Drums of the Great North: Shamanism and the Shamans of Siberia

Shamanism is an extremely ancient form of religion, founded on a combination of metaphysical world-concepts and on mythology, taking for granted the existence of a parallel world and a pantheon of deities. On a broader scale it represents the outward expression of a complex metaphysical system superimposed upon the visible ‘real’ world.

The phenomenon of shamanism nonetheless revolves around the personality of the shaman himself and his activities.

The text below is the excerpt of the book The Peoples of the Great North. Art and Civilisation of Siberia (ISBN: 9781639197569), written by Valentina Gorbatcheva and Marina Federova, published by Parkstone International.

The word shaman, in the original Evenki language, means an individual for whom the role of mediation between humans and spirits is at one and the same time a prerogative and a duty. Only a shaman, following a period of apprenticeship, is capable of travelling across the different levels of the universe and to come into contact with inhabitants of the other Worlds. Each time he does, it is with a clear and precise objective, and at the behest of a group of people or of a single person. Most often, the shaman is asked to resolve a problem, or to relieve an intolerable situation, but the request may alternatively be to ensure a favourable outcome, to predict the future or to influence natural (particularly climatic) conditions.

In former times the shaman was himself the object of fear and awe amid the social communities of Siberia. His authority, however, remained proportional to the success of his ‘mediations’ and he did not otherwise enjoy any special privileges.

Victims of harsh and widespread persecution during the Soviet period, shamans are now comparatively rare. In certain regions, only the tribal elders retain any memory of them at all.

To be of one sex or the other makes little difference to a shaman in working life, for shamans frequently take on the characteristics of either sex. Yet the basic rule for a shaman – who might be a woman just as naturally as a man – is to have as a spiritprotector one who is technically of the opposite sex. In the meantime, female shamans may earn as excellent a reputation as any male ones, but they are held to lose their powers during each pregnancy and for some years after giving birth.

There are three ways in which shamans in Siberia receive their gifts. The most common is to be born into them, but it is possible also to become a shaman after a good deal of accredited self-examination or by being chosen to fulfil the position. Among the Nenets, a mark in the shape of an elongated drum somewhere on the body of an infant could well indicate that the child may in due course take up the profession of shaman.

Choosing a neophyte to be a shaman of the future happens most often when the neophyte is at the adolescent stage. A spirit-protector appears in a dream to the chosen one and summarily demands – leaving the young boy or girl absolutely no choice in the matter – that he or she joins the profession. Where a person wishes to become a shaman through self-examination, the applicant spends considerable time and effort in introspective research so that a spirit-protector may make himself or herself known.

Whether destined by heredity, by selection or by introspection, the first stage for a would-be shaman is to go into isolation – in the forest or in a solitary residence – for an indeterminate length of time. During this period he or she must fast, chant invocations and be prepared to submit to any initiatory tests that the spirit-protector might impose upon him or her (including tests of asceticism or celibacy).

Only after this period of isolation has come to an end is it held to be the time for the novice’s actual initiation as shaman into the bosom of the community. This takes place under the direction of an experienced shaman (who may be a close relative), and represents the novice’s taking upon himself or herself the means of passing between the different Worlds, and the knowledge of the paths by which to travel to meet the spirits, and to establish contact and communicate with them. The initiation ceremony ends with the master-shaman’s submitting the pupil to a ritual of dedication to his or her shamanic duties.

The new shaman then receives the badges of office – the clothing, the drum, the staff, amulets and so forth – a sort of ‘trousseau’ put together under strictly monitored conditions by the whole community. Among the Evenki, for example, the shaman’s costume may be stitched together only by virgin girls, the various ornaments and metallic pendants for the costume have to be forged by male relatives of the shaman, the decoration of the drum is the task of community wives.

The new shaman is not finally consecrated as such until a ritual has been undertaken to ‘activate’ the various bits of clothing and equipment he or she has just received. In the course of this, he or she – with others – chants aloud all the beliefs and community lore on the subject of the animal and the tree from which the shamanic drum has been made. The significance of this ritual is to make it quite clear that the shaman can exercise his or her powers only when in possession of all these attributes. It is specifically by dressing in the costume and taking hold of the drum and the staff that the shamans receives the powers essential to effective intercession – the powers constituted by his or her spirit-protectors, of which the most important power is that of being able to journey from one World to another.

To get a better insight into The Peoples of the Great North, please continue this exciting adventure by clicking on:

Shamans are also mentioned in our title, “Art of Siberia.”

---

Let’s explore our Russian Art collection: