The
finds of amulets with ornaments, figurines of birds and people and also images of animals,
and especially the ancient interments testify, that the primitive inhabitants of
Siberia had the rather developed ideas about surrounding world. At that they
conceived this world differently than we do. Their ideas about the world had brightly
expressed the mystic-religious and mythological character.
The world of the siberian peoples was occupied by many gods and spirits.
According to this ideas ancient spirits lived everywhere: in the sky and in the air, in
the stone and in the tree, in the water and in the ground. The natural elements, the
animals and the vegetative world and, certainly, the Human were submited to them. The
spirits could be kind and malicious, powerful or weak; they helped and harmed, protected
and attacked. As well as the Humans, they rejoiced, were afflicted, loved, hated, gave,
took away, thanked and extorted. In daily life the Humans constantly communicated with the
world of spirits, made the offering and asked about the help. The kind and malicious
spirits constantly were near the Human, forming their mysterious and inexplicable world.
They were represented as the different figures: animals, birds, terrible warriors,
beautiful girls, old women, ugly monsters and other unknown creatures. Humans produced
their figurines substituting for the spirits themselves. They fed, dressed this figurines,
gave them things, spoke with them. Perhaps the rests of the figurines of such spirits and
the gods were found by archaeologists in the stands Malta and Buret. The people believed
that the life of each person and any collective depend on will of gods and spirits, and
from what relations developed the man with this hidden world.
The world of spirits was really hidden, as the simple person could not to see or to
hear it. Only few selected by the spirits could penetrate into this world to meet with the
outside entities, to speak with them, to ask about the help and even to fight with them ,
protecting relatives. Such people in Siberia named Shamans. The many of scientists
consider that the first Shamans appeared in the Superior Palaeolithic. It is possible,
that just they produced amulets-ornaments, which scared from relatives the malicious
spirits.. |
In the East Siberia many shamans had special masks. They were made from tree, or
leather, or bark, or metal. The masks were put on during the main rituals, that the evil
spirits could not find Shaman and then revenge him.
This
birds figurines were symbols of the
main spirits - helpers
from the Upper (celestial) World. They helped Shaman to fly.
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