A FEMALE SCHAMAN,
SHEWING THE BACK PART OF HER DRESS.
THE Schamans dress themselves in the most fantastic and grotesque
manner, under the idea, that they by these means make themselves
agreeable to God, and formidable to men ; and, on this account, their
whole endeavour is to surpass each other in singularity. Their dress
also differs very much according to the nations they are of The
present Plate, as well as the last, exhibits a female Schaman, or priestess
of tlie Katchmtzi tribe, of tlie district of Kraynovarsk. Their dress
IS distinguished by various iddlatrous ornaments made of plates of iron
of the claws of birds, of stripes of different cloths and furs, and skins
ot animals; while their caps are general!)' bordered with the skin of the
lynx, and a plume of owl's feathers. A sort of tambourine is the constant
companion of the Schamans: it is made of wood, and covered on one
side with skin ; on the other side, a bar runs across, by Avhich thev hold
I t : this skm is frequently covered with hieroglyphic characters, sometimes
with the forms of idols, or different animals. The instrument
with which they strike the tambourine, is merely made of a piece of
wood, and covered with the skin of a hare with the fur on or of
some other similar animal. To this magical instrument they attribute
^-ery great power; and pretend, that tliey can, bv beating upon it
cause spirits (in which they believe) to appear or disappear at pleasure'
I h e principles of Schamanism are chiefly'as follow: they believe in
one God, the creator of every thing, whom the different nations call
by different names; a number of inferior gods govern the worid chiefly
according to their own wills, altliougii they are all subordinate to the
Deity. All the celestial bodies are divinities, as well as some terrestrial
objects, such as fire, water, mountains, &c. There are also evil
deities, of whom there is a supreme, who is next to God in powerthese
live m rivers, forests, mountains, &c. &c.; their sole delight is
m tormenting mankind. The people are persuaded, that the gods
appear to their Schamans under different shapes, but particularly in the
form of a bear, for Mhich animal they have a great respect. They
beheve m a state after death, but their ideas of it are strange and
ridiculous. To the good deities, which are represented under various
Idolatrous forms, they offer sacrifices and prayers, A^•hich they are sure
will be attended to. In spite, however, of all the absurdities in Schamanism,
an attentive inquirer may perceive some similarity to the
Alosaic religion. The sacrcd fires, the oblations, the adorations, the
opniions concerning women, and many other tenets of the Schamans,
ha\'e perhaps been borrowed from the religion of the Jews.
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