Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-10-09
SORCERY IN ALASKA
Masks Recall Shaminism OF the Woods
COLLECTION Of Carvings Throws
Light on Olo approximations
Of Far North

(F'rom the Chicago Evening PosD
Masks in the possession Of Joseph
Bourke Of Valdez, carved from single
piece of wood, brightly colored, with long
wooden tendrils protruding from the top
Of the head like a devil fish's arm, recall
those familiar with the natives of Alaska
their age-old shamanism.
Shamanism, or superstition and sorcery.
always has played an important part In
the life of the Alaskan native. So i'm
plicitly did the Alaska natives OF not
many years ago believe in the words
and actions of the shaman that whole
tribe would go hungry rather than incur
his displeasure by eating food which he
had tabooed.
The shaman attained his position and
power by unusual methods. BY fasting
and praying amid the soltudes of the
woods or mountains. where he fed only
upon grasses and roots, he prepared him
self to become a shaman. BY this meth
! cd, it was conceded, the candidates body
become sufficiently purified to become the
abiding place of the spirits. and all sue
cessful shamans had to have numerous
spirits at their immediate command
Usually the spirit willing to abide with
the shaman sent the novitiate a land
otter which the candidate killed. The
! otter's tongue he preserved as talisman
away from all human view. for should
the talisman ever be seen. it was believed
the shaman would go insane or be turned
into the animal from which the tongue
was taken. The skin of the otter was
kept by the shaman as sign Of his
| profession.
OTTER A SACRED ANIMAL
Thus it became about that the land
otter was regarded as too sacred an ami
NAL to be killed by other than the sham
ans. and neither Aleutian natives nor
those of the mainland would kill the otter
/ until long after the coming of the Rus
| slams.
/ Sometimes it happened that the fast
! Ing and prayer in solitude did not bring
! to the woud-be shaman the spirits craved.
In this emergency he betook himself.
still fasting, to the grave of some de-
ceased shaman and passed n night with
the corpse taking one of the teeth of
the cadaver in his mouth. Upon the
shamans return to his tribe his skill was
then tested by a shaman Of known powers.
HEALER AND PROPHET
The shaman had many duties to per-
| form. He was supposed to heal the SICK.
to cast out the devils from the frail
bodies of his subjects. to foretell the flu
ture, and with the aid Of his spirits to
| enable one to avoid misfortune and
disaster. The tricks of his trade. para
phernalia and charms generally descended
from father to son. The shaman's hair
was never cut, for to lose his locks would
be to lose his powers When he died
he was not cremated. After death his
body was allowed to remain in the spot
where death came for twenty-four hours.
so that the wondering spirit might find
its tenement of clay should 1t so desire.
When two suns had waned the body
was removed to another corner OF the
house. this procedure continuing until the
body has rested in every corner. Mean
while the inmates of the house tasted.
At last, dressed in full regalia the body
was dashed to board One of the two
bone sticks used by every well-accoutred
shaman was placed through the hair and
the other through the orifce cut In the
nose. The head was covered with bas-
ket woven of small twigs and grass, and
at night the body was carried secretly
to some remote cavern or crevice. There
after the members of the tribe never
entered this burial place. for 1t was sup
posed to be filed with evil spirits.