VIII.] THE NORTHERN MONGOLS. 289 



cultured Finns, Turks, Mongols, and Manchus are all either 

 Christians, Muhammadans, or Buddhists ; while the uncultured 

 but closely related Samoyads, Ostyaks, Orochons, Tunguses, 

 Golds, Gilyaks, Koryaks, and Chukchi, are almost without ex- 

 ception Shamanists. 



The shamans do not appear to constitute a special caste or 

 sacerdotal order, like the hierarchies of the Christian Churches. 

 Some are hereditary, some elected by popular vote, so to say. 

 They may be either men, or women (skamanka), married or single; 

 and if "rank' 5 is spoken of, it simply means greater or less 

 proficiency in the performance of the duties imposed on them. 

 Everything thus depends on their personal merits, which naturally 

 gives rise to much jealousy between the members of the craft. 

 Thus amongst the " whites ' : and the " blacks," that is, those 

 whose dealings are with the good and the bad spirits respectively, 

 there is in some districts a standing feud, often resulting in fierce 

 encounters and bloodshed. The Buryats tell how the two factions 

 throw axes at each other at great distances, the struggle usually 

 ending in the death of one of the combatants. The blacks, who 

 serve the evil spirits, bringing only disease, death, or ill-luck, and 

 even killing people by eating up their souls, are of course the 

 least popular, but also the most dreaded. Many are credited 

 with extraordinary and even miraculous powers, and there can be 

 no doubt that they often act up to their reputation by performing 

 almost incredible conjuring tricks in order to impose on the 

 credulity of the ignorant, or outbid their rivals for the public 

 favour. Old Richard Johnson of Chancelour's expedition to 

 Muscovy records how he saw a Samoyad shaman stab himself 

 with a sword, then make the sword red hot and thrust it through 

 his body, so that the point protruded at the back, and Johnson 

 was able to touch it with his finger. They then bound the wizard 

 tight with a reindeer-rope, and went through some performances 

 curiously like those of the Davenport Brothers and other modern 

 conjurers 1 . 



To the much -discussed question whether the shamans are 

 impostors, the best answer has perhaps been given by Castren, 



1 Hakluyi, 1809 ed. I. p. 317 sq. 

 K. 19 



