and competition from white trappers was reduced. The debts and
deprivations accumulated during the depression of the 1930's were greatly al–
leviated.
Some of the young men experienced war service or labor on military con–
struction, and returned with some money and increased prestige.
The unprecedentedly high fur prices of the 1942-46 period coincided with
a peak in the muskrat population cycle throughout much of the North. This
situation drew men into the ratting areas from all parts of the Mackenzie and
Yukon drainages. At the same time the Eskimo coastal population tended to
concentrate in the delta regions. The ensuing conflicts in trap line rights,
and strain on the faunal resources in these areas has been a conservation
problem and a source of friction among Eskimos, Indians, and whites.
Postwar Tendencies
. The return to the North of native and
^
^
white trappers
at the close of World War II, as well as an accelerated immigration, have ex–
acerbated this problem. This further increase in exploitation of the ratting
areas has coincided with a sharp fall in fur prices, and in a reducation, pre–
sumably cyclical, of the muskrat population. Economic competition and inter–
group friction has been intensified.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
In Alaska particularly, the resulting abrogation of native land rights
has in recent years been following the pattern characteristic of white expan–
sion on this continent. (See letter of Mrs. Amy Hollingstad, President of the
Alaska Native Sisterhood, Published by National Congress of American Indians,
Washington, D.C.) In the Canadian North the competition for faunal resources
has not become as severe as in American territory. The Dominion Department of
Mines and Resources has extended throughout the Mackenzie valley the registered
trap line system in anticipation of further immigration, and has enlisted the
cooperation of trappers in planning for conservation. Noteworthy in this re–
spect is the Trappers' Club of Aklavik, N.W.T., Canada, organized by whites,
but now including Eskimo, Indian, and mixed-blood trappers. It has provided
the local Game Warden with suggestions for conservation and for control of trap
line disputes.
Contemporary Material Culture
Subsistence Activities
. Subsistence activities remain essentially those
of hunting, fishing, and trapping. The breech-loading rifle has made obsolete
such techniques as caribou surrounds, communal drives on caribou and musk ox,
use of animal disguises, and many skills in butchering game. The tracking of
moose, however, has changed little. Snares of brass wire or netting twine are
set for grouse, the snowshoe rabbit, and sometimes for li^y^nx. Occasionally a
babiche snare is set for caribou or moose.
Manufactured twine gill nets are used in seining and drift-netting; fish
wheels are common in Alaska.
Dwellings
. Log cabins, as used in the settlements, are each erected by
the head of a household with some help from kinsmen. A typical cabin has plank
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
flooring; immovable small-paned windows; a cast-iron wood-burning stove and
oven; homemade bunks on which sleeping robes, bearskins, or caribout skins are
placed; chairs; tables; and shelving. Frequently there is an attic. Older
people prefer to sit, sleep, and eat on the floor, as in tents. Many settle–
ments have community halls, cooperatively built, for dances and feasts. These
have generally replaced the kashim on the lower Yukon.
While away from the settlement, most families live in canvas tents, and
many families who do not have cabins in the settlement erect tents there for
the periodic ingatherings.
Food Habits
. Very strong emotional value has always been attached to food
habits by the peoples under discussion. It appears that methods of preparing
local foods have not been much affected by white contact. On the contrary, the
whites, here as elsewhere, have learned Indian techniques for preserving meat
and fish.
No strong attachment to recently introduced vegetables can be discerned,
although some canned fruits are popular as a luxury. A main course of meat
is held essential to any meal.
Liquor and Tobacco
. As no alcoholic beverages may be sold to Indians in
Canada, the natives of the Dominion are restricted to home-brews based on
corn
^
^
meal, raisins, dried fruits, or potatoes. A large variety of patent medi–
cines has been tried for intoxicating effect. At some of the larger settle–
ments in the Canadian North there are bootleggers, while in Alaska liquor may
be purchased legally.
Smoking habits are at present similar to those of Rural Americans.
Dress and Ornament
. The dress of whites and Indians in the North is almost
indistinguishable. It is likely that more white men than Indians own deerskin
shirts.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
The working parka is of duffel, blanketing, or stroud cloth, with a
separate cover of duck or canvas for males, and of print cotton for females.
There are minor sex differences in design. The heavy under part of the parka
is edged with
v
^
w
^
olverine or wolf fur around the hood, at the wrists, and often
at the lower hem. Moosehide mitts with blanket lining, trimmed with beaver
fur strips and deerskin fringes, are worn for winter travel, with mitt-strings,
frequently of braided wool yarn. The design of the Eskimo sealskin boot has
been imitated in that of the snowboot, with moosehide soles and leg-piece of
canvas, cowhide, or caribou-leg skin.
Other garments are purchased at the stores or made from imported mater–
ials. There has been a tendency during the past thirty years for men's cloth–
ing to become less heavily adorned, as beadwork, quillwork, and silk embroidery
have disappeared from garments other than dress moccasins and mitts. At the
same time, women's clothing has been increasing in clorfulness with the im–
portation of dyed and printed textiles and, especially, with the growth of
the mail order trade.
Transportation
. Convergence of white and Indian methods of transport has
been complete. The snowshoe, unchanged by white contact, is used by all.
Methods of transport are: (1) The northern Athapaskan snowshoe, unchanged
by white contact. (2) Dog traction, using tandem hitch of di
^
o
^
gs and toboggan
in the arctic drainage; paired hitch with the leader in front, and runner sleds,
in the Pacific drainage. (3) Factory-built canoes, with outboard motor except
for ratting. (4) Plank scows, of local design, and manufacture, with marine
engine. (5) Chartered aircraft on floats or skis, increasingly used by native
as well as white trappers.
Government
. The land-cession treaties between the Dominion of Canada and
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
the more northerly of the Canadian Athapaskans recognized the fur-trade chiefs
as representatives of their communities. The United States has made no treaties
with Alaskan Indian tribes, nor have reservations been established for Athapas–
kan groups in Alaska.
Formal education for Canadian Athapaskans is provided principally in
mission residential schools. Recently the Indian Affairs Branch of the Canadian
Department of Mines and Resources has established several day primary schools
in the area under discussion. In Alaska, there was for a long time no differ–
entiation between schooling of whites and natives. In 1905, a dual system of
education was established, with schools operated by the Office of Indian Affairs,
Department of the Interior, for "tribal" natives. Territorial schools were for
white children "children of mixed blood who lead a civilized life." (Cohen,
1945; p. 406.)
With the extension of the Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 to Alaska in 1936,
the legal position of Alaskan natives has become almost identical with that of
Indians in the United States.
Economy
. Still prevalent is the fluctuation between individualism of
consumer's goods in time of plenty, and relative communalism under scarcity
conditions. Even in the most acculturated groups, the etiquette of moose-meat
distribution is practiced.
In prosperous seasons, property won in games of chance is retained by the
winn
t
er. In bad times there is tendency to "lend" the winnings back to the
original owner, in consonance with strong disapproval of the deliberate impover–
ishment of a family. Such "loans" are frequently cancelled in subsequent gambl–
ing or other obligations.
The credit or "debt" relationship with fur traders still prevails among
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
northern Indians.
^
I
^
n this, a family is outfitted at the beginning of the
trapping season, in return for its catch or some portion thereof. As indicated
previously, some native trappers have freed themselves from this relationship.
In aboriginal northern Athapaskan society, a man gained prestige in great
part through success in hunting, trading, and warfare. Property thus acquired
was a symbol of this success. Equally important to prestige was the distribu–
tion of this property. The first emphasis, the equating of wealth and ability,
has been easily directed to the individualistic, acquisitive motivation of
frontier economy. The second emphasis has been in conflict with the white man's
economic motivation. Evidence of this conflict is the difficulty that chiefs
have experienced when functioning as secondary traders for the fur posts.
The saving of property for private use is regarded with considerable dis–
approval. However, an increasing number of Indians now save money and property,
albeit somehat surreptiously.
Kinship and Marriage
. The basic social and economic unit is the bilateral
family, centering in man and wife in their active working years, and their chil–
dren. This household unit may also include parents of either man or wife, sib–
lings, siblings-in-law, and children of the latter. Children of siblings call
each other brother and sister, and in many families no distinction from own
sibling is felt.
Marriage ideals have been little affected by white contact. Ability to
work remains the quality pre-eminently desired in a spouse. Compatability of
personality is important, but probably no more so than aboriginally. Marriage
continues to be regarded as an alliance of households, as well as of domestic
partners. Sibling-in-law remains an important relationship, preferred as a
^
w
^
orking partner.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
Recreation
. Feasts range in size from distributions of moose and other
meat, to potlatches costing several thousand dollars. Following are some of
the occasions for giving a feast and refreshments for a dance: first kill by
son; first large animal killed by son; death of spouse or sibling; marriage
of son, daughter, sibling, sibling-in-law, sister's child.
A feast is opened and closed by prayer, prononnced by a catechist, and
is featured by speeches discussing the occasion and expressing thanks for the
entertainment.
Dance types range from aboriginal forms accompanied by flat drum and sing–
ing, to fox trots ^and^ waltzes with radio music. Most widely popular are his–
torically intermediate forms: square dances, reels, drops-of-brandy, and jigs,
accompanied by fiddle and guitar or accordion.
Aboriginal song forms are disappearing rapidly, but singing remains an
important accompaniment, Christian hymns and cowboy-hillbilly ballads are widely
sung. Story telling also remains an important pastime for both sexes.
The hand game is played, for the most part in camps away from the settle–
ments. In the settlements, poker and dice are pastimes of the younger men,
while whist is played by men and women of the middle generations.
Northern Athapaskan culture was rich in active sports, and almost all of
them have survived. Most important is football, using a moosehide ball stuffed
with fur or moose hair. Postcontact sports are dog-team racing, swimming, and,
in Alaska, baseball.
Religion
. At present most Canadian Athapaskans are Roman Catholic, with
a minority of Anglicans. Alaskan Indians are Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic,
Episcopalian, and Moravian.
Shamanism is practiced in many though not all groups. Where it has obsol-
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
esced, the feeling is that it was valid formerly but has been superseded by
the greater power of the white man's supernatural. The Nakani or Bush Man
beliefs are of wide distribution, as are variants of the aboriginal concepts
of reincarnation.
Nativistic movements do not appear to have been of great importance.
Osgood (1933; p. 87) reports a messianic cult among the Dogribs and Great Bear
Lake people in 1925-26. This may have been a diffusion of the prophet cult
developed south of Great Slave Lake in the early 1920's. There have been hints
of witch killings around Fort Yukon, and in this region Mason recorded belief
in a messiah who would "rid the country of the white man, while keeping tea,
tobacco, and metal implements." (Mason, 1924; p. 61.)
Health and Welfare
Smallpox is mentioned in the eighteenth century. As early are references
to respiratory diseases, enc
k
^
o
^
uraged by "unaccustomed confinement." (Kenney,
1932; p. 62.) Stefansson points out the high incidence of tuberculosis fostered
by insanitary wooden houses as contrasted with mobile camps. (Stefansson, 1913;
pp. 22-24.)
The influx of gold seekers into the Yukon Territory and Alaska spread
respiratory diseases and measles in the most disastrous epidemic recorded for
the northern natives. Anderson and Eels attribute the drop of 14.2 % in the
native population of Alaska between 1900 and 1910 to this complex of diseases.
(Anderson and Eels, 1935: p. 104. The authors quote the
World Missionary Atlas
Institute of Social and Religious Research, 1935, as estimating that one-fourth
of the native Alaskan population was lost in the 1900-1910 period due to in–
troduced diseases.) Measles, carried eastward from Dawson in 1902 by Kutchin
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
(Whittaker, n.d.; pp. 225-226), was estimated to have killed about one-fifth
of the population of the Mackenzie valley. (Stefansson, 1913; p. 26, quoting
Father Giroux, O.
^M^.I.)
The World War I pandemic of Spanish influenza reached the northern Atha–
paskans in 1920-22, killing a high proportion of older persons. Influenza
has visited the region several times since.
^
[: espey] 1928
^
Tuberculosis remains the greatest health problem of the northern Indians.
Among the arctic groups, the bovine type is the most common, while some groups
to the south now show a
h
higher incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. (Personal
communication, Dr. E. L. Stone, Regional Superintendent, Indian Health Service,
Edmonton, Alta., Canada.)
Unbalanced, vitamin-deficient diet especially in the settlements, is
another major welfare problem, recognized by many natives as well as by white
authorities.
Population Figures
Population figures are for the northern A^t^hapaskans very inadequate. As
with most North American Indian groups, the population of Alaskan Athapaskans
has shown an accelerated rate of increase since 1910. In that year it was
3,916; in 1920, 4,657; in 1930, 5,060.
In 1880, mixed bloods comprised 5.3% of the total native population of
Alaska, including Eskimo. In 1930, they comprised 26.1% of that total.
The Indian population of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory
totalled 5,347 in 1944, almost all of the number being northern Athapaskan.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
Basic Attitudes and Personality Structure
No studies are available of the peoples discussed here by observers
trained in psychological and psychiatric techniques. However, it may be stated
that here as elsewhere the covert aspects of culture, and modal personality types,
have changed more slowly than have material culture, the forms of institutions,
and the behavior patterns specifically related to the latter.
Most whites have characterized northern Athapaskans as introverted. The
tendency is to a few strong attachments, which are more or less institutional–
ized, as the best friend or favorite sibling. Other than these, intense inter–
personal relationships, either positive or negative, are rare. Relationships
seem guarded, and tempered by mistrust. For example, suspicion invariably at–
taches to survivors of parties where a death has occurred. This suspicion is
at the root of the Nakani belief.
With this, verbal assertion and aggression are strongly inhibited. To talk
up one's own exploits is considered inadvisable. The tendency is to minimize
them, in strong contrast to the almost ritualistic boasting of frontier whites.
That younger Indians experience a conflict of tendencies is seen in the verbal
aggression that characterizes Indian drinking bouts.
Converse to this psychological situation is the ability of many northern
Athapaskans to approximate to their ideal of emotional and physical self-suffic–
iency. This self-sufficiency is a function of the instability of social group–
ing and the great physical mobility conditioned by the ecology of these peoples.
The fur
t
trade has ten
^
d
^
ed to preserve that ecology and with it the orienta–
tion of northern Athapaskan culture to forest dwelling and travel. To the extent
that these have been preserved, the northern Indians have been able to feel rela–
tively self-sufficient. Where the ecology has been markedly changed, natives
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
have been unable to maintain a semblance of self-sufficiency, with consequent
demoralization.
Literature on Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
The only reports of acculturation processes among northern Indians are
those of the Honigmanns on the Kaska and western Slave, and those of Hallowell
on the Saulteaux (Ojibwa). These emphasize value-attitude systems and person–
ality structure and changes. Although dealing with peoples outside of the
region considered here, they provide valuable comparative data.
Useful for details on the impact of the fur trade on the most northerly
Athapaskans in Canada are the early documents published by the Champlain Soc–
iety (e.g., Tyrrell, 1931) and the Hudson's Bay Rcord Society (e.g., Fleming,
1940). Also useful are the diaries and travel accounts of fur traders such
as James Knight (Kenney, 1932), Alexander Mackenzie (1801), Samuel Hearne
(1911), Alexander Henry (1921), Thomas Simpson (1843), Alexander Murray (1910),
and those contained in Masson's collection (1890).
[:
]
[:
]
Zagoskin (1847, 1847-48) gives information on conditions of Russian–
Indian contact on the lower Yukon. Tikhmenev (1861-63) describes the early
fur trade in that area. Curtis (1928) records a Chipewyan tradition of initial
contact with European traders.
The explorer John Franklin (1828) refers to northern Athapaskan-Eskimo
trade. Information on early effects of white contact is incidentally provided
by some of the Franklin searchers (Richardson, 1851; Hooper, 1853).
Pioneering Roman Catholic missionary work among Canadian Arctic Athapas–
kans is described by Clut (1887) and Duchaussois (1923). Accounts of present
activities are periodically given in the
Petites Annales des Missionaires
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation
Oblats de Marie-Immacul
e
^
é
^
e
. In addition to their contributions to northern
Athapaskan ethnography, Fathers Petitot and Morice provide incidental informa–
tion on acculturation, and considerable evidence on missionary attitudes. In–
formation on the Anglican work among these tribes is to be found in the bio–
graphy of Bishop Bompas (Cody, 1908) and in his own description of the Mack–
enzie district (Bompas, 1888).
Travelers and explorers during the later nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries provide descriptions of northern Athapaskans seen chiefly at trading
posts and as guides. For the lower Mackenzie and the Barren Lands there are
Ralph (1892), Pike (1892), Whitney (1896), Russell (1898), Hanbury (1904), and
Mason (1924). Stefansson (1913) provides data on Eskimo Indian relations in
that area before white contact and as affected by contact. For the Yukon,
^
t
^
here are Dall (1870), Schwatka (1900), Ogilvie (1913), Whymper (1868, 1869),
Stewart (1906), Hrdlicka (1930), and Petroff's compilation (1900).
Bonnycastle (1943) has defended monopoly control of the fur trade as en–
suring conservation of faunal resources and preservation of native cultures.
Finnie (1942; Ch. 3) summarizes the adverse criticism of such control as ex–
ploitative and reactionary.
EA-Anthrop. Slobodin: Northern Athapaskan Acculturation - Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, H. Dewey, and Eels, W. C.
Alaska Natives
. Stanford Univ. Press,
Stanford, Calif. 1935.
Bompas, W. C.
Diocese of Mackenzie River
. London, 1888.
Bonnycastle, R. H. G. "The Role of the Trader in Indian Affairs."
The North
American Indian Today
, ed. by C. T. Loram and T. F. McIlwraith,
Toronto, 1943.
Clut, I. "Vicariat apostolique d'Athabaska-Mackenzie."
Annales de
la propagation de la foi pour les provinces ^du^ Qu
e
^
é
^
bec
e^t^ de Montr
e
^
é
^
al.
n.s. Vol. 31.
Cody, H. A.
An Apostle of the North: Memoirs of the Rt. Rev. William
Carpenter Bompas, D.D. London, 1908.
Cohen, Felix S.
Handbook of Federal Indian Law
. Fourth Printing. Washing–
ton, D.C., 1945.
Curtis, Edward S.
The American Indian
. Vol. XVIII. Norwood, 1928.
Dall, W. H.
Alaska and Its Resources
. Boston, 1870.
Duchaussis, P.
Mid Snow and Ice
. London, 1923.
Finnie, R.
Canada Moves North
. New York, 1942.
Fleming, R. H. (ed.)
Minutes of Council
, Northern Department of Rupert Land,
1821-31. Toronto, 1940.
Franklin, J.
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the
Polar Sea in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827
. London, 1828.
Hallowell, A. I. "The Passing of the Midewiwin in the Lake Winnipeg Region."
American Anthropologist
, vol. 38, pp. 32-51. 1936.
----. "Sin, Sex, and Sickness in Saulteaux Belief."
British
Journal of Medical Psychology
, vol. 18, pp. 191-199. 1939.
----. "Acculturation Processes and Personality Changes as Indicated
by the Rorschach Technique."
Rorschach Research Exchange
,
vol. 6, pp. 42-50. 1942.
----. "The Rorschach Technique in the Study of Personality and
Culture."
American Anthropologist
, vol. 47, pp. 95-210. 1945.
-----. "Some Psychological Characteristics of the Northeastern Indians.
Man in Northeastern North America
, ed. by F. Johnson. Andover,
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Hanbury, D.T.
Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada
. London, 1904.
Hearne, S.
A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort in Hudson's Bay to
the Northern Ocean
. Ed. by J. B. Tyrrell. Toronto, 1911.
Henry, A.
Travels and Adventures
. Ed. by M. M. Quaife. Chicago, 1921.
Honigmann, I.
and
Underwood, F. W. "Some Aspects of Personality Patterning in Kaska Indian
Children." In "A Comparison of Socialization and Personality
in Two Simple Societies."
American Anthropologist
, vol. 49,
pp. 557-577. 1947.
Honigmann, J. J.
Ethnography and Acculturation of the Fort Nelson Slave
.
Yale Univ. Publications in Anthropology, No. 33. New Haven,
1946.
----. "Witch-Fear in Post-Contact Kaska Society."
American Anthro
–
pologist, vol. 49, pp. 222-243. 1947a.
----. "Cultural Dynamics of Sex."
Psychiatry
, vol. 10, pp. 37-47.
1947b.
Honigmann, J. J. and Honigmann, I. "Drinking in an Indian-White Community."
Quarterly Journal for Studies in Alcohol
. vol. 5, pp. 575-619.
1945.
Hooper, W. H.
Ten Months in the Tents of the Tuski
. London, 1853.
Hrdlicka, A. "Anthropological Survey in Alaska."
Forty-Sixth Annual Report
of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1928-29. pp. 19-374.
Washington, 1930.
Kenney, J. F.
The Founding of Churchill
. London, 1932.
Mackenzie, A.
Voyage from Montreal through the Continent of North America
to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans
. London, 1801.
Mason, M. H.
The Arctic Forests
. London, 1924.
Masson, L. R.
Les Bourgeois de la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest
. Quebec, 1890.
Morice, Adrian Gabriel
Au pays de l'ours noir
. Paris, 1897.
----.
The Great Dene Race
. Anthropos, I-V. Mödling, 1906-10.
----. "Smoking and Tobacco among the Northern and Southern Dene."
American Anthropologist
, Vol. 23, pp. 482-488.
Murray, A. H.
A Journal of the Youcon, 1847-48
. Publications of Canadian
Archives, No. 4. Ed. by L. J. Burpee, Ottawa, 1910.
Ogilvie, W.
Early Days on the Yukon
. Ottawa, 1913.
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Osgood, Corneliue B. "The Ethnography of the Great Bear Lake Indians."
Annual Report
for 1931 of the
[:
]
Department of
Mines National Museum of Canada, Bulletin No. 70,
Ottawa, 1932.
----.
The Distribution of the Northern Athapaskan Indians
Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 7.
Petitot, L'Abb
e
^
é
^
Emile F. S.
Monographie dea Dene-Dindlie
. Paris, 1876.
----.
Traditions indiennes du Canada nord-ouest
. Les Litt
e
^
é
^
ra–
tures populaires de toutes les nations. XXIII. Paris,
1886.
----.
En route pour la mer glaciale
. Paris, 1887.
----.
Quinze ans sous le cercle polaire
. Paris, 1889.
Petroff, I.
Compilation of Narratives of Exploration in Alaska
.
Washington, 1900.
Pike, W.
The Barren Ground of Northern Canada
. London, 1892.
Ralph, J.
On Canada's Frontier
. New York, 1892.
Richardson, J.
Arctic Searching Expedition
. London, 1851.
Russell, F.
Explorations in the Far North
. University of Iowa, 1898.
Schwatka, F.
Report
of a Military Reconnaissance in Alaska, Made in
1883. Washington, 1900.
Simpson, T.
Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America
.
London, 1843.
Stefansson, V.
My Life with the Eskimo.
New York, 1913.
Stewart, Elihu
Down the Mackenzie and Up the Yukon in 1906
. London,
New York and Toronto, 1913.
Tikhmenev, P.
Istoricheskoe Obrazrenie Obpazobania Rossiicko-Amerikanckoi
Kompanii 1 Deistvii yeya do Nastovashchave Vremoni
.
St. Petersburg, 1861-63.
Tyrrell, J. B. (Ed.)
Documents Relating to the Early History of Hudson Bay
.
Toronto, 1931.
Whitney, C.
On Snow-Shoes to the Barren Grounds
. New York, 1896.
Whittaker, C. E.
Arctic Eskimo
. London, n.d. (circa 1942)
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Whymper, F. "A Journey from Norton Sound, Bering Sea, to Fort Youkon."
Journal
of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. 38, pp. 219–
237. 1868.
----.
Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska.
New York,
1869.
Zagoskin, L.
Puteshestvie 1 Otkrytia v Russkroi Amerike
. St. Petersburg,
1847.
----.
Peshexodnaya Opic' Chasti Russkix Vladenii v Amerike
.
St. Petersburg, 1847-48.
Richard Slobodin
Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
EA-Anthropology
(Margaret Lantis)
ALASKAN ESKIMO ACCULTURATION
CONTENTS
|
|
Page
|
|
Introduction
|
1
|
|
Demographic and Social Influences
|
3
|
|
Economic Changes
|
13
|
|
Changes in Technology and Daily Life
|
29
|
|
Changes in Organization
|
43
|
|
Changes in Belief and Value System
|
48
|
|
Bibliography
|
54
|
EA-Anthropology
(Margaret Lantis)
ALASKAN ESKIMO ACCULTURATION
Introduction
Acculturation, a larger, more complex process than diffusion or trade,
"comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having
different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent
changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups."
(Redfield-Linton-Herskovitz) It has also been defined as comprising "the
processes by which aspects or elements of two cultures mingle and merge."
(Alexander Lesser)
On much of the landward border of Eskimo territory there have been fre–
quent contacts between Eskimos and Indians. There is some question, however,
as to how many of the customs that are characteristic of Alaskan Eskimos but
not of other Eskimos have been learned from the Indians. On the Yukon and
Kuskokwim rivers, Eskimos unquestionably learned from the Atha
b
^
p
^
ascans a few
such techniques as making birchbark canoes and containers, but the contact
changed very little social pattern of their lives. The most noticeable change
here was an increased attention to the dead, indicated by memorial feasts,
carved wooden grave markers, and other customs. On the whole, though, the
Indians learned more from the Eskimos than vice versa. On present evidence,
even including likely protohistoric changes, it appears that the basic
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
principles of Eskimo culture have not been much modified by contact with
Indians except in the Cook Inlet-Prince William Sound area and the northern
interior (upper Koyukuk River area). As changes there occurred before the
discovery, they are not included in this survey of recorded acculturation.
In contrast, modification by contact with Caucasian groups has been
pervasive and fundamental even in Eskimo villages where no Caucasians have
resided continuously, since new techniques in daily living, economic values,
and religious concepts have come to all Alaskan Eskimos as a whole new
culture configuration, not merely as isolated factors of change. By now,
moreover, white have lived in every section of Eskimo Alaska except possibly
the upper Colville River and the heart of the Brooks Range.
A people might buy kitchen utensils from an itinerant trader or might
order lumber and nails from a trader stationed 50 to 100 miles away from
their home without having to accept that man's ideas of personal cleanliness,
his ideas of disciplining children or of valuing a mining claim. However,
when peoples of different culture must live in the same village, or trap
and fish over the same territory, or enter into business dealings affecting
their basic livelihood, the attitudes and expectations of each become very
important to the other. Hence such nonmaterial aspects of culture as ideas
of right and wrong and the status system of the group matter as much as the
material or technological aspects. In sum, who the bearers of culture are and
how they act are as important as the material things that they bear.
The only published study of historical culture change among Alaskan
Eskimos is contained in Anderson and Eells's
Alaska Natives
, Pt. I, Sec. 2,
"Present Sociological Condition," covering communities between Noorvik and
Bethel.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
The area covered in the present article is that included in "Bering
Sea and Arctic Coast Eskimos of Alaska" (
q.v.
).
Demographic and Social Influences
Many of the Russian and mixed-blood traders who established posts, 1818–
42, at Nushagak (Fort Alexander), Kolmakof, Nulato, Russian Mission, St.
Michael, and Unalakleet considered themselves part of the Alaska population,
in contrast with the American whalers who reached the Eskimos soon thereafter.
The Russians' manner of living was physically adapted to the environment. A
few individuals undoubtedly treated the Eskimos harshly but by this time,
unlike early days in the Aleutian Islands, some were becoming socially adjusted
to the country, also. Although the Russians established the fur trade and
introduced a few trade goods, on the whole they did not disrupt native life.
Their most fundamental innovation was the Greek Orthodox religion, but its
effect was felt only in the vicinity of the Russian redoubts. As their farthest
northern station was on Norton Sound, they never influenced strongly the
Arctic Coast Eskimos. Even in the area of Russian trade, one generation later
(1880's) Church of England missionaries appeared on the Yukon River, Moravian
missionaries on the Kuskokwim and at Nushagak, and Swedish Lutherans at Unalakleet.
The two important effects of Russian expansion were (
1
) cessation of
warfare among Eskimo groups and between Eskimos and Indians, (
2
) introduction
of smallpox and other diseases. Although travel and trade evidently were
extensive before white conquest, warfare and witchcraft had deterred individual
Eskimos from traveling or relocating over such long distances as they have
traveled since white settlement. At first they undoubtedly learned the new
culture as much from other Eskimos whom they met in their travels as directly
from Caucasians.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
The epidemics facilitated acceptance of the newcomers and their
culture by weakening the manpower of Eskimo communities, even wiping out
whole communities, by discrediting the curative powers and religious
leadership of the shamans, by frightening the people and inducing them
to accept any help, from missionaries or other sources. The death of many
older people cut off the sources of knowledge of the old culture, cut off
possible opposition to the whites and guidance of the young Eskimos in
maintaining or adjusting native life. This process did not reach full force,
however, until the period of American settlement, about 1900.
The American whalers were the sheerest exploiters, with no responsibility
or permanence in the Alaska community. Yet their effect was great. The
American whalers seem to have been more destructive of the Eskimo way of
life in Alaska than were the whalers along West Greenland and northeastern
Canada.
The whalers' influence came principally in three ways, all of which were
initially physical changes, with cultural effects.
1. While Russian traders north of the Alaska Peninsula sought the
inland fur-bearing animals, most of which were not important food animals,
the whalers — who took walrus and polar bear as well as whales — took the
Eskimos' source of food, fuel, clothing, rawhide line, baleen and ivory for
implements. Then, in the Eskimos' economy, hair seals and caribou had to
take the place partially of the larger animals until they, too, became less
plentiful. Also, the Eskimos' acquisition of guns made possible greater
slaughter and had the effect of frightening away the animals. Because of
the loss of old resources, bringing even starvation, the Eskimos had to
accept changes, whether or not novelty might also have induced them to
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
accept new techniques and materials and whether or not, on the other hand,
they were resentful against the Caucasians.
2. The whalers reversed the usual process in opening up a frontier:
they did not live in Eskimo villages except in instances of shipwreck, but
they took both men and women — especially the women — on board ship, for
long periods in some cases. Eskimo men, by their work with the whalers on
whip and shore, learned about guns, ship gear, and later steam engines.
Eskimo women from St. Lawrence Island and the whole arctic coast of Alaska
were taken and in some cases carried along by the whaling fleet to Herschel
Island, the mouth of the Mackenzie, and farther east. They brought a mixture
of heredity and cultures to the latter stretch of Canadian and Alaskan coast
and left demoralized villages on the former coast. Since some women were
returned to their villages, it is difficult to tell what was the residual
shift of population after the whaling industry died out. The women acquired
European-style cooking and other household techniques and a knowledge of some
attitudes of white men, unfortunately not those conducive to good cultural
adjustment. Because whaling crews prior to the Gold Rush did not settle and
establish identifiable families, their offspring were absorbed into the
Eskimo population, not clearly designated as mixed-blood, unlike most off–
spring of Russians, miners, and storekeepers.
3. The whalers' trading of liquor — or of molasses and flour with which
the Eskimos made their own liquor — helped demoralize hunting and fishing
routines and village life. Drinking, by thus decreasing food, lowered
resistance to disease. The Eskimos' value system was upset when in return
for raw materials, many of which were po
r
tential production goods, they
received only consumption goods, especially consumption goods with as little
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
durability as liquor.
The whalers' trade and their ideas started other changes that became
stronger and more widespread later. For example, they introduced to the
arctic coast such foods as flour and beans, not good substitues for the
oil, blood, and other animal products that they largely supplanted, and
they induced the Eskimos to build wooden houses entirely above ground, also
not adapted to the environment.
In the fifty years of whaling in the Alaskan Arctic (there was much
less activity after 1900 and almost none after 1906), the Eskimos very
rarely fought back openly against the whalers. The Eskimo ideal of acceptance,
plus their physical weakening and confusion, partially account for this.
Other more reassuring factors were the Eskimos' freedom to maintain their
religion, ceremonial, and art (so far as the whalers were concerned), the
restricted
^
seasonal nature of the invasion, and the fact that white men who came with the
^
whaling industry did not usually try to remain when it died out.
Also, by the time the full effects of the whaling movement were apparent
(1880's and 1890's), the Eskimos were dependent on it for trade goods, for
tobacco and liquor especially, and did not want to oppose it. They looked
forward eagerly to the annual arrival of the fleet at Port Clarence, Point
Hope, and other arctic villages even though it would bring disease and
quarrels. Wales and Diomede villages were notable exceptions to this attitude.
N
^
M
^
ost exploring expeditions did not remain long enough in a locality to
have deep effect. The Western Union Telegraph Expedition (1865-67), which
remained the longest, established crews at St. Michael, Unalaklest, Nulato,
and Port Clarence. Such expeditions initiated dog-team freighting. While
the Eskimo did not change his own ways much, he learned what the American did,
and what the American expected of him. Although since then the Eskimo's
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
behavior in his own group has resembled increasingly his behavior toward
the white man, there still are differences. For example, usually in
slaughtering reindeer for his own use, he sticks it so that there will be
internal bleeding and blood can be eaten; for the Caucasian's use, he lets
the carcass bleed.
Another influence, most evident in the area between Kotsebue and
Unalakleet, was that of the Lapps. They were brought — men, women, and
children — to teach reindeer herding to the Eskimos. The latter took over
almost completely the Lapp methods of handling reindeer and some of their
decoration and patterns for clothing, especially the fur-soled boots with
upturned toes. These were not substituted for Alaskan forms but were added
to the local cultural inventory.
In the 1880's salmon canning was started at Nushagak, bringing both
Caucasian and Chinese workers. The drying and salting of fish was already
undertaken around the southeast side of Bristol Bay, and the fur trade had
been well established in the Bristol Bay area by the Russians even earlier.
Thus native peoples here felt the disintegrating effects of civilization
almost as early as on the arctic coast.
The next big wave of outsiders, viz., the gold seekers, differed from
whalers and commercial fisherman in three ways: (
1
) In the same period as
their influx, the teachers, missionaries, and government officials also
came, as an avowed controlling influence. (
2
) More white women came.
(
3
) A larger number of white men remained, as prospectors, trappers,
boatmen, roadhouse keepers, and in other occupations. Although the Gold
Rush itself was short, ultimately the effects on the Eskimos were great,
because it established new towns, a mining industry, transportation, and
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
a more varied trade. Outsiders settled in the northern inland for the
first time, for example, at Klery Creek, Shungnak, and Wiseman.
In the first rush, these people, irresponsible, urgent, and with
little to trade, often did not barter with the Eskimos. They stole what
they needed and brought the same havoc as the whalers. In other cases,
they paid fantastic prices for dogs and boats. Both groups of outsiders
had an unintentional function in the accultural process: they prepared the
way for missionaries and teachers. The principal Eskimo areas overrun by
gold seekers were Seward Peninsula, St. Michael and the lower Yukon, the
Kobuk and upper Koyukuk areas.
A few communities have been influenced strongly by institutions main–
tained for the Eskimos chiefly or solely, but managed by whites: orphanages
and boarding schools. These have been located in Teller, White Mountain,
Unalakleet, Akulurak, Pilgrim Hot Springs, Holy Cross, Carmel (near Nushagak),
Kanakanak, and Akiak (Nunapitsinghok). Some have now closed. Of the Eskimo
children sent to mission homes outside Eskimo territory, such as Unalaska
(no longer in operation) and Seward, apparently most have returned to their
home areas as another source of new ideas. The only Government boarding
school within Eskimo territory is at White Mountain on Seward Peninsula,
but before it was reconstructed in 1942 a few Eskimo adolescents went to
south Alaska to Eklutna and Wrangell boarding schools. Now a few attend
the new boarding school at Sitka. A still smaller number went even farther,
for example to the college at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and then returned,
usually as school teachers. Probably the most important, because affecting
the greatest number, have been the private mission-orphanages in the heart
of Eskimo territory. Their young people, settling in villages roundabout,
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
maintained important attitudes learned from the Caucasians regarding family
life, hygiene, religion, and personal values such as individual possessive–
ness and providence.
In both World Wars, the locality in Eskimo territory most influenced
by servicemen was Nome. The effects were increased drinking and general
social demoralization. The Eskimos who migrated to Fairbanks have fared
even worse.
The region that remained almost completely untouched by all the forego–
ing and even was little affected by reindeer herding was the coastal and
adjacent inland tundra region between Goodnews Bay and Scammon Bay. Here
most of the Eskimos were poor. Still, as one observer said, "For squalor
and apparent misery of circumstances and surrounding, the Mumtrahamiut people
stand pre-eminent even in this most primitive of Alaskan district; but this
seems not at all to interfere with their happiness and general health."
(The incidence of tuberculosis has been high in this region in recent years,
however.)
The permanent American settlers had a few common characteristics: Scan–
dinavia was their principal national background other than the United States;
they had a high rate of employment and composed a working-class group; liter–
acy was high, and there was a high ratio of males. There were 500 males per
100 females in 1910, the ration dropping steadily to 188.5 in 1940. Otherwise
they were diverse in background and tended to become individual types rather
than to be grouped into classes. The whites have been until recently unorgan–
ized and independent in economic matters and even in social relationship, a
condition to be expected in such a scattered population, with a high propor–
tion of self-employed males.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
The proportion of Caucasians to aborigines has not increased in the
Eskimo areas (except Kodiak Island) as much as it has in the Indian and
Aleut areas. Of the 8 incorporated towns in Alaska with more than 1000
population, according to the 1940 Census, only one was in Eskimo territory: Nome.
(Kodiak no longer is considered Eskimo.) In the 2nd Judicial Division, covering
northwest Alaska, i.e., Eskimo country, and containing virtually no Indians,
the "native stock" was 85.9% of the population in 1940. By comparison, it
was 25.7% in the 1st Judicial Division, covering southeast Alaska, where the
native population is entirely Indian. Fewer than 70 of the 200 to 220 recog–
nizably Eskimo villages — it is difficult to designate some as specifically
Eskimo — have had Alaska Native Service schools, and only a very few other
villages are served by mission schools or "white schools." There are adminis–
trative and budgetry obstacles to establishment of schools in the numerous
very small villages. Consequently in 1940 still only 51.0% of Eskimo chil–
dren 5 to 14 years old, inclusive, were attending school, while 76.1% of
Aleuts and 69.8% of Indians of these ages were in school. In 1947-48 in
Eskimo communities there were 47 Alaska Native Service schools for native
children (provided by the Federal Government) and 8 Territorial schools,
primarily for white children (provided by the Territorial Government of
Alaska). After several other A.N.S. schools were closed, 1946-47, for lack
of funds and other reasons, there were no longer both types of school in the
same village, as there had been in a few cases previously. Whereas formerly
there was a general, although not rigid, segregation of native from white,
now both attend the same local school, no matter which school system it
belongs to. This change will hasten the acculturation process in a few
villages, but will have little effect in most.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
The most significant change has been the increase in number of
Caucasian women and children. When more of them come into a community,
the Caucasians tend to form their own society apart from the Eskimos. The
latter, and the white men who marry them, usually then are regarded not
merely as a separate society but an inferior one. Because of this and
other factors, there is a significant increase in the mixed-blood popula–
tion, not because of more intermarriage between whites and Eekimos but
because of increased marriage within the mixed-blood population. In small
villages the latter usually does not constitute a separate social group.
In villages of more than 300 population, there is a tendency to recognize
them as distinct.
Casual contacts with whites have been more numerous and culturally more
important in Alaska than in the Canadian Arctic — not including Labrador —
or in Greenland, because there has been more incentive for commercial sea and
air shipping and there have been more "bush pilots." Now (1948) a plane
visits several arctic villages like Chandalar and Noorvik at least once a
week in the winter and larger villages like Notzebue twice a week. The more
remote villages on the coast between the mouths of the Yukon and Kuskokwim
rivers receive a mail plane at least once a month. Consequent decrease of
isolation means all these: (
1
) increase in number and especially variety of
people visiting a locality, (
2
) some increase in variety of goods, e.g.,
perishable foods, (
3
) contemporaneity of reading material, (
4
) quicker
response to changes in fur prices and other "Outside" occurrences, with
consequent feeling of closer association with the Outside, and (
5
) develop–
ment of a Caucasian community covering a large region. The Eskimos have
been great travelers, but Caucasians for a long time were restricted in
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
movement, especially the women. With plane travel and radio, they now
become acquainted with whites in other villages but not with Eskimos.
Thus the latter are further set apart from the white community. As for
the Eskimo communities, most affected by air transportation have been
St. Lawrence and Nunivak islands, formerly isolated in the winter, and
the tundra villages of the Kuskokwim Delta and Goodnews Bay, which have
been hard to reach at all seasons.
Another factor for cultural change has been the disappearance of many
small Eskimo villages, e.g., the Sledge Island village, and the trend
toward concentration of population where there are nuclear white communities.
Other villages have periodically risen and declined, like Wiseman.
Very important has been the continuous effect of tuberculosis. People
struggling through their daily activities until a few weeks before their
death are not dynamic acceptors or rejectors of a new culture. They take
the way of least resistance, whether that be continuance of old habits with–
out selective adjustment to new requirements, or acceptance of commercial
goods and Government aid without retention of old skills. The specific
choice depends upon local cultural pressures and material resources.
