Douglas Island news., 1903-01-21
Shananism in Alaska.


 view of the Russian church in Ameri- ca, written by a devoted dignitary of the church in Alaska, cannot fail to be of interest to our readers, who are more or less familiar with some of the things mentioned
 "In order to understand and appreci- ate the influence which Shamanism has on the lives of savages, it is necessary not to lose sight of the circumstances and peculiar conditions, about which civilized man knows little and in whl ch the aborigines of Alaska have their being.
 "After this it is not to be wondered at, that the shamanical cult has pre- served many wild rites and primitive notions, and that amongst the Indians of Alaska the belief in sorcerers and sorcery is developed more strongly than anywhere else. But strictly speaking, this faith is dual. The Alaskans believe in the icht, or the good shaman, and they also believe in the nuxZat, the evil sorcerer, two people who ought never to be mistaken for one another, though both their activity and their character have much in common.
 1.-The Indians think that in order to become a shaman one must be born with certain peculiarities, which will be evident when the man is still in his earliest childhood. The future shaman is different from the other children even in his exterior; he shuns society; he likes to be alone; and he is often heard speaking to himself. Already in his babyhood, his hair naturally twists itself into little pig-tails, similar to those the grown-up shamans have. He dislikes comfort and pleasure. From child he feeds only on the coarsest of foods and fears neither heat, nor cold. But the surest sign that child Is to grow into a shaman is that occasionly he sees spirits.
 "Yet besides natural gifts and an early inclination man, in order to be- come shaman, must use his will, as without constant effort the thing is not possible. Being shaman means having at ones disposal certain number of ecks or spirits, who appear, when the shaman performs certain rites and ln- vacations, and obedieutly carry out his orders, helping the people the shaman wants to help, disclosing future events, and especially discovering the secrets of bad men, the foremost amongst whom are the nuXZats, or sorcerers.
 "The command over the ecks can be obtained only through complete isola- tion and exhausting abstinence. The man who has given himself to this pur- suit, hides himself on one of the lonely islands so abundant on the south coast of Alaska, which is cut upwith endless creeks and channels. Here, surrounded by the stern mysteries of wild nature, the man begins bis training. He is shel- tered by giant pines and cedars, which for centuries have kept the sun from penetrating the green gloom under them. At times, uninterrupted rest reigns supreme here; the drowsy ocean murmurs softly, beating against the rocky shore; the green giants are also asleep, gently whispering with their prickly branches.
 "But when the clustering wind begins to walk over their old heads, they can creak, aud crack and thunder in way, which together with the sea waves booming against the rocks, drives any living being crazy with awe and fear. Birds and beasts alike tremble and shudder in their shelters, helpless and restless with anguish. The future sha- man alone has no fear in his heart. In the bowling storm and the noises of ocean and forest, he hears the voices from the mysterious world he IS trying to cognize. To him, this is the talk of the elements he wants to master and to use. And he firmly sets out to ap- proach the mysterious lives through fasting and abstinence.
 "For days and even months the sha. man has no other food but the bark oi certain prickley shrub, no other drins but the salt sea water. And the fast ing must continue until gradually the ecks begin to appear to him and the shaman acquires the power to get ec static at will, calling forth any spirits at twill, calling forth any spirits be may need. This state is the first grade o shamanism. Henceforth, the man may hope to have the psychic and the phys ical forces of nature to obey him But the true work of shaman is stil beyond him. To do this he must owr many other weapons of the shamar practice. Among such are counted th' tongue of a badger, various masks, rattle to attract the attention of tht spirits, cap trimmed with sables anc magic wand.
 "The tongue of a badger is especially difficult to get. Coming across bad ger never was a rare occurrence in Al aska; the difficulty is in the way the thing had to>be done. There would be no magical properties in the animals tongue were it to be shot or killed witf a stick or stone. Sighting a badger the shaman has to stop short within g certain distance, and, never allowing the animal to come any nearer, he has to shout O in three different tones, and