Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 25, 1914.djvu/61

 The Aborigines of Norther^i Asia. 49

Animism and Pre- Animism.

Among the Palaeo-Siberians pre-animism dominates animism. No distinction is made in their beliefs between animate and inanimate things, and the incantations which form the main substance of their reh'gious practices have power to invest with a temporary soul, or rather a kind of mana, any object chosen.

The animism of these Palaeo-Siberians is marked by the conception of a soul belonging to each part of an animal or thing, the soul of the head, the soul of the breast, etc.

Although all over Siberia there is a dualism in the spirit world, this division is very chaotic among Palaeo-Siberians, and their good and bad spirits do not always retain their characteristics. As Jochelson says,^^ "Although on the whole the word ' Kala ' denotes all powers harmful to man and all that is evil in nature, there are numbers of objects and beings known under the name of ' Kalak ' or ' Kamak ' that do not belong to the class of evil spirits." Thus the guardian spirits of the Koryak shamans and some varieties of guardians of the village, of the family, or of individuals are called by this name.

The worship of " black " spirits, however, prevails among Palaeo-Siberians, while among Neo-Siberians we find either a strictly dualistic division in which the good and bad spirits have their typical characteristics, or, among tribes such as the Wotiaks and Tunguses, the worship of white spirits is predominant. Among the Palaeo-Siberians, even at sacrifices ofiered to white spirits the black spirits receive their share, — otherwise the kala might intercept the sacrifice and pre- vent its reaching the Supreme Being.^^

^^ The Koryak, p. 30.

^* 77^1? Koryak, p. 93. I should like to add that my opinion as to the black spirits being more prevalent than white in the northern type of shamanism is not shared, in regard to the Kor}'ak, by one of my chief authorities on Palaeo- Siberians, i.e. Jochelson, wjio on the contrary says that " among the Korj'ak the cult of benevolent spirits is more conspicuous," (p. 92), but my theory is

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