Invigorating influences have come periodically. After the whaling period,
venereal disease, drinking, and the uncritical hysteric dependence on the
Outsiders died out of the arctic villages. They reorganized their lives and
developed domestic reindeer herding to supplement the diminished food supply.
Recently the school-lunch program has brought improvement in the children's
health and if continued, with the current immunization program and the drive
to control tuberculosis, will make possible physical self-sufficiency.
Whether this actually will occur depends upon economic and other factors.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
Economic Changes
Fur Trade
. When the Russians started the fur trade, they introduced
new incentives to trade: tobacco, tea, guns and lead, flint and steel, a
few copper kettles, spoons, beads and other trinkets. But the fur trade,
even with modern commercialization, never has meant in west Alaska what it
has meant in northern Canada. (
1
) It was not the sole or even principal
motivation or mechanism of cultural contact. (
2
) It did not induce Alaskan
Eskimos to substitute trapping for sea-mammal hunting except around Bristol
bay, and here other factors strongly abetted the decline of sea hunting.
In those inland areas where trapping has become important, for example the
Kuskokwim valley, the Eskimos already had removed themselves from coastal
hunting. For other Eskimos, trapping was supplementary. (
3
) There has not
been a single large institutional system, like the Hudson's Bay Company.
Prices, amount of credit extended, types of trade goods, and other elements
of business therefore have varied considerably from one area to another.
Locally, however, several individual traders and trading companies have
dominated their communities as completely as the Hudson's Bay Company in
Canada. (
4
) The country yielded other products so that there could scarcely
be a concentration on fur-bearing animals. Unworked ivory and carved and
etched ivory objects, basketry, and other craft products are traded. Commer–
cial fishing in south Alaska, mining in north Alaska, lighterage, construction,
and for 20 years the reindeer industry on Seward Peninsula (approximately
1916-1936) have provided seasonal wage work.
Even though trapping is a better business for the Eskimos than others
developing in Alaska, in that it does not require large organization, crew,
or much outlay of capital for mobile equipment and no stationary equipment,
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
nevertheless it is fortunate that so few Eskimos try to get their living
solely by trapping. Besides the great fluctuation in price and natural
supply of furs, there is an artifically induced fluctuation. The white
trapper (not including the occasional prospector-trapper) runs a longer
trap line and works it harder because he can afford more traps, better
dog team, etc., and does not divide his effort among several occupations.
The animals disappear more quickly than with native trapping alone. Then
the white trappers shift their lines, leaving the area to the Eskimos.
Gradually the animals return and the cycle is repeated.
At first, furs were bartered directly for store goods or for seal oil,
walrus hide, and similar products that the trader had bought from other
Eskimos. Later, there was more granting of credit and purchase of only
store goods. Today, with so many airplanes, fur buyers can visit many
localities at a favorable moment and pay cash for the furs. Other alterna–
tives are sale through the Eskimos' community stores, and shipment directly
Outside for sale. Even though some of these changes have brought improvement,
almost none has been initiated by the Eskimos. The changes have been
fortuitous.
Eskimos everywhere of course learned the techniques of commercial
trapping. It abetted changes in dog harness, size and shape of sleds, camp–
ing equipment, use of skis, travel of men alone without their families, and
decreased use of luxury furs for their own clothing.
The market for inland fur-bearing animals and decrease of sea animals
shifted the Eskimos' attention toward the interior for food and cash-income
sources but still centered their interest on the coast for trade, medical
and other services. The coast generally continued to win this contest until
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
the 1940's when development of airfields and military establishments,
growth of towns like Fairbanks, prospecting for the minerals of modern
industry, and high price of short furs like mink have induced individual
Eskimos to resettle inland or work in the interior seasonally. In fact,
most large construction projects are not only inland, they are entirely
outside Eskimo territory, Point Barrow being the notable exception. Most
affected are the young people. One cannot see yet whether they will shift
from sea-mammal hunting to other occupations permanently. Meanwhile, most
Eskimo villages follow their old routines of hunting and fishing with
surprising tenacity.
Other Enterprises.
Of those types of activity (self-employment rather
than wage work) besides trapping, no business so far has proved valuable to
the Eskimos for more than restricted localities or occasional individuals.
These are fur farming, mining, operating a commercial fishing vessel,
freighting, and storekeeping. There is little demand for sportsmen's guides.
Dog-tem mail contracts are giving way to air-mail contracts.
The most promising new livelihood 30 years ago lay in reindeer owner–
ship and herding. With Government and private funds, domestic reindeer were
introduced from Siberia in 1892-1902 for the benefit of the Eskimos, and were
distributed to all major localities from Barrow to Kodiak. By 1915, interest
in the deer, understanding of their requirements and of the possibilities
of the business, and pride in ownership and skill were developing. Then
because of competition from the reindeer business of a white family, of
the changes of policy (especially abandonment of close herding) and occa–
sionally poor supervision by the Reindeer Service, of the drawing off of
animals by caribou herds and heavy depredations by wolves, the Eskimo-owned
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
reindeer industry nearly collapsed. Since purchase of all non-native-owned
herds by the Government in 1939, a rehabilitation of the Reindeer Service
and the herds has been progressing despite continued depletion of the herds
by wolves.
In 1947 there were 27 herds under general supervision of the Reindeer
Service (branch of the Alaska Native Service), distributed as follows:
Owned by Eskimos, continued from the original system of individual Eskimo
ownership: 3 (2 at Barrow, 1 at Wainwright).
Eskimo corporations: 7 (Wainwright, Point Hope, Noatak, Buckland, St. Lawrence
Island, Teller, interior of Seward Peninsula).
On loan to individual Eskimos under new system: 11 (3 at Barrow, 2 at
Kotzebue, one each at Selawik, Shungnak, Deering, Golovin, St. Michael, Bethel).
Government ownership and management: 6 (Kotzebue, Hooper Bay, Nunivak Island,
Alitak on Kodiak Island, Umnak Island, Atka Island). See "Nunivak Island."
Under the new program, an Eskimo (half of those who have qualified are
World War II veterans) is loaned deer to be repaid in 5 years, the borrower
keeping the increase. In return, he accepts training and superivision in
reindeer care and management.
In the early period, the European system of "close herding" was used
with good results for the deer. This meant staying with the herd through
blizzard, spring thaw, summer mosquitoes, Christmas holiday, summer whaling
and its festivities on the coast, moreover in very bad country for overland
summer travel. Especially for the shore-dwelling groups, the revolution
in their way of life required by herding a semidomesticated animal was
difficult. The people wanted to return periodically to their villages
whether or not this was good for the herd. Today, young men who want to
have a business of their own are willing to make the effort to protect
their herds. There are not enough reindeer now, however, to give material
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
security to very many families or communities.
Except in their community stores (see below), Eskimos have not done
especially well in community enterprises. A sawmill at Noorvik prospered
for a few years under good leadership of a Caucasian but declined after
his departure. Whether due to other factors besides leadership is not
known. Most Eskimos have not yet had enough experience in business manage–
ment to be able to operate such an enterprise, and probably they are not
sufficiently interested, regardless of ability.
Wage Work
. The Eskimos from 1941 onward have had their greatest range
of job opportunities since the Gold Rush, but they are not keeping pace with
the whites in Alaska in rate or range of employment expansion, especially
for full-time work. At best they become operators of caterpillar tractors
and other heavy equipment or bosses of native crews. Their inferior command
of English keeps them from such skilled occupations as radio work, for which
many could qualify in intelligence, interest, and resourcefulness. Gradually,
young people are learning to do this work.
A recent development has been work, for a short season, in the salmon
canneries of Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound. The workers are men
transported by plane from the Delta villages, such as Eek, Kwigillingok,
Tununak (Nelson Island) and Askinak (Hooper Bay). During World War II
when Filipino and other customary cannery labor was scarce, the fish-packing
companies began to hire more Alaska labor. Although the men receive good pay
in most years, many individuals do not have much money when they arrive home,
having spent it in Bethel and other towns en route. Men employed in lighter–
age at Nome have the same experience. Furthermore, the salmon-canning
season and other late-summer work may overlap more or less the season when
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
they might obtain, in the home locality, a supply of fish for their own
winter use. They usually are not kept from fishing at home entirely,
however, and the threat is not so serious as it would be if the men were
absent for longer periods. Perhaps altogether 1,000 to
2,
1,200 Eskimos
are employed seasonally in commercial fishing, including small enterprises
on the rivers.
Although statistics are difficult to obtain, it appears that 250 to 300
Eskimos are employed in mining, almost exclusively in the summer. There
are 75 to 100 in varied positions of the Alaska Native Service, including
teachers, nurse's aides, clerks, maintenance workers, and others.
Eskimos who are dissatisfied with their home villages or anxious to
get things that can be secured only by money (having accepted the white man's
values) travel to construction, mining, oil-drilling projects, and work in
large crews despite their cultural history of self-directed activity. They
make the best adjustment, however, when they can handle the mechanized equip–
ment individually, continuing their old work habits and their interest in
mechanized things.
When the Eskimos get into a limbo, having given up most of their old
techniques of subsistence and not yet acquired skills in demand on a regular–
work basis in the American economy, they are extremely weak and vulnerable.
This means dependency or exploitation, or both. Except for the very few
who are employed the year around, Alaskan Eskimos as a whole are most secure
when they can keep, individually, a variety of resources and activities,
possibly including some wage work. That their wage employment remained
minor in the 1930's is indicated by the following figures. (No similar
figures are available for the 1940's.) An economic survey of 44 Eskimo
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
villages from the Ugashik River to Point Barrow in 1932 showed: Domestic
service, mining, and the reindeer industry (at that time largely a private
industry) yielded $93,555 for 589 people, plus some food for home consump–
tion. The largely self-directed activities, hunting, trapping, fishing,
craft work, storekeeping and other business proprietorship, yielded
$363,653 for 3,329 workers. It is difficult to put a cash value on hunting
and fishing for home consumption, hence these figures may not be accurate;
nevertheless the comparative size of the two total amounts given was probably
typical for the 1930's.
Shift to Money Economy
. Whalers and American settlers brought new
economic concepts: money, credit, land ownership and leasing, rental (of
such things as plank boats), paid labor and paid supervision, and investment
of capital. While most of these were not entirely unknown to the Eskimos,
they had remained incipient. Other concepts, important to the Eskimos (for
example, periodic distribution of accumulated wealth), were customs of
whites too, but insignificant in their economic system. The difference was
one of emphasis.
Regarding the Eskimos' previous experience with the new concepts, for
example, a man might loan another some materials that the latter needed for
building a storehouse or might loan furs needed to
fulifi
fulfill a gift
obligation. The lender would receive not only return of the loan but
perhaps some fish in addition, as a kind of interest. (There was not, however,
anything like the Southeast Alaskan Indian system of fixed interest rates.)
Or two men would agree to exchange a wolverine and an ugrug (bearded seal)
skin, the latter to be paid from next season's catch, a form of credit.
And in each locality there was some medium of exchange of standard of value
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
such as bundles of squirrel, fawn or bird skins for parkas, or pokes of
seal oil. None of these was fully standardized. Yet the
principles
of
the new economy were understood by the Eskimos - especially in southeastern
Alaska - better than the Outsiders realized.
Even the southwestern Eskimos were at a loss, however, in not having
a sound basis for judging prices of specific store goods and judging what
would be a safe amount of credit. From the time of the whalers to the
present, the Eskimos have had a distorted money-value system in comparison
with U.S. values. They sold too cheaply and bought too dearly. The new
things had rarity value, some of which was justified in the 1880's and
1890's. But the Eskimos continued to pay high prices even in the depression
of the 1930's. Although traders had some justification for high prices of
manufactured goods, to cover high shipping costs and their losses in the
erratic fur trade, nevertheless these prices did not fluctuate much in
adjustment to U.S. economic changes while prices of the Eskimos' products
did fluctuate, or remained low. If Eskimos had received full value, they
would have had money for more cloth, outboard motors, window glass, etc.,
even while remaining in a hunting and trapping economy. Whether their
restricted purchasing power should be regarded as good or bad would depend
on the type of goods they might have purchased, and whether these were
adaptable to their way of life.
Besides ignorance of relative values, older Eskimos did not have the
means of keeping accounts; hence, they were victims of the traders' bad
judgment or deceit in extending credit and keeping a record of it. Both
misunderstanding and deceit are decreasing as Eskimos become educated,
as cash supplants credit, and as the natives' community stores, managed
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
by themselves and guided by A.N.S. teachers — also the mail-order trade
and new storekeepers — offer competition to the monopolies of old-time
storekeepers.
Working against self-sufficiency and control of credit is the Eskimos'
dependence upon store goods, which is increasing slowly even in the most
"backward" villages. At first there were cultural additions such as tobacco
and tea, then simple cultural substitutions: metal blades substituted for
[:
]
stone ones in knives, adzes, and scrapers, with retention of the old wood,
antler, or ivory haft, and iron or granitwara kettles substituted for
aboriginal pottery. Gradually the substitutions became more complex, requir–
ing adjustments in basic techniques. Then some of the old techniques were
entirely forgotten, so that the new things became essential, for example,
chinaware in place of wooden or baleen dishes. Nest (in some cases, simul–
taneously) entirely new needs developed which could not be satisfied by any
local methods and materials, for example, spectacles and binoculars. At
this stage, the native people become dependent on the modern industrial
economy and its local representatives. Different Alaskan Eskimo groups
today are at different stages on this course, but even the most conservative
have reached at least the third stage.
The concept that they found most difficult to apply was capital, also
the Americans' concept of ownership. An Eskimo's ultimate capital consisted
of (1) labor and (2) incorporeal property that Caucasians either did not
recognize or which they undervalued, viz., his knowledge, skill, and magical
equipment which produced the wealth in seals and whales. If one seeks a
more tangible form of productive capital, one can cite hunting and fishing
implements and skin boats. These ordinarily were made by the hunter himself
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
from materials that he had secured himself, hence were derived from his
ultimate capital, viz., skill, without necessary intervention of any
other agency. These things had the function of the manufacturer's
machinery, which he buys with his financial capital.
The closer to the actual production of wealth, the less lending or
giving was practised, as in an industrial economy. An Eskimo would not
divulge to any except immediate relatives the incantation to help him when
hunting or would not lend a big ugrug harpoon with his mark, just as the
manufacturer does not lend to his competitor his copyright and patent
material or his factory and machinery. On the other hand, the Eskimo's
work tools were borrowed quite freely, food was shared in times of scarcity
and even at other times, and his accumulated raw materials and luxury items
were given away lavishly in festivals. The explanation is that these things
could not directly create wealth, and they were not literally sacred. More–
over, many of them had no trade value. Skin scrapers and ice chisels rarely
entired into trade. Even goods that could be traded produced only an
approximate equivalent, not new wealth. Neither Caucasians nor Eskimos
could see the similarities and understand the differences between their
respective economies.
Though they have made material substitutions — guns for arrows — most
Alaskan Eskimos have not made conceptual substitutions. Some believe that
prayer to the Christian Deity brings economic success, while others have no
substitute for
^
their
^
old magic formulae.
According to the Eskimo code, a person's house, cache (storehouse), and
boat and their contents are inviolable. Stealing is a serious crime. These
possessions are a part of the individual: intentionally damaging or stealing
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
a man's skin boat are nearly as bad as intentionally chopping off his
finger. But a person can lend or give the boat as he would give his
energy to help another. (This code did not prohibit stealing from an
enemy.) Thievery within the community, which is increasing apparently,
indicates that the old concepts and code are breaking.
Land was, in a general way, an asset, but there was no con
^
c
^
ept of land
"ownership." It was not owned individually, could not be sold or transferred,
and was not thought to produce wealth. One obtained wealth by dealing directly
with the animals and the spirits controlling them, not by doing anything to
the land. The Eskimos regarded as a sorceror anyone who deliverately with–
held or decreased basic resources, e.g., an important species of fish. Any–
one who broke a tabu and thereby threatened the food supply, by incurring
the displeasure of Powers that controlled it, was a sinner. (Groups by
over-hunting or fishing depleted natural supplies, but this was done uninten–
tionally. Grass, clay, slate, and almost all other products were either
abundant or equally accessible to all. Most Alaskan Eskimos lived in tree–
less country. Wood, like everything else, was secured by exerting oneself,
usually by collecting it from the beach. Perhaps theoretically it would
have been possible for one man to own miles of coast in order to get all
the driftwood, shellfish, or stranded sea animals. But if he had attempted
that, he would not have been part of the community: the other people, unable
to exist without free use of the coast, would have killed him or left him.
Their existence could not tolerate land ownership.
It was customary for a fmily to set out a seal net at a particular
point on the coast or for a village to drive caribou into a particular
lake, yet these human habits changed with the habits of the animals. No
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
person, family, or village had exclusive rights in perpetuity to such things
as a spring, mineral deposit, bird rookery, or place for setting traps.
These customs would still work if it were not for several elements in modern
economy. When the white man enters an area, he demands exclusive rights to
resources, even to potential resources not demonstrated or used. Further,
his mechanical and monetary powers and often his personal motivation for
extraction of the resource are very much greater than those in the native
culture, or available even to an accultural but unorganized native group.
Hence the competition is very unequal. To even up the competing elements,
the following policies are being tried although none has become a fixed or
general policy of the Federal Government toward natives of Alaska (
1
) reserva–
tions for native and Government use only; (
2
) designation of use-areas, in
reservations or without reservation, by a leasing system; (
3
) lending to
the aboriginal people financial and material means of
[:
]
claiming and
developing resources in equal competition.
Commerce.
The arts and crafts program in Alaska, which markets
Eskimo, Aleut, and Indian craft products, handles a larger business than any
arts and crafts unit among Indians in the United States. (The program is
supervised by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose local branch is the
Alaska Native Service.) The Nome Skin Sewers sold $35,504 worth of fur
clothing in 1945 and $32,081 worth in 1946. This is entirely an Eskimo
project and not limited to the town of Nome. The larger Arts and Crafts
Clearing House, marketing basketry, ivory and wood carving and other objects,
did a $420,201 business in 1944 when the expanded Armed Forces in Alaska
provided a market, $212,512 in 1945, and $113,680 business in 1946. This
includes only items shipped out by teachers and other representatives of the
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
A.N.S. or sold through native community stores. Private traders also buy
such products, with valuation not included in the above figures.
Community stores can obtain loans from
^
a
^
revolving credit fund which
began functioning in Alaska in 1939. Of the 17 Eskimo communities to
which such loans had been committed as of May 31, 1948, 8 had repaid one
loan in full and had obtained other loans. The largest loan paid in full
was $25,000. In 1930, 18 Eskimo villages had community stores; in 1947,
there were 30. These were managed by the villages themselves, under
Federal sponsorship. In December 1947, a new cooperative of 27 village
stores was announced, including Aleut and Indian also. It purchases
supplies and merchandise for the stores and plans to develop a system for
marketing furs and other native products in the States. While many of the
stores have required considerable direction by Caucasians, the Eskimos are
learning commercial methods and gradually assuming independent management.
Principal goods purchased are dry foods and canned milk, household
supplies (matches, lamp mantles, soap, etc.), underclothing, rubber boots
and other work clothes, petroleum products, ammunition, hardware of great
variety, and some lumber. Larger household articles are purchased increas–
ingly. Small luxuries like chewing-gum and watches are large in quantity
and total value (unfortunately, there are no estimates of total trade by
Eskimos), indicating the great expansion of material culture despite the
loss of many ancient tools and luxuries.
Socio-economic Problems
. Missionaries and others contributed uninten–
tionally to a fundamental economic change by inducing most Alaskan Eskimos
to abandon the pre-European Messenger Feast. It had been customary in this
big festival in which one village entertained one or more others — also in
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
the memorial feasts of the Norton Sound to Kuskokwim area and the whale-hunt
celebrations of the arctic coast — to give the oldest people first choice
of the gifts being distributed by wealthy hunters. In some localities, goods
were exchanged by individuals, then extra goods were given to people who
needed assistance. When the festivals were eliminated on grounds that they
impoverished the hosts and that shamanic performances, dances, and songs
portrayed the old religion, a good method for helping the old and indigent
also was eliminated. However, where whaling by native crews continues,
the captain of the successful umiak still usually gives first choice of meat
to the old people.
In the second development, still without intent, missionaries and teachers
provided a new substitute means of distributing gifts: Christmas. Great piles
of presents are accumulated for several months and given in a program in school
or church. Although there are local variations, usually today each gift is
prepared for a specific individual according to American custom. Where the old
mutual-help partnerships and distant kin relationships still have meaning,
presents are given to such partners and kin as well as close relatives, and
the system works toeveryone's advantage. It is not always an adequate substi–
tute for the old system, however.
Formerly young people gave day-by-day food and care to their own elder
relatives, and the wealthy men provided for unadopted individuals lacking
close kin. If food was scarce and even vigorous hunters could not obtain
a surplus, old people had to be abandoned. With current strictures against
this, there are only two possibilities: suicide, or care by agencies possessing
outside resources. Today the church missions provide fewer orphanages and
boarding schools than 30 years ago, but more young people are being assisted
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
by the Government schools. The U.S. Social Security System applies to
Eskimos, and some are given Old Age Assistance and Aid to Dependent Children.
Others who might qualify for it do not know that it is available or how to
secure it. By the nature of their employment, very few can qualify for
Unemployment Insurance or Old Age and Survivors' Insurance. Although the
Alaska Native Service employs a traveling social worker and the Federal
Security Agency has field workers in Alaska, the available services have
not actually created attitudes of dependency among Eskimos. If a village
has widow or other indigents to be care for by Outside agencies, then it
already has relinquished old methods of being self-sufficient, and its
moral code has changed, becoming more "humanitarian" in the American sense.
Greater rigidity of the marriage institution, e.g., restriction to monogamy,
and increased individualism also account for present lack of village care
of all its members.
Regarding position of women and children, there is somewhat greater
freedom now (use of own funds, etc.), but women's basis economic status is
not greatly different. It was quite satisfying, aboriginally. Most women
themselves now sell fur boots, dolls, or their other products, whereas in
the trade of 60 years ago the men conducted the family's trading. The
biggest change has appeared when any individual, male or female, has spent
his income primarily on himself rather than his family. This appears
increasingly among those living in white men's towns and working for wages,
but it is not characteristic of Eskimo villages.
There may be, occasionally, greater dependency of those who cannot
be full economic producers, but among those who are capable of working,
there still is little personal disorganization and inability to provide at
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
least subsistence, unless there is drunkenness. While not so vigorously
or openly competitive as Americans, there is enough competitiveness in
their culture and a high enough standard of workmanship so that Alaskan
Eskimos fit into American work-patterns fairly well. They probably work
best when they can make the task a pleasant individual race. It is claimed
that they do not like highly repetitive routine work, especially when its
fruits are to be enjoyed far in the future (not exclusively an Eskimo trait!)
but other factors probably are involved. The young people understand private
ownership and lease of real property, for example in the staking of claims,
further assisting them to fit into the American economic system. However,
with widening individualism and private ownership, with more emphasis on
goods and prerogatives, go other traits: decrease in generosity; thievery,
charges of thievery and deceit; and lack of unanimity regarding providence
and improvidence. Most Eskimos and Caucasians have difficulty agreeing on
provision for the future. Apparently many Eskimos are still acting with the
confidence regarding future provision that they had when natural resources
were more abundant, when there was less competition for them and more expecta–
tion of sharing. Also, probably they were more mobile — seeking the
animals where they could find them — than today when many families try
to stay in one village for longer periods, to keep their children in school.
Other Eskimos, following white example, store large supplies of food, then
criticize and decline to help the "improvident." Too, the whole community
may count on the annual freighter arriving at a particular time. When it is
delayed, they have no flour, milk, and other foods on which they depend as
much as seal oil.
Of the two important requirements for future economic adjustment --
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
education and year-round occupation, or a stable combination of comple–
mentary seasonal occupations — the second is not provided by any policy
now in general operation, except mere freedom to hunt. If there is en–
croachment on hunting territory by Caucasians or dissatisfaction with the
old livelihood by the Eskimos, then little security is in prospect without
larger economic planning than is now being done. A field investigation by
two economists of the General Land Office in 1940 showed this: On Kodiak
Island (mixed Eskimo-Aleut-Russian population), which has been European–
dominated for 150 years and is more changed than any localities in the
heart of Eskimo country, the native population was largely dependent on
seasonally operated canneries. It badly needed an economic base giving
greater self-sufficiency and security. Today a Government reindeer herd
provides some supplementary food and skins, and there is other localized
employment such as construction work. However, the complete loss of old
sea-hunting techniques and of satisfaction with hunting and its products
are irreparable. A whole new economy (based on stock raising, for example)
needs to be built at considerable expense, because once the native economy
breaks up, changes progress until a whole new one is required. Fortunately,
most Alaskan Eskimos still can carry on a combination of hunting, fishing,
and trappling.
Changes in Technology and Daily Life
These have been too numerous and too variable from region to region
for cataloguing here. The men have suffered much greater loss of skills
than the women. Comparison of the artifacts collected by E. W. Nelson in
the rich area of Norton Sound and the lower Yukon, about 1880, with tools
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
in use there today shows that at least 160 different types of tools,
hunting and fishing implements, ornaments, and other small devices formerly
made by the men in any one village no longer are made. These do not in–
clude the even greater number that could be enumerated on the basis of
individual stylistic
[:
]
differences. Some Alaskan villages, like those on
Nunivak Island and the Delta tundra, have not lost so much. Some, like
Egegik, have lost more.
Native Products.
Aside from war implements (armor, quiver, etc.), the
articles most completely supplanted by manufactured articles are household
and personal objects: toys, labrets, combs, boxes, buckets, seal-oil lamps
and lampstands, needles and needle cases, ivory-handled storage bags, water
bags, wooden hats and eyeshades, shovels, rakes, and fire-making tools.
Some of the knives, skin scrappers, mallets, adzes and digging tools,
meat hooks, etc., are still used, whereas other categories of tools have
disappeared completely. The nest largest loss has been the bo
^
w
^
s-and-arrow
complex, with various throwing-board and hand-thrown implements almost as
universally discarded, though still occasionally used in conservative
localities.
Fishing equipment seems to have changed least. Mesh-knots, sinkers,
and floats (handles) of the seine are the same even though sommercial cord
is used instead of sinew twine. The large salmon
[:
]
harpoon of
southwest Alaska disappeared early, and the multipronged fish spear has
nearly given way before the hook and jiggle for fishing through the ice.
But wicker traps, dip nets, ice scoops, and most other items have changed
little. In sum, materials have changed, but most forms and methods have not.
The most remarkable changes in native products have been ivory objects
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
of commerce substituted for formerly numerous amulets and toys: today
they are etched ivory letter openers and pickle forks; bracelets, buttons,
and paper weights in animal form; and separate small figures of birds and
animals. This work is more limited geographically now: approximately
Bering Strait to Nunivak Island. Wooden masks are carved for sale through
the Arts and Crafts Guild rather than for personal use. Some implements
for home use now are made from old metal saws, axes, and knives while others
are bought and used without change. For example, large ulu blades are made
from saws. Where there is a school, well-equipped mission, or generous
trader, their tools are used freely by the community. In most A.N.S. schools
there is a workshop which has largely supplanted, although it has not fully
taken the place of, the ancient kazgee (kashim).
Women no longer make 25 to 30 types of articles formerly made. The
only complete loss by them is ceramics, no great loss as the pottery was
of unusually poor quality, with little decoration. The explanation of the
difference is that (
1
) the women formerly did not make so many different
articles as the men, and (
2
) the class of goods on which they spent most
time and elaborated most, viz., clothing, has remained most universally in
demand. Women now rarely — in many places, never — make rawhide buckets,
rawhide tents, woven-grass socks or mittens, matting sails, fishskin clothing,
elaborate fur caps for the men, ceremonial head fillets, anklets, feather
wands, and feather parkas. Not all of these ever were used by all groups.
Apparently, tents never were used in southwest Alaska until canvas ones
were brought in. The people of the north coast of Alaska never wore grass
and fishskin mittens. The above lists, however, indicate range and type of
change.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
Even though a few commercial crafts have been learned (largely
adaptations of old skills in sewing, carving, and etching on ivory),
the Eskimos have acquired few substitute skills as meticulous as those
required in making old-time implements. The men's new skills are mostly
not hand skills but are more general: handling reindeer, trapping, dog–
team driving, navigation. The new specific skills are in mechanics,
seamanship on large vessels (for a few young fellows), care and use of
guns, construction and repair of stoves, simple furniture, and occasionally
radios. While Eskimos show real aptitude in learning the mechanism of guns
and engines, they seldom give these adequate maintenance care. There are
several explanations, involving both knowledge and personal values:
(
1
) Eskimos do not yet know the properties of metals, plastics, etc., well
enough, (
2
) do not accept the principle of hoarding, or they esteem use
above hoarding, (
3
) value production of new implements above care of old
ones although will do the latter if need be. This agrees with the attitude
that creative use of energy and skill is the most estimable trait.
Since the discovery, Eskimos have imitated each other more; general
economic development has overcome many local resource deficiencies; and
trade has provided universal items. Thus, even in native goods there is
greater uniformity than formerly, especially in clothing. Where sealskin,
fox, muskrat, or birdskin parkas formerly were worn, today almost universally
the reindeer-skin parka is worn by both sexes. The pattern of the garments
went through local elaborations but now is becoming more uniform, although
few have yet imitated the white man's adaptations by putting pockets, lining,
and zipper in their parkas. As an example of uniformity, women wear the
short fur-boot rather than the various bulky trouser-boots formerly worn.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
More and more are learning the superior Norton Sound technique of
crimping boot soles with an ulu instead of the teeth, although the spread
of modern tanning and boot-shaping methods has been comparatively slow.
The whole skin-preparation complex is one of the most resistant to change
despite commercial incentives. Even so, one-half to two-thirds of the
items of clothing now are store-bought.
Transportation
. Least changed have been umiaks and kayaks. Wooden
oarlocks and commercial oars, a well in the keel for insertion of a motor,
and occasionally canvas sails have been added to the umiak. It has not
changed in lines, construction, or materials so far as known. The kayak
is essentially unchanged except that it and the umiak are not decorated
with painted totemic designs as they were formerly around east and south
Bering Sea. In a few localities, a canvas cover is placed on the kayak.
As with nets, the material may be changed but not the form. The pattern
of native travel from winter village to summer fishing camps has not changed
although cabin launches of various types, small sailing vessels, and, in
the Kotzebue Sound area, flat river boats with low cabin occasionally have
been added to native means of transportation. That is, again means may
have changed but not use and purpose.
Boat landing and harboring facilities are no better than they were
in 1900, hence the villages are no more accessible to large vessels from
outside. The current expansion of air traffic and radio communication thus
presents the first important change since settlement by Caucasians. Air
traffic still cannot handle such heavy freight as fuel because most villages
do not have landing facilities for large planes or sufficient commerce to
justify the expense. But since spark plugs or baking powder and nursing
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
bottles can be brought on regular schedules of the small airplanes, the
Eskimos do not have to return periodically to old techniques when supplies
run out. They will forget the old ways
[:
]
faster now.
Dog traction has changed more than boat transportation. Longer freight
sleds, with steel-shod runners and steel-toothed brake, and leather dog–
harness, even sometimes with padded collar, were induced by the freighting
needs of gold prospectors and explorers. Gee-pole and whip, still not used
in conservative villages, evidently also are post-discovery in south Alaska.
The greatest change has come in the care of dogs. Until the coming of whites
and especially the introduction of domestic reindeer, dogs were allowed to
run free, seeking their own shelter, food, and water. Some dogs went feral;
others were killed by wolves; others, when still puppies, were killed to
obtain soft fur or occasionally food. As a result, dogs were not a burden
in feeding or even training, dog traction not being commercially important.
When rules were made for tethering dogs, at all villages except a few
like Little Diomede where there were neither reindeer nor caribou, the dogs
became a problem that most Eskimos have not yet solved. Securing dog food
became difficult. At first, tabus against allowing dogs to gnaw seal bones
and the bones of other locally important animals (because of affront to those
animals) limited the available dog food, and still does in some localities.
Aften there was insufficient food of any kind to provide for large teams.
Dogs, thought to have no souls or otherwise disesteemed, were given only
the minimum essential care to keep the strongest alive for drawing sleds.
Almost never were they watered (following old habits when they were allowed
to run free). Gradually Eskimos here and there, under example and criticism
of some of the Lapps, teachers, and professional dog-team drivers, have built
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
dog houses, watered the dogs in summer and fed them better. On the whole,
dogs have suffered as much in the acculturation process as the people.
House Types.
Because of scarcity and high price of lumber and other
commercial building materials, many villages of ne
[:
]
essity have kept basi–
cally the old house form. Throughout the interior, a trend toward construc–
tion of log houses had begun before the discovery and is now general. For
example, at Wiseman there are sound log cabins. On the coast, at villages
like Elim and Unalakleet where the tree line comes close, good log houses
can be built easily.
At the famous arctic villages, Wainwright, Tigara, Wales, and Little
Diomede, driftwood-and-sod or whale rib-and-sod houses still are used. The
King Island house is still the boxlike structure for which the island is
noted. Wealthy St. Lawrence families (Gembell) have two houses: summer
frame dwellings like those in the States and a low walrus-hide lined wooden
house for winter. At Savoonga, a relatively new village, all houses are
constructed of lumber. At Shismaref and Kotzebue, a house of tar-papered
plank construction, banked with sod blocks, is the customary type. Some
of these and most houses at other Seward Peninsula and Norton Sound villages
are poorly built of logs, planks, or anything the Eskimos can get. At
several other villages where there has been strong Caucasian influence, the
Eskimos have had inadequate shanties, e.g., at Bethel and Barrow. In 1947,
with Federal Government aid, materials for new houses for all Barrow Eskimos
were provided. While many Bristol Bay and Delta tundra houses also have
been inferior, the climate is not so rigorous and the need not so great as
at Barrow. In most villages between the lower Yukon and lower Kuskokwim
rivers, there still are principally driftwood-and-sod houses, with a few small
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
frame houses or log cabins in more prosperous settlements. Some Bristol
Bay villages have only modern frame houses while others have modified
old-style log-and-sod dwellings, depending largely on amount of income
from cannery work.
Stools and tables — usually very low ones — kerosene or gasoline
lamps, homemade stove or a "range," sewing-machine, home-made upboards or
chests, bunks and other characteristic furnishings of a frontier rural home
are common now, including blankets, pillows, towels, wash basin, a small
mirror, scissors, some dishes and cutlery, cooking utensils, galvanized
washtubs and buckets. The old items still used are deerskin mattress,
seal poke for oil storage, wooden dish and tray, and the ulu. A few pros–
perous Eskimos have well-furnished homes like those of the Caucasians.
At. Lawrence Island people are hotable in this regard.
Such articles as flashlights are considered almost indispensable now.
Even thermos bottles are coming into general use. Thermos bottle and primus
stove, sleeping-bag and teakettle are customary equipment for the trail.
Nearly all coastal Eskimos, except at Wainwright where there is coal, have
difficulty getting sufficient fuel for their new stoves. Imported coal and
fuel oil, used in
creasingly, are expensive, and are among the chief incen–
tives to trapping and other occupations providing cash income.
Changes in Habits.
One of the most significant changes in daily habits
resulting from technological change, which in turn requires further cultural
modification, concerns need for water. When animal skins were cleaned with
urine and people washed their hair in urine, when moss was used for babies'
diapers and shredded grass for towels, when dishes were merely wiped clean,
when there were no wooden floors to scrub or cloth garments to wash, very
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
little water was needed. Today, tea, coffee, more boiled foods, tethered
dogs to be watered, and much greater incidence of tuberculosis and other
contagious diseases make an urgent need for good water supplies, especially
in summer. So far, no general inexpensive and expedient solution of the
problem has been found, especially in tundra villages which have only
muck-filled pond water.
A change in eating habits has occurred, besides increase of commercially
prepared foods (crackers, breakfast cereals, rendered fats, canned milk, and
dried fruit). Formerly meals were likely to be irregular if the village
wanted to play ball through moonlight nights or work on bright summer nights
or fish with the tide, day or night. Today, while whale and walrus hunting
still are imperative determinants of eating and sleeping, there is greater
cultural pressure for a routine so that children can fit into the school
routine. Other introduced institutions — hospitals, mines, canneries,
construction projects — establish time scheudas. The Eskimos possess
calendars and clocks and have made some adjustment to new schedules, yet
still may send children to school without breakfast or lunch. These and
other differences in adherence to routines cause some misunderstanding
between Caucasians and Eskimos. The many small settlements with no such
institutions still go their changeable way.
Tobacco is used except in a few localities like Nunivak Island where
missionary influence has induced the Eskimos to give it up. It has followed
European-American example closely: pipe-smoking and snuff-taking, from
Russians; chewing tobacco, from whalers, prospectors, and fishermen;
cigarette-smoking, from modern Americans. Today there is less use of
tobacco by children and women.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
In the 1890's liquor was made by Eskimos themselves, principally on
the arctic coast and around lower Bristol Bay, and occasionally a sourdough
liquor elsewhere. Otherwise commercial liquors were drunk. During the
growth of missions, Prohibition, and the economic depression of the 1930's,
use of liquor declined and there never has been much drinking in isolated
tundra villages. Influx of Armed Service men during World War II and high
wages for Eskimos working on construction projects have fostered increase
of drinking in the larger villages recently. At one time liquor could not
be sold to native people. Today it can be, if sold by a licensed dealer.
In villages with a relatively large white population and with a liquor dealer,
drinking is a serious social and economic problem. Some Yukon and Kuskokwim
villages especially are experiencing this.
The most serious break in techniques occurred in medical care, not
that ancient ones were realistically effective. The Eskimos had virtually
no medical assistance in the 20 to 30-year interval between shamanistic
practices, of sucking out or rubbing (pulling) out a disease, bleeding, or
"charming out" a sickness by spiritual invocation, and the current health
program. There have been 13 field nurse positions in Eskimo territory; at
present there are 11 (A.N.S.). In addition, some medical service is given
by doctors of Coast Guard cutters and other Government vessels. The nurses
are important because they do not merely treat patients for specific ailments
but give instruction in first aid, home sanitation, prenatal and childbirth
care, and care of children. Changes in these matters have been most noticeable
in villages with a combination of good subsistence and other material resources
and good leadership: for example, Wainwright, Little Diomede, White Mountain,
Unalakleet and Shaktolik, Mountain Village, Gambell and Savoonga. The best
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
nurses have not insisted on complete imitation of U.S. health habits, but
have adapted both old and new customs.
Against diseases for which there still is no adequate immunization
procedure, which hence can be combatted only by hygienic daily habit and home
nursing, the culture has not changed sufficiently to provide protection.
For a people who have had to crowd together indoors, it has become difficult
to maintain isolation even if they understood the principle of isolation of
a contagious disease, which they
^
^
naturally did not understand initially.
Another basic change in concept, apart from shamanism, concerns fever.
Alaskan Eskimos generally regard it as dangerous in itself and often have
taken a child with a fever, especially one who became red in the face with
whooping cough, outdoors to cool off. It is essential for healthy individuals,
to maintain their adjustment to the cold climate, to be able to go out in
cold weather for short or long periods; but the old custom of cooling off a
red-faced child in a tantrum has proved dangerous when applied in cases of
pneumonia, measles, or diphtheria. On the other hand, some teachers have
kept their schoolrooms too warm for the Eskimo children. Adjustments must
be made by both parties in the acculturation process.
Means of personal expression have declined, men again losing more than
women. Women here and there have learned knitting, embroidery, and beadwork,
and universally have learned to use a sewing machine adroitly. They design
much fancier borders on boots, mittens, and other garments than formerly,
and decorate their homes more. Between St. Michael and the Kuskokwim, women
make for sale a basketry on which they have shown an inclination to depict
many objects and creatures realistically, but this has been discourages by the
style demands of purchasers. Women generally continue to wear earrings --
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
nowhere now wear nose ornaments and labrets, however — but men have no
kind of body decoration.
Men decorate their implements much less than formerly. A gun is not
etched as were the ivory-headed implements. Moreover, hunting with a gun,
especially as Eskimos are not superior marksmen, as a group, brings less
prestige than hunting with aboriginal implements. Only a few men continue
to carve wood and ivory objects for personal use. Craftsmanship on ivory
objects for sale becomes increasingly standardized and provides less individual
expression. In the Bristol Bay area, carving has disappeared entirely, due
to the serious cultural break when many adults died in the 1919 influenza
epidemic, and to fairly steady cash income, permitting purchase of manufactured
articles. Instead, today a man has pride of wealth through ownership of umiak
or plank boat and considerable personal satisfaction if he has made a good one
himself. As they develop more pride of mere ownership and less of craftsman–
ship, Eskimos approach American attitudes.
Most communities have been deliberately discouraged from continuing
their native music, spiritual testimony, and serving as lay preacher or
altar boy; these are more stereotyped and not always a satisfying substi–
tute for the remarkably individualistic mimetic danding and the composition
by each man of his own commemorative songs. Evangelistic sects most vigor–
ous in opposing the ancient religion and festival have provided the greatest
member-participation in their religious services, a good development, but
have taken away much of the art formerly accompanying religion. Alaska
apparently has a greater variety of religious sects and variety of village
response to them than Greenland or northern Canada. For example, some
missionaries have strictly forbidden women to cut their hair or wear ornaments
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
while others have not opposed these. Hence, generalization if difficult.
