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Vegetation map of northeastern Asia. Much of this vast area is uncultivated, and uncultivatable. |
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Winter weather map of northeast Asia. At the northern Amur Bend there is, even in summer, a constant frost three to six feet beneath the surface. The area is so cold because the warm Kuriosho current is deflected toward the east by the islands of Japan. The cold Oyashio current enters the sea of Okhotsk from the north. Verkoyansk is the coldest spot in the world.
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Immense and oppressive enough to daunt the stoutest heart, these taiga marshes are deathtraps which can take days to cross. |
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Swamp taiga, a perilous and inhospitable expanse stretching for as far as the eye can see. The Russians call these marshy basins totchki |
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An Orochon in hunting garb. The Orochon are breeders and hunters of reindeer whose nomadic culture and economy are based entirely on that animal. Even their name reflects this. On the left is an old musket, on the right a palma, the wooden shaft surmounted by a blade with which the Orochon formerly hunted bear. |
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Everything worn by the Orochon comes from the reindeer, from skin cap to mocassins. Outer garments are richly decorated, stained with vegetable dyes and sewn together with reindeer hair. |
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Orochon women seated before a tent in a forest clearing. This picture shows clearly how tents are faced with strips of birch bark about two feet wide and twenty feet long. The material is impregnated with natural juices before use. |
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Various stages in the construction of an Orochon tent. A framework of thin branches is covered with birch bark and later secured by a few external poles. |
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Oro is the reindeer and chon the man. The Tungus' reindeer are smoke grey, black, or, as in this picture, white. They carry an average load of 80 pounds (36 kg) each and are tended by the womenfolk. |
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Orochon tents pitched in the icy winter landscape of the taiga are heated by fires whose smoke escapes through vents in their roofs. At night, the Orochi sleep naked under furs, back to back in pairs to conserve warmth. The Orochon girl riding the white reindeer on the right is holding a palma or spear in her hand. |
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A river spanned by the wickerwork wier baskets in which the Tungus catch fish. |
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These five young Orochi belong to the same family. The eldest girl is already allowed to smoke a pipe. |
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Koryak are a group of Tungus who do use reindeer sledges. The animals are harnessed in oblique formation by traces of varying lengths. Although each sledge is normally drawn by three to five reindeer, it can only cover between fifteen and twenty five miles a day in winter, and in summer even less. (This estimate conflicts with the figure given above of forty five miles or more) |
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Covered with skins and strong enough to withstand the strongest gales, this large tent belongs to the Reindeer Koryaks. On its roof can be seen three reindeer sledges which have been used to weight it down. |
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No child of the tundra Yukaghirs ever falls out of these saddles. Reindeer are entrusted even with cradles containing young babies. |
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The body of a Yukaghir girl on its way to a tundra funeral, drawn by reindeer. |
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The Orochi bury their dead in wooden coffins which they mount on tree stumps to prevent wolves from disturbing the bodies inside. They believe that a dead man should be laid to rest in an airy place where he can hear the rustle of the surrounding forest and from which his soul can float away unhindered. |
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Coffin of a Tungusic shaman. The four posts are surmounted by figures of birds, apparently Great Northern Divers. Their significance stems from the fact that human souls can assume the shape of birds and that bird figures are often used in aids in shamanism. |
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An old Yukaghir woman in front of her tent on the upper reaches of the Kolyma. The tent is covered with skins and has the usual smoke vent at its peak. |
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Love letter written on birch bark by a Yukaghir girl. The slender arrow on the left represents the man of her choice and the broad arrow on the right the girl herself. He is standing in an almost dismantled house, which denotes his imminent departure, while she is enclosed by a complete house. The oblique beams signify grief and sorrow. Free translation: 'You are going away, leaving me here alone. I weep and grieve on your account.' |
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A tall birchbark box like those used by the Tungus for gathering berries. The people of the taiga are very skilled at working with this material. |
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A watertight dipper made of impregnated birchbark, complete with lip. Like the men of the stone age, the taiga and tundra people possess a rich material culture of which bone and wooden utensils are part. |
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Almost all paleo-Siberian and Tungusic tribes formerly used eating utensils make of wood, birchbark or fishskin. Here is an ornamented wooden bowl for fish or meat, and a soup spoon. |
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Dyed in three colours, this Gilyak tunic is made of fishskins so neatly sewn together that the garment is completely windproof and watertight. |
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We tend to forget that the peoples of Siberia, together with the Mongols and Buryats, wear extremely colourful clothing. This Gilyak woman's fishskin smock is decorated in blue and red and has a row of brass pendants along its hem. This is the finely ornamented back of the smock above. |
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This female Orochon shaman had spent a lifetime in the forests of the North Manchurian taiga enclosed by the Amur Bend. The numerous small animal symbols and chains are aids in establishing contact with the spirits, while the oval drum serves to heighten the requisite state of ecstasy during which the spirits inhabit a shaman's body and his own soul leaves it to roam about the sky. |
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A Yakut shaman from the district of Verchne-Kolymsk. Note the fringe or veil obscuring the shaman's eyes. |
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Tungusic shaman's drum. The shaman beats his drum in order to capture spirits, enter a state of ecstasy and escape his corporeal bonds. He thereby travels to the centre of the world and can, at the same time, rise into the sky. His frenzy communicates itself to his audience. The edge of this drumskin is decorated with pictures of reindeer and the handle of the drumstick is carved into the shape of an animal's head. |
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An old engraving of a Tungusic shaman, bearing a striking resemblance to the 'dancing magician' discovered by Count Begouen in the Trois Freres cave in 1918. |
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Kichikagi, spirit aid of the Gilyak shaman. If one tells the shaman the truth, the bearlike figure remains motionless, but if one lies to him it quivers. |