Januabt 19, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



105 



A very important place in the system of 

 religious ideas of the Koryak is taken by the 

 kalau, or spirits, who appear as invisible be- 

 ings. Sometimes they appear as common can- 

 nibals. These malevolent spirits are very 

 numerous, and cause sickness and death. 

 Some of them represent special diseases. The 

 Koryak also believe in supernatural beings, 

 that appear as rulers of various parts of the 

 country, such as the ' master of the sea.' 



As a protection against disease and misfor- 

 tune sent by supernatural agencies, guardians 

 and charms are used. The most important 

 among these are the sacred implements for" 

 fire-making, which are considered the guard- 

 ians of the reindeer herd, and to which are 

 often attached rude carvings, representing the 

 guardians' assistants. Among the Maritime 

 Koryak, the fire-board is essentially the pro- 

 tector of the house. Carved wooden figures 

 representing human beings are also used as 

 guardians. Many of these are ornamented 

 ■with sedge-grass. While many are small, 

 there are also carved trees which stand near 

 the house,- and which are guardians of the 

 house or of the village. Much valuable in- 

 formation relating to the significance of 

 charms is given in this chapter. 



The Koryak also used divining-stones, 

 which are employed to divine the future by 

 their movements when suspended from a 

 thong. These are similar to the divining- 

 stones of the Eskimo. 



Mr. Jochelson discusses the method of sha- 

 manism from two aspects. There are profes- 

 sional shamans among the Koryak, who wear 

 certain ornaments that distinguish them from 

 other people, and who free the sick from dis- 

 ease inflicted by the evil spirits. The drums 

 used by these shamans are similar in type to 

 those used by other Siberian tribes. They 

 differ from those of the Eskimo. Each fam- 

 ily has also its own shamans, who protect the 

 ■ family. The peculiar ideas in relation to the 

 change of sex of shamans which are found 

 among the Eskimo, are also found among the 

 Koryak. 



Of especial interest is the description of the 

 festivals and sacrifices of the tribe. The most 

 important festival of the Maritime .Koryak 



refers to whale-hunting, and consists prin- 

 cipally of the welcoming of the captured 

 whale, and of the ceremony accompanying its 

 supposed return to the sea. In this festival 

 masks made of wood and of grass are worn. 

 The wooden masks resemble in type the simple 

 masks of the northern Alaska Eskimo. The 

 ceremonials of the Reindeer Koryak refer 

 principally to the herd, and are intended to 

 promote its welfare. A number of minor fes- 

 tivals relate to hunting. 



The Koryak offer sacrifices to the super- 

 natural beings. Both bloody and bloodless 

 sacrifices occur. Among the former, the sac- 

 rifices of reindeer and of dogs are the most 

 important. Mr. Jochelson describes in detail 

 the peculiar custom of sacrificing dogs, and 

 of attaching their bodies to poles or to the 

 trees which represent the village guardians. 



In the description of customs relating to 

 burials, deaths and funerals, the complex 

 burial customs deserve particular mention. 

 The Koryak cremate the dead, who for this 

 purpose are dressed in very elaborate cos- 

 tumes, which the people carry about during 

 life, although they are finished only after 

 death has occurred. 



The whole second part of the book is taken 

 up with the mythology of the Koryak, the 

 material being arranged in geographical order. 

 The whole mythology is remarkably uniform, 

 dealing essentially with the marriages of the 

 children of Big-Raven, and of his struggles 

 with supernatural beings. Attention may be 

 called, in this connection, to the brief char- 

 acterization of Koryak tales given on p. 352 

 and the following pages. In the final chapter 

 of his book, Mr. Jochelson gives a detailed 

 comparison of the incidents found in Koryak 

 mythology, with incidents of other mythol- 

 ogies of Siberia, of that of the Eskimo and 

 of the North American Indians. It would 

 seem that some of the elements contained in 

 this comparison are so general, that perhaps 

 their occurrence in these several mythologies 

 may be without significance, so far as evidence 

 of historical transference is concerned; but the 

 results of Mr. Jochelson's statistical compari- 

 son are of considerable interest. He finds 

 that among 122 episodes that belong to Kor- 