Nonreligious elements of festivals have survived most widely. Skin–
tossing still is a prominent feature of native whaling celebrations on the
arctic coast. Regarding games and sports, in general the schools have
adequately maintained old ones or given new ones for children, while doing
little in recreation for adults. In this particular aspect of culture,
women have lost more than men. The American attitude against games and
sports for women, of past generations, was enforced on the Eskimos by means
of criticism and example.
Card-playing and gambling have not appealed to Alaskan Eskimos except
in a few localities and for limited periods. Gambling is alien to their
old customs and has not given so much satisfaction as drinking, dancing,
and sports. Further, it has been vigorously opposed by missionaries.
Where Eskimos could obtain guitar, harmonica, or other musical
instrument, they have enjoyed playing and singing "cowboy," "hillbilly"
and hymn music. In a few cases, they have composed songs with current
topical interest, on the pattern of the old ceremonial songs. The young
people everywhere enjoy phonograph and radio music, but modern styles of
dancing are limited to a few localities. On the whole, music is the adult
Eskimo's best means of expression today, and — besides games and toys —
drawing and painting are the most satisfying ones for the children.
Verbalization has both lost and added elements. Folk tales are being
forgotten, a serious loss. Various types of old songs in purely Eskimo
idiom, for example lullabies, have nearly disappeared, and hymns translated
into Eskimo now are sung as lullabies and work songs. Ritualized boasting
in commemorative songs also is nearly gone. In their stead, there is greater
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
verbalization without music, notably in community meetings and church
meetings. An Eskimo idiom of business and public affairs is developing,
essential to avoid the kind of misunderstanding between Caucasians and
Eskimos that has occurred in the past.
Formerly, everywhere in Eskimo
^
Alaska
^
except St. Lawrence Island, the men's
ceremonial house was used as workroom, guesthouse, bathhouse, bachelors'
quarters, schoolroom, lunchroom, rehearsal room, and place of public
entertainment. In 1931, only 2 of 16 villages in the Kotzebue Sound–
Seward Peninsula-Norton Bay area, studied by H.D. Anderson, still had
ceremonial houses (
kashim
,
karriai
, or
kadgigi
). The arctic villages,
both coastal and inland, have not had them for a long time. However, 21 of
27 villages surveyed from St. Michael southward to Goodnews Bay, on coast
and tundra, still had
kashims.
Although school, mission, and store have
been assuming and dividing up many of the above functions — so that there is not
a total loss — they have taken these functions from under the Eskimo elders'
supervision, and Eskimo prestige has suffered. Moreoever, in some little
settlements that do not have these centers, the ceremonial house merely has
declined without any substitute. In time, community organization and community
stores can assume some functions of the
kashim
, still keeping them under
native control.
Decline of this institution has meant change in home life. Men spend
more time in the "women's houses," i.e., family houses. Women's influence
is somewhat stronger, speech tabus and other tabus between in-laws are weaker,
girls are less isolated, and brother-sister tabus are weaker, because the
sexes are less strictly separated.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
Changes in Organization
In Alaskan Eskimo villages, unlike other Eskimo communities, there
was usually a prosperous man, an experienced trader or whaling chief
(whaleboat owner) who was a sort of village chief. In southwestern and
inland villages, the shaman was likely to be wealthy and a community leader.
Apparently there was no concept of chieftainship, a heredity or elective
office; but there was a concept of leaders, individuals with leadership
qualities. Incoming Caucasians fostered such individuals, except in the
case of shamans.
Two qualities essential to leadership, in Eskimo ideology, were
superior competence in maintaining oneself and dependents, in terms of the
local habitat, and generosity to the entire community. Most white settlers
were regarded as wealthy people because of their abundance of goods, but
many could not support themselves without assistance from outside Alaska
and they did not give away their surplus goods. Gradually, however, in a
second stage of development the whites themselves gained leadership by
demonstration of competence, prestige of office, or other means, often
by subtle intimidation, of which neither group was fully aware.
In the latest stage, the tendency of Caucasians to "boss" the Eskimos
has started to give way. After 1936 when provisions of the Indian Reorgani–
zation Act were extended to Alaska, an avowed program
[:
]
of community
organization and Eskimo leadership was established by the Alaska Native
Service. As of March 1948, 27 Eskimo villages had organized separately,
with consultation and charter ratified. All adults in the community can
vote for members of the governing body, usually a council with president,
secretary, and other officials as needed. The president serves as village
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
chief. The voters or their representatives select store manager, reindeer
herd manager, or other employees. In many organized villages, the council
has real strength. For example, in Mekoryuk (Nunivak Island) when one
autocratic teacher disregarded the council in deciding on community matters
and thought that it had ceased to function, it nevertheless continued to
meet secretly. Where there is no Commissioner or Deputy Marshall, the
Eskimo officials serve also as judicial court for many local disputes. Though
the impetus and pattern of organization have come from teachers, it has been
supported by the Eskimo communities. It agrees well enough with the old-time
popular acclamation of outstanding individuals and the willingness to follow
them, with guidance from community elders.
Local units of the Alaska Territorial Guard, a home guard of natives
formed during World War II, functioned in Eskimo villages until 1947. Officers
of each company were local residents, usually young Eskimos, rarely white men.
The Guard's chief contributions to native lif were training in care of guns
and other equipment, experience in local organization, and a sense of respon–
sibility to the Government.
A very few Eskimos were members of the Alaskan Scouts, who served as
advance scouts in World War II. The exact number of Eskimos who have been
in all the Armed Services is unobtainable. The number has not been large
and not
at
all servicemen have returned to their communities after the war,
so that the social effect of new experience gained in war service has not
been so great as
[:
]
might be expected. Probably more was learned from
the establishment of local weather and radio stations.
In several localities, there is a strong church organization, mothers'
club, 4-H Club or other young people's organization, or a Camp of the Alaska
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
Native Brotherhood (a protective organization, much stronger among Indians
of southwest Alaska than among Eskimos). These offer opportunity for local
leadership, individual expression, and group morale if individual rivalry
does not become too strong. Their experience so far shows that if Alaskan
Eskimos are to compete successfully with present white settlers, they must
meet the latter's standards. Except for a few outstanding people, it is
difficult for them to do this, as they are individually poor in dollars,
without as much schooling as Caucasians, and usually unaware of world politi–
cal and economic changes. Where there is active competition, the only
Eskimos who are reaching new standards and at the same time protecting
subsistence and community life are those who have some sort of organization.
For example, one village council has allotted individual trapping areas, to
prevent friction and allow adequate territory to all.
According to present custom, the village jurisdiction does not apply
to white residents, whose actions are controlled by Territorial officials.
As Eskimos seldom appeal to these officials and have no control over white
residents
[:
]
through their own organization, occasionally they feel helpless
and resentful against individual whites who act highhandedly or illegally.
The Eskimos socially are at present not the same "natives" living by them–
selves in their own way that they once were, nor are they actually functioning
in the Territorial citizenry. It is a period of changing and clarifying status.
When the Eskimos received both material satisfaction and high personal
honor from the same activity — chiefly hunting — they had greater economic
security and at the same time personal self-assurance. Similarly, when they
can supervise their own modern economic organization, they get the same
combination of satisfactions. While a village may get some feeling of status
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
and economic interest from a privately operated cannery, oil dump, airfield,
or hospital, still the highest positions and the authority over these busi–
nesses are not attainable by Eskimos. They remain dependent employees,
hired as individuals and encouraged in every way to function as individuals
rather than as community members. The native community then loses its
essential strength, besides the weakening of individual and family self–
reliance which often occurs.
Formerly, the individual received essential assistance (in aboriginal
terms) from his family. For example, it — rather than a religious sect —
gave him honor and aid in his life crises such as puberty and death. By
giving him amulets and songs, his family assured him protection from misfortune.
It helped him materially and spiritually to launch his career as a primary
producer of food. Today the child in school, the young man in the Army,
the mind worker, can get little help from their families. The individual
then may disregard his parental family except for needs of affection. High
mortality, which breaks up many families, aids the process of individuation.
Outside the family today the principal institutions guiding and assisting
adolescent and young adult Eskimos are the organized villages, the stronger
church missions, and Government boarding schools. Also, at Unalakleet 4-H
Club leaders and at Kotzebus the Reindeer Service are training the young
people in special activities suited to their environment.
As for legal status, all native people in Alaska are citizens, eligible
to vote (except for age and literacy requirements), and are taxed like other
residents. They are guaranteed by Territorial law "access to all places
of public accommocation" such as theaters and restaurants, although there
is some local informal discrimination. Many remote small communities do not
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
participate in Territorial elections and do not pay taxes because of physical
difficulties of setting up voting precincts and collecting taxes. As more
Eskimos learn English, acquire a cash income, and can be reached by airplane,
undoubtedly they will be brought into Territorial Government participation
more. This is in addition to local community organization, not a substitute.
For example, an Eskimo was elected to the Alaska Legislature in 1948, said
to be the first Eskimo member or at least the first in many years.
Simultaneously, Eskimos are wards of the Federal Government. This ward–
ship does not entail restriction of movement or of ownership of property. The
dual status, while confusing, has not been harmful to the Eskimos up to now.
Probably, most of them were unaware of it. As competition for their territory
becomes sharper, further clarification probably will be necessary.
Alaska never has had an organization like the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police. Pursuit and trial of alleged criminals has varied greatly from one
period to another and one part of the Territory to another, dependent upon
local officials' attitudes. Generally, there has not been strong or frequent
intervention of authority from outside the native community except in or
near "white men's towns." The Eskimos in these towns are disorganized, in
a social-welfare sense, and take little responsibility. Whether constant
exercise of superior authority has contributed to poor social conditions or
of necessity has followed them cannot be stated without study of each community.
Strong pressure toward conformity to American legal practice has come
from teachers and missionaries, who have insisted, for example, that Eskimos'
marriages be legalized. Only a few isolated groups still form or break up
a marriage according to aboriginal mores. Occasionally, also, whites try
to settle inheritance or other family disputes, not always successfully
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
because they do not know local custom well enough and try to apply
U.S. law that is misunderstood by or repugnant to the Eskimos.
Evidently, in pre-European time crimes, as the Eskimos defined them,
did not go unpunished eventually, although punishment might be postponed
many years. Eskimos probably still could control crime adequately if
there were not greater speed and ease of movement over long distances,
requiring a larger organization for apprehension than the local network
of related villages. Even if the latter could handle all crime, it is
not likely to do so, since Territorial and Federal officials gradually are
increasing their efforts toward control.
Conclusion.
A process of freeing the individual from personal respon–
sibility has begun, and local control by adult Eskimos has diminished except
in incorporated villages. But (
1
) though responsibility to the so-called
"extended family" is weaker, responsibility to immediate family still is
quite strong; (
2
) participation in community affairs is good, increasing
in some places, decreasing in others; and (
3
) there is still generally
freedom from outside intervention except in white men's towns. Closer
relationship to the Territorial Government is probable.
Changes in Belief and Value System
Of the Alaskan Eskimos' somewhat unsystematical concepts relating
to the universe, those pertaining to the immediate physical environment
are largely unchanged. Even its spiritual aspects have not changed much
despite acceptance of Christianity. Many — although not all — Eskimos
still believe that there are bad Indians or little people in the hills,
that the fish and sea mammals have villages under the sea (south Alaska),
even though the shaman no longer visits them, and that there are various
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
human and animal monsters. But knowing the whites' attitudes, Eskimos have
grown self-protective and rarely discuss such things with them.
Some of the introduced concepts and practices are congruous with the
ancient ones so that no basic reorientation is needed for them, for example,
a Supreme Being associated with the sky and a sky afterworld; confession;
prominence of vocal religious music; a major religious festival in December.
In a positive way, the weakening or loss of some of the old tabus and fears,
for example fears of an eclipse and of ghosts, has reduced personal insecurity.
Above all, the fear of sorcery has nearly disappeared, so that people feel
more secure in relations with each other.
In a negative way, loss of old tabus regarding the food animals has
meant a decrease in the importance and responsibilities of hunting those
animals. Though there may be still a physical imperative in the hunting,
the religious imperatives regulating it have nearly disappeared. There may
be confusion and loss within the individual as well as in organized activity.
Formerly, there was spiritual as well as material satisfaction in successful
hunting because of the assumption that one had pleased the spirits if one
were successful. The cultural consistency, in the strong relationship of
religion and subsistence, is continued now only where Eskimos have assumed
that success in hunting and fishing is a sign of approval from the super–
natural powers of their new religion.
If the sins that can cause one to lose that favor are interpreted in
a constructive social way, there is a great gain, in that people will try
to carry out their family and community obligations in order to be favored
as Christians and successful by aboriginal local standards, too. This
harmonious adaptation of old and new beliefs does not always occur, however.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
Sometimes sin is interpreted so narrowly or personal salvation is so
stressed that the Eskimo is concerned only with a new set of restricted
rigid tabus, the breaking of which will endanger his food supply. Or he
is filled with doubt of his own worth and, while maintaining the conventional
outward cheerfulness, may have lost the interest and realistic self-organi–
zation necessary for both physical and cultural adjustment.
This lack of consistency between one part of the culture and another,
which often means a lack of harmony in the individual, is abetted by other
changes. The new religion as a whole is unrelated to the local environment,
presented often in terms of a different part of the world and of a people
with different everyday needs. This focus elsewhere, plus the Eskimos'
widening knowledge of geography and public affairs, brings an expansion
of his conception of the world and makes him small, poor and weak. The
Eskimo then may feel that, whether or not individual white men have power
and wealth, they come from a land of power.
The individuation, mentioned earlier, contributes to uncertainty and
conflict for younger people especially. Some become strong adherents to
Christianity, seeking strength from it. Its emphasis on the importance
of every individual counteracts the other tendencies toward weakening of
individual value. Others suffer great nostalgia for the reassurance of the
home village and after experience in a Caucasian community return to it.
Others seek more education (Government loans are available to promising
native students desiring higher education) in order to strengthen themselves.
But most live according to daily expediency.
Since Eskimo community pressures have been strong in the past, it is
difficult to assess qualities like self-discipline and self-direction; but
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
there appears to be less self-discipline today. This may come from the
fact that personal goals become more numerous and conflicting in the
modernizing Alaskan Eskimo culture. Now, strong, clearly delimited per–
sonal goals cannot be imparted to children with assurance. Or, if specific
objectives are taught, they may not be realizable or adaptable in later years
as the culture changes. One behavior-complex that elders impart and that
remains useful is simply being agreeable, not aggressive. It is to the
Eskimos' advantage also to continue to be slow and fatalistic regarding
many matters on which Outsiders feel greater urgency.
Social Attitudes.
On the whole, attitudes toward children, parents,
friends, spouses have not changed greatly. There still is more toleration
of the other person's opinions and more affection among relatives and bond–
brothers than in many other societies. Eskimo children always have had
parent surrogates because of polygamy, marital separation, and adoption.
A child may be reared by grandparents, uncle, stepfather, older sister, or
unrelated person. The Eskimo child learns to adjust to many people. Adopt–
tion still is common; children still are trained by the community rather
than by their parents alone. The only difference
^
now
^
is that the child may
n
[:
]
t lose not only his parents but his parent surrogates also, in migration,
epidemic, or social disorganization. But this is not usual.
Child training in most groups has not changed much in social pattern
although children are weaned a little earlier, are more and more fed from
a bottle and a cup (essential for tubercular mothers), and are encouraged
to walk, not spending so much of their early life on someone's back as
formerly. Modern types of clothing, nurses' instruction, attendance of
older children at school (instead of carrying younger siblings) foster greater
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
self-sufficiency and independent movement of young children. Most villages
still have no automobiles and similar dangers, so that children can move
freely without new threats. Most of their time is spent in self-direced,
unorganized play. Adults' attitudes toward children apparently have not
changed.
As for attitudes of children, they may lose some respect for and identi–
fication with elders who cannot learn English and the new customs. They
probably are losing, too, some of their sense of reality because they cannot
test the new teaching as directly as they tested the old instruction in their
everyday experience. This reinforces the withdrawal from the wholly native
environment, induced by economic and other factors, already mentioned. This
process has not gone far yet.
Regarding attitudes toward leaders, there is evidence that in the south–
west quadrant of Alaska before the conquest the wealthy men, chiefs, and
shamans often were tyrannical. These men were feared as well as admired.
Today there is little opportunity for autocratic behavior by Eskimos.
Some white traders and strong missionaries have domineered over their
communities, but most of them are gone. Teachers and other Outsiders
usually have not stayed long enough in one locality to establish strong
personal authority. Today there is rarely open defiance of what Caucasian
authority exists (chiefly punitive civil authority), nor is there full sup–
port of it. The problem of maintaining some independence and even of express–
ing normal resistance or aggression toward a foreign people and foreign ideas
has been solved by the Eskimos in two ways: laughter, and running away.
These are not malicious. They take the form of avoiding any showdom, of
joking, and hesitating to commit oneself to a course. These are techniques
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
of the old indigenous culture, continued in the new.
Anciently, any aggression, not only toward leaders, might be "worked
out" by practising magic against the object of antagonism. Also, shamans
in their contests with other shamans expressed resentments and need for
protection felt by their whole village. And, while not so important as
in Greenland, song contests for settling disputes and achieving community
control were resorted to by some groups. As such behavior and warfare no
longer are tolerated, the Eskimo has only these means of release: verbal
attack, occasional fighting when drunk, and aggression toward animals.
The frenzies killing or beating of animals — not only those needed for
food — that is occasionally seen results probably from inhibitions, with
inadequate opportunity for socially approved release of tension.
There is factionalism today on sectarian and other issues, but there
were factions and quarrels in past times also. With the cessation of compe–
tition between chamans and of family feuds over past murders, there are
better social relations. In summary, Alaskan Eskimos have both lost and
gained, so that they have now a slightly favorable cultural balance.
Integration of these elements of culture is quite good although a little
unstable. Further loss of self-sufficiency or self-respect could break it.
EA-Anthrop. Lantis: Alaskan Eskimo Acculturation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In addition to the following, see "Bering Sea and Arctic Coast Eskimos
of Alaska," Bibliography
"Alaska [Including Reindeer],"
Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee
1. on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, 74th Congr., 2nd Sess., Pt.36, 1939.
2. Anderson, H.D., and Eells, W.C.
Alaska Natives
, 1935.
3. Andrews, C.L.
The Story of Alaska
, 1938.
4. ----.
The Eskimo and his Reindeer in Alaska
, 1939.
5. Dall, W.H.
Alaska and Its Resources,
1897.
6. "Eskimos of Alaska," Office of Indian Affairs Field Service, U.S. Dept. of
the Interior, Juneau, March 30, 1938. (Mimeo.)
7. Forrest, Elizabeth Chabot.
Daylight Moon
, 1937.
8. (Annual) Hearings on appropriation bills of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior
before
[:
]
a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, U.S.
Senats. (Similar hearings of the U.S. House of Representatives.)
9. "Indian Tribes, Bands and Communities under Constitutions and Charters...;"
Tribal Relations Pamphlet 1B;
Sept. 1, 1946.
10. Johnshoy, J.W.
Apaurak in Alaska
, 1944.
1
^
1
^
. Marshall, Robert.
Arctic Village
, 1933.
12. O'Connor, Paul.
Eskimo Parish
, 1946.
13. Porter, R.P. "Report on Population and Resources of Alaska,"
11th Census,
1890;
Vol.8; 1893.
14. Reid, Charles F.
Education in the Territories and Outlying Possessions of
the United States
, 1941.
15. Van Valin, W.B.
Eskimoland Speaks
, 1945.
Margaret Lantis
Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
EA-Anthropology
(John J. Teal, Jr.)
PATTERNS OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE ARCTIC
CONTENTS
|
|
Page
|
|
Fear
|
5
|
|
Lack of Understanding of Cultural Differences
|
9
|
|
Caste
|
13
|
|
Economics
|
16
|
|
Racism
|
19
|
|
Tolerance
|
23
|
EA-Anthropology
(John J. Teal, Jr.)
PATTERNS OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE ARCTIC
Human contact in the Arctic is marked by the same discriminations
which characterize it in other parts of the world. To the already harassed
egalitarians, who might have thought of the far north as beyond the social
pale, this information is discouraging and likely to draw forth the comment:
surely not up there, too! Yet the heterogeneous ethnology of the Arctic has
provided it with all the familiar ingredients, and we find varied patterns
of discrimination, replete with attendant evils, resulting from the meetings
of aborigin
^
e
^
with aborigin
^
e,
^
^
a
^
borigine with immigrant, and immigrant with
immigrant.
The anthropologist is inclined to look upon the situation with con–
siderably less discouragement, while equally deploring it. Society itself
is the laboratory for the study of man, and the less sophisticated are its
structures, the more likely is the anthropologist to extract principles of
its working which can weather severe criticism. He can hope that by a study
of social conflict in a relatively undeveloped and uncomplicated area he
might discover keys to the analysis of more complicated societies. He pro–
ceeds, in a fashion, from the "raw" state to the broiling. Although science
demands that he must be a cultural relativist and eschew qualitative evalua–
tion, there are certain absolutes which are recognized as his starting points.
To a large extent these are negative absolutes which might be typified by his
lack of
^
^
faith in such formulae as "human nature" or "the difference between
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
right and wrong." The generalities which he seeks tend to be meaningless
if allowed to become too general.
A first step in the analysis of cultural conflicts is the definition
of certain cultural constants which are likely to crop up in any society.
Among these the necessity of acknowledging the irrationality of human be–
havior can least afford, perhaps, to be neglected. It is both conscious and
unconscious, and may derive from emotional, religion, ritual, custom, or re–
sistance. Very often a particular society will hold stock in some local moral
code which is working to its detriment, and which is not shared by its neigh–
bors. Transgression of that moral code, even when performed with seemingly
irrefutable logic, can be expected to produce an irrational emotional response.
Among the Chukchi, Kamchadals, and Ostyaks of Siberia, for example, the rule
of sororal polygyny was common. A man married all the sisters of a family,
although obliged to marry the elder sister first. In groups in which there
was a shortage of women, it was inevitable that many men would be left out
unless there were some resort to sexual communism. That this sexual communism
refuted the strict taboos concerning intermarriage, and laws concerning which
clan married which, was immaterial. The custom of a man marrying all the sisters
must in any case prevail.
Irrational behavior may in some instances be consciously performed where
it violates the morals of an ethnic group. The Tlingit Indians of Southeastern
Alaska had an elaborate ritual for the indoctrination of a new shaman or priest
which involved cannibalism. The candidate symbolically starved himself and
then, in simulated frenzy, ran about biting pieces of fl
^
e
^
sh from the arms of
his kinsfolk, chewing and swallowing the meat. The explanation given for this
behavior was that since nothing was more repugnant to a Tlingit than cannibalism
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
it was necessary that the candidate show his fitness for office in this
manner. Where groups have mingled very often it is found that vestigial
rituals and customs are handed down for which there is no longer any ex–
planation or place in the society.
Religion draws forth many examples of misology, which is no more nor
less than irrational behavior. The Canadian Eskimo will ask the missionary
if Jesus Christ is the only white man who could raise people from the dead.
If the answer is yes, the Eskimo will politely withdraw with the certainty
that Eskimos are superior people. After all, has not every member of his
tribe seen the shaman daily raise men from the dead? That the "dead" men
were only sick can do little
^
to
^
weaken the shaman's statement that they were
dead. Similarly, the white missionary, living in an Eskimo community where
winter water may be had only by melting ice and but one village towel exists,
will invoke religious piety by demanding that every person bathe hands and
face before each meal. That the reuse of the same water and towel spreads
contagious diseases is no part of his immediate concern. Or he may persuade
his flock to move out of their "hovels" into clapboard frame houses, ill-suited
to the rigors of the climate, with the result that those who don't die with
consumption or pneumonia must neglect their hunting to go farther afield each
day for fuel, until finally they either starve or become dependent upon him.
This he interprets as looking after both their corporal and spiritual needs.
This particular type of irrational behavior on the part of the missionary
focuses attention upon a second constant found in all cultures; the egocentric
illusion. It is based upon what Toynbee refers to as "the misconception of the
unity of civilization." Each culture has a tendency to look upon its own in–
terpretation of life and its own adaptations to environmental conditions as
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
normal: all cultures which do not conform to this norm or deviate from it
are, to the extent of their nonconformity, either more or less barbarian.
The most primitive (though by no means confined to "primitive" peoples) ex–
pression of this idea is in the in-group and out-group psychologies. A cul–
ture's horizons may be bounded by the local mountains, shore lines, or the
seals it eats; or by the automobiles, art galleries, or seals it doesn't eat.
In each case that which lies beyond is scarcely worthy of consideration, prob–
ably subhuman, and certainly not in existence until it has been "discovered."
Just as there have been many people in Western society who refuse to be–
lieve that as one approaches the north life does not become unsupportable,
so also are there Eskimos who refuse to believe that game abounds out from
the coasts or over the next range of hills. Much less are these Eskimos pre–
pared to believe that human beings live there. In fact there is a Tormiat
Eskimo story of creation which states that a dog, disguised as a man, married
the Great Woman who begat all people. Of her children the Indians retained
their human form but became dogs at heart, white men degenerated into monsters,
and only the Eskimos remained human.
There are many primitive groups convinced that their special valley, is–
land, or peninsula confines the whole world. They may have occasional wars
with neighboring tribes, they may keep foreign slaves, and they may make mari–
tal forays. Yet irrational behavior and egocentric illusions demand that no
existence be granted beyond their own sphere. It is the Pythagorean idea that
Greece is the ideal country and the center of the universe, the pre-Gallilean
idea that the sun and the stars in their galaxies revolved about the earth.
Dicuil, a monk writing in the nineth century, and indeed the later sagas, re–
cord that the Norwegians discovered I
^
ce
^
land, but that the Irish were already
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
living there. Other early sagas tell us that when the Vikings discovered
Greenland and North America they were met by beings referred to as Unipeds
and Skraelings (wood trolls or devils), but actually the indigenous Eskimos
and Indians. In the book,
Around the World with a Camera
, published in 1910
by the Leslie-Judge Company, can be found a remarkable picture of a "Lapp
woman, seventy yea
^
rs
^
^
of
^
age and looking like a chimpanzee." One does not have
to dig far into modern travel literature to learn that other cultures and
societies are described in such terms as "the filthy natives," the "heathen
barbarians," "the benighted savage."
Members of western European civilization might be inclined to believe
that such concepts are endemic to them. The truth is that they can be found
in all the known cultures and societies of the world. The egocentric illusion,
sharpened by irrationality, leads inevitably to qualitative evaluation. Con–
dition and progress are measured in terms of personal cultural experience, and
the unfamiliar is usually found to be lacking or dangerous. Thus the stage
is set for discriminations. The patterns which these discriminations follow
may be arbitrarily divided into six classifications which are presented with
the foreknowledge that they are by no means conclusive.
Fear
The Freudian school of psychology, which was in part derived from the
chrysalid studies of primitive society, held that fear was one of the basic
human motivations. Response to certain stimuli was expressed by terror, a
desire to escape. It was a convenient explanation for a majority of mental
maladies. John Dewey believed that fear and pugnacity are no more inherent
to "human nature" than pity or sympathy, and proved his point
^
by
^
chemistry.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
Today our appreciation of the role played by fear in society is more com–
prehensive, as it is to a degree, more subtle.
In intergroup relations fear is generated by the strange or unfamiliar,
abilities which appear to be inherent and threatening, by the folk history
of real or imagined experience, the attribution of supernatural power, and
so on. As a source of discriminations between people it is virulent, and
often cruel and bloody. There seems to be no distinction between western
European man and aborigine in the expression which is given to discrimination
induced by fear. Some of these discriminations are purely animosities re–
sulting from infrequent contact rather than from cultural differences. At
one time the Eskimos bordering the Asiatic and Alaskan sides of Bering Strait
were continually at war with each other. If a man from one side was inad–
vertently blown in his boat to the other he was immediately killed as a matter
of course.
Generally the Eskimos have been more feared than the Indians. For one
thing, they are inclined to be more mysterious, aggressive, and superior in
attitude. Alaskan Eskimos refer to the inland Indians as the "Inkalik," which
translated means "lousy." So great has been the fear of Eskimos by some Indians
that whole tribes, complete with warriors, have been known to flee prosperous
hunting grounds at the approach of a single Eskimo family. On the Coppermine
River there is a place called Bloody Falls which got its name from an event
in 1770. Samuel Hearne was leading an overland expedition to the Arctic, ac–
companied by the Indian chief Manatobie, and his tribe. The Coppermine River
was the traditional haunt of the dreaded Eskimo. Upon reaching it, Hearne
watched Manatobie give orders for the women to make camp and for the warriors
to don paint and sharpen axes. Then he crept forward to a rapid where several
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
Eskimo families were encamped and fast asleep. The Indians massacred every
last Eskimo, and then celebrated in joy and relief.
Stefansson has written in
The Friendly Arctic
that "Nothing is more in–
grained in the real Eskimo and nothing pervades more thoroughly his traditions
and folklore than the idea that strangers are necessarily hostile and treach–
erous. Every Eskimo group always believes that wicked Eskimos are to be found
on the other side of the mountains or down the coast at a distance. The Mack–
enzie River and Baillie Island Eskimos especially had many details of the
bloodthirsty nature of the people to the east, although the experience of
everyone who during the last few years had come in contact with these people
was that they were the most inoffensive and kindly lot that you could imagine."
To this might be added a tradition in the Mackenzie Delta that there were armies
of white men over in the Yukon valley in Alaska who at any moment might be ex–
pected to attack northward, murdering and pillaging, with the purpose of taking
Eskimo lands for their own use. In this case it is a simple matter to discern
the path of half-truths and rumors which lead to discriminatory fears.
Along the Alaskan coast the Eskimos have had a warring reputation, dating
at Prince of Wales from early Russian times, undoubtedly stimulated by the ir–
responsible actions of whalers and traders. The same holds true for the Ind–
ians
^
a
^
long the Yukon and in Southeast Alaska. It was not long ago that native
massacres and revolts were common in the Panhandle region. In Charles Brower's
autobiography,
Fifty Years Below Zero
, we learn much about the discriminatory
fears of the Arctic when we come upon such old warnings as when an unknown
Eskimo appears, "Look yourself in your house and get your guns ready."
There were several graphic instances of discriminatory fear encountered
by Stefansson's first arctic expedition, as reported in
My Life with the Eskimo
.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
At one time he was headed toward a region inhabited by unknown tribes, when
his traveling companions began to balk and make excuses against continuing
farther. "As a matter of fact, what my Eskimo really dreaded was not so much
hunger as the possibility of our success in the quest of what were to me the
scientifically interesting 'people who had never seen a white man,' but to
them were the dreaded 'Nagyuktogmiut,' so called because they hook to them–
selves wives with the antlers of bull caribou;
they kill all strangers
."
Later on the same expedition he had occasion to be present at a first
meeting between Slavey Indians and Coronation Gulf Eskimos. At first the
Eskimos refused the meeting outright on the excuse that they had never had
anything to do with the Indians. Fear was expressed on both sides, but slow–
ly gave way to friendliness and great surprise to see that each group was
not essentially different from the other.
In those arctic areas where whalers have robbed and raped, drawing forth
violent resistence, where white men have usurped Indian or Eskimo hunting
grounds, it is common to find either mutual fear or its wary memory. The
white man arms himself with the frontier slogan "the only good Indian is a
dead Indian" and gives himself over to the rule of emotions rather than that
of justice. The aborigine, foreseeing the loss of his home and livelihood,
either withdraws, wages guerrilla warfare, or submits. But news of his ex–
perience travels far and wide, causing great excitement and a distinctly un–
healthy atmosphere for presumptuous travelers. Many of the present day so–
^
sty
^
led aborigine populations of the Arctic inhabit their territories and prac–
tice their adapted culture because they have been driven north or have fled
in fear before strange or more powerful groups in southern latitudes. Examples
are the Lapps, Samoyeds, and Tungus.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
The most important factor of discriminatory fear is its generation of
group hatred. When an Eskimo shaman explains to his patient that his dis–
ease or accident has been caused by a distant white man, an Indian, or a mem–
ber of another tribe, it becomes part of the group experience which can only
be translated by mistrust, non-cooperation, area delimitation in favor of the
more powerful, or violence.
Lack of Understanding of Cultural Differences
It has already been hinted that the egocentric illusion leads to unfavor–
able appraisals of differing cultures and customs. The inclination is to re–
gard everything which is not familiar as inferior, and therefore liable to
exploitation or discrimination. In the Arctic the cultural differences be–
tween aborigine and immigrant are particularly marked, but the environment
necessitates accommodations. The process of accommodation has a history of
turmoil, and understanding has been purchased with difficulty. It must be
borne in mind that aborigine populations of the Arctic, although in many in–
stances unskilled in the ci
^
vi
^
lized virtues acclaimed by Homo Europaeus, are
perfectly adapted to the regions which they i
^
nh
^
abit. Their culture is the end
product of a long period of trial and error, and its various tenets are more
often than not fundamental to survival.
Stefansson asserted in
The Friendly Arctic
that"those who understand prim–
itive people know that to them nothing is more commonplace or uninteresting
than a thing which appears miraculous." This is the result of a life in which
nearly every thread is woven by shamanistic practices. Frequently missionaries
working with the Eskimos have sought to penetrate the resistence of prospec–
tive converts by providing them with Christian hunting prayers to replace heathen
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
caribou and seal prayers. If chance allowed these prayers to bear seeming
results, "converts" were made; although they would scarcely conform to the
Christian ideal. No matter how successful a prayer might be one year, as
soon as it was no longer effective, the Eskimo would say that it had worn
out and demand a new one. Protestations that it was God's will that the
prayer had not been answered were of no avail. Since white man's guns and
pots wore out, was it not obvious that all thing coming from the white man
are short-lived and must be replaced?
The Eskimo in the Arctic is convinced of his superiority over the white
man. To survive, the white man has been forced to adopt a far larger body
of Eskimo culture than have the Eskimos in regard to European culture. Guns
and needles are convenient, but the former is magic and unimportant and the
latter is just an improvement over bone. This superior idea enters many parts
of the Eskimo philosophy, and is bolstered in odd ways. For example, it was
once believed that white men wrote things down because they had poor memories.
No Eskimo had to be reminded in such an artificial manner. Eskimos have also
been known to confess that their people found white men almost unbearably
ugly, and their oder extremely disagreeable. Since white man were continually
asking Eskimos questions, or imitating them, it was obvious that they must
be less intelligent. In Greenland, Rockwell Kent discovered that it was the
fixed idea of Greenlanders that white men are weaklings.
For their part white immigrants in the Arctic are more voluble about
aborigine shortcomings, and often take measures to meet cultural nonconform–
ity. The missionary, such as the Oblate Fathers of Churchill who report in
the magazine
Eskimo
, finds that northern nomads are barbaric and savage. The
custom of acceding to an old person's request to be deserted because he or she
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
is a useless drag on the tribe is classified as patricide or matricide.
To live in a sodhouse or snowhouse is to dwell in the unforgivable filth
of a hovel. To eat food raw, instead of fricasseeing it, is to revert to
animal status. To be forced to live in association with abhorrent savages
is the greatest sacrifice for Christianity. These missionaries assecs the
whole body of Eskimo culture in terms of France and find it in deplorable
condition. They then ask for southern funds so that they may spread their
benevolent patornaliom.
In his book
Salamina
, Rockwell Kent records that "the whole avowed
intention of the Greenland colonies is to induce the native through hard
work to elevate himself." The highest point of possible elevation, of course,
is emulation of the white Dane. This program has been necessary because of
white depredations and diseases in the past, and is most often being carried
out with great wisdom. Yet the best hunter in a community earns about a
twelfth of what the outpost trader does. The fundamental discriminatory atti–
tude of superiority of culture is illustrated by Kent's conversation with
the Manager at Umanak:'"Ah! Germans! Now I gwt it. The rest, the people
here, are
only
Greenlanders. Just tell me: is that true?' 'Yes, yes, quite
true.'"
A
History of Lapland
was published in London in 1704 by a John Scheffer
which serves to point up the view of arctic aborigine cultures held by Europ–
eans. The Lapps, whose name means either the banished or savages inhabiting
the woods, he says are cowardly, faint-hearted, and unfit for soldiers since
the cold has caused a lack of Spirits in their blood. (See: Montesquieu's
Of Laws in Relation to the Nature of the Climate
. Scheffer also found the
Lapps given to such cheating and underhanded dealings commonly associated
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
with mean souls. Of these reindeer herders he observes, "Their lazy temper
will not give them leave to apply themselves either to tilling or breeding
of cattle. They leave the soul in some places fertile enough, uncultivated
for mere idleness. Thus they pass their lives, choosing rather to overcome
the defect of convenient sustenance by patience than hard labor."
He also found that "tho' the Laplanders are destitute of bread, salt,
and other provocatives, they are nevertheless very prone to lust," but unable
to have many children "because of their cold constitutions." Drinking, swear–
ing, and cursing were common. "He who is to make an oath strips himself quite
naked as low as the waist, keeping only his breeches, stockings, and shoes on;
and thus he devotes himself, his wife, children and Reens to the Devil."
Further, he noticed that "the inhabitants of the Uma Lapmark, are not only
much taller but also handsomer than those of Lulah Lapmark; and that they
surpass them in neatness of their bodies and cloathes, and therefore have such
an aversion to them, that they seldom converse with them, even at their great
fairs."
The above work has been quoted at length since it demonstrates the type
of observation by earlier travelers which became the foundation for the prac–
tice known as "pukka sahib." Other observations might be drawn from a late
19th century explorer of northern Russia. Of the Z
^
y
^
rians he says, "It seems
to me that an improvement in their life and well-being can only be attained
by brin
^
g
^
ing them into still closer association wih the adjoining and more
civilized races, which would tend to enlarge their minds, and expand their
now limited intellectual horizons." At what price the unbounded virtues of
an expanded intellectual horizon must be purchased is shown by a later atate–
ment. "A conviction, originating in literary circles and spreading to govern-
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
ment spheres, has lately sprung up that the Samoyedes are unfit for civilized
life."
The result of these basic disagreements in the cultural formulae is that
the more aggressive or dominant parties grow to look down upon the others as
inferior, often more repulsive than interesting, hardly worth the effort of
reclaiming. Therefore the best solution is to make the noncomformists sub–
servient that they may profit by at least limited contact with their superiors.
It is the justification of violence and rank discrimination, the palliative of
conscience.
Caste
Two characteristics of an arrested society, says Toynbee, are caste and
specialization. Within certain categories they interact upon each other in a
group effort toward perfect and static equilibrium with the environment. For
examples he cites the highly specialized Eskimo and his dog, each interdepend–
ent, the dog representing the lower caste. In a
^
^
more obtuse vein he cites the
organic unit of Eskimo and kayak. Because of constant association the Eskimo
has to some degree "humanized" both dog and kayak; and to the extent which they
serve him represent lower caste. Unfortunately the value of these neat observa–
tions is limited by the fact that they are themselves static or arrested. True,
before the immigration of European civilization, dog, kayak, or reindeer did
contribute in large part to the body social and represented the ultimate limits
of caste and retreat from specialization. In recent years the assimilation of
for
^
ei
^
gn ideas and cultural conflict have pushed the aborigine populations of
the Arctic into the field with dynamic societies.
The nomadic populations of the Arctic lived in a communal arrangement.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
Every member of the group was the equal to the others in rights and privileges.
Commonly there was no chief nor individual wealth. Reputation for service to
the group was the highest reward. In wars prisoners were never taken alive,
but killed on the spot. The strictures of a harsh environment and frequent
movement did not allow for the extra burdens of feeding and guarding. Natural–
ly, therefore, there was no caste system — unless, like Toynbee, we permit
animals and tools to function as the lower members.
Where aborigine populations settled in a permanent locality in the Arctic
the story is different. It was easier for a man to accumulate wealth if he did
not have to carry it around on his back; it was desirable to have others help
him in that accumulation. A caste system then flourished, completed with nobility,
working class, free servants, and slaves. The class distinctions were sharply
drawn, and were embedded in ritual, totem, and custom. A prominent example of
such a society was the riparian Tlingit of the Alaskan Panhandle. Possessed of
slaves, captured in war or of hereditary status, they treated these social pariahs
as chattel, holding the power of life or death over them. Indian tribes in
Alaska proper, and the Yakuts of the Lena basin very often had similar societal
arrangements.
While the arctic nomads "humanized" their animals and tools, those groups
expressing interdependency primarily with human beings tended to "dehumanize"
their slaves. In the Arctic, when white men arrived on the scene in appreciable
numbers, slavery was no longer possible. The caste system was asserted by using
the aborigine populations as servants. Since wages were niggardly, since dif–
ferent material and cultural values influenced spending, since the aborigines
working in towns often found themselves confused by new concepts, a servant class
grew up which was looked down upon by the whites as inferior, shiftless, dirty,
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
ignorant, Many an Alaskan housewife in Fairbanks, Nome, Juneau, or elsewhere
will say that she came to the territory prepared to treat the "natives" as equals,
but that experience has taught her thay are inferior beings, and certainly be–
yond greater social contacts.
