Opportunities have occurred of e^endin^'a'kinre inwerd^reN
search into the
bydi&sOsiiaks, which ate the taMte valuable's,:- sinailar means
of investigation- ate Wanting with respect to -ali other Siberian
nations* Thefflef rOpblitaO Philophei, who in i f 1-2 attempted
the conversion of the Ostiaks on the tOh*,'1
by Ofigwyi \Newtakyi, wfao'fesaid to fexfe^be^dneitedj ntasby
the sacred desire of winning-sools to the Ghristian fold, but ,
merely b y a wish to learn what really were the old -traditional
notions o f the ^ g a n Ostiaks, The important feet OffWhieh
this: curious inquirer became thbfoughly^conytac®d> and of
which* according to -Erman, there is- no rootn whatever for
doubt, is, that the Ostiaks, kvith all-the-degradingmaterials
ism of their su^tstition^htewe yet^ and had^beferecChristian
missionaries came among them, a firm conviction in the exist-
encobf a Bupr^ae Being, of whose nature they had pure and
exalted ideas* and to whom they affirmed that*thoy,kail never
made offerings, neither had they ever attempted to represent
b is fdimi Toruimifc the nameoffhe supreme divinity among
the Ostiaks, and it is remarkable thatifehe-saffie denomination
is conneeted with n similar meaning b y the Yc^uls* The no*
tions represented by it in the minds-dfi thesepeople were so pure
that the Russian missionaries everywhk-e adoptedeitiaS u/de*
j^nntidn for. the object of Christian worship, while theyyeh-
deavoured to wean the people from a belief inthe sensual objects
of their superstition, ortaughl theta; to «regard th e /k tte r as demons.
The last-mentioned order of gods were according, to-the
same authority, the deceased members of each family, images
rof which were preserved, and fOr three years fed? as before
described, in the houses of the deceased, after which period
they were interred; while the defunct schamans were permanently
deified, and had temples containing rude images erected
to their honour*-many of which are found in the country of the
Ostiaks. The Ostiaks had besides four inferior divinities, which
were denominated Certify, Yelun, Long, Me ik ; from the former
it can hardly be doubted th a t the name of Oerdoeg is
derived, which among*the. converted. Hungarians has always
been used as, the desiguatipii'fQr tbe devil, though it must be
observed that Oertik ofithe Ostiaks t a n beneficent demon,
the^fav^uritepefiToruim, and in the'contingencies of life a
PW#rful intercessor, His fprm is -merely a rude bust without
feetjvthe wiOQdien face hetagf,cbyeredtwith a metallic plate, and
th a bodyviQlothed’wjthiiyaluable furs, w h ic h a re th e donations
'^£'Wo.rshippers,s«i^j@la-n.has $, somewhat diferepf form* This
idolis,4k©noured^fehjdahces'-jexeciifed' before him by men in
complete(arjno ur, which, according to Erman, who has visited
i h ^ o t o t r y ftf the K o lu ^ a n s on the <Sitch^i are-strikingly
Si-mdar-: to.>(ithe war-dances elf these Americans* Long is the
master,of secret and refined artificemedicine belongs to h im :
^JFertag&faaadeHo him by the siok-muslfc be works of art:: skins
arte never presented to. him. Meik as a so rt^ ;|e .v il, the-god
dfe u^d-u^k^his^ wooden block is covered w ith an unadorned
r§be ■ of ja «beaver-skin: to his, image the Ostiaks make vows
*</%gjil N<ianfi'^^r.pi«eefeiwhe,n they are in d an g e rn f perishing in
ific wilderness: or o f being-destroyed- by storms of snow. £ In
^up]^e$.;.cons@qmted:to.theseimages gifts are found* sttahas
spfesetls, of*jgp|d’and silver», and^coiaas: tire value of these deposits
is, said to amount in-some cases to ten thousand rubles, and
-the crime (^plundering, themife punished by the Rusgiamfpl*
i$prnment by-.e.xile in the minus, 'Beside such gifts,the Ostiaks
JhetatfifWs'gis^t numbers ofreindeers* apparently
as expiatory satecifices, since they .put them to a slow and cruel
death.*
JlfpTroN 1L.— Concluding remarks on the Physical and Moral
iy(Characteristics, and .on the History o f the Tribes belonging
to thji>s Family o f Nations.
A comparison of these nations with-rpspect to their physical
and moral characteristics will suggest some remarks interesting
in their hearing on the natural-history"of the human species.
There are many instances of considerable diversity in form,
stature, and complexion among these nations, making their
appearance under circumstances which prevent <our ascribing
tnerrij, with any degree^of probability, to intermixture with fo-
. f Erman’s Reise urn die Erde, Band ii. Berlin, I®88.
z 2