Reindeer in Siberian shamanism facts for kids
Reindeer in Siberian shamanism shows the special connection between the native people of Siberia (a large region in Northern Asia) and the reindeer that live there. This connection is both cultural and economic. Some people are nomadic reindeer herders, moving with their animals. Others hunt wild reindeer, while some keep domesticated (tamed) ones. Their spiritual beliefs are part of shamanism, and reindeer are often important in their religious traditions and practices.
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What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is a spiritual practice where a person, called a shaman, acts as a go-between for the human world and the spirit world. Shamans often use special tools and ceremonies to connect with spirits. They might do this to heal people, predict the future, or guide souls.
A Russian expert named S. M. Shirokogoroff wrote that when a shaman transforms into a reindeer, they feel "swift, watchful, and powerful." Reindeer antlers are especially important. They show power and can even be seen as weapons. Another expert, Rane Willerslev, suggested that shamanism was often practiced by regular hunters, not just by a few religious leaders.
Shaman's Special Tools
The Shaman's Baton
A shaman's baton is a key item used in religious events. It represents the shaman's spirit helper. Shamans use it to hit their drum, which they see as "driving the reindeer." The Evenks, a Siberian people, even use the baton to predict the future. They throw it to find out about their reindeer herds. The way it lands tells them the answer.
The Shaman's Drum
The drum is the most important tool for a shaman. The sounds from the drum help the shaman call spirits for help. A shaman's drum is made from a round wooden hoop with reindeer hide stretched over it. The drum is strongly linked to reindeer. Riding a reindeer (in spirit) helps the shaman travel to other worlds. The drum is also a source of the shaman's strength.
To bring a drum to life, a special ceremony takes several days. On the second day, the ceremony focuses on the life of the reindeer whose skin was used for the drum. The shaman gathers everything the deer left behind, even hairs. They take these to a swamp where Ylyunda kotta, a spirit known as the mistress of the universe, lives. With the help of eight wolves, the shaman captures the reindeer's soul for the drum.
Shaman's Clothing
A shaman's special clothes are made so that the power of the reindeer (whose skins are used) transfers to the shaman. The headdress often has a metal cap with reindeer antlers. Reindeer antlers are also often part of the designs on the cloak. Strips of reindeer hair or skin are attached to the cloak. These represent the reindeer's body. They also remind people that shamans can fly, a power the Ket people believe reindeer once had.
Shamans also use wooden stakes that represent reindeer. They "ride" these stakes to other worlds. The best shamans among the Enets people have iron reindeer staves. These staves have a face at the top and a hoof shape at the bottom. They are used to help sick people and guide the souls of the dead to the next world.
Healing the Sick
Shamans mainly help sick people by talking to spirits and gods. They believe these spirits can cause sickness. The shaman tries to get rid of evil spirits from the patient. They also try to bring back a soul that spirits might have stolen.
Shamans invite spirits into themselves by swallowing and yawning. They offer the spirits reindeer blood and fat. Then, they use the spirits' help to throw their baton. This helps them find the best way to treat the sick person. Shamans also call on helper spirits, often reindeer, to take the sickness from a human body into the helper spirit.
Sometimes, a sick person can be healed by placing the injured body part inside a reindeer's "belly." If the injured area is too big, the reindeer's insides are carefully removed to form a loop. The sick person can then step through this loop to be cured.
Ceremonies and Sacrifices
Different Siberian peoples have their own traditions, but many ceremonies involving reindeer are similar. These often focus on the health of the reindeer herd and the benefits they bring. They also show the people's nomadic way of life and their connection to the changing seasons.
Sacrifices usually happen in "sacred places." These are often special clearings in the woods where gods or spirits are believed to live. Holy trees stand in these places. Reindeer skins, hooves, and antlers are hung in the trees. People believe the god or spirit needs to receive the entire animal that is sacrificed. While each group performs sacrifices differently, all these rituals involve offering the animal to a spirit or god.
Khanty People's Rituals
For the Khanty people, sacrificing reindeer is part of bigger rituals. These are done to "make life easier for a man," to help people live longer, and to recover from sickness.
The Khanty also sacrifice other animals like horses, cows, and rams. But reindeer are much preferred. Sacrificing a useful animal is seen as more meaningful.
The chirta-ko, a Khanty cultural expert, learns where to hold the sacrifice in a dream. The chirta-ko gets ready by leading the tribe in spirit songs, playing their drum. During a special song, they eat mushrooms. This helps them understand the details of the sacrifice.
The reindeer chosen for sacrifice have colored cloths tied to their necks. Each color has a meaning:
- White: Connected to the sky.
- Black: Connected to the underworld.
- Red: Connected to life on Earth.
The reindeer's gender should match the spirit it is offered to. The reindeer's color is also important. Usually, three or seven animals are offered in a group sacrifice.
After prayers are chanted, the reindeer are killed. The people clean the meat and eat raw muscle meat with salt. The ceremony ends with thankful prayers. Then, they hang the reindeer skins and bones in trees. This is done so the animal's spirit can return to the "Keeper of Game" or "Master of Animals." The spirit will then be "reclothed with new flesh" and sent back to Earth to help the people.
Koryaks' Welcome
Among the Koryaks, men take the reindeer herds away from the summer camp during the summer. Women, children, and older people stay behind. When the herds are about to return, everyone runs out to meet them with burning fires.
Chukchi People's Festivals
The Chukchi people have a similar celebration. They greet the returning herd with a loud welcome. Then, they kill several fawns and bucks. They skin the animals and take out marrow from the bones to eat. They also use reindeer blood in a painting ritual.
The "fawn festival" is a yearly Chukchi event in spring. During this festival, a reindeer is sacrificed to the "One-On-High" (a high spirit). The Chukchi also have a "ceremony of antlers." They collect all the antlers from their herds. When the pile gets too big to move, they gather them all in one large pile and hold a sacrifice.
Burial Traditions
Many cultures believe that the souls of the dead need a way to travel to the next world. In Siberia, reindeer are the most common large animals used for pulling sleds and riding. So, it makes sense that Siberian people believe reindeer help transport the dead.
Khanty Burial Sites
Reindeer antlers are often found piled on top of burial sites for the Khanty people.
Yugra People's Burials
The Yugra people also use reindeer to carry their dead for burial. At the gravesite, they kill the animals. Then, they wrap the bones in the skin and leave the bundle to the left of the grave. The reindeer's head (with antlers) is placed on the roof of the grave-house.
Evenks' Sky Burials
The Evenks believed in spirits that lived underground. So, they buried their dead above ground. They sewed the bodies into reindeer skins and placed the wrapped bodies on tall poles.
Chukchi Funeral Journey
For the Chukchi, the burial ceremony helps the dead person travel to the underworld. First, the shaman finds out where the person wanted to be buried. Friends of the dead person carry the body out of the tent through the smoke hole or the back. They tie it to a new or fixed sled, with reindeer harnessed to it.
When they reach the burial site, the reindeer are untied and killed. Then, they are re-hitched to the sled. The leader of the funeral walk takes the reins and cracks the whip. They pretend to drive the reindeer to the country of the dead. They only stop when the reindeer are dead. Then, the reindeer are butchered, and their bodies are left at the burial site with the sled and harness. The family of the dead person places the skins from the killed reindeer on their tent floor. They put iron objects on top of the skins. This is to stop the dead person from coming back through the ground.
The Chukchi also have a "ceremony of antlers." They collect all the antlers from their herds. When the collection becomes too big to move, they put them all in a large pile and hold a sacrifice.
See also
In Spanish: Reno en el chamanismo siberiano para niños