Similarly, trading posts, construction companies, and mines have looked upon
the "natives" as a convenient bull-labor supply. No need to pay decent eages,
they's waste the money anyway. Not a bad idea to keep them well liquored up
and hanging around. In may places in the Canadian North "natives" working to–
gether at identical jobs with white men draw less than a quarter the pay, and
how they spend it is sharply regulated. On certain expeditions caste has taken
the form of white men or officers riding the sledges, while Eskimos or sailors
ran with the dogs.
A parallel among the immigrant populations is the fact that the United States
frequently imports Negro labor to the Arctic to perform the most back-breaking
and arduous tasks. Negro soldiers were used to build the Alcan Highway during
the war, and Negro labor battalions have built the air bases and weather stations
in the Canadian Arctic. When off duty, or merely quartered, these men did not have
the same accommodations as their white comrades.
As a result of cultural conflict and a growing urbanization and westerniza–
tion of the Arctic, many an aborigine man has suffered in competition with white
man. Often he gives up the fight and resorts to drink and general degeneracy.
Consequently, there is a growing situation, as in Alaska, where it is the great–
est desire of every "native" girl to marry a white man. If successful, she is the
envy of her friends who look upon her accomplishment as having immeasurably en–
hanced the social stature of her family and herself. To the white man such a
marriage is quite frequently merely a matter of circumstance and convenience,
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
assuaged in his conscience by the thought that he'll never be going "outside"
again anyway.
The Arctic is peculiar in the idea that, when mixed, white heredity is
as strong as other racial ingredients. In the United States a person may be
only one-sixteenth or less Negro, but still is classified as Negro. In Alaska
any portion of white heredity gives a person the option of deciding to which
race he belongs. No particular social stigma is attached to being a half–
breed; indeed, some quarters consider it in the light of being romantic.
Economics
It is the usual phenomenon of frontier or imperial economics that "native"
populations be exploited as cheap labor. Under the discussion of caste it was
pointed out that aborigine populations in the Arctic had been used in this way.
The methods of maintaining such a labor supply have been various: threats of
violence, taking advantage of alcoholic addiction, making the "natives" depend–
ent upon and accustomed to a new civilization but never giving them enough for
adequacy or satisfaction, discrimination against them in methods of relief.
In the South the use of Negroes as a scab-labor market is a familiar story.
It has its parallels in the Mexican-American laborer in the Southwest, the
Oriental-American laborer on the Pacific coast. In the Soviet Arctic, slave
labor may serve in the same capacity. In the North American Arctic the avail–
ability of underpaid "natives" is a constant threat to the immigrant worker.
Fortunately, there are indications that labor unions in Alaska, by making their
membership inclusive, will be able to stem the hatreds and rivalries created
by this form of discrimination.
The discriminations from cultural conflict achieve their most extreme form
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
in the realm of economics when agricultural or industrial societies infringe
upon the domain of hunting or pastoral societies. Some years ago Sweden em–
barked upon a program to "civilize" the Lapps. In only some respects was the
experiment successful, and they were a result of the attractions of ease and
comfort. In exchange for the hard labor of tending reindeer in the cold damp
mountains the Lapps proved very amenable to living in warm houses, settling
in villages, even to becoming tax-paying citizens and mingling with the Sw
^
edi
^
sh
farmers. Ther
^
e
^
could be no question but that the new life was preferable to
the old.
In other respects the experiment was not so successful. Living for cen–
turies in the pure arctic air the Lapps had failed to build up antibiotic re–
sistance to the diseases of civilization. They fell easy prey to tuberculosis
and venereal diseases. They retained their cultural psychology and became
victims of such civilized luxuries as liquor, moving pictures, and indolence.
In the course of a few generations the situation became critical, but happened
to coincide with a desire by the Swedish Government for new northern farmers.
Further, the reindeer industry which had always formed an important part of
the national economy had fallen to a nonproductive level.
It was then decided to encourage the Lapps to return to their former
occupation. Favorable grazing laws were made, preferential tax treatment was
extended to them, and steps were taken to preserve the nomadic way of life
upon which the reindeer economy depends. The state became the chief market
for reindeer meat, antlers, and hides. However, the problem was not so easily
solved. New technical developments had encouraged a northward movement of
farmers and other colonists, lumbermen and miners, into the land of the Lapps.
The grazing grounds were no longer the wild free places as before, and the
Lapps were forced to retreat farther and farther into the mountains.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
Up there the forage was insufficient to support the reindeer and the
fuel insufficient to warm the huts. From time to time the Lapp was forced
to make forays into the valleys to stay alive. When his reindeer browsed a
farmer's hay, or he felled a farmer's tree, trouble ensued. In court the
Lapps found that the law was weigh
^
t
^
ed against them, and developed the custom
of circumventing all the officialdom, which experience had taught them was
not partial to their cause, and seeking direct audience from the King.
As the two differing economies moved into ever closer contact, packs of
farmers' dogs would attack the reindeer, slaughtering them in vast numbers.
The government sought to mitigate the great sufferings of the Lapps and their
serious strife with the settlers by formulating new laws. One attempted solu–
tion was to limit the northern boundary of agriculture, but since that varies
so widely between the Lapmarks and since colonists had in many cases become
established north of that boundary, the solution proved impracticable. The
government then adopted the resigned attitude that the old must inevitably
give way to the new, and did nothing further. This idea has permeated a large
part of the national conscience, and Sweden sits by awaiting the extinction
of their "beloved little brothers." The result is that strife and discrimina–
tion, at times intense, wages unabated between the Swedish settlers and the
nomad Lapps.
In Arctic Russian the same economic pattern has often been followed.
Novaya Zemlya was populated in the 19th century by Samoyed hunters. They were
visited annually by unscrupulous traders and fishermen anxious to take advan–
tage of the "stupid natives." By 1898 the government was moved enough to step
in and make trade regulations. The price for bearskins was established at sixty
roubles, as compared to the former five which was paid partly in cheap goods
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
and partly in vodka. The Zyrians, themselves mockingly referred to as "squirrel
eaters," were also guilty of getting the Samoyeds drunk so that they could rob
them with impunity. On the mainland a perpetual battle was waged between the
Samoyeds on the one hand, the Zyrians and Russians on the other, over the use
of the tundra for reindeer grazing. A chief factor in the battle was that the
Samoyeds were considered an "inferior, stupid race."
Perhaps there is no clearer example of the harsh practices resulting from
economic conflict between aborigine and immigrant than the operations of the
Russian fur traders in the Aleutians and Alaska. With the rich sea otter pelts
as the prize, it was not difficult for the Russians to justify themselves in
regarding the Aleuts as little better than tools of profit; forcing them to
hunt the animals far out to sea in hazardous storms, resorting to rape, car–
nage, and massacre whenever it suited their purpose. The Aleuts were subhuman,
God and St. Petersburg were far away, and an aborigine people were all but wiped
out.
Racism
Ideas among the aborigine residents of the Arctic concerning the subhuman
qualities of other people have already been illustrated by such means as the
Tormiat Eskimo story of creation. Similar ideas among arctic immigrants are
not so naive nor magical, but are built upon an elaborate structure of pseudo–
science. There can be little doubt that such an entity as race exists, although
^s^cientists are hard pressed to come to agreement in defining it. The biological
superiority of one race over another, however, is something for which there is
no evidence. In fact, such evidence as exists weighs the scales to the account
of biological equality. The biological differences of hair or skin color are
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
so insignificant when matched against the biological similarities that it is
not even possible to separate Home sapiens into species or subspecies. Unlike
the cat family or the cattle family, all members of the human family can suc–
cessfully mate and reproduce fertile offspring. The perceptible differences
which do exist between races and their capacities are attributable only to
environmental background.
In the social body of the United States there has long existed a tropism.
The innate tendency of the mass was to discriminate biologically between human
beings, a tradition derived from the identification of Negroes with slavery —
an event which was explained by saying that Negroes were inherently inferior.
The external stimulus was provided by the philosophical school of Compte,
Spenser, Summer, the pragmatists, and Madison Grant, known as Social Darwinism.
Here was a formula which provided the grand synthesis of all science, religion,
philosophy, art, and the humanities! It completely captivated the American
people for generations, its books outsold everything but the Bible, and its
doctrines penetrated to the most remote cracker-barrel. The march of the
superior races justified all manner of discrimination and exploitation of in–
ferior races.
To the grave discomfiture of arctic aborigine populations, Americans
have brought racism north with them. In Alaska one can see, and filter from
the literature, tinges of the racial and cultural heritage of New England.
On the Canadian Arctic Expedition there was an American ship captain by the
name of Gonzales who mistreated the Eskimos in Minto Inlet. Stefansson writes
of him, "Before Gonzales started I cautioned him to treat well our two Eskimo
guests. But Gonzales had the theory not uncommon among whalers that 'a native
is a native' and that the best way to treat them is to make them understand
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
from the beginning that they are your inferiors. The view is about the same
as that commonly held in the southern United States with regard to the treat–
ment of Negroes. I know from old stories I picked up in Alaska that this
method worked very badly when the whalers first came in to Herschel Island
(1889). But there were as many as five hundred white men, South Sea Islanders,
Negroes, etc., in the fleet that wintered at Herschel Island, and as they stuck
together and treated all natives alike, they had the combined strength which
forced their view upon the Eskimos, who gradually began to realize, much to
their surprise, that instead of being superior to white men they were actually
inferior to them."
The experiences of arctic populations under a chiefly Scandinavian in–
fluence have had a slightly different history in regard to racism, no doubt
due to its extreme rarity in the cultural centers of the mother countries.
In Greenland we can examine its presence through a paradox. There is more
than a lingering suspicion that the modern Greenlanders are the disguised des–
cendants of the Viking colonists. Therefore racism is not of a virulent nature.
But a writer such as Rasmussen, conscious of his being part Eskimo, leans over
backward in discussing any conflict which might involve racism, giving the
Eskimos the shorter end of the deal. It is a case similar to in
^
^
erted anti–
Semitism.
The racism in Iceland (not really an arctic country) is built around the
idea that blondes are superior to brunettes. Historians trace the attitude
to the fact that the original slaves of a thousand years ago were the dark
Irish. Slavery and darkness were identified together and the conclusion was
inferior status, a conclusion like that of the American colonists with regard
to the Negro.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
^
240
^
At times such racism can take a callous form. For example, quite fre–
quently one comes across an arctic-dwelling white man married to a "native"
woman. He either does not know her name, or makes only a half-hearted attempt
to use something like it. If questioned he will say that it is not important
because in his opinion the correct pronunciation of "native" names could not
matter less.
A technique of contact with arctic "natives" has been devised by white
immigrants which, unfortunately, must often be resorted to if one is not to
suffer needless hardships. The Arctic is not always conducive to the heroic
gesture. It is the common belief that the less sophisticated the "native" the
more satisfactory can relations with him be. Only if they have never before
had dealings with white men they can be treated as full equals. Otherwise ex–
perience has shown that they are not above murder. This befell two Catholic
missionaries accustomed to living with the Mackenzie River Indians who for
centuries had been treated as inferiors. Some recent travelers report that
the way to avoid trouble with the Mackenzie River and North Alaskan Eskimos
is to treat them as inferiors, since such treatment is becoming universal to
the north country.
One can find the extension of this racial complex in many Alaskan towns
which boast taverns "for whites only" or hotels with "no native trade solicited."
That even an educated man can participate in the dogmas of racism is illustrated
by Ales Hrdlicka's account of his northern ttavels,
Alaska Diary, 1926-1931
,
styled as the narrative of a very human person. As he goes down the Yukon we
find such observations as at Nenana, "(Indians) are said to be lazy and living
from day to day;" at Nulato, "typically Indian... want pay for everything...
had been in contact with whites and are spoiled as usual;" near Paimute, the
Eskimos "seem much more sensible than the Indians;" on the lower Yukon, the
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
Eskimos "are in ways just grown up children, but much more tractable and
sensible than the Indians;" at Savonga, decides that Eskimo houses are re–
markable since they don't smell of Eskimo and are more like those of a "good
working class of whites;" at Wainwright, the Eskimos are more "open and matter–
of-fact people [than Indians], less superstitious, more easily converted to
white man's religion;" and finally, "never is one safer than with an unspoiled
Indian."
Definitive evidence of the fundamental pattern of racism underlying
cultural contact in the Arctic is the fact that while many a white man takes
a "native" for a wife or sporting, it is almost unknown for a "native" man
to have intimate relations with a white woman. On the rare occasions it has
occurred, violence and lynching parties have discouraged the idea from spread–
ing.
Tolerance
Racial chauv
i
inism, religious and cultural discriminations have in re–
cent years flocked to a new and sheltering banner, at once more subtle and
invidious. Tolerance is the opposite of what it appears to be to the un–
suspecting. Its actual history in politics, society, and law renders it
equally deplorable with the worst theories of racism. Tom Paine, in his
fiery
Rights of Man
, wrote: "Toleration is not the opposite of Intolerance,
but is the counterfeit of it. Both are despotisms. The one assumes to itself
the right of with-holding liberty, the other of granting it."
The popularity of the doctrine of tolerance constitutes an example of
irrational behavior in American society. Americans subscribe to both toler–
ance and the Declaration of Independence. Yet in the latter we find a self-
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
evident truth establishing the individual dignity of man by stating that he
had been directly endowed by his Creator with certain
inalienable
rights. By
its very nature, this direct relationship required that these rights be placed
beyond the scope of human authority and interference. Yet tolerance, whose
synonyms are indulgence, sufferance, countenance, forebearance, and allowance,
challenges the inalienability of these rights and seeks to interp
^
o
^
se itself be–
tween the Creator and the individual, and to regulate the measure in which these
rights are received. Since it claims for itself the prerogative of dispensing
these rights, it also claims the privilege of denying them. At best cynical,
the attitude of tolerance is a continuing refutation of our basic democratic
doctrine.
Tolerance achieved its major growth in the era of imperialism when it
became popular to talk of the "White Man's Burden," or "Our Little Brown
Brothers." In practice it took the forms of white supremacy, segregation,
paternalism,
^
bi
^
-racialism, or second-class citizenship which resulted in the
creation of stereotypes. That these followed in the wake of white penetration
into the Arctic is not to be wondered at.
The doctrine of white supremacy in the Arctic by now should be familiar.
In Greenland the trader offers his hospitality to white travelers, denies his
home to his neighbor, the Eskimo. Alaskan cannery operators, as distinct from
their Oriental laborers, live in an elaborate "white house." In the Canadian
North trappers refer to the Eskimo as "no good," by which is meant that they
are failures as white men. Stigma-carrying terms such as "squaw," "skeemo," or
"savage" are used. At the trading post in the Canadian Arctic the white man
may purchase anything and all he pleases, the "native" cannot buy certain articles
and the factor decides which they will be. A New York Jew, moving to Nome, Alaska,
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
to get away from anti-Semitism, marries an Eskimo woman and finds his chil–
dren ridiculed as "Jewskimos." The white man in the North American Arctic
gets good pay for his work, the "native" gets much less or none for the same
work. Association is tolerated at best in a bemused manner.
There are few Alaskan or other North American arctic villages which do
not countenance a "native" population. For one thing, its proximity is con–
venient in terms of man power. But at the same time there are few towns in
which the "native" population is not segregated from the white. In Fairbanks
and Fort Yukon, to cite just two examples, the "native village" is set off in
the most undesirable part of town, where the drainage is poor, the mosquitoes
worse, the danger of flood ever-present in the spring. These settlements may
be easily distinguished by their wretched houses, dilapidated imitations of
the finer frame or log dwellings of the whites, their ill-maintained roads and
nonexistent sewers, by their aura of drabness and poverty. In all respects
they resemble the "nigger-towns" of the
^
S
^
outh.
On paper and in the law medical and educational benefits go to white
and aborigine alike. However, this may be done on a separate but equal basis.
"Native"
^
p
^
atients are given their care when needed, but are often treated in
a cavalier manner compared to white patients. In Alaska two school systems
were formerly operated: one for whites and half-breeds, the other for "natives."
That the latter did not present the same scholastic quality, and strove to
create "good natives" by encouraging trades rather than the humanities and
science, was no secret. No high school existed along the whole arctic coast
northeastward from Nome, and consequently Eskimo children were prohibited the
prepa
^
r
^
ation necess
^
ar
^
y for college entrance unless they moved away from their
families. and could find work to support themselves while attending their studies.
EA-Anthrop. Teal: Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
One needs but to peruse the educational survey reports of the various Canadian
provinces to learn that no major expense or effort has been brought to educat–
ing northern Canadian Indians or the children of usually French-Indian wilder–
ness families. True, the facilities and laws exist which bar discrimination,
but the administration often works on the side of tolerance. Improvements in
policy have recently been made which offer considerable hope.
In Canada there is a Dominion Elections Act which in Section 14, page 205,
lists those who may
not
vote, "Every Eskimau person, whether born in Canada
or elsewhere." They are not considered ready for full citizenship, although
all officials express hope that their emancipation from delimiting barbarity
will soon be forthcoming. An Indian may vote only if he has served in the Forces,
has been enfranchised under the provisions of the Indian Act, and is not resi–
dent upon or within the confines of an Indian Reserve. But even if he qualifies
in all these ways he may not purchase liquor, and any person who supplies him
with it is liable to prosecution.
Such social strictures are usually justified in the light of their suit–
ability to the capacities of the aborigine populations. When explanation of
these capacities is demanded, the common resort is to the creation of stereo–
types: "the lazy or shiftless Indian," "the industrious Eskimos." Some such
stereotypes, resembling the statements that all Negroes are good musicians or
boxers, seek to prove that certain "natives" are endowed with peculiar proper–
ties. For example, it is falsely claimed that all Eskimos and Indians have
a sure sense of direction in the wilderness, "have a compass in their heads."
Actually they frequently get lost or are not as adept at finding their way as
certain white men. The implication of such stereotypes is one of compensation:
in return for some minor quality of excellence they are supposed to be greatly
EA-Anthrop. Teal" Patterns of Discrimination in the Arctic
inferior to whites in other inherent characteristics.
Therefore it is claimed that the only realistic or Christian way to
meet the problem is by paternalism. Lift, if possible, the accursed "native"
from his abhorrent culture and condition, and make him less of a failure as
a white man. Protect him through missionary and other activities for self–
interest. Strive to preserve these interesting examples of human oddity, as
the Dane does the Greenlander. All of these aspects of tolerance are listed
as "a realistic approach to the native dilemma." "an understanding of native
races," or "progressive efforts at native betterment." It is not difficult
to perceive their origin in the egocentric illusion.
Fortunately, wise counsel is beginning to show its effect. Alaska has
abolished its bi-racial school system and gets along with a single type of
school in each community for all children. Nothing has yet been done about
extending high school education into remote areas, but plans are being active–
ly drawn. The territory passed an anti-discrimination law in 1945, the effect–
tiveness of which may be partially judged from the fact that by 1949 no case
had been brought to court under it. It is to be hoped that similar attitudes
and actions will come to prevail throughout the Arctic in the near future and
provide for healthy inter-group and inter-culture cooperation.
John J. Teal, Jr.
Regional Description of Prehistoric Eskimo Cultures
Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
EA-Anthropology
(Robert F. Heizer)
PREHISTORIC CULTURES OF KODIAK ISLAND
Kodiak Island, which is the largest of the many Alaskan islands,
lies south of the base of the Alaska Peninsula between 56° 40′ and 58°
north latitude and between 152° and 155° west longitude. The shore line
is deeply indented with fjordlike bays into which empty numerous streams.
There is only one large river, the Karluk. It is one of the famous salmon
streams of Alaska. A rich sea mammal and fish fauna but a deficient land
mammal assemblage predetermined a shore line existence for inhabitants of
the island.
A very large number of ancient village sites occur on the island as
may be seen from the survey conducted by Dr. A. Hrdli
c
^
ĉ
^
ka (Hrdli
c
^
ĉ
^
ka, 1944:
Part II). These sites, which may be characterized as refuse-accumulation
mounds with a high mollusk shell content, vary as to size and depth and,
presumably, antiquity. Many can be identified as dead villages, occupied
at the time of the settlement of the island by the Russians in 1784. Others,
like that at the mouth of the Karluk River, have been continuously inhabited
from remote antiquity up to the present day. A number of features set the
Kodiak village sites off from those of the Bering Sea region. The southern
sites on the shores of the North Pacific are not frozen, hence do not produce
remains of skin, fur, baleen, and wood which, thanks to frozen conditions, are
preserved in the Bering Strait middens. A greater dependence upon fish and
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
mollusks on Kodiak accounts for shell-mound sites, as well as a lesser
amount of sea mammal bones and the toggle harpoon points employed to take
these animals.
A large village site in Uyak Bay, largest of the bays of Kodiak and
about 40 miles long, opening into Shelikof Strait to the north, was com–
pletely excavated during the summer seasons of 1931 to 1936 by Dr. Ale
s
^
š
^
Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, late Curator of the Division of Physical Anthropology, United
States National Museum. These excavations remain, up to the present, the
only systematic investigation of Kodiak prehistory. According to Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka
(1944), this site was first occupied about 2,000 years ago by a people called
by him Pre-Koniag, and whom he believed were non-Eskimo and so Indian-like
as to be closely comparable to the Algonquian Indians. H. B. Collins (1945)
has shown, however, that the Pre-Koniag stock is to be classed as most closely
related to western Eskimo groups to the north of Kodiak Island. This rela–
tionship seems more consonant with the archaeologic facts, since the culture
of the Pre-Koniags had a distinct Eskimo stamp as shown by the presence of
such elements as the toggle harpoon, oil lamp, semilunar slate knife (ulu),
barbed bone dart and arrowheads, bow or strap drill, labret, and stone adz.
Among the items which characterize this earlier culture are wide, flat
barbed bone projectile points; carved ivory figurines of animals and birds;
bone and ivory portrait "miniatures" of human faces; composite bone harpoon
points; iron-tipped engraving tools; compass-drawn dot and circle art motif;
elaborately decorated avoid stone lamps with shallow grooves running around
the side below the rim, often with a groove or ovoid depression in the bowl,
and rarely with an animal or human figure in the interior bowl.
The uppermost levels of the Uyak midden yielded evidence of a different
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
physical stock called by Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka "Koniag" because these remains are clearly
those of the prehistoric ancestors of the Koniag (Kaniag, Kaniagmiut) who
occupied the island at the time of its discovery by Europeans. The culture
of the uppermost levels of the Uyak midden resembles that of the lower (Pre–
Koniag) deposit layers in many items: single-pointed mammal bone awls; flat
shovel blades of whale or bear scapules; paired fish-spear points; bone
combs; tubular bone beads; whalebone wedges; grooved mauls; small adz blades
and bone hafts with blade bed; bird-bone awls; ivory pendants; whalebone
dishes; bone arrow and dart heads; grooved stone sinkers; toggle harpoon
heads; and drilled, polished slate ulus. Unique to the upper Koniag level
are the following types: curved bone bag handles, ovoid stone lamp with flat
border and wick groove, large splitting adzes, single-piece bone fishhook,
secondary burial, and steam sweat bath (Heizer, 1947).
The Uyak site appears to have been abandoned at about the time of or not
long before, the advent of the Russians. Dating of the earliest levels has
not so far been possible, and Dr. Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka's guess of an antiquity of not
over 2,000 years for the site may be accepted as reasonable until further
analysis may amend it (Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, 1944: 324-26; de Laguna, 1947: 10-12).
The culture disclosed in the uppermost level of the Uyak site is
different in many respects from that of the ethnographic Koniag if we may
judge from collections made in the past two centuries (see, for example,
Birket-Smith, 1941). There appears to have been, in protohistoric or early
historic times a considerable amount of cultural change evidenced mainly in
the form of new material features acquired by the Koniag tribe. These
increments amount essentially to an overlay of culture, but their source
and stimulus are as yet only matters of conjecture. Possibly, and by no
^
190
^
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
means certainly, to be included in this roster of new traits is pottery
making. Pottery is found in near-surface levels of archaeologic sites on
the southwest coast of the island (de Laguna, 1939; 1940,; 1947: 245-46;
Heizer, 1947; Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, 1944: 109, 111), the locale of the earliest and
most intense Russian settlement.
Archeological excavation alone can settle the question of the antiquity
of the ceramic art on Kodiak. Dr. de Laguna (1939, 1947) has offered strong
arguments in favor of the derivation of southern Eskimo pottery from an
Asiatic source, probably Ainu and Kamchadal, the route of introduction being
via the Aleutian Islands. There is pottery in the geographically intermediate
Aleutian Island sites (Quimby, 1945a), but it is completely unlike in form and
technique any other Alaskan, or for that matter New World, ceramics.
Another archaeologic trait of restricted distribution is to be seen in
the petroglyphs of Cape Alitak on the southwestern coast of Kodiak (Alaska
Packers Association, 1917; Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, 1944: 67, 105-110, Figs. 15-18). These
are probably of the late prehistoric period, and represent the northernmost
manifestation of the petroglyph art of the Northwest Coast Indians (Heizer,
N.D.). Petroglyphs do not occur in the Aleutian Islands or in the Alaskan
area north of the Alaska Peninsula. Kodiak Island received, by reason of
proximity and contact, not only trade items such as dentalia, from the northern
Northwest Coast, but also certain tools and implements and even a stimulus to
indulge in the latter's distinctive naturalistic and stylized art. Kodiak,
like every other archaeological region, shows influences from neighboring
areas.
Kodiak Island, to judge from our imperfect knowledge of its prehistory,
seems to have had much the same archaeological history as the Cook Inlet region,
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
not far to the east on the Alaska mainland. Here de Laguna has through
excavation established three culture periods named Kachemak Bay i (ca.
A.D. 1 to 500), Kachemak Bay 2 (ca. A.D. 500 to 1000) and Kachemak Bay 3
(ca. A.D. 1000 to 1700). The open socket Kachemak harpoons which de Laguna
calls "Thule like" are not characteristic of the Uyak site. Numerous other
artifact forms of Cook Inlet do not occur in the Kodiak collection, and at
the same time the Kodiak site yielded many types which de Laguna did not
find in Cook Inlet. A somewhat different history for specific culture
traits is therefore probable between these two south Alaskan areas, but
the broad outlines of culture change will probably coincide (Heizer, Ms.).
Recent work in the Aleutian Islands (Quimby, 1945a, 1945b; Hrdlicka,
1945) offers insight into cultural succession which finally and successfully
supplants the earlier work of Dall (1877) and Jochelson (1925). Here in
great shell-mound sites, like those of Kodiak and Cook Inlet, is found the
same general type of culture whose development conforms to what appears to
be a widespread one in the Pacific Eskimo-Aleut area.
Cultural connections between Kodiak and the Bering Sea region to the
north (with the exception of generalized Eskimo traits such as the harpoon,
oil lamp, skin boat, etc.), which would indicate direct contact, have not
been found. Old Bering Sea Style 1 and Punuk style art elements do not
occur sporadically, but the Eskimo stamp of the culture of the Pacific
Eskimo seems to have an ancient basis which probably dates from pre-Old
Bering Sea times. This idea is further supported by resemblance in the
early Aleutian art style to that of the Dorset culture, the oldest Eskimo
culture of the eastern Canadian Arctic and probably of equal or greater age
than the Old Bering Sea culture of the Bering Strait region (Collins, 1940;
Quimby, 1945a).
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
The coast of eastern Asia most nearly adjacent to the Aleutian
Island-Alaska Peninsula-Kodiak region has been the source of a consider–
able number of culture traits and complexes which have entered America via
the Aleutian route, and have traveled in the other direction from America
to Asia by the same track. The evidence for these culture connections is
abundant and may be found in the works of Collins (1937, 1940), de Laguna
(1934, 1940, 1947) Heizer (1943), Leroi-Gourhan (1946), Quimby (1946). The
whole circum-North Pacific zone seems to have shared and been colored by
these Asiatic contracts, these later being factors which aided in the
development of the distinctive Pacific Eskimo cultures, among these that
of Kodiak.
EA-Anghrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Alaska Packers Association. "Petroglyphs on Kodiak Island."
American
Anthropologist
, Vol.19, No.3, 1917.
2. Birket-Smith, Kaj. "Early Collections from the Pacific Eskimos"
Ethnographical Studies
, Copenhagen, 1941.
3. Collins, H.B., Jr.
Archeology of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska
. Smith–
sonian Inst., Misc. Coll., Vol.96, No.1, 1937.
4. ----.
Outline of Eskimo Prehistory.
Smithsonian Inst., Misc.Coll.,
Vol.100, 1940.
5. ----. Review of A. Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, The Anthropology of Kodiak Island; The
Aleutian and Commander Islands.
Amer.Jour.of Phys. Anthrop
.,
Vol.3, N.S., No.4, 1945.
6. Dall, W.H.
On Succession in the Shellheaps of the Aleutian Islands
.
Smithsonian Inst., Contrib. to North Amer.Ethnol., Vol.1., 1877.
7. Heizer, R.F.
Aconite Poison Whaling in Asia and America
. Bur.Amer.
Ethno., Bull. 133, Anthrop. Paper No.24, 1943.
8. ----. "Report of progress on research on Kodiak Island archaeology."
Yearbook
,
American Philos. Soc.
, 1947.
9. ----. "Petroglyphs from Southwestern Kodiak Island, Alaska."
Proc
.
Amer. Philos.Soc.
, in press. n.d.
10. ----.
Archaeology of the Uyak Site, Kodiak Island, Alaska
. Ms. in
preparation.
11. Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, A.
The Anthropology of Kodiak Island, Alaska
. The Wistar
Institute, Philadelphia, 1944.
12. ----.
The Aleutian and Commander Islands and Their Inhabitants
.
The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, 1945.
13. Jochelson, W.
Archaeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands.
Carnegie Inst., Publ.367, 1935.
14. de Laguna, F.
The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
Univ. of Penn.,
Philadelphia, 1934.
15. ----. "A Pottery Vessel from Kodiak Island, Alaska."
American Antiquity
,
Vol.4, No.4, 1939.
16. ----. "Eskimo Lamps and Pots."
Journ. Roy.Anthrop. Inst.
, Vol.70, No.1,
1940.
EA-Anthrop. Heizer: Prehistoric Cultures of Kodiak Island
17. de Laguna, F.
The Prehistory of Northern North America as seen from
the Yukon.
Mem. No.3, Soc. for Amer. Arch. 1947.
18. Leroi-Gourhan, A.
Arch
e
^
é
^
ologie du Pacifique-Nord.
Trav. et Mem. de
l'Inst. d'Ethnol., Vol.47, Paris, 1946.
19. Quimby, G.I., Jr. "Pottery from the Aleutian Islands."
Fieldiana
,
Vol.36, No.1, Chicago Natl. Hist. Mus. 1945a.
20. ----. "Periods of Prehistoric Art in the Aleutian Islands."
American Antiquity
, Vol.11, No.2, 1945b.
21. ----. "The Sadiron Lamp of Kamchatka as a Clue to the Chronology of
the Aleut."
American Antiquity
, Vol.11, No.3, 1946.
Robert F. Heizer
The Ethnology and Archaeology of the Aleutian Islands
EA-Anthropology
[George I. Quimby]
THE ETHNOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
|
|
Page
|
|
Introduction
|
1
|
|
The Relative Chronology of Aleutian Physical Types
|
2
|
|
The Relative Chronology of Aleutian Culture
|
3
|
|
Aleut Culture of the Late Period
|
4
|
|
Aleut Culture of the Middle Period
|
8
|
|
Aleut Culture of the Early Period
|
9
|
|
Summary
|
10
|
|
Bibliography
|
11
|
EA-Anthropology
(George I. Quimby)
THE ETHNOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
Introduction
At the time of their discovery in 1741 the Aleutian Islands were one
of the most densely populated areas in North America. It has been estimated
that there were about 16,000 inhabitants of the Aleutians at the time of the
Russian conquest (Kroeber, 1939, p. 135), a population density of 64.70 persons
per 100 kilometers.
These aboriginal people were called Aleuts (Al
e
^
ē
^
octs) by the Russians.
Culturally and linguistically the Aleuts were Eskimos, but they were a rather
specialized kind of Eskimo living under conditions considerably different from
those of their remote relatives in the North.
The Aleut environment was oceanic and subarctic. The islands were vol–
canic, mountainous, and treeless, with a damp, foggy, windy, raw climate. The
sea ice and abundant winter snow of the Arctic were lacking. Consequently,
the environmental factors alone would necessitate a mode of life different
from that of the northern Eskimos.
The Aleutian Islands were populated from the American mainland rather
than directly from Asia. When Asiatics first entered America about 20,000
years ago they came by way of Vering Strait. No evidence ever has been found
that in any way suggests the Aleutian Islands as a route by which the Paleo-
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutian Islands
Indians entered the New World. In all probability the Aleutian Islands were un–
inhabited until about 3,000 years ago. At that time, and it cannot be dated
with certainty, Eskimo-like people entered the Eleutian Islands from the Amer–
ican mainland. Occupancy of the islands seems to have been continuous from
perhaps 3,000 years ago to the coming of the Russians in 1741.
The Relative Chronology of Aleutian Physical Types
The culture history of the Aleutian Islands before 1741 can be divided
into at least three periods: early, middle, and late. These periods tend to
overlap as do the periods of any cultural continuum. Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka's (1945) dual
division of the same continuum into Aleut and pre-Aleut, two dis
^
crete
^
non–
overlapping periods, seems to be neither fruitful nor correct.
In the early period the inhabitants of the islands were of two similar
physical types, both characterized by oblong, relatively high heads. But the
older of the two types had narrow, high skulls with short, narrow faces (Richards,
1946) whereas the younger type had skulls that were slightly broader and lower
with faces that were longer and wider (Hrdlicka, 1945). Since Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka (1945)
called the latter type "pre-Aleut," it might be well to apply the same term
to the similar type described by Richards (1946). Richards' type could be
termed pre-Aleut A and Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka's type could be called pre-Aleut B.
The pre-Aleut B. type has a tendency to resemble the historic Aleut type
more closely than does the pre-Aleut A type. This is one of the reasons that
the B type is presumed to be less ancient than the A type.
In the middle period the inhabitants of the islands consisted of the pre–
Aleut B type previously mentioned and a new type that had broad, low heads and
broad faces, the "Aleut" type of Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka (1945).
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
In the late period all of the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands were
of the Aleut type. Whereas all of the earlier types are known only from an
examination of skeletal material, the Aleut type is known both from a study
of excavated bones and the accounts of Russian explorers who actually saw the
living Aleuts at the end of the late period. Steller, who saw the Aleuts on
the Shumagin Islands in 1741, described them as follows:
"....they are of medium stature, strong and stocky, yet fairly well pro–
portioned, and with very fleshy arms and legs. The hair of the head is glossy
black and hangs straight down all around the head. The face is brownish, a
little flat and concave. The nose is also flattened, though not particularly
broad or large. The eyes are as black as coals, the lips prominent and turned
up. In addition they have short necks, broad shoulders, and their body is
plump though not big-bellied."(Golder, 1925, vol. 2, p. 96).
The Relative Chronology of Aleutian Culture
As mentioned previously, the culture history of the Aleutian Islands can
be divided into at least three periods: early, middle, and late. The late period
is best known because the data by means of which it is described, come not only
from the investigations of archaeologists, but also from the eye-witness ac–
counts of early travelers.
The earlier periods with scantier data made available only by archaeo–
logical exploration can be understood more easily in terms of the better known
late period. Consequently, it seems best to proceed from the known to the un–
known; from the historic horizon backward in time through the completely pre–
historic periods.
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
Aleut Culture of the Late Period
Aleut culture of the late period was the product of a hunting, fishing,
and food-gathering economy. The Aleuts subsisted on sea mammals, fish, shell–
fish, birds, and wild plants.
Animals important for their food value and raw materials such as fur,
bone, and sinew were seals, sealions, seaotters, and whales. Seals, sealions,
and seaotters were hunted at sea from a skin-covered kayak by means of harpoons,
bladder darts, or spears cast with a wooden spear-thrower. Darts and harpoons
were equipped with small, detachable points of bone that were either barbed or
of the toggle type. The barbed points were of many varieties, but much simpler
than those of the earlier periods. The toggle harpoon heads and blades of
chipped stone fastened into slots at the points. Earliest styles of harpoon
heads did not have blade slots.
Whales were killed with poison, a technique of hunting used in Asia, but
wholly different from the harpoon and float method of northern Eskimos (Heizer,
1938, 1943). The poison was extricated from roots of the monkshood or
Aconitum
,
a common plant in the Aleutian Islands. The preparation and use of this poison
was known only to the whalers who were members of a secret whaling cult.
Whale hunters ceremoniously smeared their lance heads with aconite poison,
then went to sea in their skin-covered kayaks or bidarkas. When a whale was
sighted, the hunter in his kayak paddled as close as possible to the whale,
threw his lance, and then returned to land. The poisoned lance head remained
in the whale's flesh, causing death in about three days. While the whale was
dying, the hunter engaged in special ceremonies to obtain supernatural assist–
ance in hunting. If the gods were favorable, the dead whale drifted ashore and
the hunter's possession of the carcass was established by his ownership marks
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
on the lance head. After the poisoned flesh around the lance wound had been
cut away, the meat and blubber of the whale could be eaten safely.
Fish w^e^re an important food to the Aleut. Fish were taken in nets, by
hook and line, or with spears. Long-handled fishspears were of two kinds;
one with a single barbed point of bone, the other with a trident head of three
bone points. One-piece, curved fishhooks were of shell or bone. More common,
however, were two-piece fishhooks consisting of a notched bone shank lashed to
a barbed bone point. Lines were made of twisted or braided fiber and sinew.
Some shellfish were collected with a long-handled rakelike implement
and octopuses were taken with a hook fastened to a long wooden shaft. Other
shellfish were gathered by hand at low tide.
Edible plants and roots were collected by hand or with the assistance of
a bone root
^
digger
^
.
Birds and eggs were important summer foods. Sea birds such as ducks,
geese, loons, murres, cormorants, gulls and ptarmigans were taken in nets;
with bird bolas; or with a bird spear and spear-thrower. The bird spear was
a light shaft with a single barbed point at the end and a cluster of three
other barbed points of bone projecting at an angle from midway on the spear.
The Aleuts lived in large communal houses, some of them 240 feet long and
40 feet wide. Except for the roof, these houses were underground. Supported
by upright logs of driftwood or by whale bones, the roof was made of blanks or
poles covered with grass and earth or sod. There were a number of entrances
through the roof, each with a ladder made of a notched log of driftwood.
From ten to forty families, as many as 150 people, lived in one house.
Along the walls were compartments that provided separate living quarters for
each family. These compartments were made of poles and woven mats. Heat and
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
light were provided by oil-burning lamps of stone. Lamps of the late period
were neither as well made nor as ornate as the lamps of the middle period.
One or more of the large communal houses formed a village. Before the
arrival of the Russians, the villages were always situated by the sea in an
exposed place where enemies could not approach unseen and where the movements
of sea mammals and the drifting of dead whales could be observed easily.
Aleut clothing was warm and comfortable. The women wore long, skirt–
like garments made of the skins of seals and seaotters. The men wore similar
garments made of bird skins. The men also had a long waterproof parka made of
translucent strips of sea-mammal intestines sewn together in horizontal bands
and ornamented at the seams with red feathers or dyed seal hair.
Wooden hats worn by hunters were particularly ornate. One style shaped
like an eye-shade and another conical style with a long visor were often
painted in bright colors and ornamented with attached carvings of bone or ivory.
Such hats were indicative of high rank or achievement in hunting.
Skin boots were worn by both men and women, although some people char–
acteristically went barefooted the year round.
Both men and women wore labrets of stone, bone, or ivory in their lower
lips and a variety of ornaments such as feathers, bone pins, and beads in the
nose and ears. Men on occasion painted their faces with various colors, and
women had tatooed designs on their faces.
Like most island dwellers, the Aleut traveled mostly by sea. Small kayaks
or bidarkas made of a wooden frame and covered tightly with sea-mammal skins
were the most common style of boat. These had one or two hatches, but other–
wise were completely decked. They were propelled by a double-bladed paddle.
Less common were the large, open boats, the woman's boat of the northern Eskimos,
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
made of a wooden frame covered with skin.
For household tasks and the preparation of food there were many tools
and utensils of wood, stone, and bone — dishes, spoons, trays, needles, weav–
ing tools, awls, splitting wedges, knives, shovels, fire drills, bow drills,
backscratchers, and a multitude of other small tools.
The Aleuts engaged in war among themselves and with neighboring peoples.
Weapons of offense were the lance, the bow and arrow, and clubs. For defense
there was armor made of wooden rods or slats held together with leather lacing.
Armor seems to be most characteristic of the late period, but may have been
present in the middle period.
Aleut society was different from that of northern Eskimos. In each vil–
lage there were a number of extended family units governed by a chief or elder.
Sometimes several villages were ruled by one elder.
Aleut society was stratified. There were at least four classes: elders,
chiefs, commoners, and slaves. Aleut kinship classification and behavior was
more like that of some Indian tribes than of any other Eskimo group. For in–
stance, boys were brought up in the household of their mother's brother.
The Aleuts were polygamous. A man could have more than one wife and a
wife could have more than one husband. A man sometimes married the younger
sisters of his wife. And sometimes a husband's younger brothers and younger
parallel cousins had the same marital privileges as the husband.
The Aleuts had a wealth of religious beliefs. There were spirits and
supernatural beings whose power was present in all things from rocks to animals.
