The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-09-19
Masks Recall
Old Shamanisrn
Belief in Words and Actions of the
Shaman SO Strong Whole
Tribes Go Hungry
IMPLICIT FAITH OF NATIVES

Masks In the possession of Joseph
BOurke Of Valdez, Alaska, carved from
single piece of wood, brightly col
Ored, with long wooden tendrils pro-
truding from the top of the head like
devil fish's arm, recall to those ia
miliar with the natives of Alaska their
| age-Old shamanism.
Shamanism, or superstition and sor-
Gerry, always has played an important
part in the life Of the Alaskan native.
So implicitly did these natives Of
| not many years ago believe in the
| words and actions of the shaman that
a whole tribe would 60 hungry rather
than incur his displeasure by eating
foods which he had taboOed.
The shaman attained his position
and power by unusual methods. BY
fasting and prayer amid the solitudes
of the woods or mountains, where he
fed only upon grasses and roots, he
prepared himself to become shaman.
BY this method, it was conceded, the
candidates body became sufficiently
purified to become the, abiding place
of the spirits, and all successful
shamans had to have numerous spirits
at their immediate command. Usually
the spirit willing to abide with the
shaman sent the nOyitiate 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 be-
lieved 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
a sign of his profession.
Otter Sacred Animal.
Thus it came about that the land
otter was regarded as too sacred an
animal to be killed by other than the
shamans, and neither Aleutian natives
nor those of the mainland would kill
the otter until long after the coming
of the Russians.
Sometimes it happened that the fast
ing and prayer in solitude did not
bring to the would-be shaman the
spirits craved. In this emergency he
ibetook himself, still fasting, to the
grave of some deceased shaman and
passed a night with the corpse, taking
one of the teeth of the cadaver in his
mouth. Upon the shaman's return to
his tribe his skill was then tested by
shaman of known powers.
For each spirit which the shaman
could produce he had a separate
wooden mask with features es hor-
rible as the tastes Of the carver could
devise.
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 foretrll
the future, and with the aid of his
spirits to enable one to avoid misfOr=
tune and disaster. The tricks Of his
trade, paraphernalia and charms gen
orally 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 "a hours, so that thu
wandering spirit might find it's tene-
ment of clay should it so desire. Wher
two suns had waned the body was
removed to another corner Of the
house, this procedure continuing until
the body had rested in every corner
Meanwhile the inmates Of the house
tasted.
At last, dressed in full regalia, the
body was dashed to a board. One of
the two bone sticks used by every we'll
accoutered shaman was placed
through the hair and the other through
the orif1ce cut in the nose. The head
was covered with basket woven of
small twigs and grass, and at night
the body was carried secretly to some
remote cavern or crevice. Thereafter
the members Of the tribe never entered
this burial place, for it was supposed
to be filled with evil spirits.
Mr.. Bourke's collection Of native
masks. weapons and utensils is said
to be one Of the finest in Alaska.