All kinds of ceremonies and stories were built around these religious beliefs
that pervaded almost all aspects of Aleut behavior.
Aleut burial practices were in some instances particularly elaborate.
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
Some of the dead accompanied by their best clothing, tools, ornaments, carved
masks, and other belongings, were placed in underground tombs made of logs
and plans sealed with fur. But the most spectacular burials were the mummy
packs placed in caves. Here the viscera were removed from the body and the
cavity stuffed with grass, or in some instances the bodies were untreated.
Then the body, in a flexed position, was wrapped with furs and mats. A number
of such bodies were placed in a dry cave with a lavish display of kayaks,
weapons, armor, tools, ornaments, and other equipment. All of the cave burials
seem to belong to the late period or perhaps the middle period.
Aleut art of the late period was rich and varied. Particularly spectacu–
lar were the carved wooden masks and the painted decorations on hats and kayak
paddles. Design elements and small carvings, on the other hand, were not so
rich as in earlier periods. A diagnostic design element of the late period was
a small, compass-drawn dot and circle. This element in combination with
straoght lines, spurred lines, and circles, and short lines in groups of three,
were used used in the patterns placed upon some harpoon heads, harpoon collars,
pendants, and other tools and ornaments.
Aleut Culture of the Middle Period
The Aleut culture of the middle period seems to have been fundamentally
the same as that of the late period. There were, however, some differences in
design styles and in the types of tools, weapons, and utensils.
In the middle period, some Aleuts had pottery — crude, thick bowls of
clay heavily tempered with sand or particles of stone, and poorly fired.
The most ornate lamps of stone belong to the middle period. The lamps
were square, round, oval, or triangular in shape; well made of ground stone;
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
and sometimes embellished with designs, grooves, ridges, knobs, and other
elements.
A characteristic tool of this period was a small, two-piece awl made by
inserting a bone splinter inside of a hollow bird bone of slightly larger dia–
meter. Other representative traits were harpoon or lance heads with three rows
of elaborate barbs; harpoon and lance heads with either slots or spoon-shaped
depressions for the attachment of stone blades; long bone collars of compound
form for use with harpoons; and other characteristic traits of a similar nature.
Design elements of the period were the freehand dot and circle; diamond
hatchuring, sometimes with a dot in the center of the diamond; square hatchur–
ing; parallel lines in groups of three; straight lines with short spurs on one
or both sides; and carved heads at the base of lance heads and harpoon collars.
^S^ome of the carved heads seem to represent an unidentified, long-nosed animal,
real or imaginary. Similar forms are a part of the art styles of the Ipiutak
and Old Bering Sea cultures of northern Alaska. Some head had inlaid eyes of
stone, also an Old Bering Sea trait. The Aleutian carvin
^
g
^
of heads at the base
of tools and weapon heads resembles a similar practice of the Dorset culture of
the eastern Arctic.
Aleut Culture of the Early Period
Aleut culture of the early period was essentially that of later periods.
The economy was the same. There were the same kinds of tools, but some differ–
ences in form and relative abundance. Some of the key or diagnostic traits are
as follows.
Lance heads and toggle harpoon heads that were equipped with stone blades
always had scooped-shaped
^
beds
^
or depressions for hafting the blade. They never
^
175
^
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
had blade slots. The lance heads were elaborately barbed and often decorated.
The toggle harpoon heads were long with rather graceful spurs, and a closed, round
socket - a type characteristic of the early period.
Stone lamps were oval, pointed, and somewhat crude in contrast to the
finer lamps of the middle period.
Objects of carved bone or ivory and the placing of designs on tools and
weapons were common in this and the middle periods, but much less common in the
late period. Early period levels have produced stylized figurines and miniature
animals of ivory; cylindrical earornaments of ivory or bone with very large
compass-drawn dot and circle designs; chain link ornaments of ivory and bone;
and other ornaments.
The designs of this period appear for the most part on lance heads. Such
designs are linear and longitudinal and cover the entire surface instead of
merely the borders. The design elements are straight lines; paired lines;
transverse lines in groups; Xs; zigzags;spurred lines; and short, isolated lines.
The designs are deeply engraved, perhaps with iron tools, and they somewhat re–
semble the Dorset designs found at an early date in the eastern Arctic. It is
possible that both early Aleut and Dorset design elements persisted from a
common source.
Summary
Throughout the long culture history of the Aleutian Islands, there seems
to have been no recognizable basic change in the aboriginal culture. There were,
however, some changes in art styles, and in the forms of tools, weapons, and
utensils. There were also changes in the popularity of certain kinds of tools,
weapons, and utensils. Changes in the
^
phy
^
sical
^
^
type of the inhabitants took
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
place from time to time.
Although the archaeology of the Aleutian Islands is not yet well known,
it is possible to divide the total occupancy of the islands into three periods.
The oldest period probably is as old as the Dorset Eskimo culture in the east–
ern Canadian Arctic. The early part of the middle period seems to have been
coeval with Ipiutak and Old Bering Sea in northern Alaska, and the later part
of the middle period may have been contemporaneous with Punuk in northern
Alaska. The late period probably was coeval with late Punuk and post-Punuk
cultures in Alaska.
Bibliography
1. Collins, Henry B., Jr. Outline of Eskimo Prehistory.
Smithsonian Miscel–
laneous Collections,
Vol. 100, pp. 533-592. Wash–
ington, 1940.
2. Collins, Henry B., Jr.
Clark, Austin H., and
Walker, Egbert H. The Aleutian Islands: Their People and Natural
History.
Smithsonian Institution War Background
Studies
, No. 21, Washington, 1945.
3. Golder, F.A. Bering's Voyages.
American Geographical Society of
New York Research Series
, No. 2.
^
1925
^
.
4. Heizor, Robert Aconite Arrow Poison in the Old and New World.
Jour
.
of the Washington Academy of Science, Vol. 28, Wash–
ington, 1938.
5. ----. Aconite Poison Whaling in Asia and America, an
Aleutian Transfer to the New World.
Bur, of Amer
.
Ethnology, Bull
. 133, Anthropological Papers No. 24,
pp. 415-468.
^
1943.
^
6. Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, Alex
The Aleutian and Commander Islands and Their Inhebi–
tants
. Publ. by The Wistar Institue of Anatomy and
Biology, Phila., 1945.
7. Jochelson, Waldemar Archaeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands.
Carnegie Institution of Washington
, Publication No. 367.
Washington, 1925.
EA-Anthrop. Quimby: Ethnology and Archaeology of Aleutians
8. Jochelson, Waldemar History, Ethnology, and Anthropology of the
Aleut.
Carnegie Institution of Washington
,
Publication No. 432. Wahsington, 1933.
9. Kroeber, A. L. Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America.
University of California Publications in American
Archaeology and Ethnology
, Vol. 38. 1939.
10. Laguna, Frederica de
The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska
. University
of Pennsylvania Press, 1934.
11. Martin, Paul S.,
Quimby, George I. &
Collier, Donald
Indians Before Columbus. 20,000 Years of North
American History Revealed by Archaeology
. University
of Chicago Press, 1947.
12. Quimby, George I. Aleutian Islanders, Eskimos of the North Pacific.
Chicago Natural History Museum
,
Anthropology Leaflet
No. 35
. 1944.
13. ----. Periods of Prehistoric Art in the Aleutian Islands.
American Antiquity
, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 76-79. 1945.
14. ----. Pottery from the Aleutian Islands.
Fieldiana. Anthro–
pology
, Vol. 36, No. 1. 1945.
15. ----. Toggle Harpoon Heads From the Aleutian Islands.
Fieldiana. Anthropology
,Vol. 36, No. 2.
16. Richards, Elizabeth A.
A Comparative Study Of A Series Of Crania From Dutch
Harbor, Alaska
. Manuscript of Master's Thesis at the
University of Chicago. 1946.
17. Weyer, E. M. An Aleutian Burial.
American Museum of Natural
History, Anthropological Papers
, Vol. 31, pp. 219-238.
1929.
18. ----. Archaeological Material From the Village Site at Hot
Springs, Port Moller, Alaska. American Museum of
Natural History, Anthropological Papers, Vol. 31,
pp. 239-279. 1930.
George I. Quimby
Eskimo and Indian Archaeology in the Interior of Alaska
EA-Archaeology in Alaska
(J. L. Giddings, Jr.)
ESKIMO AND INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA
The archaeology of the river valleys of northern Alaska is just as
significant in tracing the movements of prehistoric man between two conti–
nents as that of the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts. However, the discovery
and preservation of man's remains in the interior is retarded by a vastly
warmer summer climate than that of the coasts. Along the treeless arctic
shores ice arrests decay in any material buried a foot or two beneath the
ground surface, and beach lines change slowly through the centuries. The
Alaskan interior, on the other hand, is densely wooded along most of the
streams where settlements may have bee^n^, the ground thaws to river level
during the relatively long summer, and river banks constantly cur or fill
in such a way as to destroy or isolate a site. A drift log lodged on the
arctic coast may remain sound enough to use for a hundred years or more,
while a similar log falling on riverbank sod rots within a few summers.
In spite of these difficulties, three research programs have in recent
years blazed a rich path into the interior. Sponsored by the University of
Pennsylvania Museum, Dr. Frederica de Laguna in 1935 made a reconnaissance
of the Tanana and Yukon valleys between Nenana and Holy Cross, locating a
variety of village sites of distinctly inland character. During the follow–
ing two seasons, 1936 and 1937, Dr. Froelich G. Rainey traversed the valleys
EA-Archaeology in Alaska Giddings:
of the Copper, Tanana, and central Yukon rivers for the University of Alaska
and the American Museum of Natural History, excavating in a number of Athapas–
can village sites and an early "workshop" site. These explorations brought
the northern Athapascans into archaeological perspective. The third program,
begun in 1940, is presently (1947) directed by J. L. Giddings, Jr., for the
University of Alaska, in the Eskimo-inhabited Kobuk River drainage of western
Alaska. We shall consider the areas concerned in the order of their remoteness
from a purely coastal environment.
As with nomadic sites in other parts of the world, locating the hearths,
fish camps, and winter house pits of the northern Athapascans is a test of
endurance. Rainey traveled along 1,200 miles of inland waterways, excavated
camp grounds as well as house pits in many areas, but found only one site in
which the collections proved adequate for a type of study. The specimens from
six of nine house pits and surrounding midden of this site, Dixthada, near
Tanana Crossing, total 496, which break down into 206 of stone, 187 of bone
and antler, 50 of native copper, 44 trade beads, and 9 iron objects, not in–
cluding small fragments of birch bark, wood, and the numerous unworked flint
chips which characterize the deposits. Native copper had been shaped into
double-pointed awls or needles, steamed arrow points, ear and nose ornaments,
and a skin scraper. Work in stone ran to thin
tci-tho
skin scrapers and whet–
stones, but flints appeared in the oldest middens as small stemmed arrow points,
blades with bilateral retouching, side scrapers, two small polyhedral cores,
and six small prismatic flakes from such cores. Three polished stones fragments
are parts of adz blades. The arrow points of antler range from those with a
number of small barbs along one edge to triangular stemmed points. Special
types are blunt arrow points and a single barbed point slotted at the tip to
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
receive a stone blade. Other objects of bone and antler include leg-bone
scrapers, knives, and engraved strips said to be day tallies for reckoning
the time of potlatches.
Neighboring sites indicate that the house sites and middens containing
copper and flaked stone tools at Dixthada are earlier than those in which
beads and iron were present. In other respects little change seems to have
taken place in the local culture complex with the passing of time. Rainey con–
cludes that since the natives of the region were familiar with the crudest stone
implements recovered from the site, but did not know the finer flaked implements,
a considerable time lapse may be represented between the two occupations of
Dixthada. Certain other house sites in the general area, which contained goods
similar to that of the historic period, but lacked both flints and trade beads,
suggest an intermediate period not represented at Dixthada.
Besides the sites containing house pits, Rainey located, in various parts
of the area, hearths containing flaked stone implements, hearths (near Rampart)
containing the easternmost Tena pottery, and workshop sites bearing chips,
flakes, and flaked stone implements. The best known of the workshop sites is
that on the University of Alaska campus. Located on the brow of a steep bluff,
this site has yielded a large number of flakes and flaked artifacts which in
the main are like those of the older Athapascan camp sites. A large number of
small end scrapers and polyhedral cores and small prismatic flakes struck from
such cores are of particular interest because they resemble Mesolithic types in
Mongolia. Similar recent discoveries by Frederick Johnson and Douglas Leechman
along the Alcan Highway appear to confirm a reasonable antiquity for the Campus
Site.
While Rainey worked in the area least likely to be influenced by the Eskimo,
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
de Laguna concentrated on the area of the western Athapascans, the Tena,
groups which in recent times have traded with the Eskimos. Those sites farthest
down the Yukon, in the vicinity of Holy Cross, are thought to have been occupied
by Eskimos strongly influenced by the Tena. The number of sites located, espec–
ially those containing recognized house pits, increased toward the west, where
climatic conditions become more severe and preservation is consequently better.
Below the mouth of the Koyukuk River, nine large village sites were located
and mapped. Some of these belong to the historic period, as indicated by the
presence of glass beads and other trade goods, but others appear to have been
occupied well before the first Russian explored the Yukon. Excavation, hampered
by frost and standing water in certain house pits, as well as by the exigencies
of time, nevertheless turned up material which, together with purchases and
surface collections, run to about eighty types, and serves to distinguish
historic from prehistoric Tena culture, and to set apart Eskimo variants.
Tena sites contrast in stone work with sites of the upper river investigated
by Rainey in the relative scarcity of flints. Pecking, grinding, sawing and
polishing were the principal techniques. Pecked-stone to
^
o
^
ls include single–
edged and double-edged splitting adz heads, the latter apparently a local de–
velopment. The sawing of slate and harder rock is indicated by a variety of
thin sandstone saws recovered from the sites. Since jade is not reported for
the area, it seems doubtful that these saws are associated primarily with a jade
industry as they were on the Kobuk River. Polished slate blades may reflect
Eskimo influence.
Caribou antler provided the material for arrow points, various barbs,
wedges, and other small objects. The more perishable materials include wooden
vessels, baskets and canoe covers of birch bark, and twined-bark matting.
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
Pottery was found at several points down-river from the mouth of the
Tenana River. The ware is described as finer than Eskimo pottery about Bering
Strait, and made of blue clay mixed with feathers and grease. Vessels range
in size from large pots holding several gallons to small saucerlike lamps.
Pottery decoration takes the form of incised lines and dots. These occurred
on the larger vessels outside the rim, and, on lamps, inside the rim.
Realistic art appears in two examples of etching on scapula scrapers, and
by an animal representation in bone. Geometric patterns of spurred lines or
rows of dots decorate a number of bone and antler objects.
The third inland sphere of archaeological investigations, the Kobuk River
drainage just north of the Arctic Circle, has proved vastly more lucrative than
the central Alaska rivers. This is partly because its prehistory concerns
Eskimos, but largely because the climate preserves sites over much longer per–
iods. In the 150 air-line miles between Shungnak, on the upper Kobuk, and
Kotzebue, at the mouth of the river, climate changes from an inland zone in which
spruce and birch trees grow to great size along the river banks and such in–
land dwellers as moose and beaver abound, into a modified arctic coast zone of
strong winds in which spruce persists only as scattered patches of slow-growing
twist-grained trees. Site preservation is excellent on the coast, and good on
the middle river, where the oldest village ruins have been found, but in the
headwaters, where the ground thaws to greater depths in the summer, preservation
is correspondingly poor.
In a reconnaissance of the Kobuk River in 1941, Giddinge located several
village sites containing material at variance with coastal sites, and determined
that tree-ring dating could be applied easil to some of these sites. Assisted
by archaeology students from the University of Alaska, he returned in 1941 and
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
^
100
^
1947 to carry on planned excavations. After three seasons some eighty house
pits had been excavated and five major sites dated in a tree-ring chronology
reaching back into the tenth century, A.D. The collections run to an estimat–
ed 4,000 artifacts representing three stages of culture from the 13th century
to the present time.
Large birch trees westward of their normal range led to the discovery
of an extensive village ruin on which they grew. This oldest site, Ahteut,
in the middle river zone, was unknown even through legend to the Kobuk Eskimos.
Builders at Ahteut had experimented widely in the high sand banks in which they
Chose to construct their half-underground houses. All the original excavations
had been deep, from 4 to 6 feet below ground surface, but no two house builders
had followed the same plan. Some houses boasted central fireplaces while others
had none; some had long tunnels extending back of the house at floor level in
addition to the deeper entrance tunnel; at least one had a spare room opening
into a kitchen alcove; and one large house had built-up earth benches on three
sides. Entrance tunnels presumably had been roofed over at ground surface,
allowing head room for a standing person, except for the small opening into
the living quarters.
Preservation of organic materials is spotty at Ahteut — construction
details can often be interpreted from smudges in the firm sand representing
posts and cross-poles — but in partly burned houses enough charcoal remains
to furnish material for tree-ring dating. Sound artifacts of antler, wood,
bone, and baleen are recovered from deep places where frost is most permanent.
Three harpoon heads, one decorated, recall a late Punuk phase of St. Lawrence
Island, but the summation of traits at Ahteut shows that the site does not fit
into the pattern of any previously described culture.
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
Ahteut is rich in stone work. Flint flaking was far more important than
in any later site, as evidenced by the large number of chips in each house,
and the variety of points, blades, and scrapers recovered. Points of chalcedony
and chert are broad in outline, with well-developed tangs, and thin in section.
Wide-faced scrapers of argillite are unlike any others on the river. Jade is
represented by only three worked pieces, in contrast with later sites, but slate
was extensively ground into a variety of blades. Of special interest at Ahteut
are pecked-stone tools, including single-bladed splitting adzes, a pestle and
a broken piece resembling a southeastern Alaska hammer. Among the most numerous
stone tools are thin discs of schist evidently used as skin scrapers. Large
pick-like and shovel-like partly-flaked objects of slate and other stone which
occur here have not been reported from coastal sites.
While Ahteut resembles in but few particulars the Athapascan sites of
central Alaska, certain traits suggest an Indian origin. In addition to the
stone work already mentioned, some of these are arrowheads of antler with short
barbs set off by engraved guide lines; fish scalers of caribou scapula; two–
hand scrapers of caribou leg-bone; extensive use of hematite as paint; and,
especially, the ceramic complex. Ahteut pottery, though decorated with paddled
concentric-circle designs on the exterior in early Eskimo fashion, appears to
be a harder ware, and takes a variety of vessel forms not found in coastal
sites. Textile impressions (probably twined basketry) appear on the inner
surface of some of the large bowls.
In the main, however, Ahteut traits are those of the coastal Eskimo, in–
cluding a salt-water hunting complex. Some of these traits are: sealing dart
heads and harpoon heads of ivory; other parts of the harpoon assembly; mattocks
of whale rib; baleen-sided baskets; and composite knife handles of ivory.
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
Ekseavik Site, located on the Squirrel River tributary of the Kobuk some
50 miles west of Ahteut, was occupied about 150 years after Ahteut. Permanent
frost above the floors and in the tunnels of the house ruins, a result of blown
sand and thick surface vegetation, perhaps accounts for the excellent preserva–
tion of organic materials in this site, which furnishes one of the most complete
of single-period Eskimo collections. In contrast to Ahteut and later sites on
the Kobuc, Ekseavik shows a minimum of Indian affinities. Excavations show that
some houses had rounded corners, rounded lamp niches built into each corner of
the two sleeping benches, a deep tunnel, and a shallow recess in the back wall.
Numerous ivory and antler objects duplicate Thule culture patterns from north–
east Canada to Point Barrow, Alaska, including typical Thule decorative engraved
elements. Delicately engraved spirals on thin ivory objects seem to represent
a new design element in the area. New Thule types are expected to emerge, es–
pecially in the abundant wooden pieces recovered, when the collections are
studied in detail. The wealth of tree-ring material obtained from building
timbers promises chronological interpretation of individual houses as well as
of the whole site.
A site contemporary with Ekseavik, but represented at the present stage
of excavation by only three house ruins, is one on the outskirts of the town
of Kotzebue, on the Arctic Sea coast at the mouth of the Kobuk. Old Kotzebue,
as it is designated, appears less rich in culture than Ekseavik, but contains
a higher proportion of objects connected with sea hunting. The Intermediate
Kotzebue Site, dating roughly 150 years later than Ekseavik and Old Kotzebue,
was the subject of extensive excavation in 1947. Although no sign of dog trac–
tion was found at any of the older sites, the Intermediate Kotzebue finds in–
clude many sled runners of the pegged-on type, and other appurtenances of dog
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
traction. The houses conform to type, rectangular to square in plan, with
fairly deep tunnels, and sometimes a storm-shed floor at higher level. Along
with extensive dog traction this site contains some of the traits lacking at
Ekseavik, but found in the late prehistoric sites at Point Hope and Point
Barrow, such as armor plate and long flint points with small tangs and an in–
cipient diamond-shaped cross section. Pottery decoration, characteristic of the
earlier phases, does not appear, but etched designs on ivory and antler comprise
only Thule elements.
A house ruin twice as large as the usual dwelling is believed to have been
a kazgi, or ceremonial house, because of the absence in it of pottery and other
goods belonging primarily to a woman's sphere of interest, and the abundance
of men's tools, sled runners, wood shavings, and the like. A long, deep tunnel
extended about eight feet into the house proper, providing an entrance through
the house floor, a feature encountered elsewhere only at Ahteut, but present in
the recent Point Barrow type of house.
No village site has been identified in the Kobuk area with the 150-year
period following Intermediate Kitzebue, but three large and several smaller
village ruins have been investigated from the middle Kobuk to its headwaters
which appear to have been mainly occupied after the late 1600's. These all are
characteri
^
zed
^
by great numbers of jade artifacts, and present a new aspect
lacking most of the Thule traits of the earlier sites.
All 15 houses of the Ambler River Site, on the upper Kobuk, were excavated
in 1941, establishing a type site for the early 1700's. The houses conformed
to a single construction plan. A short entrance tunnel entered the rectangular
houses at floor level. Two sets of opposite posts supporting
^
t
^
he roof had outlined
a central, rock-lined fireplace and surrounding split-plank floor. Beyond the
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
center posts on either side of the house were slightly raised benches strewn
with young willows, and retained by a log running the lenght of the house.
Jade was used by the Ambler people for knife blades of several kinds,
including lancets and wide, semi-lunar woman's knives; for thick adz heads
as well as small adz blades; and for drill bits and awls. Jade was prepared
by sawing partly through with a thin sandstone slab and breaking into the re–
quired size, then grinding on large, shallow-basin grindstones with a low hump
at the center, and finally polishing with some fine material which added a
luster. Jade seems to have completely supplanted theppolished slate of earlier
periods. It is a matter of conjecture how the jade-working complex developed
in this area, the only known place north of British Columbia where a deposit of
jade exists.
Ambler Village appoars to have been inhabited by Eskimos. Ethnographic
information shows that the Eskimos still living on the river have continued in
almost all respects the form of culture indicated in the archaeological site.
The list of traits also known from neighboring Athapascan areas is so large,
however, as to leave no doubt of strong Indian influences, particularly those
concerned with living in a timbered, strictly inland climatic zone. Greater nomadism
is perhaps responsible for the less permanent houses with their thinner floor
deposits in the later Kobuk sites. Dog traction gave Ambler people greater
mobility and at the same time increased their hunting responsibilities twofold.
Perhaps the greatest significance of the Kobuk sites is that they show the
gradations from a coastal to an almost purely inland culture in an area which
seems to have been for hundreds of years occupied by Eskimo-speaking groups.
It does not seem likely that the upper Kobuk marked the extreme inland range of
the western Eskimos in earlier times, for if so virile a people were able to
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
maintain themselves in this area, they could have penetrated the interior of
Alaska elsewhere, too. The present inland-dwelling Eskimos of northwestern
Alaska, may be the living manife
^
s
^
tations of a once widespread Eskimo stock whose
culture was better adapted to forest dwelling than to sea hunting.
Besides the systematic work thus far considered, archaeology in the interior
of Alaska includes sporadic finds of flints which do not fit into any recent
pattern. Though seldom found
in situ
, and as yet not indisputably identified
with geologic strata, some of these pieces suggest in form and workmanship that
they belong to the Folsum-Yuma complex, and may be traces of those most sought–
after pioneers who first crossed the Bering Strait. These flints, now in various
hands, have yet to be described and compared in aggregate. Whatever the culture
patterns of the earliest Alaskans, we can expect those people to have solved
many environmental problems in the same ways as have the more recent nomads of
the Yukon and Kobuk rivers.
EA-Anthrop. Giddings: Archaeology in Alaska
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Giddings, J. L. Jr.
1941. Dendrochronology in Northern Alaska. Univ. of Alaska Pubs.
Vol. 4; Univ. of Arizona Bull. 12, No. 4.
1942. Dated Sites on the Kobuk River, Alaska. Tree-Ring Bull.,
9
, 1-8
1944. Dated Ruins of an Inland Zone. Amer. Antiquity,
10
, 113-134.
1947. Mackenzie River Delta Chronology. Tree-Ring Bull.,
13
, 26-29
Hibben, Frank C.
1943. Evidences of Early Man in Alaska. Amer. Antiquity,
8
, 3, 254-259
Hrdlicka, Alex.
1930. Anthropological Survey in Alaska. 46th Annual Rep. Bull. Am. Eth.
de Laguna, Frederica
1934. The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Univ. of Pennsylvania
Press, Philadelphia
1936. An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Middle and Lower Yukon
Valley, Alaska. Amer. Antiquity,
2
, 6-12
1947. The Prehistory of Northern North America as Seen from the Yukon.
Mem. Soc. for Amer. Arch., No. 3.
Rainey, Froelich, G.
1939. Archaeology in Central Alaska. Anth. Papers, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
36
, part 4.
1940. Archaeological Investigation in Central Alaska. Amer. Antiquity,
5
, 4, 299-308.
J. L. Giddings, Jr.
Ipiutak Culture
EA-Anthropology
(Helge Larsen)
IPIUTAK CULTURE
Ipiutak is the name given an ancient form of Eskimo culture first
found in 1939 at Point Hope, Alaska, by James L. Giddings, Jr., Froelich
G. Rainey, and Helge Larsen. The investigations, sponsored by the Univer–
sity of Alaska, The American Museum of Natural History, and the Danish
National Museum, were continued in 1940 and 1941.
The Ipiutak village site is located about one mile from the present
Eskimo village, Tigara, near the north shore of the triangular gravel-and–
sand spit, which forms the westernmost tip of the Point Hope Peninsula, on
the
^
a
^
rctic
^
c
^
oast. Numerous shallow depressions, barely visible under normal
conditions, indicate where the houses had been. The pits are arranged in five
parallel rows, which is due to the fact that the houses were built on top of
the low gravel ridges of which the whole spit is built up. The original
number of houses at Ipiutak is not known; 575 have been mapped, but as drift
sand has covered the northernmost row, there may easily be 100 more, not to
mention those wasted away by the sea. Despite the fact that all the excavated
houses were of the same type and that their contents of artifacts indicated
a uniform culture throughout the site, it is considered unlikely that all
houses were occupied contemporaneously. The village was probably built up
gradually.
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
The Ipiutak house was semisubterranean. About 50 centimeters below
the surface was a floor, usually of hard-packed gravel but sometimes of
wood. The ground plan of the house was between 4 and 5 meters square with
rounded corners. In the center was a fireplace and along three walls low
platforms, which served as seats in the daytime and as beds at night. The
house was probably entered through a passage on the west side.
The
Four
posts placed inside the walls supported wooden superstructure which was
covered by a layer of sod and dirt.
The material culture of the Ipiutak people was based upon hunting and
fishing. Their favorite game was the caribou, which was hunted with bow
and arrow. Since the caribou mainly live in the interior, the Ipiutak people
must have spent part of the year inland, probably fall and winter when the
animals are fattest. Another winter occupation was fishing with salmon spears
through holes in the ice on rivers and lakes. The main attraction of Point
Hope was the walrus herds that pass the peninsula in the spring and early
summer. The many walrus bones and artifacts made of walrus ivory indicate
the importance of this game. Walrus as well as
w
^
s
^
eal and bearded seal were
harpooned on the pack ice and probably also in open water. Two kinds of
harpoons were used, one with a long, fized foreshaft like the ice-hunting
harpoons of the Central Eskimos and one with a short, detachable foreshaft
like the common Eskimo kayak harpoon. Since no traces of boats were found
at Ipiutak, it is uncertain whether these were used by the Ipiutak epople.
The total absence of float accessories probably means that the well known
method of hunting sea mammals with an inflated sealskin attached to the
harpoon line was not practiced. This also excludes whale hunting, at least
in its arctic form. Birds were hunted with multipronged spears.
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
The Ipiutak weapons are distinguished by the extensive use of finely
chipped flint blades inserted in the sides of arrowheads, harpoon heads and
lance heads. The flint industry is one of the most characteristic features
of the Ipiutak culture. More than half of the 10, 000 specimens found in
Ipiutak are made of flint or other cryptocrystalline minerals. The flint
implements are distinguished by the multiplicity of forms and by fine work–
manship. Of the two main groups of flint implements, the unifacially chipped
includes various forms of side scrapers, end scrapers, and gravers, of which
the latter are chipped to form a point. In the other group, the bifacially
chipped, we find arrow points, inset blades, harpoon blades, knife blades,
and disc-shaped scraper blades. The delicate arrow points and inset blades
compete favorably with flint work of other prehistoric cultures. For working
flint the Ipiutak craftsman had a hammer with a bone head and a flaker con–
sisting of a handle of antler with a bone point lashed to it. The only ground
stone implements were adz blades of hard, silicified slate and a chisel-like
tool with a short, transverse edge.
In spite of the many stone implements the Ipiutak culture was not a true
Stone Age culture. A tiny piece of iron found in an engraving tool, and a
type of knife handle designed to hold a very small iron blade leave no doubt
that the Ipiutak people had access to iron although in very small quantities.
The source of this iron could only have been Asia, most likely Siberia.
Notably absent in the Ipiutak fine are parts of the common Eskimo bow drill;
most holes were gouged out and some round holes were probably made with a
hand d
^
r
^
ill. The two-handed scraper for dressing skins occurs in two forms,
the common type of caribou tubular bone and a wooden shaft with a separate
blade in the middle. The latter has not previously been reported from arctic
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
America. Needles made of bird bone, some of them extremely fine, were
found in considerable numbers, but no carved needle cases and no thimble
holders.
Household utensils were surprisingly rare in the Ipiutak find. Lamps
and cooking pots of stone or pottery are totally absent, and the poor con–
ditions for preservation of wood account for the small number of wooden
trays and bowls. The presence of sewn pieces of birch bark indicates that
this material was used for vessels. Without fireproof cooking pots, the
Ipiutak people probably used hot stones for cooking.
Of personal adornment two types are of particular interest, namely
labrets and facial tatooing. The occurrence of large stone and ivory labrets
is rather surprising, as they were formerly believed to constitute a late
element in the Eskimo culture of northern Alaska. The pattern of facial
tattooing is known from a few carvings of human faces and a considerable
number of schematic faces engraved on various antler and ivory objects. The
schematic faces consist of tattoo marks, eyes, mouth, and labrets. The
tattoo pattern, a Y-shaped nose line and one to four horizontal cheek lines,
is similar to that used by the Central Eskimos until recently, and in prehis–
toric times it was known from south Alaska to East Greenland. The schematic
faces and the so-called skeleton motive, stylized ribs and spine engraved on
animal carvings, constitute the most common realistic motives in Ipiutak sur–
face decoration, although it is often difficult to determine whether they
are purely decorative or have some religious significance. The skeleton
motive, for instance, may in some cases signify the spirit of the animal to
which it is applied; in others, when the skeleton is more or less conventional–
ized, it is undoubtedly purely ornamental.
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
This transition from realistic to geometric design is typical of
Ipiutak decorative art. The purely geometric design is reminiscent of
the Old Bering Sea art, especially in its earliest known form, the Okvik
style. The elements of which it is composed are about the same in the two
art forms; only the Ipiutak design is usually simpler and is applied to a
wider range of artifacts.
It is in carving in the round, however, that the Ipiutak art is es–
pecially distinguished. The find contains not only numerous carvings in
ivory and antler but also a great number of weapons and tools decorated
with carvings. Animals and, in particular, animal heads were the favorite
motives of the Ipiutak artists. Harpoon socket pieces, knife handles, adz
heads and many other artifacts are either carved in the shape of an animal
head or carry one as a terminal decoration. The motives are not all taken
from the local animal life; there are heads that are reminiscent of reptiles
and amphibians, and others belong in the realm of fantasy. This animal
complex is suggestive of the Scytho-Siberian animal style, and the presence
in the Ipiutak find of such characteristic elements as the pear-shaped boss
on the hips of animals, the griffin head, and the skeleton motive supports
strongly the supposition that the Ipiutak animal style originated in Asia.
The spiritual life of the Ipiutak people is elucidated by the many
rich grave finds. The burial grounds were discovered by Rainey in 1940
to the west of the village site. One hundred sixty-six burials strung out
for nearly three miles, were excavated. The burials, of which nothing was
visible on the surface, were of at least two different types — log coffins
and surface burials. The typical log coffin was deeply buried and contained
a single skeleton, which was extended, supine, with the hands on the pubic
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
region and the head to the west.
The original appearance of the surface burials is uncertain. Directly
under the turf were found scattered fragments of wooden poles, human bones,
and artifacts. As a rule the surface burials contained more abundant and
more elaborate grave furniture than the log coffins.
The Ipiutak burials are indicative of highly complex and elaborate
burial customs, and of a spiritual life which was basically the same as
that of the modern Eskimos and the boreal peoples of Eurasia. A ghost cult
and shamanism are the two most conspicuous elements of the spiritual culture
of the Ipiutak people. Examples of a ghost cult include the skeleton design
on animal figures and the
[:
]
adornment of the deceased with artificial
eyes, a mouth cover, and nose plugs. The purpose of the latter was probably
to protect the body against evil spirits. A loon skull with artificial eyes,
a dog buried in a log coffin, and numerous examples of animal carvings with
the same tattoo marks as the human heads prove that the circumpolar concep–
tion of the relationship between animals and humans is applicable to the
Ipiutak people.
The so-called openwork carvings, peculiarly shaped ivory objects which
were mainly found in the surface burials, have been interpreted as shamans'
regalia. They were either carried by shamans or attached to their costumes,
as are the bone carvings on the Tlingit shaman's costume and the iron objects
on the Siberian shaman's costume. Like the latter, the Ipiutak openwork
carvings are nonutilitarian and probably of some symbolic significance.
The flint industry, the knowledge of iron, the animal stype, and some
of the burial customs point toward Eurasia as the original home of the Ipiutak
culture. Assuming that many of the ivory carvings such as chains and animal
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
figures are copies of metal objects, it appears that several close parallels
with Ipiutak types occur in early Iron Age cultures in the Ural mountains,
in western Siberia and eastern Russia, especially in Perm. Since it is a
well-known fact that there were trade connections between Perm and the hunt–
ing peoples of the arctic coast, it is not unlikely that the Ipiutak people or
their ancestors at one time lived in these regions, possibly around the estua–
ries of the Ob and Yenisei. Other close parallels have been found in northeast
Russia and the northernmost parts of Norway, indicating that the Ipiutak cul–
ture and probably the Eskimo culture as a whole is part of a circumpolar hunt–
ing culture. The Ipiutak culture is undoubtedly a late phase of this culture,
which probably has its roots in the epipaleolithic cultures of the Old World.
Judging from the Uralian parallels, the Ipiutak culture has been placed at
about the birth of Christ.
Within the Eskimo culture the Ipiutak culture occupies a key position.
It is related to the Kachemak Bay culture of south Alaska, the earliest cul–
ture of the Aleutian Islands, the Dorset culture, and the recent cultures of
the Caribou Eskimo and the Nunatarmiut of arctic Alaska, all of which belong
to a Paleo-Eskimo culture complex. On the basis of the latter a new complex,
the Neo-Eskimo arose, presumably in the Bering Strait region. This complex,
or the Arctic Whale Hunting culture as it has been called, is characterized
by a further adaptation to the arctic coast. It contains, for instance,
such elements as whale hunting with float, the house with deeply excavated
entrance passage, pottery, ground slate implements, and the bow drill, which
are absent in the Paleo-Eskimo complex. Some of these elements are probably
due to local development, others, like pottery, slate implements, and the
bow drill,
[:
]
have been adopted from east Asia. Of the
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
various phases of the Arctic Whale Hunting culture, Okvik, Old Bering Sea,
Panuk, etc., Ipiutak is most closely related to the first. Seven specimens
with typical Okvik decoration were found in Ipiutak house, and burials
indicating that Okvik and Ipiutak were contemporaneous, even if Ipiutak
probably dates farther back than the former. At Point Hope the Ipiutak
culture was replaced by the Arctic Whale Hunting culture, but in the interior
of arctic Alaska we still find traces of it in the culture of the Nunatarmiut.
Another and closely related phase of the Ipiutak culture, temporarily
called Newr Ipiutak, was found at Point Hope. It has a more primitive stamp,
and it is this phase rather than the Ipiutak culture proper, which constitutes
the connecting link between the cultures of south Alaska and the Dorset culture.
As such it is of the greatest significance not only for the understanding of
the archaeology of Alaska but of the Eskimo culture as a whole.
EA-Anthrop. Larsen: Ipiutak Culture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Birket-Smith, Kaj.
The Caribou Eskimos
. I-II. Report of the fifth
Thule expedition, vol.5. Copenhagen, 1929.
2. Collins, Henry B. Jr. "Archaeology of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska."
Smithsonian Misc. Coll
., vol.96, no.1, 1937.
3. de Laguna, Frederica.
The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska
.
Philadelphia University Museum. 1934.
4. Larsen, Helge, and Raney, Froelich G. "Ipiutak and the Arctic Whale
Hunting Culture."
Anthropological Papers
, American Museum of
Natural History, vol.42, 1948.
5. Mathiassen, Therkel.
Archaeology of the Central Eskimos
. I-II. Report
of the Fifth Thule expedition, vol.4. Copenhagen, 1927.
6. Rainey, Froelich G. "The Ipiutak Culture at Point Hope, Alaska."
American Anthropologist
, new series, vol.43, pp.364-74, 1941.
7. ----. "Eskimo prehistory: the Okvik site on the Punuk Islands."
Anthropological Papers
, American Museum of Natural History, 1941.
Helge Larsen
Old Bering Sea and Punuk Cultures
EA-Anthropology
(Henry B. Collins, Jr.)
OLD BERING SEA AND PUNUK CULTURES
Old Bering Sea
History of Discovery
. The Old Bering Sea culture was discovered by
Diamond Jenness on Little Diomede Island in the summer of 1926. As he
was on the island only a few weeks, Jenness' own excavations extended no
deeper than 3 feet in the frozen kitchen midden. Here he found Thule type
harpoon heads, like those had had excavated earlier in the summer at nearby
Cape Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, some of the Diomede Eskimos, digging for
a meat cellar, had reached a greater depth and found harpoon heads and
other ivory objects of unusual forms decorated with graceful, flowing lines
and circles, a style of art which Jenness saw was different from any pre–
viously known. On the basis of these few pieces Jenness postulated the
existence of a distinct, ancient phase
^
^
of culture, ancestral to that of the
modern Alaskan Eskimo, which had flourished in the vicinity of Bering Strait
around the beginning of the Christian era:
We seem justified, therefore, in concluding that the shores and
islands of Bering sea were at one time the home of a distinct and
highly developed Eskimo culture, a culture marked by special types
of harpoon-heads and other objects that in many cases show the most
skillful workmanship, marked too by a very original art, partly ge–
ometrical and partly realistic, that suggests in some of its features
contact with the Indians of the northwest coast of America, although
its roots more probably lie in northeastern Asia. It appears to be
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
^
150
^
the oldest culture yet discovered in the western Arctic, preceding, at
least in Wales and on Diomede islands, the Thule stage as exemplified by
the mound dwellings at Wales, and by similar ruins at Point Hope and at
Barrow. Its true centre seems to have been Bering sea, but its influence
extended northward, and conditioned the form of the earliest known seal–
ing harpoon-head at Barrow. (Jenness, 1928a, p. 78.)
What was the date, approximately, of the Bering Sea culture, and
from what source or sources did it spring? These are questions we cannot
answer in the present state of our knowledge. If the Thule culture goes
back at least a thousand years in the eastern Arctic, as seems most
probable, its earlier phase at Birnirk and at Van Valin's site near Bar–
row may quite well date from the early centuries of the Christian era.
The Bering Sea culture would then precede the Christian era, but by how
long we have not the faintest clue. There can hardly be any doubt that
the curvilinear art was not invented
ex ovo
by the Eskimo; it reminds us
too strongly of Melanesian art, of the art of the Ainu and of tribes along
the Amur River, of certain designs current among Indian tribes on the
north Pacific coast of America, and, most of all, of the patterns on
Aleutian head-dresses. Possibly there have been culture drifts from a
common source to all these places, southward down the coast of Asia into
Indonesia and Melanesia, and northward to the Chukchee Peninsula and
into America; for civilization reached China long before the Shang Dynasty
in the second millenium B. C., and influences from that country must have
streamed in all directions. At all events, it is on the northeastern
shores of Asia, probably, and not in Alaska, that we should look for the
origin of the mysterious curvilinear art of the Bering Sea culture, and
in the same general area for the sources of other elements in that culture
that appear unique among the Eskimo to-day merely owing to the limita–
tions of our knowledge. (Jenness, 1933, p. 387.)
Thus in one brief season's work Jenness recognized that in Alaska the Thule
culture had persisted until protohistoric times, that it was the outgrowth of
the old Birnirk culture of the Point Barrow region, and that the latter had
been preceded by the ancient Bering Sea culture which in turn had its origin
in northeastern Asia. These determinations have been fully substantiated by
later work and have proved basic to our understanding of Eskimo prehistory as
a whole.
The first confirmation of Jenness' theory came from Collins' investigations
in 1931 near Gambell, at the northwestern end of St. Lawrence Island. Here
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
five sites of different ages were excavated which provided a cross section of
Eskimo prehistory from Old Bering Sea times down to the present. The latest
of the old Gambell sites dated from the 19th century; the next oldest site
(Seklowaghyaget) had been abandoned about 200 years ago and had been established
during the Punuk period. The third abandoned village (Ievoghiyoq) was found
to be a pure site of the fully developed Punuk culture, and the fourth site
(Miyowagh) had been settled in Old Bering Sea times and occupied through the
transitional early Punuk period. These four old sites were situated on the
gravel spit between the present village of Gambell and the mountain. Prelim–
inary evidence of their respective ages was afforded by their positions in
relation to a series of old beach lines, and this was confirmed by the excavated
material.
The fifth and oldest village of the series, which proved to be a pure Old
Bering Sea site, was situated on the lower slope of the mountain immediately
back of Miyowagh. Unlike the other sites which were mounds of refuse rising
prominently from the flat gravel plain, this one was completely buried beneath
the sod and rocks and in outward appearance was a normal part of the hillside.
In fact, the local Eskimos had not known that a site existed here even though
their trail to the mountain top passed over a part of it. Some of the artifacts
from the Hillside Site were typically Old Bering Sea in form and decoration.
Others, mostly from between and below the floor stones of the two houses, were
decorated in a style which, though obviously related to Old Bering Sea, was
simpler and apparently older; this was designated Old Bering Sea Style 1 (Collins,
1931, 32, 35, 37b).
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
In 1934 Otto W. Geist discovered another buried village — the Okvik
site — on Punuk Island, off the east end of St. Lawrence, of the same age
as the Hillside Site. The Okvik site yielded hundreds of artifacts, many of
them bearing the typical Okvik or Old Bering Sea Style 1 decoration (Rainey,
1914). Between 1929 and 1935 Geist had also conducted excavations at Kukuliak,
a large abandoned site on the north shore of St. Lawrence Island, which he
found had been occupied continuously from Old Bering Sea times until 1879
when the last inhabitants died in the great epidemic and famine which struck
the island that year (Geist and Rainey, 1936). Kukuliak was a huge 20-foot–
high midden and the sequence of the material — Old Bering Sea to Punuk to
modern — which Geist found at this single site corresponded exactly with that
from the four sites of different ages at Gambell, where the cultural sequence
had been one of stratigraphic linkage of one site to anot
eh
^
he
^
r.
Extent of Territory
. As St. Lawrence lies only 40 miles from Siberia
and more than 100 miles from the Alaskan mainland, it is not surprising that
in prehistoric times, just as at present, there were close cultural connections
with Siberia and hardly any with Alaska. We know from occasional finds that the
Old Bering Sea culture existed in northeastern Siberia, and in all probability
it centered there. It also flourished on the Diomede Islands, and traces of
it are found as far north and east as Point Hope and Point Barrow. In its
classic form it does not seem to have occurred on the Alaskan mainland south
of Bering Strait. However, there are strong indications that the oldest phase
of the culture — Okvik or Old Bering Sea Style 1 — will eventually be found
in southern Alaska. As it is only on St. Lawrence Island that the culture has
been fully revealed, the following summary is based on the excavations there.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
Villages and Houses
. Old Bering Sea villages were located along
the seashore. We may assume that they were occupied the year around,
as there were no caribou on the island nor any large salmon streams,
either of which if present might have led to dispersal of the population
in summer for caribou hunting and fishing. Like their present-day
descendants, the Old Bering Sea Eskimos were a strictly maritime people,
depending entirely on the resources of the sea for their livelihood.
The houses of the Old Bering Sea Eskimos were small semisubterranean
structures of stones, wood, and whale bones. They were square to rectangular
in shape, from 9 to 13 feet in diameter. They were entered by a narrow
sunken stone-floored passage at a lower level than the floor of the house.
The house floor was of stone and there were no sleeping platforms as in
modern Eskimo houses. The walls were built of small horizontally laid
timbers and whale bones, held in place by bone and wooden stakes. The
form of roof is unknown. There was no fireplace, heat and light being pro–
vided by round, saucer-shaped pottery lamps.
Subsistence.
We know from bones found in the middens that the prin–
cipal food animals were seals, walrus, and whales, supplemented by birds
and fish, principally cod. Some polar bears were obtained, and dogs were
also eaten, for most of the dog skulls have a large hole in the side evi–
dently made for removal of the brain. Although the bones and baleen of
bowhead whales were used in many ways and the meat and blubber probably
eaten, these animals do not seem to have been actively hunted by the Old
Bering Sea people, for only one whaling harpoon head has been found in
contrast to the many that turn up at all Punuk and later sites. The ear–
lier Eskimos may have obtained their whales by salvaging those that
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
drifted ashore dead, the victims of killer whales.
The following species of birds were eaten, listed in order of abundance
of their bones in the middens: Pallas's murre, crested auklet, tufted
puffin, pigeon gullemot, short-tailed albatross, pelagic cormorant, long–
tailed jaegar, king and Pacific eider, parakeet auklet, old squaw, parasitic
jaeger, glaucous gull, Pacific kittiwake, little brown crane, red-faced cor–
morant, yellow-billed loon, red-throated loon, slender-billed shearwater,
Steller's eider, glaucous-winged gull, least auklet, hor
^
n
^
ed puffin.
Hunting Methods
. Seals and walrus were hunted with harpoons. Birds
were caught with darts equipped with end and side prongs, hurled with a
throwing board. Auklets were probably caught in scoop nets and other birds
with baleen snares. The bow and arrow may also have been used in bird
hunting. Plummet-shaped ivory sinkers were used in cod fishing but the form
of the hook is unknown. It may have been only a sharpened piece of bone
fastened to a wooden shaft. Light fish spears were also used.
Transportation
. Travel was mainly by water, the boats being the familiar
skin-covered umiak and kayak. Dog traction was unknown for we find none of
the long bone sled shoes, trace buckles, or other appurtenances of the dog
sled. The only sled was a short, low form with heavy ivory runners, no
doubt used for hauling umiaks and loads of meat over the ice. Baleen
toboggans were also used for hauling meat and blubber. Both the small hand
sled and toboggan have continued in use to the present time. Ice creepers
were fastened to the boots to prevent slipping on the sea ice.
Tools and Utensils
. Knives, adzes, scrapers, gravers, and harpoon
heads all had stone blades. These were either of rubbed slate or chipped
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
chert or other hard variety of stone. Snow shovels were made from walrus
scapulae, and heavy picks and mattocks from walrus tusks and whale ribs. Bow
drills were used both as tools and for making fire. Food was cooked in deep,
rounded pottery vessels. Other household utensils included pottery lamps,
wooden-bottomed baleen pails, wooden trays and bowls, trough-shaped ivory
fat scrapers, and ladles and spoons of wood, bone, or ivory.
Clothing, Ornaments, and Toys
. The Old Bering Sea Eskimos dressed much
like their modern descendants. They wore sealskin boots, body clothing of
seal and bird skins, and waterproof coast of seal and walrus intestines. Orna–
ments were rare, consisting of small brow bands and occasional gorgets and
buttons. Childrens' toys included dolls and small animal figures made of
wood and bark, or occasionally ivory. There were also toy wooden bows, boats
and sleds of wood or ivory, and tiny ivory harpoon heads.
Art
. The Old Bering Sea Eskimos possessed an art style which was more
elaborate and sophisticated that that of any other arctic people, ancient or
modern, of whom we have knowledge. The characteristic decoration consisted of
incised lines deftly applied to the flat or rounded contours of ivory objects
which, having been buried for centuries in the frozen ground, have assumed
variegated shades of color ranging from a rich creamy gray to dark brown or
almost black. The lines were graceful and flowing, and these, together with
circles and ellipses, were blended into designs of unusual symmetry and beauty.
Among the objects decorated were iv
ro
^
or
^
y harpoon heads and socket pieces, needle
cases, snow goggles, fat scrapers and pail handles. Other of unknown use
included winged objects resembling Indian banner stones, the symmetrical forms
of which were particularly suited to the graceful patterns of the incised orna–
mentation.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture
The earliest phase of Old Bering Sea art — Old Bering Sea Style 1 or
Okvik — was less perfectly executed and the designs lacked the elaboration
and finish they came to have later. Though it made use of such typical Old
Bering Sea motives as curving lines and circles and ellipses with appended
spurs, Style 1 was more linear in total composition, being characterized by
a profusion of radiating lines, long slanting spurs, short detached lines,
and broken lines.
Outside Relationships and Origins
. On the arctic coast of Alaska the
Old Bering Sea culture has affinities with Birnirk (the ancestral phase of
the Thule culture) and Ipiutak, the remarkable old Eskimo culture recently
discovered at Point Hope. It is older than the Birnirk and apparently in part
ancestral to it.
[:
]
Ipiutak is in many respects very different from Old Bering
Sea. Parts of the Ipiutak complex seem clearly older, but there are also
numerous decorated objects and other artifacts at the old Point Hope site which
indicate contemporaneity between Ipiutak and Old Bering Sea.
There are a few but apparently significant points of resemblance between
the Old Bering Sea and Dorset cultures — simple art motives and some stone
implement types. While we may assume a remote relationship between the two
cultures, and also the Ipiutak, the Dorset has a much more primitive stamp
than either and must have left Alaska before the Old Bering Sea and Ipiutak
cultures reached their full development around Beri
[:
]
Strait.
The fact that in Alaska the Old Bering Sea culture is found in concentrated
form only on islands near the Siberian shore — St. Lawrence and the Diomedes —
and that despite the lack of intensive excavation similar remains
[:
]
are known
from a number of Siberian localities (Collins, 1940, p. 555; Matchinsky, 1941),
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Old Bering Sea Culture and Punuk Culture
leads to the conclusion that the immediate origin of the Old Bering Sea cul–
ture is to be sought in northeastern Siberia. Its ultimate roots, like
those of Ipiutak, extend deeper into the Old World, as was pointed out in
the article "The Origin and Antiquity of the Eskimo," pp. 21-28, 42-46.
Punuk
This culture takes its name from Punuk, a small island four miles off
the east end of St. Lawrence, where it was discovered in 1928 (Collins, 1929a,
1929b). Like the Old Bering Sea culture, of which it is in large part an
outgrowth, the Punuk culture is best known from St. Lawrence Island, where it
is represented by many old sites, some of them very large. Punuk remains
also occur in northeastern Siberia (Matchinsky, 1941) and on the Diomedes. On
the Alaskan mainland Punuk distribution exceeds that of Old Bering Sea. It
was the dominant prehistoric phase at Cape Prince of Wales, where it is found
at the old site Kurigitavik in direct association with the Thule culture
(Collins, 1937a). Giddings (1944) excavated Punuk type harpoon heads and
other artifacts at Ekseavik, an inland Eskimo site on a tributary of the
Kobuk, Kotzebue Sound, and James A. Ford discovered a house ruin with typical
Punuk material at po
^
i
^
nt Belcher, 60 miles below Barrow (Collins, 1933).
Giddings' 1948 excavations revealed a Punuk phase of culture at two old sites
on Cape Denbigh, in Norton Sound (Giddings, 1949).
Villages and Houses
. On St. Lawrence Island, Punuk village sites are
known on the east, north, and west shores. Some, like Ievoghiyoq at Gembell,
are pure sites, occupied only during the Punuk stage. Others, like nearby
Miyowagh, are middens in which Punuk material overlies Old Bering Sea. Still
EA-Ant
rh
^
hr
^
op. Collins: Punuk Culture
others, like the large middens on Punuk Island and at Cape Kialegak on the
southeast end of St. Lawrence, have modern material superimposed on Punuk.
Kukuliak, as mentioned above, shows a sequence of Old Bering Sea to Punuk
to modern. On St. Lawrence Island as a whole the great bulk of habitational
refuse is post-Old Bering Sea, with Punuk material probably equal in abun–
dance to modern and protohistoric. From all indications the inhabitants
of St. Lawrence Island in Punuk times were not less than 1,500, the number
estimated for the period just prior to 1878-79 when the population was
severely reduced through epidemic and famine. The population in Old Bering
Sea times, on the other hand, probably did not exceed 500.
Houses of the early Punuk period, though almost twice as large as those
of the Old Bering Sea, were constructed in similar fashion. At a later
stage of the Punuk a different type of house came into use. It was
s
semi–
subterranean, square to rectangular, with a stone floor and walls made of
stones, walrus skulls, and whale bones instead of timbers; the form of roof
is unknown, though it was probably of skins; the narrow entrance passage was
either lower than or at the same level as the house floor; the passage was
roofed with whale ribs or stones and there was sometimes a circular enlarge–
ment of or annex to the passage.
Subsistence
. The only respect in which the Punuk subsistence pattern
differed significantly from that of Old Bering Sea was in the greater use
of birds. The Punuk middens contain greater quantities of bird bones and
also more species. Bones of the following species, present in Punuk middens,
are not represented at Old Bering Sea sites for which information is available:
Pacific loon, Rodgers' fulmar, white-fronted goose, greater scaup duck,
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
Western harlequin duck, short-billed gull, red-legged kittiwake, and Kittlit
[:
]
's
murrelet. A punuk site at Cape Kialegak, at the southeast end of St. Lawrence,
yielded bones of the following species which were not found at the Gambell
sites: whistling swan, cackling goose, black brant, American pintail, spec–
tacled eider, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, American scoter, red-breated
merganser, pomarine jaeger.
Hunting Methods.
The harpoons used in hunting seals and walrus were of
the same basic types as those of the Old Bering Sea. However, the various
parts of the Punuk harpoons — the toggle heads, foreshafts, socket pieces,
and ice picks — differed in structural details so that it is always possible
to distinguish them from the Old Bering Sea types. Whales were hunted by the
Punuk Eskimos, but to judge from the number of whaling harpoon heads, not to
the same extent as in protohistoric and modern times. The throwing board and
bird dart with side prongs continued in use. A new hunting device, the bolas,
made its appearance in the Punuk stage, and this may be the principal reason
why so many more birds were captured than previously. Arrowheads were also much
more numerous and these too may have been used at times for killing large birds.
For fishing, a composite hook was used consisting of a heavy plummet-shaped
body of bone, ivory, or wood, with inserted ivory prongs.
Transportation
. Umiaks and kaya^k^s were used for hunting and traveling,
just as in Old Bering Sea times. The Punuk sled was like the earlier type,
though the runners were made somewhat differently.
Tools and Implements
. The prototype of the modern Eskimo "crooked knife"
appeared during the Punuk stage. End-bladed knives continued in use but dif–
fered in structural features from those of the Old Bering Sea. This was also
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
true of other Punuk implements such as adz heads, ulu handles, and fat scrapers.
An important distinction between Old Bering Sea and Punuk is the virtual ab–
sence in the latter of chipped stone implements. Stone blades, though no less
abundant than in Old Bering Sea times, wer almost always of rubbed slate.
The Punuk Eskimos also had access to small amounts of iron, which however was
so precious that it was used only as points for engraving tools and tiny
blades for the compound "whittling knife." As the Punuk culture long antedated
the period of Russian contact, the most probable source of the Punuk iron was
eastern Siberia, where there is his
^
t
^
orical evidence of its use as early as A.D.
262 (Laufer, 1914; Collins, 1932; 1937b).
Ornaments and Toys
. Ornaments were much more common than in Old Bering
Sea times though there was not a great variety of forms. Brow bands, ivory
buttons, ear ornaments, and pendants were worn. Combs were used and some of
these, like ulu and drum handles, had ivory links attached. Childrens' toys,
though more numerous, did not differ significantly from those of the Old Bering
Sea.
Art
. Perhaps the most striking difference between the two culture stages
is their art. Punuk art is characterized by the use of straight or slightly
curving lines, which in contrast to those of the Old Bering Sea were deeply
and evenly incised. It also employed perfectly round, compass-made circles
and small circular pits or dots either free or placed at the ends of short
lines. The patterns of Punuk art, though graceful in a way, appear rigid and
mechanical when compared with the elaborate flowing designs of Old Bering Sea
art. There is also a difference in technique. Old Bering Sea circles are
always somewhat irregular, having been made freehand; these and the accompanying
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
lines could well have been made with stone tools. Punuk lines, on the other
hand, are so smooth, sharp, and regular that they could only have been made
with metal, which as mentioned, is actually present at Punuk sites. The
earliest style of Punuk art seems to have been primarily an outgrowth of
Old Bering Sea, for on harpoon heads the engraved lines follow the same paths,
and the decoration as a whole, like the form of the harpoon head itself, may
be regarded as a simplification of the Old Bering Sea pattern. Later, as a
result of further degeneration and simplification, and also of new motives
and techniques introduced from Siberia, Punuk art became increasingly rigid
and stylized.
Origin and Relationships
. What has been said of Punuk art is true of
the culture as a whole. It is partly an outgrowth of Old Bering Sea and partly
the result of new impulses from Siberia. Numerous implements were identical
with those of the Old Bering Sea: earthenware lamps and cooking pots, walrus
scapula shovels, baleen pails, ivory picks, mattocks, wedges, meat hooks, some
forms of knives, arrows and harpoon heads, reamers, awls, ulus, drills and
drill rests.
In other respects, however, it is possible to trace developmental changes
from Old Bering Sea to Punuk: art, harpoon heads and parts, bird darts, ice
creepers, fishline sinkers, knives, adzes, "winged" objects of unknown use,
needle cases, sled runners.
Finally, there
[:
]
are numerous new elements which appear suddenly in the
Punuk stage, evidently as importations from Siberia. These are: whaling
harposn heads, the Thule Type 2 harpoon head, bird bolas, wrist guards, bow
braces and sinew twisters for the sinew-backed bow, plate armor, sealing
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
scratchers, fishhooks, heavy ivory net sinkers, bone and ivory daggers,
iron-pointed engraving tools, ivory and bone pendants, and link ornaments
of ivory. The rectangular house with stone and bond walls also appeared in
the Punuk stage.
Punuk art motives, in particular, indicate close affinities with
Eurasia. Incised decoration on bone objects from Iron Age sites (probably
early Lapp) in Finmark and northern Russia are very close to some of the
later Punuk designs. Link ornaments like those used by the Punuk Eskimos
have a wide distribution in Eurasia. They are very common in the European
Iron Age, in Bronze Age finds in the Ordos region of Mongolia, and in post–
Han sites in southeastern Asia. Bronze Age sites around Lake Baikal have
yielded not only art motives but various other elements strikingly similar
to Punuk (Collins, 1937b, pp. 303, 305; 1943).
In the American Arctic the Punuk shows close affinities with the Canadian
Thule culture, with which it was contemporaneous. At Bering Strait, especially
at the old site of Kurigitavik at Wales, Punuk and Thule objects are found in
direct association, overlying Birnirk material. The Punuk also exerted strong
influences on Eskimo culture in the Bering Sea region from Norton Sound south
to Bristol Bay, and to some extent even as far south as the Aleutians and Cook
Inlet. Many Punuk elements occur here, and Punuk art seems to have been
directly ancestral to the modern style of Eskimo art south of Norton sound.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Collins, Henry B., Jr.
1929a. The ancient Eskimo culture of northwestern Alaska. Explor. and
Field-work Smithsonian Inst. In 1928, pp. 141-150.
1929b. Prehistoric art of the Alaskan Eskimo. Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
vol. 81, no. 14, Nov. 14.
1931. Ancient culture of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Explor. and
Field-work Smithsonian Inst. in 1930, pp. 135-144.
1932. Prehistoric Eskimo culture on St. Lawrence Island. Geogr. Rev.,
vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 107-119, January.
1933. Archeological investigations at Point Barrow. Explor. and Field–
work Smithsonian Inst. in 1932, pp. 45-48.
1935. Arche
l
ology of the Bering Sea region. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst.
for 1933, pp. 453-468.
1937a. Archeological excavations at Bering Strait. Explor. and Field–
work Smithsonian Inst. in 1936, pp. 63-68.
1937b. Archeology of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Smithsonian Misc.
Coll., vol. 96, no. 1, Aug. 9.
1940. Outline of Eskimo prehistory. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 100,
pp. 533-592.
1943. Eskimo archeology and its bearing on the problem of Man's antiquity
in America. Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 220-235,
Feb.
Geist, Otto W. and Rainey, F. G.
1936. Archeological excavations at Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.
Misc. Publ. Univ. Alaska, vol. 2. U.S.Dept. Interior, May 19
(Issued in April 1937).
Giddings, J. L., Jr.
1944. Dated Eskimo ruins of an Inland z
^
o
^
ne. Amer. Antiquity, vol. 10,
no. 2, pp. 113-134, October.
1949. Early flint horizons on the north Bering Sea coast. Journ. Wash.
Acad. Sciences, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 87-90.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Punuk Culture
Jenness, Diamond
1928a. Archeological investigations in Bering Strait. Nat, Mus.
Canada, Ann. Rep. 1926, Bull. 50. Ottawa.
1928b. Ethnological problems of Arctic America. Amer. Geogr. Soc.
Special publ. no. 7, pp. 167-175.
1933. The Problem of the Eskimo. The American aborigines, their
origin and antiquity, pp. 373-396. Univ. Toronto Press.
Laufer, Berthold
1914. Chinese clay figures. Field Mus. Net. Hist. Publ. 177,
Anthrop. Ser., vol. 13, no. 2.
Matchinsky, A.V.
1941. Old Eskimo culture on the Tchukotsky Peninsula. (In Russian).
Short Communications, Inst. for History of Material Culture,
IX, pp. 80-87. Moscow.
Rainey, F. G.
1941. Eskimo prehistory: the Okvik site on the Punuk Islands.
Anthropol. Papers, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 37, pt. 4.
Henry B. Collins, Jr.
Birnirk Culture
EA-Anthropology
(Henry B. Collins, Jr.)
BIRNIRK CULTURE
The first excavations at Birnirk (near Point Barrow, Alaska), the type
locality of the Birnirk culture, were made by Vilhjalmur Stefansson in 1912.
W. B. Van Valin, a school teacher at Barrow, in 1918 excavated old mound
sites of the same age as Birnirk near Utkiavik, 8 miles southwest of Barrow.
In 1931-32 and in 1936 James A. Ford conducted excavations for the Smithsonian
Institution at Birnirk and other old sites around Barrow. None of the Birnirk
collections has been fully described and the culture phase they represent
remains one of the least known of all the prehistoric Eskimo cultures. The
harpoon heads, foreshafts, socket pieces, ice picks, and arrowheads collected
by Stefansson were described by Wissler (1916). Part of the Van Valin material
has been described by Mason (1930), and a brief summary of Ford's work has
been given by Collins (1933).
Excavating at Cape Smythe and modern Point Barrow as well as Birnirk,
Stefansson was able to demonstrate the relative chronology and cultural dif–
ferentiation of the sites. At Birnirk, the oldest site, he observed that the
harpoon heads were of a distinctive type, entirely different from those of
the modern Eskimo. Pottery, wh
^
i
^
ch was no longer used by the Barrow Eskimos,
was abundant at Birnirk, but soapstone was absent, and there were no pipes,
metal objects, or sinkers, floats or gauges for making nets — objects which
were found at the two later sites (Stefansson, 1914, pp. 393-94).
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
Wissler, in describing part of Stefnsson's collection, pointed to the
similarity between the Birnirk harpoon heads and some that had been described
by Bogoras from old sites on the Siberian side of Bering Strait. This
indicated "an older unity of culture in eastern Siberia and western Alaska,"
but none of the Alaskan sites, Wissler thought, were more than 500 years old.
To the westward the Birnirk culture extended well into northeast
Siberia, for H. U. Sverdrup excavated two harpoon heads of Birnirk type on
Firsøjle Island at the mouth of the Kolyma River (Mathiassen, 1927, v. 2,
pp. 178-80).
To the south of Bering Strait, Birnirk harpoon heads were found asso–
ciated with early Punuk culture remains on Punuk and St. Lawrence islands
by Collins (1929, 1937) and Geist (Geist and Rainey, 1936). A small sand
mound containing Birnirk harpooon heads and other artifacts was found by
Collins (1937a) two miles north of Cape Prince of Wales at Bering Strait.
This and Sverdrup's Kolyma site are the only habitation sites of Birnirk age
that have been found outside the Barrow district, though burials containing
typical Birnirk material have been found by Larsen and Rainey (1948) at Point
Hope.
Villages and Houses
. The Birnirk sites appear now as mounds on low
marshy ground near the coast. One of them is described by Stefansson (1914,
p. 393) as about 12 feet high and 375 feet in circumference with 5 house ruins
on top. Stefansson records the following Eskimo tradition regarding the Birnirk
site:
I was told "as matter of common knowledge" by various Cape Smythe
and Point Barrow people that Birnirk was inhabited before either Utkiavik
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
or Nuvuk were settled. At present the land at Birnirk is low and
mostly covered with ponds. At one time, it is said, the land was
higher and when the water began to rise and turn the village site
into a swamp, the inhabitants gradually moved off and settled Cape
Smythe and Nuvuk. Another story says that this is in a measure true,
but that Nuvuk is a far older settlement than Utkiavik. (Stefansson,
1914, p. 394)
Exact information as to house construction is lacking, though we know
from the excavations of Stefansson and Ford that Birnirk houses were square
in plan and made of driftwood and whale bones; they had an entrance passage,
wooden floor, and walls of horizontally laid timbers.
Implements, Tools, and Utensils
. Our scanty knowledge of subsistence
activities and hunting methods of the Birnirk people is based on the rela–
tively few artifacts that have been described by Wissler and Mason. Though
no whaling harpoon heads have been fou
^
n
^
d, the presence of baleen and whale
bones shows that whales were obtained, possibly hunted. Like other Alaskan
Eskimos the Birnirk people no doubt depended on seals and walrus for much of
their food. The most common type of harpoon head which they used for walrus
and seals had an open socket, a multiple-barbed basal spur, two small stone
side blades or one side blade and an opposite barb. Seals were captured
by the
auktok
method, that of creeping up on the animals as they lay basking
on the ice; this is indicated by the presence of "sealing scratchers," wooden
objects with curved prongs fitted with seal claws with which the hunter would
scratch the ice, imitating a seal, as he approached.
The large number of arrowheads and of implements made of antler shows
that caribou hunting was also an important activity, as it was with the
modern Point Barrow Eskimos. Birds were captured with the bolas and with
side-pronged darts hurled with a throwing board. Fishhooks have not been
reported from Birnirk sites, but barbed fish spears have been found.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
Umiaks and kayaks were used for water transport and hunting, but dog
traction seems to have been unknown as it also was with the Old Bering Sea
and Punuk Eskimos.
Cutting tools consisted of ulus, mens' knives, and adzes, all equipped
with stone blades, though one type of man's knife, with a composite handle,
probably had a small iron blade.
Steep-sided earthenware pots and flat round lamps were used for cook–
ing and illumination, respectively. The exterior of these vessels was often
decorated with curvilinear stamped impressions made with ivory or wooden
paddles. Food receptacles included oval bowls carved out of wood and wooden–
bottomed bowls with sides of baleen. Fire was produced with a bow drill, the
mouthpiece of which was a caribou astragalus.
Other objects found at Birnirk sites are harpoon finger rests, loose
lance heads, bone daggers, wooden snow shovels and food ladles, skin scrapers
of caribou leg bones, stone flaking tools, snow goggles, needle cases, ivory
pendants, and wooden dolls.
Relationship to Other Cultures
. There has been considerable discussion,
and a certain amount of confusion, regarding the relationship of the Birnirk
to other prehistoric Eskimo cultures, especially the Thule. In his monograph
describing the Canadian Thule culture, Mathiassen demonstrated conclusively that
this extinct whaling culture of the Central regions must have had its origin
in Alaska. He was led to this conclusion principally because of the close
resemblance of the Thule culture to that of the modern Point Barrow Eskimos.
If the prehistoric Thule was so close to the historic Barrow culture, one might
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
logically suppose that a prehistoric culture of the same basic character in
the Barrow region, like the Birnirk, might be regarded as the ancestral form
of the latter. It was not, however, so regarded by Mathiassen, who considered
the Birnirk either as simply equivalent to or later than the Thule. In his
Arch
^
a
^
eology of the Central Eskimos
(vol. 2, pp. 179-180), Mathiassen had
described as Thule the two Birnirk harpoon heads which Sverdrup had excavated
near the mouth of the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia. Though these
harpoon heads possessed the general Thule features of an open socket and a
"thin" shape, they also had an irregular or divided spur and a single side
blade with opposite barb — specific features which clearly marked them as
Birnirk. In a later publication Mathiassen discussed the age of the Thule
harpoon heads in Alaska and their relation to the Birnirk heads found by
Stefansson and Van Valin around Point Barrow and those of the Old Bering Sea
culture described by Jenness from Bering Strait. Because the Thule harpoon
heads were simple in form and widely distributed (citing the typical Birnirk
heads from the Kolyma River as evidence of an extensive "Thule" distribution),
Mathiassen (1929, p. 54)concluded that they were older than the more circum–
scribed, elaborate Old Bering Sea and Birnirk types, and that the Thule was
therefore the oldest culture stage in Alaska, as in the Central regions.
This interpretation ran counter to the findings of Jenness who in the
summer of 1926 had discovered the Old Bering Sea culture on the Diomede
Islands, and, unconnected with it, a Thule stage of culture at nearby Cape
Prince of Wales. At the Wales site Thule harpoon heads were observed to have
undergone changes leading directly to the modern type. Therefore, according
to Jenness (1928a, 1928b), the Thule culture in Alaska was later than the
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
^
130
^
Old Bering Sea and the related Birnirk. Jenness' theory received confirma–
tion from Collins' excavations in 1928 and 1929 (1929) on St. Lawrence and
Punuk islands which showed Old Bering Sea and Birnirk harpoon heads and
art motives to be earlier than those of the Thule culture. Later, more
intensive excavations at Kukulik and Cambell, on St. Lawrence Island, pro–
duced abundant and conclusive evidence of the priority of Old Bering Sea–
Birnirk over Thule (Geist and Rainey, 1936; Collins, 1932, 1935, 1937b).
In 1930 Mason described the material which Van Valin had excavated
at sites of Birnirk age around Barrow, thus providing the first information
on Birnirk implement types other than harpoons, darts, and arrows. Mathiassen
had also examined the Van Valin material, and guided by his identifications
Mason described the collection as Thule. Mason noted that the skeletons
which Van Valin had found, and which had been studied by Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka (1930)
represented a highly specialized long, narrow, and high-headed type which on
the basis of information already available was not what one would expect to
find associated with the Thule culture; for it was very different from that
exhibited by the three modern Eskimo groups who had retained to the fullest
degree the old Thule culture, i.e., the modern Point Barrow, Southampton
Island, and Polar Eskimos. This puzzling situation was pointed out, not as
casting doubt on the identification of the Van Valin skeletal and cultural
material as Thule, but as an unexplained paradox, a problem to be solved
by future investigation.
In 1931-32 James A. Ford made further excavations at the old Barrow
sites for the Smithsonian Institution. At Birnirk itself he found mainly
the Birnirk type harpoon heads except for one example of the Thule Type 2,
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
the form with two opposite barbs. However, this Thule form predominated at
the older part of the more recent site of Utkiavik, where it later developed
into forms characteristic of the protohistoric period (Collins, 1933).
Ford's findings, reinforcing those of Stefansson and Van Valin and conform–
ing with the stratigraphic relationships of harpoon types indicated for
Bering Strait and St. Lawrence Island, left no doubt that the Birnirk was
an older culture than the Thule.
In his paper presenting and analyzing Stefansson's measurements on 526
Alaskan and Coronation Gulf Eskimos, Seltzer (1933) accepted the Van Valin
skeletal material as that of the "carriers of the Thule culture," citing
Mason's demonstration of their culture as Thule, and, proceeding on that
basis, presented a new theory of the immediate origin of the Eskimo.
In a discussion of Seltzer's and Mason's papers, Collins (1934) pointed
out: (1) that the Van Velin cultural material was not Thule but Birnirk,
which the archeological evidence showed to be an older stage of culture,
related to the Old Bering Sea; (2) that the Canadian Thule culture, though
unquestionably of some antiquity in the Hudson Bay area, actually showed
closer resemblances to the modern and protohistoric phases of Alaskan culture
than to Old Bering Sea, Birnirk, or Punuk; (3) that to account for the presence
of numerous important Thule elements at modern but not earlier Alaskan sites
it was necessary to postulate a return migration of Thule culture to the north
coast of Alaska within the past few centuries, subsequent to the original
eastward movement of the Thule culture; and (4) that inasmuch as the modern
Point Barrow, Smith Sound, and Southampton Island (Sdalermiut) Eskimos, the
three modern groups whose culture was closest to that of the Thule, were
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
likewise all very similar physically, it was their type, and not that of
the pre-Thule Birnirk, that was more likely to be the physical type of the
Thule culture. This was borne out a few years later when Fischer-Møller
(1937) published the results of his study of the skeletal material from
Mathiassen's Thule sites around Hudson Bay. These actual Thule skulls were
found to be almost identical with those of the modern Point Barrow Eskimo
and very different from the old Birnirk.
While all the evidence had pointed to the conclusion that Birnirk was
older than Thule, direct indications of its being ancestral to the latter
were not obtained until 1936. In that year Collins (1937, 1939), excavating
at the old site of Kurigitavik at Cape Prince of Wales, found stratigraphic
evidence that the Thule Type 2 harpoon head had arisen through modification
of one of the Birnirk types.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Collins, Henry B., Jr.
1929. Prehistoric art of the Alaskan Eskimo. Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
vol. 81, no. 14, Nov. 14.
1932. Prehistoric Eskimo culture on St. Lawrence Island. Geographical
Review, vol. 22, No. 1, Jan., pp. 107-119.
1933. Archeological investigations at Point Barrow. Explor. and Field–
work Smithsonian Inst. in 1932, pp. 45-48.
1934. Eskimo archeology and somatology. Amer. Anthropologist, vol. 36,
[:
]
no. 2, pp. 309-313.
1935. Archeology of the Bering Sea region. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst.
1933, pp. 453-468.
1937a. Archeological excavations at Bering Strait. Explor. and Field–
work Smithsonian Inst. in 1936, pp. 63-68.
1937b. Archeology of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
vol. 96, no. 1, Aug. 9.
1939. Exploring frozen fragments of American history. Nat. Geogr. Mag.,
vol. 65, no. 5, May, pp. 633-656.
1940. Outline of Eskimo prehistory. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 100,
pp. 533-592.
Fischer-Møller, K.
1937. Skeletal remains of the Central Eskimos. Rep. 5th Thule Exped.,
1921-24, vol. 3, no. 1, Copenhagen.
Geist, Otto William, and Rainey, Froelich G.
1936. Arch
^
a
^
eological excavations at Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.
Misc. Publ., Univ. Alaska, vol. 2. U. S. Dept. Interior, May 19.
(Issued in April 1937).
Hrdli
c
^
č
^
ka, Ale
s
^
š
^
.
1910. Contributions to the anthropology of Central and Smith Sound Eskimo.
Anthrop. Papers, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 5, pt. 2.
1930. Anthropological survey in Alaska. 46th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol.
EA-Anthrop. Collins: Birnirk Culture
Jenness, Diamond
1928a. Arch
^
a
^
eological investigations in Bering Strait. Nat. Mus. Canada,
Ann. Rep. 1926, pp. 71-81.
1928b. Ethnological problems of Arctic America. Amer. Geogr. Soc. Special
Publ. No. 7, pp. 167-175.
Larsen, Helge, and Rainey, Froelich
1948. Ipiutak and the Arctic Whale Hunting culture. Anthrop. Papers,
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 42.
Mason, J. Alden
[:
]
1930. Excavations of Eskimo Thule culture sites at Point Barrow, Alaska.
Proc. 23d Int. Congr. Americanists, New York, 1928, pp. 383-394.
Mathiassen, Therkel
1927. Arch
^
a
^
eology of the Central Eskimos. Rep. 5th Thule Exped. 1921-24,
vol. 4, Copenhagen.
1929. Some specimens from the Bering Sea culture. Indian Notes, Museum
of the Amer. Indian, Heye Foundation, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 33-56, Jan.
1930. Arch
^
a
^
eological collections from the Western Eskimos. Rep. 5th Thule
Exped., 1921-24, vol. 10, no. 1, Copenhagen.
Seltzer, Carl C.
1933. The anthropometry of the Western and Copper Eskimos, based on data
of Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Human Biology, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 313-370.
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur
1914. The Stefansson-Anderson Arctic expedition of the American Museum:
preliminary ethnological report. Anthrop. Papers, Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. 14, pt. 1.
Wissler, Clark
1916. Harpoons and darts in the Stefansson collection. Anthrop. Papers,
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 14, pt. 2.
Henry B. Collins, Jr.
Thule Culture
EA-Anthropology
(Therkel Mathiassen)
THULE CULTURE
The prehistoric Canadian Thule culture was first recognized as a
special culture through the excavations which were made by the Fifth Thule
Expedition, 1921-24. However, specimens from it had existed previously in
some museums, especially American, chiefly collected by Captain George
Comer on Southampton Island and Melville Peninsula, descriptions of which
had been published by Boas. The Fifth Thule Expedition was first to make
systematic excavations in the territory of the Central Eskimos, the most
important of which was at Naujan in Repulse Bay, while others were made at
K
u
^
û
^
k on Southampton Island, at Qilalukan and Mitimatalik in Pond Inlet
(excavator: Therkel Mathiassen) and at Lalerualik on King William Island
(excavator: Knud Rasmussen).
Excavation Sites
The
Naujan
village is near the middle of the north coast of Repulse
Bay, which bay is just on the Arctic Circle and nearly cuts off Melville
Peninsula from the American mainland. Here are twenty ruins of old winter
houses, at a distance from the sea of about 100 to 200 yards and at a height
above sea level of 40 to 70 feet, indicating that the land has risen con–
siderably since they were built. Thirteen of these houses were excavated,
all of which were so fallen and overgrown that their shape could hardly be
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
recognized before excavation; mostly they appeared as shallow hollows
surrounded by a low wall, with faint traces of the doorway. They were
small, in diameter from 10 to 20 feet, round, partially underground struc–
tures with walls of stones, whale bones, and turf, the roof supported by
jawbones and ribs of large whales. The back part of the house was occupied
by a raised platform; the floor was covered by flat stones; the floor of the
passageway was sunk deeper than that of the house. One of the houses, bigger
than the others, had three patforms; a side platform was seen in one house;
the lamps had their places at the ends of the main platform.
The excavation of 12 houses and of a part of a big refuse heap, formed in
front of some of them, gave a total of 3,000 specimens. These were mostly of
whale bones, but there were also many of walrus ivory, caribou antler, and
whalebone (baleen). There were many objects of stone (flint, slate, soapstone);
there was little wood and only a very few pieces of metal (native copper, meteo–
ric iron). There was nothing to indicate contact with white people. The animal
bones were mostly those of whale, walrus, seals, and caribou, but there were
also bones of the dog, bear, wolf, wolverine, fox, musk ox, and several species
of birds and fish.
Besides the house ruins, there were at Naujan a number of other remains
of about the same age: tent rings of heavy stones, kayak supports, meat caches,
fox traps and 65 graves, heavy oblong-square stone cists, covered by a heap of
stones; among the grave finds were a number of skeletons.
Qilaluk
^
a
^
o
n
and
Mitimatalik
both lie close to the Hudson's Bay Company post
at Pond Inlet. At Mitamatalik there was one, at Qilalukan 18 ruins, situated
between 16 and 32 feet above sea level. Four houses and some middens were
excavated. The houses seemed to be of the same type as those at Naujen, as
EA-Anthrop. Mathiasson: Thule Culture
were, for the most part, the specimens from these sites, numbering about
1,800. There were, however, a number of new types; long, thin harpoon heads
with several barbs, flat harpoon heads with open socket, seal scratchers,
big slate knives, stone axe with baleen handle, winged needle case, a comb
with a picture of a women's boat, platform mats of baleen, a sealskin boot;
and a lump of metal, probably a sign of contact with white people.
Malerualik
is a large village site on the south coast of King William
Island. Here were found 68 house ruins at heights of 49 to 72 feet above
sea level. Thirteen ruins were excavated and about 200 specimens secured.
The houses are of the same type as Naujan, but whale bones seem to have been
ver
/
y little used in the construction. The specimens also are mainly of the
Naujan types; but whale hunting seems to have played a much less important
role, for the specimens are mostly of antler. Among them were a harpoon
head of Dorset type, some barbed arrowheads with owner's mark, an ice scoop,
and a sherd of earthenware pottery. There is no evidence of contact with
white people. The culture is poorer than at Naujan because of the scarcity
of big sea mammals.
K
u
^
û
^
k
, on the west coast of Duke of York Bay on Southampton Island, is
situated on a river, a little less than two miles from the sea and about
40 feet above sea level. A salmon dam in the river, now 16 feet above sea
level, shows that the land has risen at least that much since the houses
were built. Of the 14 house ruins, 7 were excavated, yielding about 1,000
specimens. The preservation of the ruins and the finds shows that the houses
are of quite different age. The newest and best-preserved house was cloverleaf–
shaped with three platforms and a storeroom. Walls, floor, and platforms were
built of flat limestone slabs, and a whale skull and several other big whale
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
whale bones were used in the construction.
The specimens from the oldest houses were of the well-known Naujan
types. The more recent ruins showed the beginning of a local development.
For instance, there were indications of a highly developed flint technique,
while the latest house showed a considerable number of local types, such as
special forms of flat harpoon heads, flint flakers of walrus rib, lamps and
cooking pots of limestone slabs, certain forms of combs, etc. It is a culture
close to that of the Sadlermiut, the now extinct Eskimo group on Southampton
Island who died out in 1902, probably from disease brought to the island by
a Scottish whaler. The Sadlermiut are known through the collections Captain
Comer brought to America and through information from two old Aivilik Eskimos
who had lived and hunted with them.
The Sadlermiut
These Sadlermiut were small but powerfully built people, living in winter
houses such as the most recent house at K
u
^
û
^
k. The men wore coats of caribou
and bear skin, with bearskin trousers. The women wore high sealskin boots.
The inside of the houses were soiled with blubber and soot, because the women
were not skillful at trimming the lamp wick. The Sadlermiut were good hunters,
catching walrus, seals, and bears; they also hunted whales in their kayaks.
They knew bolas and bird harpoons, the latter being shot with bows. The sledges
were small, of bone and walrus tusk, and their many dogs were directed with a
long thin whip. Clever flint workers, they used in this work a flaker of
walrus rib. They had little communication with the Eskimos on the mainland.
These Sadlermiut were probably the last remnants of the Thule people in
the Central Arctic. Only two children, adopted by Aivilik Eskimos, survived
the catastrophe of 1902.
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
The Thule People and their Culture
Everywhere along the shores of the Canadian mainland and on the Arctic
Archipelago we find ruins of winter houses of the same type as at Naujan
and the other investigated sites. The ruins from which we have finds show
a similar culture in Chesterfield Inlet, Aivilik in Repulse Bay, Labrador,
and Craig Harbour in Kllesmere Island. Thus there is no doubt that this old
culture was spread over the coasts of the Canadian Arctic.
This Eskimo culture has been called the Thule culture because of its
having first been found near Thule in Northwest Greenland by the Fifth Thule
Expedition. Later discoveries show that the Northwest Greenland Thuoe cul–
ture (Comer's Midden) is more closely related to the somewhat later Inugsuk
culture than to the Thule culture proper.
Summerizing what we know about the culture of these Thule Eskimos:
They dwelt in small villages near the shore; their houses were small, half
underground, built of stone, whale bones, and sod, with a narrow, underground
passageway and a raised platform. Snowhouses were also known, and in the
summer skin tents were used. For the most part, these people hunted sea
mammals, whales, and walrus, but also seals, caribou, bear, and musk ox;
foxes were caught in stone traps; birds and fish, especially salmon, were
also caught. Their most important hunting implements were harpoons for
ice- and kayak-hunting; most of the harpoon heads were thin, with open shaft
socket; and ice-hunting harpoon had in its rear end an ice pick; they also
used the lance, bladder dar, bird dart, and salmon spear; lance and harpoon blades
were mostly of bone and stone. They used also the bow and arrow, bolas, baleen
wolf killers, and gull hooks. The kayak and umiak were known, also the
toboggan and the dog sledge with shoeing of bone and baleen; the dogs were
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
fastened fanwise to the sledge.
Important implements were snow knives, snow shovels, flensing and
whittling knives, bow and hand drills, adzes, mattocks, wedges, clubs,
flint flakers, ulus without stem, scrapers, baleen shaves, bone needles,
winged needle cases. The soapstone lamps had wick ledges, and the soap–
stone cooking pots were rounded; pottery was known, and they also used
oval bowls, trays, and cups of baleen and wood.
As to their clothing we have little definite information; they had
fur coats with hoods; the men probably wore bearskin trousers and the women
long sealskin boots. Snow goggles were used. They had many ornaments and
often decorated their implements with incised motives, both naturalistic
and geometric, such as double lines with alternating cross lines, Y-ornaments,
and zigzag lines; dolls and other carvings were made. The dead
^
with some of their implements,
^
were buried
in heavy stone cists.
Altogether the Tule culture seems to have been a rich and vigorous
Eskimo culture, closely attached to the sea and its mammals, especially its
big game, whale and walrus.
How old is the Thule culture? The upper limit seems to be indicated by
the weak traces of connection with white people which we found at Qilalukan;
this may be from the first whalers who entered Baffin Bay in the 17th century.
The lower limit is more difficult to determine. At Naujan, K
u
^
û
^
k, and Malerualik
the land must have risen considerably since the houses were built, at Naujan
probably about 32 feet, at K
u
^
û
^
k at least 16 feet. How long this has taken is
difficult to say, but we can guess at somewhere between a thousand and fivew
hundred years. Some idea of the age of the Thule culture is provided by
Holtved's excavations in the Thule District in Northwest Greenland, where,
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
in Inglefield Land, he found a culture very similar to Naujan but probably
a little older. This culture shows no connection with the medieval Norse
culture of South Greenland, which had influenced several other culture
stages in the Thule District, and Holtved assigns it to the tenth to twelfth
centuries; but it can be older. If we then assign Naujan to the eleventh
to thirteenth centuries, it cannot be too early. Malerualik and the oldest
houses at K
u
^
û
^
k are probably of a similar age, while Qilaluskan must be some
centuries younger, with the most recent houses dating from the seventeenth
century.
In the tales of the recent Central Eskimos we have the Thule people
referred to as the
Tunit.
An old Aivilik Eskimo said that once his people
lived in the interior of the country; they went out to the coast where they
met the Tunit — big, strong people who lived in permanent winter houses,
built of stone and whale bone, and who hunted the whale and walrus; their
men wore bearskin trousers and their women long boots. When the Aivilika
settled down along the coast, the Tunit left their settlements and went
away to the North. Only on Southampton Island did they remain; these were
the Sadlermiut who died out in 1902; their most important settlement is still
called Tunirmiut. This same belief is found everywhere among the Igluliks;
house ruins and the heavy tent rings were ascribed to the Tunit. Pond Inlet
Eskimos, questioned as to the use of certain objects from Qilalukan, said that
an Eskimo could not know, as these things had belonged to the Tunit. Other
tales from the Canadian Arctic tell about quarrels between the Eskimos and
the Tunits, resulting in the Tunits leaving the country. All these tales
agree in that the Tunit were very unskilled in preparing their skins for
clothing, and that was also the case with the Sadlermiut. As a matter of
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
fact, the Polar Eskimos, who probably are of Tunit offspring, are not able
to make the caribou skins as thin and soft as the Central Eskimos.
In many respects the Thule culture forms a connecting link between
east and west, between Alaska and Greenland. Many implement types occur
among the Alaskan and Greenland Eskimos which are not found in the Central
area. The explanation must be that there was an earlier connection between
these two regions, which was broken when the Central Eskimos from the interior
came down to the coast and expelled the Thule people.
As to the origin of the Thule culture, many traits point to the west,
along the north coast of Alaska. Here in very early times there existed
Eskimo cultures, the Old Bering Sea and Birnirk, which also depended mainly
on whaling and walrus hunting, and which possessed many implements of the
same fundamental type as those of the Thule
[:
]
culture. From here there
must have been an immigration toward the east, along the arctic shores and
over the Arctic Archipelago. But it was in the Central territory that the
Thule culture reached its final form, as we know it from Naujan and other
sites. Here it flourished as a vigorous culture for centuries; it expanded
also to Greenland, where we find a pure Thule culture in Inglefield Land.
In the other parts of Greenland, however, through Norse influence and local
development, it changed into another culture, the Inugsuk culture, and in
that f
ro
^
or
^
m it spread over all of Greenland, even the east coast. The Inugsuk
phase of the Thule culture is the foundation on which the whole later Greenland
Eskimo culture is built.
EA-Anthrop. Mathiassen: Thule Culture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Boas, Franz. "The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay,"
Bull
.,
American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XV. 1901 and 1907.
2. Holtved, Erik. "Archaeological Investigations in the Thule District
I-II," Medde
^
l
^
elser om Grønland, vol. 141, 1944.
3. Mathiassen, Therkel. "Archaeology of the Central Eskimos," I-II.
Report
of the Fifth Thule Expedition 1921-24. Vol. IV.
Copenh., 1927.
4. ----. "The Archaeology of the Thule District," Geografisk Tideskrift,
vol.47, 1944-46.
5. Wissler, Clark. "Archaeology of the Polar Eskimo,"
Anthropological
Papers
, American Museum of Natural History, vol.22, 1916.
Therkel Mathiassen
Dorset Eskimo Culture
EA-Anthropology
(Douglas Leechman)
DORSET ESKIMO CULTURE
Distribution
. This early Eskimo culture was confined in its distri–
bution to the eastern Canadian Arctic. Sites are scattered along the seacoast
north and east of lines running from northern Ellesmere Island to King William
Island and thence to Newfoundland. Approximately fifty sites have been re–
corded, and in nearly every case the specimens have been random surface finds
by Eskimos or by amateurs with no training in archaeology. Usually Thule and
Modern specimens are mixed indiscriminately in the collection with Dorset
material. The route by which these people, who undoubtedly came from the
western Arctic, traveled is still unknown, and further investigation to deter–
mine the limits of their distribution is urgently needed.
Physical Type.
No human remains which can be attributed to the Dorset
people have yet been found. Graves which can be linked with this culture
are also lacking.
Language
. On August 27, 1824, Captain G. F. Lyon visited a group of Eskimos
on the east coast of Coats Island. He noted that, though their speech was
clearly Eskimo, they "spoke a language differing very materially from that of
any other Eskimaux whom we had seen." He notes that it "was pronounced shortly,
[and] appeared in consequence to abound in monosyllables." If these people were
indeed of the Dorset culture, as seems likely, this note of Captain Lyon's would
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorser Eskimo Culture
appear to be the only information we have as to their language.
Houses
. Recognizable house remains are few. They consist of shallow
saucer-shaped depressions, difficult to detect, which lie on or near the
beach with ready access to the sea. House remains excavated by the writer
at Nuvuk showed no trace of stone walls, and only a suggestion of an entrance.
The absence of the snow knife (except perhaps until after Thule contact),
noted also in the early Alaskan cultures, argues ignorance of the snowhouse.
Resources.
The Dorset culture was apparently based on the hunting of
caribou, seals, walrus, and smaller game. The natural resources of which
they availed themselves, both animal and vegetable, were presumably those
which are to be found in the area today. Hunting sea mammals from the kayak
appears to have been unknown, for there are no harpoon finger rests and no
float inflators or stoppers. Mineral resources included various siliceous
stones for the making of chipped implements, soapstone for pots, silicified
slate for boot creasers and chisels, nephrite for adz blades, and other
materials.
Clothing.
We have only circumstantial evidence as to the clothing worn
by the Dorset people, but the presence of needles leads us to conclude that
it was tailored of skins and furs and similar to that worn in historical
times.
Tools and Implements.
Dorset tools as a whole seem to be smaller than
Thule or Modern specimens. They are usually carefully made and the workman–
ship in stone is delicate and skillful. The harpoon heads, of which there
are xis principal types, are suitable for seals and walrus, but no whaling
harpoons are found. The harpoon heads may have open or closed sockets; in
the latter case the socket, instead of being rounded, is
^
a
^
rectangular slot
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorset Eskimo Culture
such as would fit a screwdriver. Projectile points may be tanged, notched,
or have a concave base.
Knife handles, with a slot in one or both sides, carried inset blades
of chipped chert. Other knife blades were curved and so tanged as to enable
them to be hafted in an off-set position.
The absence of certain traits typical of other Eskimo cultures is an
outstanding feature of the Dorset. Among these are the following: the bow
drill, the ulu, the dog sled, the throwing board, the kayak, and the umiak.
Absent too were the rubbed slate implements so common among the Thule and
Modern Eskimos. Most of their stone implements were chipped from chert or
other dense homogeneous stone. Many of them bear a strong resemblance to
tools of the early Eskimo cultures of Alaska such as Ipiutak and Old Bering
Sea. Soapstone was used for pots and lamps, the former frequently taking
the shape of an elliptical bowl with notably thin walls, reminiscent of
pottery. These were sometimes colored red either inside or out, or both.
Chisels and boot creasers of
angmak
(a dense, hard, silicified slate) were
first chipped and then ground into shape, as were adz blades of nephrite.
They were apparently shaped by rubbing them on blocks of quartz or quartzite.
Another notable lack in the Dorset culture is the bow, and the bone, or antler,
arrowhead. It is possible that the stone projectile points, which suggest
arrowheads, were actually used on darts or javelins but no throwing stick
has been found associated with the Dorset culture. There is no pottery.
Transportation.
One of several striking features of the Dorset culture is
the apparent absence of dog traction. No trace buckles, swivels, or other
accessories have been found. Small sled shoes of walrus ivory, suitable for
use with a hand-drawn sled, are fairly common. Equally remarkable is the absence
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorset Eskimo Culture
of all fittings which could have been parts of kayaks or umiaks. It is
possible that inflated seal skins were used as floats, as recorded by Captain
Lyon off Coats Island in 1824. Ice creepers, almost identical with those of
Alaska, and snow goggles occur in the Dorset culture. It is almost incredible
that these people should have succeeded in covering so large a geographical
area with no means of transportation, but what these means were still remains
to be discovered.
Art.
Small carvings in the round, representing animals, are common.
They are skillfully executed and lifelike. Groups of human faces carved
on pieces of caribou antlers are other striking examples of Dorset sculpture.
Designs on flat surfaces, such as the ends and sides of tubular cases of
antler, consist of rather crude scratches with spurred lines and a few simple
geometrical forms. They are reminiscent of the early art (Style 1 of Collins)
preceding the Old Bering Sea curvilinear designs.
Origin.
The recent publication by Larsen and Rainey of their study of
the Ipiutak culture makes it clear that the Dorset is either a direct deriva–
tive of the Ipiutak or that they both flow from a common source. Comparison
of the two cultures shows their common origin conclusively. Both of them are
"chipped chart" cultures, rather than "rubbed slate." They both lack pottery,
the bow drill, the slate ulu, the dog sled, the bolas, the snow knife, the
kayak, and the umiak. They both include end scrapers, side scrapers, S-shaped
scrapers, inset side blades, chipped points with a concave base, flaring adz
heads, faceted adz blades, chipped discoid blades, and other culture traits.
The use of soapstone vessels and of nephrite appears to have been adopted by
the Dorset people after their separation from Ipiutak, as do also the rectangu–
lar harpoon socket and the curved knive, since none of these features is found
there.
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorset Eskimo Culture
Culture Contacts.
In previous discussions of the Dorset culture,
some authors have even doubted that it was Eskimo at all. Others have
insisted on its Indian-like features, and on the supposed occurrences of
rubbed slate specimens comparable to those of the Thule. These misappre–
hensions have somewhat confused the subject. It is now evident that the
Dorset is a "chipped-stone" culture, having its closest affiliates in
Alaska. It is possible that the Sadlermiut of Southampton Island, who also
used chipped-stone implements, closely related to those of Ipiutak, were a
specialized group of Dorset people, as were also the Eskimo occupants of
Newfoundland. The culture contacts of the Dorset were, on one hand, with
the Thule people who invaded the area later in history; and, on the other,
with the "Indian" people of the Labrador and Ungava. It is highly probable
that various culture traits were interchanged where these peoples met, but
the details of these transferences have not yet been clarified. The suggestion
that the Manitunik culture of the Belcher Islands is connected with the Dorset
appears to be ill-founded.
Chronology.
Various attempts have been made to construct chronological
tables showing the relative positions of the Dorset, Thule, Inuksuk, and
Modern Eskimo cultures. These have at least served the purpose of clarifying
our thoughts. It would appear certain that the Dorset people were the first
human occupants of the area, possibly a thousand years ago, that the Thule
people came perhaps five hundred years later, in some cases exterminating
the Dorset, and in others blending with them until they were absorbed.
Possibly some lingered on in isolated areas, such as Southampton Island,
Coats Island, Igloolik, Newfoundland (from where few, if any, Thule specimens
have yet come), and perhaps southwestern Devon Island, where we find typical
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorset Eskimo Culture
Dorset harpoon heads made from fresh walrus ivory.
Historical Note
. This culture was first described by Jenness in
The Geographical Review
of July 1925, who named it, temporarily, the Cape
Dorset culture, following the examination of a collection of archeological
material from Cape Dorset in southwestern Baffin Island and Coats Island.
Unrecognized Dorset specimens had been excavated by Mathiassen in 1921-24 on
by
Bylot and Southampton islands. In 1927 and 1929 a variant form of this
culture was found by W.J. Wintemberg in Newfoundland. In 1935 the author
excavated typical Dorset material in a site near Port Burwell at the north
end of the Labrador and again, in 1936, on Nuvik Island, southeast of Cape
Wolstenholme. Another Dorset site was examined by Rowley at Igloolik in
1939. To date (April, 1949) no other pure Dorset sites have been reported.
EA-Anthrop. Leechman: Dorset Eskimo Culture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Collins, H.B. "Outline of Eskimo Prehistory," in
Essays in Historical
Anthropology of North America
, pp. 533-592. Smithsonian
Miscellaneous Collections, Vol.100, Washington, D.C., 1940.
2. de Laguna, Frederica. "The Importance of the Eskimo in Northeastern
Archaeology," in
Man in Northeastern North America
. Papers of
the Robert S. Peabody Foundation. Vol.3, Andover, Mass., 1946.
3. Jenness, Diamond. "A new Eskimo Culture in Hudson Bay,"
Geographical
Review
, Vol.15: 428-437, 1925.
4. Larsen, Helge, and Rainey, Froelich. "Ipiutak and the Arctic Whale
Hunting Culture." American Museum of Natural History.
Anthropological
Papers
. Vol.42, New York, 1948.
Douglas Leechman
Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
EA-Anthropology
[Erik Holtved
PREHISTORIC CULTURES IN GREENLAND
The interest taken in Greenland antiquities dates back more than a hundred
years, but not until our own century has a scientifically founded study of the
prehistory of Greenland been earnestly begun. The Danish National Museum, and
other European museums, have collections brought home by expeditins from the un–
populated regions of Northeast Greenland, and during the last century the National
Museum in Copenhagen has received a great number of artifacts, mainly of stone,
collected particularly by Danish officials and originating in the surroundings
of Disko Bay on the middle west coast of Greenland. Basing his studies upon these
finds, Solberg (1907) has attempted to draw certain historical conclusions through
typological considerations. From Northeast Greenland a more comprehensive picture
of the ancient culture was obtained from the finds made by the expeditions of
Koldewey (1869-70), Ryder (1891-92), Amdrup (1898-1900), Nathorst (1899-1900), and
in particular by the Danmark expedition (Thostrup, 1906-08). From the Thule
District the Second Thule Expedition (1916-18), in charge of Knud Rasmussen,
made an interesting find when excavating "Comer's Midden," this find later on
giving name to the widespread "Thule culture" (Th. Mathiassen, 1927), L. Koch
picked up some interesting specimens on Washington Land and Hall Land still
farther to the north (Mathiassen, 1928). In his work
Greenland
, Th. Thomsen has
given a general view of what Greenland archaeology was able to yield before syste–
matic researches began.
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
In 1929 a series of excavations was started by Mathiassen at Inugsuk in the
Upernivik District; it was continued by him in thefollowing years (at Kangamiut
in 1930, at Angmagssalik in 1931-32, at Disko Bay in 1933, at Julianehaab in 1934),
and by Helge Larsen (at Clavering Island in 1931-32, at Kangerdlugssuaq in 1935).
P. V. Glob worked at King Oscar Fjord in 1932 and E. Holtved at Thule in 1935-37
and in 1946-47. In the extreme northeast finds were made by E.Knuth in 1939 and
1947. These excavation fields being distributed rather evenly along all of the
Greenland coasts, the resulting finds must be considered a reliable basis for an
understanding of the main lines of culture development within Greenland.
Greenland forms the extreme eastern part of the vast area peopled by Eskimos;
its Eskimo population must have immigrated from the west via Ellesmere Island,
crossing Smith Sound, or Kane Basin, mainly pushing thence southward through the
Thule District. It seems probable that a secondary, northern route was also taken,
toward Northeast Greenland via Peary Land; this was, however, of minor importance.
But when did the first immigrants arrive, and what did their culture look like?
What were the agencies that modified the culture they brought with them — climatic
conditions, new immigrations, later cultural diffusion from the west, the medieval
Norsemen, the later whalers? And what routes did the Eskimos follow in their
dispersal all over Greenland?
The geographical extension of Greenland, a north-south extent of 1,600 miles
(more than twenty-three degrees of latitude), and the currents of the surrounding
seas, produces a climatic transition from high arctic in the north to subarctic
in the south. Moreover, several facts indicate that the climate in the middle
ages was more dry, and that later on rather great oscillations in the ice conditions
took place that have exerted a direct influence upon the conditions of life (L.
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
Koch, 1945). As proved by Mathiassen, both West and East Greenland have been
peopled by immigration southward along the west coast, via South Greenland, and
onward to the north along the east coast, finally reaching Northeast Greenland.
Consequently a considerable process of cultural adjustment must have taken place.
Advancing along the west coast the Eskimos came in contact with the Norsemen
in what are now the Godthaab and Julianehaab districts, where for a few centuries
they must have lived side by side until the Norsemen disappeared about A.D. 1500.
Some think that about these events the Greenlanders have kept several folk tales
(Rink
)
, 1866-71); others (Nansen, Stefansson) think that the tales adduced by Rink
as Eskimo race memories of a struggle with the Europeans really represent theories
by which the Danes following Egede's arrival (in 1721) explained to the Eskimos
how and why the Europeans must have disappeared, which explanations the Eskimos
cast into stories that were eventually told by them to Rink and others, who published
them.
From the Norsemen the Eskimos acquired some new culture elements, above all the
technique of coopering. Together with original Norse
[:
]
objects found in
Eskimo strata, this has constituted a decisive point of departure for Greenland
chronology.
In the
Islaendingabok
(Book of the Icelanders) of Ari the Wise, we are told
that Erik the Red at his first arrival in Greenland, about A.D. 982, found evidence
that people had been there, but he did not see the
[:
]
people themselves. It has
not been possible to corroborate this archaeologically.
In all likelihood the oldest traces of the Eskimos in Greenland are those
which have been found in the Thule District. At Inuarfigssuaq, Marshall Bay, a
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Preshistoric Cultures in Greenland
refuse heap excavated in 1936 contained mainly Dorset culture. Part of this was
overlain by refuse and house ruins of the Thule culture, distin
^
c
^
tly indicating that
here the Dorset layers were the older ones. Thus, most probably, the first to in–
vade Greenland were people with Dorset culture. The finds are partly characteris–
tic Dorset types, partly culture elements of more common Eskimo distribution,
and point toward seal and caribou hunting as the chief means of subsistence. The
flint technique was high, and meteoric iron was also in use. Excavation of
the house ruins, above the midden, show that several houses had been built one
above the other; therefore the outlines of Dorset houses, if there ever were any,
could not be made out. One may only suggest that they were turf-and-stone houses
like those of the Thule culture. Corresponding Dorset sites have been found no–
where else in Greenland; but Dorset types occur in several places, especially in
finds from the following period.
In Inglefield Land the Dorset culture was succeeded by the Thule culture, this
new phase differing from the former to such an extent that there must have been
a new and evidently greater immigration. It now becomes evident that whaling was
of great importance, many implements being made of baleen; the culture bears a
strong resemblance to the one demonstrated by Mathiassen for arctic Canada. The
houses were partly dug out, with a deep entrance passage, sleeping platform in
the rear, and the front corners extended to make room for meat, blubber, and so
forth. Often two or three houses were built together, mostly at right angles
to make a clover-leaf shape. In one instance the two houses are paralle, their
sleepi
^
n
^
g platforms running in one direction, divided
[:
]
only by a partition wall,
a structure found in later times within the Thule District, possibly an early
stage of the long multi-family house later in use in other parts of Greenland
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
(Steensby). Beyond this there is no fixed ground plan, the form of the houses
changing from rounded to rectangular.
Fireplaces have not been observed in any of these older houses. In a few of
them Norse objects were found, so they can hardly be earlier than the 13th century.
But when this immigration of Thule culture began, and when the Dorset people ar–
rived, is
[:
]
still impossible to ascertain with certitude. Probably this Thule
culture was diffused all over the Thule District, and possibly also somewhat to
the south, by way of Melville Bay. Finds which can be ascribed with certainty to
this period in West Greenland are scarce.
In all probability there was a development of the kayak technique in the
Thule District; this is indicated by finds of harpoon rests such as are used on
kayak decks, and finds of raised kayak racks, etc. This development advanced as
the settlements pushed on to the southward. Thus the early Thule culture gradu–
ally changed into the phase which Mathiassen has called the Inugsuk culture, from
the site in the Upernivik District where in 1929 he made the first great collec–
tive finds. The main difference from the elder phase is that new forms of harpoon
heads are now prevalent, in particular a more rounded type with closed socket and
inserted blade, the "Inugsuk" harpoon head which had superseded the older open–
socket forms. The use of baleen has developed still further, including new forms;
coopering has been introduced; handsomely made ornamental bodkins are common and
Norse objects become frequent. Presumably this development took place in the
course of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Within this period a new immigration from the west reached the Thule District.
In 1936, on a little island outside the mouth of Marshall Bay, Ruin Island, six
house ruins were found differing from those on the mainland, five of them having
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
solidly built kitchens with regular fireplaces, with access from the house pas–
sage or directly from the house itself. To judge from the arrangement of the plat–
forms, along the walls, the sixth house had been a ceremonial house or working
place for the men. These houses contained mainly Thule culture, but in some
respects they bear a rather western stamp.
Also at Thule a group of houses was found apparently culturally related to
those on Ruin Island. Of particular interest were some harpoon heads with vesti–
gial spurs, a type so far found only in Alaska, resembling specimens from the
early Punuk culture. A circular extension of the tangs of the arrowheads is also
a western feature, as opposed to the knobs of the Thule culture. The knowledge of
this culture phase has been further increased through the excavation of a great
ruin site at Nugdlit, some sixty kilometers to the northwest of Thule.
In the houses on Ruin Island, and in the similar ones at Thule, were also found
a number of Norse objects, such as tub staves, but no indications of Inugsuk
culture.
Evidently these Ruin Island people had immigrated from the west just at the
time when Inugsuk culture began to flourish at Thule. The settlement of Nugdlit
is indicative of a considerable increase in the population. Apparently, however,
they soon adopted the Inugsuk culture, their cultural peculiarities so far not
having been found outside the Thule District. Only their house form, with cooking–
places, in its turn dependent on great quantities of whale blubber for fuel,
was taken over by the people of the Inugsuk culture and gradually made its appear–
ance outside the Thule District. In the subsequent centuries both house forms are
to be seen in West and South Greenland, both of them containing objects of the
Inugsuk culture.
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
The adjustment of the Inugsuk culture to subarctic conditions forms the
background for the great advance southward at the end of the 13th and the be–
ginning of the 14th century, and it may be suggested that in this the Ruin Island
people were a moving power. In the 15th century, this culture seems to have cul–
minated in the Thule District, showing an astonishing multitude of forms; this
period was succeededby a stagnation and decline which seems to have continued
till about the middle of the 19th century, possibly in connection with a change of
climate which may have contributed to the cessation of whaling and increase of
ice-hunting. [Or it may be that whaling along the west coast of Greenland lessened
because whales were getting fewer throughout the whole Arctic, through the slaughter
by Europeans, which extended from the North Atlantic farther and farther toward and
into the Arctic.
|
^]
^
Eventually communication by way of Melville Bay, between
people of the Thule districts and those farther south, came to an end, presumably
in the course of the 17th century, the Cape York or Polar Eskimos in some respects
recurring to the Thule culture. At last the use of kayak, bow and arrow, and
the three-pronged salmon spear, passed totally into oblivion, only to be re–
introduced by new immigrants from the west about the year 1866.
In West Greenland, what evidently are the oldest house ruins were excavated
by Mathiassen on the little island of Igdlutalik in Disko Bay. If anything, they
belonged to the Thule culture, apparently being older than the Inugsuk find; but
here also fireplaces were found in the houses. At the same ruin site, however,
finds from a midden made it evident that Inugsuk culture had come in. Through
excavations in the Kangamiut area, Julian
[:
]
haab District, South Greenland, and in
the Angmagssalik District of East Greenland, Mathiassen has demonstrated that
everywhere it is this culture which characterizes the finds from the lower strata.
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
Furthermore, it has been traced northward along the east coast, finally to reach
Northeast Greenland. In West Greenland [according to the Danish authorities, and
some others] encounters with the Norsemen led to the total destruction of the
Vestribygd, or Western Settlement, of the medieval Europeans, about the middle of
the 14th century.
[:
]
[According to Nansen, there is little or no evidence of
destruction of Europeans by the Eskimos but much evidence that the two peoples
amalgamated, the Eskimo culture prevailing because it was better suited to local
conditions.]
How the advance of the Eskimos took place in detail cannot be said with cer–
tainty. Most likely they felt their way forward, and constantly on the way
some of them settled down upon the most profitable hunting places. Presumably
South Greenland was reached in the 14th century, Angmagssalik shortly afterward,
and at last Northeast Greenland in the 16th century.
During this period a conspicuous development took place on the west coast,
most perceptible in the regions around Disko Bay, where it was especially
[:
]
whaling that made living conditions good
.
for a relatively numerous population.
Implements gradually took on a new appearance, the slender, orrounded, harpoon
heads being succeeded by flat ones, the tang on arrow and bird-dart heads being
furnished with a screw, a new type of bladder dart with a ring of barbs, and the
lamp without partition ledge coming into common use. The development of the kayak
appurtenances went on, and the small rectangular one-family house became the habitual
mode of dwelling, later on (in the 17th century) to be succeeded again by the long
multi-family dwelling as it was met with at the beginning of Danish colonization.
In the middle of the 17th century the visits of the whalers began to become
frequent, and with them came European articles, glass beads, knives, etc., which
from then onward characterize the finds. This development spread southward, the
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
dog sledge naturally being replaced by the kayak and the umiak, yet without
being quite forgotten. However, in the southernmost districts the culture kept
an old-fashioned appearance longer than farther north. The small, rectangular
houses also reached that far, but here they were soon succeeded by the multi–
family dwelling.
Mathiassen's investigations have shown that at first the Eskimos lived in
a few great settlements, about midway of the fjords, where it was still possible
to practice ice hunting in winter. Not till the Norsemen had quite disappeared
did they begin to spread along the outer coast from where it was possible to
carry on kayak hunting on the open sea. In south Greenland the influence by
the whalers was not so perceptible, and Danish colonization here began later
than it did farther north, the colony of Julianehaab not being founded till 1775,
thus 54 years after Egede's settlement in the Godthaab district.
The Inugsuk wave reached as far as Northeast Greenland, but geographical
conditions on the east coast made it difficult to keep up communication between
the scattered groups, and gradually a locally stamped culture began to develop
in different places. The last connection to be broken off was that between
South Greenland and Angmagssalik where, furthermore, a later and not inconsider–
able immigration from the south seems to have taken place in the 18th century.
After this, however, the East Greenland culture began to develop its peculiar
features, as met with at the arrival of G. Holm in 1884. A minor group had
settled at the fjord Kangerdlugssuaq, about 300 km. to the north of Angmagssalik,
but this apparently died out in the course of the 18th century.
On Clavering Island in Northeast Greenland, Clavering in 1823 fell in with
Eskimos, but after that time the population became extinct. The culture development
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
^
100
^
in these remote parts has been elucidated especially through the excavations of
H. Larsen at Dødemandsbugt on Clavering Island. Based upon the Inugsuk culture,
the characteristic Northeast Greenland culture developed here, remarkable in
particular for its extensive use of slat. Lamps were often made of sandstone;
and, as in other places, the slender harpoon heads were replaced by flat forms.
The type with no inserted blade here become prevalent, this particular form not
being met with outside the area. The rounded houses assume a rectangular, or
trapeziform ground plan, with characteristic extensions in
[:
]
front, thus bearing
a close resemblance to house forms in the northern Thule District. So it seems
that at some time or other a migration came from the west around the north end
of Greenland, carrying with it Thule culture. H. Larsen suggests that this took place
in the 17th century, subsequent to the immigration from the south. However,
fuller particulars as to this intrusion of
[:
]
Thule culture are needed.
Beyond material culture, Greenland archeology does not give much informa–
tion. Almost everywhere in Greenland it has been the custom to inter the dead in
stone graves, in most cases the corpse having its legs doubled up. Often a single
grave contains several skeletons. At some places in West and South Greenland are
found burial caves, as those examined by Mathiassen on the island Unartoq in the
Julianehaab District. He found mummies, and with them specimens which dated the
interment as belonging to the 16th century.
On social and religious matters, particulars have been preserved in writing
by the first missionaries and officials (H. and P. Egede, Glahn, Dalager, Crantz),
and by the verbally communicated traditions of the Greenlanders collected by
Rink, Holm, Knud Rasmussen, and Thalbitzer. From these it appears that the religion
of the Greenlanders in past times, like that of other Eskimos, was animistic and
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cultures in Greenland
ruled by shamanism, the drum being an indispensable cult object. The main spirits
were the Sea-woman (
Arnarquagssaq
,
Nerrivik
) and the Moon-man to whom the shamans
(
angakut
,
angatkut
) used to pay visits in times of stress, this with the help of
their familiar spirits, the most prominent of which was
Tornarssuk
.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[Abbreviations: MoG.: Meddelelser om Grønland;
GSS.: Det Grønlandske Selskabs Skrifter]
Clavering, Douglas Charles. "Journal of a Voyage to the East,"
The Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal
, 1830.
Cranz, D.
Historie von Grönland
. Barby, 1770.
Dalager, Lars. Grønlandske Relationer (Ed. Bobe)
GSS
II, København, 1915.
Egede, Hans.
Det gamle Grønlands nye Perlustration eller Naturel-Historie
.
København, 1741. (New ed. Bobe, MoG 54, 1925.)
Glahn, H.C. Dagbøger (Ed. H. Ostermann).
GSS
VI. København, 1921.
Glob, P.V. Eskimo Settlements in Kempe Fjord and King Oscar Fjord. MoG 102,
København, 1935.
Holm, G.: Etnologisk Skizze af Angmagsalikerne.
MoG
10. 1887. (New ed. Thal–
bitzer,
MoG
39,
[:
]
København, 1914.)
Holtved, E. Archaeological Investigations in the Th
[:
]
le District.
MoG
[:
]
141.
København, 1944.
Larsen, Helge: Dødemandsbugten. MoG 102. København 1934.
----. Archaeological Investigations in Knud Rasmussens Land. MoG 119. København
1938.
Larson, L. M. (Editor)
The King's Mirror
, New York, 1917.
Mathiassen, Therkel: Archaeology of the Central Eskimos I-II. Rep. 5th Thule
Exp. Vol. IV. Copenhagen, 1927.
-----. Eskimo Relics from Washington Land and Hall Land. MoG. 71. København, 1928.
-----. Inugsuk. MoG 77. København, 1930.
EA-Anthrop. Holtved: Prehistoric Cutlres in Greenland
----. Ancient Eskimo Settlements in the Kangamiut Area. MoG 91. København, 1931.
----. Prehistory of the Angmagssalik Eskimos. MoG. 92. København, 1933.
----. Contributions to the Archaeology of Disko Bay. MoG, 93. København, 1934.
----. The Former Eskimo Settlements on Frederik VI's Coast. MoG 109. København
1936.
---- and E. Holtved: The Eskimo Archaeology of Julianehaab District. MoG 118.
København, 1936.
Nansen, Fridtjof:
In Northern Mists
. 2 vols., London and New York, 1911.
Rasmussen, Knud.
Nye Mennesker
. København, 1906.
----.
Myter og Sagn fra Grønland
, I-III. København, 1921-25.
Rink, H.:
Eskimoiske Eventyr og Sagn
, I-II. København, 1866-71.
Solberg, O.
Beiträge zur Vorgeschichte der Osteskimo
. Christiania, 1907.
Steensby, H.P. "An anthropological study of the origin of Eskimo culture,"
MoG
., 53. København, 1917.
Thalbitzer, W. The Ammassalik Eskimo, I. MoG 39. København, 1914. (Incl. new
ed. of G. Holm) - II.
MoG
40, 1923 and 1941.
----. Die kultischen Gottheiten der Eskimos.
Archiv für Religionswissenschaft
XXVI. Leipzig-Berlin, 1928.
Thomsen, Thomas: Implements and Artifacts of the North East Greenlanders.
MoG
44. København, 1917.
Thorhallason, Egil.
Exterretninger om Rudera
[:
]
eller Levninger af de Gamle Nor–
maends og Islaenderes Bhgninger pa
[:
]
Grönla
[:
]
ds Vester-Side, Tilligemed
et Anhang om deres Under gang Sammesteds
, København, 1776.
Thostrup, C. B. Ethnographic Description of the Eskimo Settlements and Stone
Remains in North-East Greenland.
MoG
44. København, 1911.
Erik Holtved
The Norsemen in Greenland
EA-Anthropology
[Aage Roussell-Karin Fennow]
THE NORSEMEN IN GREENLAND
|
|
Page
|
|
Colonization
|
1
|
|
Eastern and Western Settlements
|
4
|
|
Organization and History of the Settlements
|
9
|
|
The Greenland Churches
|
13
|
|
The Farms
|
21
|
|
The Relics
|
27
|
|
Bibliography
|
29
|
EA-Anthropology
(Aage Roussell)
(Translated from the
Danish by Karin Fennow)
THE NORSEMEN IN GREENLAND
Note
: This paper was originally written in Danish by
Professor Roussell. It was translated into English by Mrs. Karin
Fennow and her translation was proofread and in some cases slight–
ly emended by Professor Roussell. The version here presented
follows the edited version of Professor Roussell except for a few
minor changes, particularly with regard to the spellings of cer–
tain Old Norse words. These words have been changed by the editors
of the Encyclopedia from the Danish forms used by Professor
Roussell to the Old Norse forms as commonly used in English-language
works that deal with Iceland and Greenland in the saga period.
Colonization
The colonization of Greenland — like so many great things — had rather
modest beginnings. Erik Thorvaldsen, called Erik the Red, the son of a
Norwegian immigrant in Iceland, was condemned to three years of exile because
of his wild and ungovernable temper. His friends provided him with a ship,
and accompanied him on his voyage out through Breidifjordur, the big Ice–
landic fjord opening into the waters between Iceland and Greenland which we
now know as Denmark Strait. On parting from his friends, Erik confided to
them that he planned to use his period of exile in visiting the region called
Gunnbjörn Skerries which the Norsemen Gunnbjörn was said to have seen almost
a hundred years earlier, when he was driven off his course while en route to
Iceland and had gone far westwards. With a royal contempt for his now miser–
able state, Erik promised to aid his friends should they be in need of help.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
Erik confidently sailed westward. But the Greenland he first encountered
could not have made an encouraging impression on him. The southeastern coast
is a wild, rocky region, blocked by ice from both land and sea. The picture
changed as he unhesitatingly continued his voyage and reached the west coast.
Luxuriant green slopes spread out along the banks of the beautiful, deep
fjords, and both land and sea swarmed with game.
But Erik did not succumb to the charms of an idle hunter's life. He must
have realized that the new land presented undreamt-of possibilities for the
hardy and frugal Icelanders, and he spent his three years navigating and ex–
ploring the land, inspecting practically all of the territory which could come
into consideration for colonization.
We do not know if he immediately made plans for colonizing Greenland,
but since he got into difficulties again shortly after his return to Iceland
he could scarcely have had any doubts about what he should do. His great
organizing abilities at once became apparent. At that time Iceland was com–
pletely settled — perhaps even over-populated — and no small number of per–
sons were threatened with loss of life and property as a result of legal en–
tanglements. It was therefore possible for Erik to leave Iceland as early as
985 or 986 in command of an emigrant fleet of not less than twenty-five ships.
The expedition was grand and fantastic — 600 to 700 men, women, and children
were crowded together among horses, cattle, and poultry, among sacks of grain
and barrels of fresh water, in the big, open boats. Perhaps some of the skippers
regretted their daring as soon as they were no longer under Erik's direct in–
fluence; perhaps the f
^
l
^
eet encountered bad weather. In any case, only four–
teen of the ships arrived in Greenland.
Erik had christened the new land Greenland. The sagas place strong
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
emphasis on the propaganda power of the good name, but we dare not doubt that
as far as Erik and his fellows were concerned it contained no elements of
exaggeration. They had every reason to feel convinced that the new land offered
means for a life better than that they were familiar with in the settlements of
the Icelandic motherland.
When the fleet arrived at the southwest coast of Greenland, Erik steered
his ship into the fjord he had given his own name — the present Tunugdliarfik
Fjord beyond Julianehaab. He built his farm, Brattahlid, on the great plain
which the Eskimos have named Qagsiarsuk. He had probably been at the spot as
early as in his second summer of exile and built a house there, but in any
case he chose for his own use this place — without comparison the best place
in Greenland for a cattle and sheep-raising farmer. And from here he ruled
the new land as long as he lived, as undisputed chief of all its inhabitants.
His own wife was the only person who dared to oppose him — but more about that
later.
A fjord was apportioned to or taken by each of the ships' commanders as
his
landnam
(claim); the commanders then allotted to their followers valleys
and building grounds in these areas. To begin with there was enough room,
but new immigrants followed the first-comers, and as the settlements flourished
demands for space for new farms increased steadily. Thus the region from 60°
N. latitude at Cape Farewell to the
^
65
^
th parallel, which forms the northern
limit for farming according to the Icelandic pattern, was very rapidly settled
in its entirety.
The original inhabitants of the land gave the colonists no trouble. The
newcomers found traces of a strange race, but apparently there was no permanent
Eskimo settlement of the southern part of the west coast in the period around
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
the year 1,000. But the Icelanders — or the Greenlanders, as they called
themselves — were sufficiently numerous and strong at that point to have held
their own had a clash arisen. Did Erik's knowledge of the Eskimos' existence
lay back of his occupation-like emigration? That we do not know, but anyway
he was unquestionably wise enough to realize that if the Norsemen wanted to
live as they were accustomed to living they would have to be numerically strong
in order to create a colony with a chance of survival.
T e discovery of America and the unsuccessful attempt to settle there is
closely connected ^to^ Erik the Red's circle. In the southernmost part of that
North American area with which the Norsemen were familiar and which they called
Vinland, living conditions were indubitably far more favorable than those on
Greenland. It has been a cause for wonder why the whole Greenland colony did
not move down there. But Vinland did not only have grapevines and self-sowing
wheat — there was also a numerous, hostile population, and the Norsemen no
doubt lacked a leader of the necessary stature. Moreover, the urge to expand
was surely satisfied and in spite of everything the Norsemen were content in
climates familiar to them.
Eastern and Western Settlements
The Norsemen had no maps, and their topographical nomenclature, unlike
that of the Eskimos, was only rarely based on regional characteristics; in–
stead, with a typically Nordic self-assertiveness, it was built on personal
names. Consequently, modern science has found it fairly difficult to identify
the localities on the basis of the rather detailed, but at times conflicting,
lists of fjords and parishes that have come down to us from the Middle Ages.
But with the aid of the few natural clues available to us — among which the
hot springs at Unatoq Island play a prominent role — and especially as
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
archaeological expeditions have gradually established the locations of almost
all of the churches, we have arrived at a generally clear picture of the medi–
eval topography.
According to the documentary sources, the Norsemen ought to be looked
for in either the Eastern Settlement (Estribygd) or the Western Settlement
(Vestribygd). We now know that these names denote, respectively, the regions
around the Julianehaab fjords and the Godthaab fjords. Today it would doubtless
seem more natural to use the terms south and north to denote the relationship
of these regions to one another. In between these two settlements, which can
be clearly identified by discovered ruins, there is a curious settlement in the
Ivigtut area. This settlement may have been part of the Eastern colony, but
it cannot be identified from the documentary sources with any certainty. Its
farm sites are small, and must obviously have been based on modest-scale sheep
holdings. No church site has ever been found. Could this have been the final
refuge of the last poor and miserable Norsemen?
Hunting expeditions — most likely hunters of polar bears, especially —
visited the east coast, and people from the settlements, as well as unfortunate
victims of shipwrecks, found their way to it; but it was as uninhabitable as
was the Cape Farewell region, which the sailing directions of the time char–
acteristically called
Hvarf
, "the place where one disappears." However, not
so very far to the north of Hvarf the first outpost of the Eastern Settlement
was encountered. This was the colonial farm (
landnamsgaarden
) Herjolfsnes, with
"Sand Harbor," the traders' first port of call. Herjolf Baardson, the owner
of the farm, must have thought of himself as more a trader and less a farmer
than did the other colonists; otherwise he would not have situated his farm
here at the mouth of this unproductive little fjord and right beside the open
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
sea, while all the others sought to get into the sheltered fjord basins. At
Herjolfsnes we encounter the first of the twelve parish churches the Eastern
Settlement is believed to have had in addition to its two cloisters. The mon–
astery isffound in the midst of the densely populated Ketilsfjord (now Tasermiut),
the nunnery of Unartok.
The central part of the Eastern Settlement is grouped around Einarsfjord
(Igaliko) and Eriksfjord (Tunugdliarfik), the two main fjords of the Juliane–
haab region, and is dominated by Gardar and Brattahlid, the colonial farms of
the two fjords. Gardar is situated at the head of Einarsfjord, which at this
point is separated from Eriksfjord by nothing more than a strip of land which
is so narrow and low that it takes no more than a quarter of an hour to cross
from one fjord to the other. Because of this, Gardar became the center of the
colony, and thereby the
tingsted
, or Thing-place, and subsequently the bishop's
seat.
As the population density of the colony increased, all t e suitable
places along the fjord banks gradually became occupied, so that the last
colonists had to turn to the more remote valleys in the interior, particularly
in the great
Vatnahverfi
(watershed) region south of Einarsfjord. However,
some farms — definitely not belonging to the most insignificant category —
are found at a great distance from the fjord in particularly inaccessible
places such as, for example, in Jespersens Dal (Jespersens Valley) within
Undir Hofdi farm in South Qagsiarsuk at Einarsfjord. At present it is impos–
sible to figure out what kind of relations then existed between these farms
and the main fjord farms. The layouts of the farms certainly differ typo–
logically, as we shall see in a more detailed discussion, below. But unfor–
tunately the smaller artifacts found in the excavations cannot as yet be dated
with any exactitude.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
^
90
^
According to the documentary sources, the Eastern Settlement comprised
190 farms: of these about 140 farms and 63 smaller establishments have been
discovered.
As has been mentioned above, a settlement of small and poor farms is
situated in the vicinity of Ivigtut. This is not referred to in the Icelandic
sources. It will be exciting to see if future excavations will be able to
give us further information about it.
The Frederikshaab Glacier and the adjacent wastelands unconditionally
divide the southern colony from the Western Settlement. The outposts of the
Western Settlement are encountered in Bukse Fjord, but otherwise, it is con–
centrated in the large fjord formations beyond Godthaab. The Icelandic desig–
nations of the fjords have been tentatively assigned to the Godthaab fjords,
but it must be conceded that this has been done on a rather weak basis. Among
the four churches the settlement is supposed to have had, it should be possible
to identify the one at Hop farm, since this name connotes a narrow basin con–
necting the two fjords only at high tide. There is a place of that kind at
Itivdlerq between the main fjords Ameralik and Pisigsarfik; moreover, the ruins
of a large farm are located there. It has not been possible to uncover a church
site at this spot between the fjords, but perhaps this is partly due to sub–
sequent occupation of the place by Eskimos, partly to sinking of the land which
may have caused the church to disappear under the surface of the sea, as was
the case at Sandnes farm in the interior of Ameralik, where the church is only
partly visible at low tide. The rather considerable settlement at Kangersunek,
which is now closed to navigation for at least eleven months of the year, is
noteworthy. Climatic changes may also have been influential in this case.
In the Western Settlement the inland farms reach close to the inland ice,
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
especially in that valley made famous by Fridtjof Nansen under the name
"Austmannadal" in his narrative of the journey across the inland ice. Ex–
aminations of the middens of these remote farms have revealed the existence
of abundant quantities of bones of large marine animals; accordingly, for
this reason alone, the farms could not have been built by the last Norsemen
although they might otherwise be believed to have sought refuge there after
giving up the struggle against overpowering Eskimo tribes.
The Western Settlement is supposed to have contained 90 farms in 4 parishes;
3 churches, 46 farms, and 23 smaller establishments have been found. Erik the
Red could scarcely have penetrated farther north than to the area which later
became the Wes tern Settlement, but when the region was colonized the Norsemen
embarked on the capture of large marine animals as far to the north as beyond
Upernivik. They gave the name
Nordursetur
to the whole northern part of the
west coast. Karlsbudir, which may be the walrus-trapping grounds at South
Strømfjord, lay at a rowing distance of six days from the Western Settlement;
from there it took three days to row to Bjarney (Bear Island, now Disko), where
they were aware of the existence of coal. A small rune stone found on the
little island of Kingigtorssuak north of Upernivik relates that three Norsemen
were at the place on April 25; thus they presumably spent the winter there.
According to the Icelandic narratives, there were Norsemen in Melville Bay in
1266. We do not know what they called these regions. The northernmost place
name we know of is Krogsfjardarheidi, which should probably be identified with
the region around Vaygat. Norse artifacts have not infrequently been found
in North Greenland, but we have not yet run across any definite traces of Norse
settlement.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
Organization and History of the Settlements
In keeping with Erik the Red's authoritative position as the colonies'
most prominent man, the Greenland farmers assembled for the Thing (Parliament,
Congress) at his Brattahlid farm. There after the land was ruled according
to laws which were no doubt directly derived from the laws of the Icelandic
motherland. We know very little about the Greenlandic form of government in
the pagan and early Christian periods. Without doubt the Greenlanders con–
stantly asserted their independence, which the Norwegian kings tried to curb
from as far back as in the reign of Saint Olaf. But in 1261 the Greenlanders
decided — surely justifiably — that they had better submit to the Norwegian
crown; in return the crown took over the shipping, which soon took on a monop–
olistic character. From then on Norwegian law was in force in the Greenland
fjords.
At the same time that Christianity was introduced into Iceland the Church
stretched out its arm to Greenland. The colonist Herjolf already had a Christian
man on board, but it was Erik the Red's son, Leif the Lucky, who brought the
first clergyman to Greenland after he had himself been christened at the court
of Olaf Tryggvason in Trondheim. Erik the Red grumbled, but his wife accepted
the new faith regardless, and refused to share his bed as long as he remained
a heathen. This annoyed him, but, so far as we know, it did not convert him.
Meanwhile, the colonies were ripe for a change of faith, and the original
chieftain's domains appear to have undergone rapid transformation into just as
many parishes. However, the willful Greenland farmers were not content to sub–
mit to a foreign bishop. A specially appointed bishop for Greenland came out
to the colonies as early as 1112, and curiously enough it appears he settled
down in the Western Settlement. But after he departed in 1121 in search of
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
Vinland and never returned, the Greenlanders sent a trusted man to King Sigurd
Jorsalfar and the Archbishop at Lund, who granted their wish and set up the
Greenland bishopric.
Characteristically enough, Brattahlid did not become the bishop's seat;
the same place could not contain both the spiritual and the worldly power.
But Gardar farm on the narrow strip of land between the Eastern Settlement's
two main fjords, Eriksfjord and Einarsfjord, was the easily accessible geo–
graphical center of the colony. There was a farm — or a farm could be estab–
lished there — that was large enough to support the numerous people connected
with the bishop's seat. Actually, the bishop appears to have soon taken over
the entire administration of the colonies, since we see that the Thing was also
moved to Gardar. One would expect the remotely located Western Settlement to
have had a Thing place of its own, but this is never mentioned, and we have
never found any traces of the Thing booths, such as those we are acquainted
with from Gardar and Brattahlid.
The Greenland colonies got along very well to begin with. When they were
in their full flowering they must have had a population of about 3,000, and
their products — especially walrus and narwhal tusks — played a not insig–
nificant role in Europe. Moreover, we receive an impression of a rather pros–
perous community actively connected with Europe — this becomes particularly
striking through the finds of European styles of clothing in the Greenland graves.
Thus it is somewhat difficult to understand why the coloni
^es^ did not have vital–
ity enough to get along on their own when shipping gradually failed them and
when, finally, some time in the 15th century, it was entirely discontinued.
The last information we have about the colonies is curiously dramatic. It is
contained in a letter in the papal archives, according to which in the year
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
1492 the Greenlanders had been without a priest for a long time, but celebrated
a kind of divine service whereby the oldest person in the community annually
exhibited the cloth which had at one time covered the holy chalice.
Finally, the Icelander Jon Gronlander relates that around the year 1540,
when he was on a voyage between Hamburg and Iceland storms drove him to Green–
land, where his ship sailed into a fjord. There the only remaining Norseman
was found — a corpse on a rock. In his hand the man held a knife that was so
worn from constant sharpening that hardly any of the iron was left. Thereupon
the great darkness sinks down over the Norse colonies, and it is only through
present-day scientific studies that we are able to obtain new information.
It is difficult to believe that isolation alone could have had such cat–
astrophic results for the colonists. There must have been a whole series of
interacting factors that brought on the catastrophe. Primarily there was the
climate. The Greenlanders were cattle-raising farmers, who had almost reached
the northern limits of the region where they could find means of life for their
stock. But now studies of the bogs around the Norse farms have shown that a
climatic deterioration which took place in the greater part of the Northern
Hemisphere in the Middle Ages also affected Greenland. This may have been less
a question of lowered average temperature and more a matter of a decrease in
rainfall leading to the very dry climate which characterizes the inland fjord
areas and brings about a drought that gives the wind free play across the thin
layers of soil. Many places have been scraped bare of soil, so that the bare,
coarse gravel is now exposed in large areas; presumably there were luxuriant,
grassy fields here in the Norsemen's time. This is particularly striking at
Gardar, but it can also be observed at many other places, where sheep-raising
has now been taken up. There it is necessary to store up winter fodder at a
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
great number of the places where the medieval farms were once located.
Cattle epidemics and failure of crops may also have decimated the stock.
In 1932 a large part of the area occupied by the Western Settlement was ravaged
by an attack of moth larvae which wiped out all the grass, ate the leaves of
the osiers, and had even begun to gnaw the moss. Careful study of the cultural
strata of the Norse period revealed the presence of innumerable chrysalids of
the same insect in the uppermost and newest stratum; consequently, it appears
that a similar attack must have taken place in this colony's final period. That
may have forced the Norsemen to slaughter their cattle and move out to the coast
regions where they could live on the capture of marine animals; here conflicting
interests led to controversies with the Eskimos and competition with the latter's
superior technical skill at this means of livelihood.
In the years 1350-60 alarming news reached the Eastern Settlement and
Norway concerning an Eskimo attack on the Western Settlement. The law lord
(
lovsigemanden
) at Brattahlid sent out an expedition to the Western Settlement,
but it returned with the news that neither Christians nor pagans had been en–
countered, which was interpreted to mean that the savages had destroyed the
Western Settlement. The Norwegian king took steps to send out a relief expedi–
tion, but we do not know if the plan was ever put into action.
In 1379 the Icelandic Annals tell of an Eskimo attack on the Eastern Settle–
ment, but otherwise the Eskimo folk tales are the best sources for the belief
that a struggle between the two races took place. Meanwhile, excavations have
now been made on so many farms without a single discovery of slain Norsemen in
or near the dwellings that we can definitely state that no actual massacre oc–
curred. On the other hand, the Norsemen could scarcely have possessed vessels —
in this their weak period — which could have made an emigration possible. We
must therefore believe that sickness or need (which can so far be seen to an
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
extent from the skeletons brought to light in the graves beside the small
churches) combined with deteriorated economic conditions gave the Norse stock
its mortal blow.
The Greenland Churches
Wherever Christendom was victorious, pagan sanctuaries had to give way to
Christian edifices. It is unlikely that pagan temples were ever built on Green–
land, and it could not have been difficult for the priests to persuade the newly
converted farmers to become church builders. The documentary sources are not
very informative in this connection. We learn only that Erik the Red's wife
erected a church at Brattahlid at a little distance from the dwellings, and the
lists of the fjords give a survey of the names and locations of the churches.
However, these lists contradict one another to a certain extent, and uncertainty
increases when they are compared with the findings of modern archaeological in–
vestigations. Study of the situation leads us to the conclusion that the East–
ern Settlement had twelve churches, including two cloister churches, and the
Western Settlement four churches. Eleven of these churches have been found in
the Eastern Settlement; two of them, however, are situated so close to one an–
other that perhaps a move may come into the question. Three churches have been
found in the Western Settlement.
The most detailed list of the Greenland fjords was compiled by Ivar Bardarson,
who was the administrator of the bishop's seat in the middle of the 14th century.
But he was primarily interested in the churches' property rights, so his superla–
tives "large" and "costly" should not be interpreted too literally. On the
contrary, the ruins found indicate that the Greenland churches were small and
modest houses of worship, erected by farmers who doubtless had the physical
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
strength and the enthusiasm the task called for, but who were in possession
of only those materials the land itself provided, and who lacked both the means
and the ability needed for architectural ornamentation. This is true of all
the churches, with the exception of the cathedral at Gardar. Nevertheless,
even the smallest churches are constructed according to architectural principles
which indicate that the direction of the work was in the hands of people with
European training, undoubtedly of a clerical nature.
The churches were built of stone from the mountains, as beautiful and as
well-formed as could be obtained. There was no real masonry; mortar was used
in one case, only, and that was on a sparing scale as joining material in
Hvalsey church. The fact that Hvalsey is the only church which has been pre–
served to any appreciable extent may, however, be due to other causes. It has
a "dry mortar" construction, whereby the remarkably appropriate local stone
was piled layer upon layer without the use of any kind of binder. When done
carefully a wall of this kind has a considerable longevity. The same construc–
tion was evidently used in the east part of Undir Höfdi church, where the wall
has been preserved to a height of more than two meters. Elsewhere only the
church foundations remain. This is undoubtedly because another form of construc–
tion was used in building these churches, whereby the building stones must have
been laid either in clay or on layers of turf. Such a system of construction
makes for a firm and excellent wall as long as the building is covered by a
roof, but results in a fairly rapid collapse of the walls as soon as they are
no longer protected against being washed out from above.
One characteristic aspect of the Greenland church sites is that they
apparently have completely exposed west gables. This may be the result of
their having been built of turf without an admixture of stone, or — and this
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
is more probably — they were built of timber. This tallies with the find of
a plank fragment at the Herjolfsnes church ruin that is undoubtedly part of a
gable.
The Greenland churches fall into two categories. The one type, which as
we shall see below is the older of the two, consists of a very short nave with
a small chancel at the east end, and an exposed west gable. The other type
is constructed on a simple rectangle; only one of these, Un
[:
]
r Höfdi, has an
exposed west gable. The cathedral at Gardar in its latest form is the only
exception to these rules of construction. In consideration of the special
requirements of a cathedral, the small church that stood on the site was de–
molished and a new building was erected in its place. This new building had
a chancel larger than that of any other Greenland church; moreover, it had a
chapel on either side. The south chapel had an entrance that was connected
to the bishop's residence by a flagstone path, and it must therefore have
served as a sacristy. In the north chapel we have made a sensational find of
a bishop's grave — this will be further discussed below. The new cathedral
was provided with a nave measuring not less than 9-1/2 x 17 meters; in contrast
to this the cloister church at Ketilsfjord had a nave measuring only 6-1/2 x
7-1/2 meters. Unfortunately only the foundation stones of the cathedral have
been preserved; consequently it is impossible to arrive at any opinion concern–
ing the architectural construction. However, the discovery of a transverse
piece of steatite in the vicinity of the south door may indicate that the latter
had an ornamented doorframe of this material of a type which is not
^
un-
^
known in
the Norwegian churches. Moreover, the find of a piece of windowpane glass at the
ruin indicates that the church had glass windows.
The Hvalsey church rightfully deserves the most prominent place among the
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
antiquities of Greenland. Its rectangular building measures 13 x 15-1/2 meters
on the inside, and has walls 1-1/2 meters thick. The walls are painstakingly
constructed in graduated layers of the exceptionally well-adapted local building
stone. At various places on the inner sides of the walls we have found frag–
ments of mortar; this was presumably baked from mussel shells, which are found in
abundance along the fjord banks. The church has three entrances, two facing
south and one facing west. The west entrance has a rabbet for a door and it is
the largest and the widest of the three; thus it must be considered to have been
the main entrance to the church. Six small, funnel-shaped windows are distribut–
ed as follows: one in the east gable high above the door, one in the north wall,
and four in the south wall. But in the east gable, above the altar place, there
is a wider window covered by a shallow arch.
The presence of a window arch does not give us sufficient grounds for
assuming that the church was built according to European architectural principles;
it is only upon further study of the ruins that we may see if this really was
the case. Then we discover that the plan of the church building is twice as
long as it is wide, and thus is made up of two quadrangles. This simple arrange–
ment — the construction of the church on two quadrangles — is found over and
over again in many places. Thus the height is the same as the breadth, and the
entrances are formed by two quadrangles. As the following table indicates, a
unit of measurement of 0.322 meters was employed in marking out the dimensions.
The dimensions must have been marked out with great care, presumably with the
aid of a 5-foot measure.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
|
Surveyed part of
building
|
Measured
in meters
|
Should be
meters
|
Unit of
measure–
ment
|
Marked
off
|
|
Churchyard wall N-S
|
25.75
|
25.76
|
322 mm.
|
80′ 5x16
|
|
Churchyard wall E-S
|
32.20
|
32.20
|
|
100′ 5x20
|
|
North wall of church
|
16.10
|
16.10
|
|
50′ 5x10
|
|
East wall of church
|
7.95
|
8.04
|
|
25′ 5x5
|
Age of the Church Buildings
. It should be emphasized without delay that
the churches we know of cannot be the oldest in Greenland. We have seen that
the cathedral covers the foundations of an older and smaller church, and
Brattahlid's rectangular church lies on top of the remains of a little church
with a narrower chancel. However, the Brattahlid church site is located direct–
ly in front of the entrance to the dwellings, and since the Saga of Erik the
Red informs us that the first church in the region was situated "not too close
to the dwellings," three churches must therefore have been built at Brattahlid.
In addition, at several of the other churches thick cultural layers have been
found penetrating under the foundations, so that there must have been building
in the locality long before the church was erected. This presupposes the con–
struction of provisional church buildings, now entirely vanished, but which may
have been wooden structures. Examinations of the dimensions of the churches
indicate that two kinds of units of measurement were used — one, like that at
Hvalsey, an approximately 32.5 cm. foot, the other a foot of about 29.5 cm.
The latter was used in the churches having narrower chancels. This type of
plan belongs to the architectural style of the later Middle Ages, the Romanesque
style; however, there is no connection with the fact that the Roman foot of
29.5 cm. has often been observed to have been used in marking off dimensions in
the European religious edi
^f^ices of the period. On the other hand, the "Carloving-
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
ian-Greek" foot of 32.5 meters is best known from the subsequent style period,
the Gothic period.
In order to reach a final conclusion in the investigation of the age of
the Greenland religious edifices, it is necessary to look for their predeces–
sors. It has frequently been pointed out that there is a great similarity be–
tween the Greenland churches and the small churches on the Scottish islands,
both with regard to construction techniques and as far as stylistic forms are
concerned. We know, also, that the Greenlanders had active connections with
these islands, which were Christian long before the Norsemen accepted the new
faith. As far as can be seen, Roman feet were used at some of the Orkney Island
churches, at others Greek feet; at the Kirkwall Cathedral both units of measure–
ment are used, in that the Roman foot is encountered in the oldest part and the
Greek in the newer parts of the cathedral. The medieval Icelandic churches
are so little known that the material is valueless for the purposes of our in–
vestigation, but if we turn to Norway, which was Iceland's and Greenland's
motherland religiously speaking as well as in other respects, we encounter the
same distribution of units of measurement and of stylistic forms; moreover,
there are churches, especially Eidfjord Church in Søndre Bergenhus Amt (Province),
which have an amazing similarity to the Hvalsey church as far as form and dis–
tribution of windows are concerned. The Eidfjord church is dated about the
year 1300, and like the Hvalsey church is built on two quadrangles and with the
use of the same unit of measurement. Consequently, it should be possible to
establish that the erection of the Greenland churches falls into three periods;
the oldest, with which we are not acquainted and in which wood may have been
used for building material; the Romanesque, from about 1200, in which a unit of
measurement of about 29.5 cm. was used, and which roughly speaking comprises
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
those churches with the narrower chancels; the youngest, the Gothic, from about
1300, where the unit of measurement is about 32.5 cm. and the plan is a simple
rectangle.
Graves
. The old pagan colonists were not buried in the churchyards, but
must have been interred according to old custom in mounds located at an appro–
priate distance from the dwellings. But in the majority of cases these mound
burials must have been performed by the old men's Christian sons, and it cannot
be expected that the same magnificence and care we know from the old Viking
graves of the North was displayed. The documentary sources pay but little atten–
tion to this matter; the
Landn
a
^
á
^
mab
o
^
ó
^
k
only relates concerning Thorkel at Hvalsey
that he was buried in a mound on the home grounds and thereafter haunted the
dwellings. On the home grounds in this place, remote from the dwellings, large,
irregular stones form an entryless chamber double the length of a man; perhaps
this is Thorkel's grave. Two graves have been found in the Western Settlement
in the valley passage between Sandnes Farm in Ameragdlafjord and Pisigsarfikjord,
a 20 to 30 minutes' walk from Sandnes, each consisting of a narrow, stone-lined
chamber in the midst of a gravel mound surrounded by a ring of stones. The
chambers were partially exposed, and the skeletons were missing. Grave goods
was found in only one of the graves, but it was very poor; the only thing that
can be said about it is that it belongs to the Norse culture and is no more
Eskimoid in character than the construction of the grave. But there may still
be a chance of finding more well-preserved pagan Norse graves.
A great number of graves have been examined in the churchyards; these have
provided an abundance of anthropological material. As is true almost everywhere
in Christian graveyards, the older interments have been destroyed by the newer
ones, so that the skelet
^
al
^
materials found essentially belong to the latest
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
period of the settlements. Especially at the little graveyard at Sandnes in
the Western Settlement the graves lie close beside one another. In one place
a man, his wife, and two children are buried together; undoubtedly they were
the victims of an epidemic disease. But the inhabitants of the Western Settle–
ment disappeared at least 100 years earlier than those of the Eastern, and the
skeletons of the former indicate that this race was stronger and healthier
than that which was observed in the Herjolfsnes graveyard. At Herjolfsnes
everything indicates that the end was close. The great majority had died
before reaching the age of thirty; adult women had an average measurement of
only 140 cm., and the men 155-60. Coalescent pelvic bones made the women un–
adapted to childbirth, and hunchbacks and sickly deformations of the bones are
typical of the skeletons. But there are no indications of an admixture of
Eskimo blood.
A small wooden cross had often been placed on the corpse's breast or on
the coffin cover; there were a considerable number of these crosses at Herjolfsnes.
The cross either consisted of nothing more than two crossed sticks or else it
was fashioned with very fine and painstaking carvings, with magic runic inscrip–
tions, or with personal appeals for God's help; but almost all of the crosses
have the bottom branch ending in a point, perhaps because they were stuck into
the earth before the corpses were lowered into the graves.
In a corner of a coffin at Herjolfsnes Dr. Nörlund found a little runs
stick stating that "this woman, who was named Gudveg, was put overboard in the
Greenland Sea;" thus this must have been a pitiful attempt to provide burial
for a woman who never reached land, but whom one may have feared to meet in the
form of a ghost had she not been given burial.
Gravestones were used only rarely, but mostly at the Brattahlid graveyard,
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
where the most beautiful one bore the runic inscription: "
leidi
(
leithi
)
inlibjarkar
" (Ingibjörg's resting place), and was set in a sandstone frame.
One stone had a cross engraved on its surface, but otherwise the most custom–
ary type of stone appears to be a smooth, flat one with a small headstone.
The bishop's grave in the cathedral's north chancel chapel has no grave–
stone at all, even though the deceased was buried in all his vestments. How–
ever, conditions for preservation were so poor that no clothing was intact;
but he had a gold ring, with the stone missing, on his finger and in his arm
lay a splendidly carved bishop's crozier made of walrus tusks. This fine little
work of art should be dated in the years around 1200; thus the occupant of the
grave can pretty certainly be identified as Jon Smirill (Sparrowhawk), who died
at his post in 1209. The bishop's crozier could scarcely have been carved in
Greenland; it is far more probable that Bishop Jon received it during his visit
to Iceland from his friend Bishop Poul of Skalholt, who had a dexterous woman
servant named Margaret who was famous for her ivory carvings.
The Farms
As would be expected, the colonists situated their farms at those places
where the grazing was best, and close by the fjord, which was the natural route
of communication and gave access to fishing and to hunting of the large marine
animals. But less important man, and late arrivals, were unable to find room
beside the fjords and had to be satisfied with more remotely located building
grounds. On the other hand, the upland was almost unlimited, and access to
hunting of large land animals, especially reindeer, was better.
The farms were laid out according to the plan familiar from Norway and
from the Icelandic motherland, whereby the necessary stables and outhouses were
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
distributed around the dwelling and the fenced-in home grounds. It was only
on some places, such as at Hvalsey, where the grazing was not so good in the
place where for other reasons it was preferable to locate the dwelling, that
stables were erected, a few kilometers distant, without actual dwellings.
In the course of the centuries the dwelling underwent a development which
in certain instances resulted in reconstruction and in additions to the original
structure, and in others took the form of new construction. But building tech–
niques remained unchanged throughout the entire period. As far as the walls
were concerned each consisted of a plinth of varying height made of mammoth
stones under thick turf walls laid in horizontal layers of alternating thick–
nesses, or in a herringbone pattern. Only the outer part of the front wall
appears to have been built of selected stones in its entire height.
The one room long house
, the oldest type of plan, is scarcely to be found
in Greenland in its original form, but fragments have been discovered under the
sites of later buildings. In other places a house of this kind has been incor–
porated into newer, larger establishments. The most noteworthy of these is the
dwelling at Brattahlid. Here the "hall" forms a room measuring 14.7 x 4.5 meters.
Directly opposite the door in the long wall is a large cooking fireplace, in–
cluding a long fire in the center of the floor. The long fire covers a trough
that brought fresh water in through the back entrance of the hall and carried it
out through the front wall beside the door, an arrangement probably designed
more for convenience than for providing security in times of strife. In the
newer, very much remodeled dwelling at Hvalsey there is also a large, old hall,
with a fireplace in the middle of the floor. In this place we have found two
rows of holes which originally contained pillars for supporting the roof.
The multiple-room long house
is known from the oldest part of the dwelling
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
at Gardar, and, in a purer form, from Sandness and several other smaller farms.
At Sandnes, where fragments of foundations of older houses can be seen under
the newest dwelling, there is a large room on either side of a narrow hall; one
of these rooms was obviously the living room, the other presumably the sleeping
chamber. A small storehouse is built at the rear of the house; here a large
barrel stood half-buried in the ground. Archaeological investigations in Ice–
land reveal that the multiple-room long house was general there in 1300, and
perhaps later.
The passage house
, which is characterized by a short facade and a great
depth, has the rooms situated on either side of a long corridor leading into
the house block. Under the then existing circumstances this seems to have been
the natural development when the need for room increased; on the large farms
this method was used to expand existing dwellings. At Gardar, for example,
additions were built on to the back of the house, and at Hvalsey, because of
the conformation of the land, at the front of the house. The passage house is
encountered in its purest form on a small farm at Tingmiut at North Sermilik–
fjord in the Eastern Settlement. In the later centuries this type of dwelling
was the dominating form of construction in Iceland, but it should be mentioned
that no Icelandic ruin has so far proved to be of this type; moreover, those
attempts that have been made to reconstruct a passage house according to the
descriptions of dwellings contained in the sagas have not proved to be valid.
Consequently, it is possible that this expedient kind of dwelling originated
in Greenland, and from there was transplanted to Iceland.
The centralized farm
should be considered the final expression of the long
house principle. While the long house had only the necessary living rooms and
those storerooms most intimately connected with them assembled in one block, in
the centralized farm all of the farm buildings — dwelling, stables, barn, and
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
storehouses — are, so to speak, built close together. We know of house blocks
of this kind running to 21 rooms. It is typical of these farms that the cow
stables are always situated in the midst of the cluster of houses, surrounded
by sheep stalls and barns, so that the cows, which must be considered that part
of the stock most sensitive to cold, had the best possible protection. We are
familiar with cattle stables attached to or located under the dwellings in Ice–
land; there this was apparently done so that people could benefit from the animal
heat. But strangely enough it never occurred to anyone in Greenland to make use
of this source of comfort; consideration of the animals was the sole determining
factor. The centralized farm must thus be regarded as the most consistent type
of peasant farm at those latitudes where we reach the northern limits for the
possibility of raising cattle.
The Festal Hall
. Eating and drinking under festive conditions was the
high point in the Norseman's enjoyment of life, and every farmer took pride in
entertaining his guests well. Thus we observe Erik the Red on a certain occasion
sitting sulky and withdrawn because unfortunate circumstances prevent him from
carrying out his duties as a host until a friend comes to his rescue by lending
him the required necessities. Accordingl, it was necessary on the large farms
to have a house for use on festive occasions that was more impressive in size
than any other building on the place. At the bishop's farm the hall is built
at the rear of the other buildings. It measures 16.75 x 7.8 meters, and is
twice as large as the Icelandic hall of Flugumyri, where, according to Sturlunga
Saga, 240 guests were banqueted on a certain occasion; moreover, it is larger
than many of the halls at the English baronial seats. The hall at Hvalsey, with
its choice masonry construction, still stands up to the height of the doors. Rows
of post holes along the walls indicate that there were probably banquet tables
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
on either side of the long fire. As would be expected, Herjolfsnes farm, at
Greenland's first port of call, also has an impressive hall in which strangers
could be assembled and news from Europe could be heard.
Interestingly enough, the centralized farm, which is known from both the
Eastern Settlement and the Western, has never been found along the fjords, but
always in the interior. This can be partly explained by the fact that this type
of farm first came into use when the last farms were being built, and it can
partly be attributed to the circumstances that the interior climate is essen–
tially more of a mainland climate in nature than that alongside the fjords and
the winters are therefore colder. But, as was pointed out above, the centralized
farm was not built by the last remnants of the Norse race, since the excavations
show that the inhabitants of the interior regions possessed the same knowledge
of agriculture as did the fjord farmers; moreover, hunting of the big marine
animals was an important part of the economy.
Interior Arrangement of Dwellings
. Under fortunate circumstances the ar–
rangement of the interior of the dwellings can be observed in the excavations.
The "living room," which under more modest circumstances served as both living
room and kitchen, can have a wooden bench along one of the long walls and one
along the end wall. The raw earthen walls were covered with wood panelling,
but only high enough so that a man could sit upright on the bench. In the corner,
directly inside the door, was the place where the large cooking fireplace was
situated, but a fireplace was also regularly found in the middle of the floor.
A small stone chest was installed beside the fireplace for the storage of live
coals. There was also a special kind of cooker in the form of a pit dug into
the ground, in which the meat was "roasted" under hot stones. Finds of many
collections of stone weights indicate that the farm's loom was kept in the living
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
room. On somewhat larger farms there was a special "firehouse" where cooking
took place and where the servants presumably gathered. This firehouse was
often connected with one or more storerooms, where a large barrel was buried
in the floor. This was a container for either water or milk products. The
latter could also be stored in a rock-lined pit on the floor. Where separate
sleeping chambers existed, platforms built of stones can be found, but in one
instance fragments of a short post bed were discovered.
The bathroom was either built as part of the house or was located in its
immediate vicinity. In form and accommodations it was just like those bathrooms
which can still be found in remote parts of the North — a small building with
a wooden platform behind a big stone oven. Powerful steam is generated when
water is poured on the heated oven, and this cleanses the bather's skin while
he occupies the platform.
The Outhouses.
Only a very small number of horses were kept on Greenland,
and no special arrangements characterize the horse stables. However, on the
larger farms, especially where there is a church, there is an enclosure —
usually circular — intended for the use of visitors' horses. Thanks to the
large up-ended stones forming the dividing walls between the stalls, the cow
barn is usually that ruin which is easiest to identify on a Norse farm. On
the centralized farms it is to be found in the middle of the large house block;
otherwise it is located at varying distances from the dwelling, most frequently
with a barn building at one end and sometimes with stalls for sheep and other
domestic animals attached to it. The floor is paved, and has a broad drainage
trough in the middle. As a rule, the stables have a row of stalls along each
wall, but it is so narrow that even the small Greenland cows must have stood
with their rumps pressed against one another's. A medium-sized farm had room
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
for about ten cows, but on the bishop's farm about a hundred cows could be
accommodated. It must have been hot in such a tightly-packed Greenland stable,
and how the animals were able to breathe is almost incomprehensible, particular–
ly in those places where the cow barns are situated in the middle of the house
block or where, in the case of detached stables, an attempt was make to achieve
the same isolation by making the entrance to the stable in the form of a long,
winding passage leading to the dwelling house.
There are a considerable number of sheep stables. When they are close to
the farms and quite narrow, it can be assumed that they were covered by a roof,
but because of the careless masonry it is often difficult to determine whether
there was an actual building or merely an exposed pen. In some places so many
small pens are located at the same spot that the place must be presumed to have
been used for sorting out herds of sheep that had been left untethered in the
mountains.
The storehouses were either built as part of the dwelling or there were
detached storehouses in the neighborhood of the dwelling. In such cases they
were usually built of dry mortar, and are therefore relatively well-preserved.
The most well-known storehouse is at Anavik farm in the interior of the Western
Settlement. The walls still stand to a height of almost three meters, but
measurement of collapsed cuilding materials has shown that the house had two
storeys. The storehouse was often built on top of a large rock, where it was
inaccessible to children and dogs.
The Relics
It is not the study of the ruins alone that gives us insight into the
Greenlanders' daily life. Finds of artifacts in the excavations have been a
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
very important help.
Most important of them all — and on the whole one of the most significant
Nordic archaeological finds — are the costumes from the churchyard at Herjolfs–
nes, which Dr. Nörlund excavated in 1921. The corpses were shrouded in their
everyday garments and buried in the earth. As a result of the climatic change
that took place at the peak of the Middle Ages the ground was rapidly trans–
formed into a compact, solidly frozen mass, and this preserved the textiles.
We have thereby come into possession of a number of everyday garments, part
of which, in any case, must have been made in Greenland and of Greenland wool;
however, the style is similar to that prevailing in Europe in the latter part
of the 14th century. At that time men's garments, as well as women's dresses,
were long and had many pleats. The women's costumes were fuller, but otherwise
it is difficult to distinguish between masculine and feminine garments. One
of the masculine costumes — the latest of them — was fashioned so as to button
in front like a coat; this was in keeping with a style that became fashionable
in Paris about 1400. The Greenlanders also copied European fashions with regard
to headgear. No less than fifteen hoods made of woolen material have been found
in the graves, many of them with a long tail hanging down the back of the neck.
This was the favorite headgear of the high Middle Ages, worn by churchmen and
laymen, by kings and peasants, and familiar from innamerable portraits; but it
was seen in reality for the first time here in this little Greenland graveyard.
Small, round caps were also found in the graves, and also one single cap about
30 cm. high which floats out over the back of the head in a curious fashion.
This is a Burgundian style from the very last part of the 15th century, and the
presence of the hat in Greenland therefore indicates that connections with
Europe still existed as late as about 1500.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
A great number of finds of articles of everyday usage have been made in
and around the farm sites, in the dwellings and the stables. Actually, it is
hard to dig out a spadeful of earth on a Norse farm site without uncovering
fragments of steatite vessels. This stone, which is so soft that it can be
cut with a knife and can stand firing, was used for making cooking utensils
in the Scandinavian Viking period, and the fact that the mineral existed in
Greenland must certainly have been a convincing part of Erik the Red's propa–
ganda for the country. Steatite was put to all possible uses in Greenland —
cooking utensils, toys, ornaments were made from it. Under favorable circum–
stances objects made of wood and bone have also been preserved, and a number
of runic inscriptions with a more or less comprehensible magic content have
been found at the farms. Iron artifacts are rare, and those knives that have
been found are small and inferior. Even though the bog iron in Greenland pro–
vided raw materials for the production of iron — and we observe from the slag
heaps that it was actually used — the shortage of fuel must have limited this
industry very tightly. Thus we also observe that the head of a weapon axe was
made of hard whalebone; however we have also found an iron axe and a pair of
iron hunting spears.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Bruun, Daniel "The Icelandic Colonization of Greenland."
Meddelelser
om Grønland
, Vol. 57. Copenhagen, 1918.
2. Nörlund, Poul "Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes."
Ibid
. Vol. 67, 1924.
3. ----. "Norse Ruins at Gardar, the Episcopal Seat of Mediaeval
Greenland."
Ibid
. Vol. 76, 1929.
4. ---- and Stenberger, Marten "Brattahlid."
Ibid
. Vol. 88, p. 1, 1934.
5. ----. "Viking Settlers in Greenland." Copenhagen and London,
1936.
EA-Anthrop. Roussell: Norsemen in Greenland
6. Roussell, Aage "Sandnes and the Neighboring Farms."
Meddeleser om
Grønland
. Vol. 88, p. 2. 1936
7. ----. "Farms and Churches in the Mediaeval Norse Settlements
of Greenland."
Ibid
. Vol. 89, p. 1. 1941.
8. Vebaek, Christen Lelf "Inland Farms in the Norse East Settlement."
Ibid
.
Vol. 90, p. 1. 1943.
AAge Roussell