32 Clors/ad and H edeager: Introduction ~~~~--~~----

Rowlands. M. 2005: A Materialist Approach to Mareriali ry. In : D. Miller {cd. }: Materitllity. Dukc University Press, Durham. N.C. p. 72-87.

Rubin , I. 1972: Essoys 011 Morx's 71lt'ory on Vnlll~. Black and Red, Derroit. Sahlins. M. 1976: CU/fUre Iwd pracfiml rellSOIl. Universiry of Ch icago Press.

Chicago. Sahli ns, M. 1988: Stone Age Economics. Routledge. London. Sarrre, J.P. 1993: Vot'rell og hut'f i Utl'tlig. Pax foriag. Oslo. Same. J.I~ 1994: Erforil1ger lIIed De andre: Snrtm eksisunsJilosoji i urvolgfra L'tm

et Ie nillllf ogfta Colliers pOllr tole momle. Gyldendal , Oslo. Sam e. J.P. 2004: Critiqlle of dialeniml rellson. Verso, I.o ndon. Svendsen, L.EH . 2002: Inn ledning. In: I. KalH: H,'a er menllesker? Allrropologi i

pragmnrisk prrspeklill. Pax fo rlag. Oslo. p. 9-22. Taussig. M. 1993: Maleflcium: State Fetishism. In: E.S. Ap(er and W. Pierz.

(eds.): F,,;sllism as ctfllllml discourSt'. Cornell Universiry Press. Ithaca, N.Y. p.21 7-250.

Til lcy, C. 2006: Hlmdbook of Mttrer;al CuLTUre. Sage. London. Trouillor. M.-R. 1995: Si/t'ncing the past: pOUler tllld the production of history. Beacon

Press. Bos(on.

Troim. I. 1999: Arkeologisk flrslmmg og del IQuregull'rre flmmimlel!ernet: t'11

sflldie all fommilllll'llenWS ufuikling i pn-iodt'll /905-/978. Universitcrcts Oldsaks:lmling Varia 49. Oslo.

Tylor. E. B. 1865: Remlrclles into the Mrly history o/mankind and the dl'llelopmmf o/civilizl1tioll. Joh n MUfI':lY. I.ondon.

Veblen, T 200 I: thf theory of ,he leisuTt' class: on ecollomic study of institutions. Modern Libl':lry. Random Housc, New York.

Weber, M. 1947: ?be Tbeory of Sociol 111ld /:.':ollom;( Orgll1liZJlfiOll. Parsons, London.

Weber, M. 1978: Economy fmd socielY: 011 outline ofintrrpretivf sociology. University of California Press. Berkeley.

Weiner, A. B. 1992: /nalil'1labll' possessiom: the pllrt1dox of kl'l'pillg-wbile-gilling. Universiry of California Prcss. Berkeley.

Zapffe, P. W. 1992: EssllYs. Avcntura. 0510. 7"lpA-e. P. W. 1996: Om del Imgiske. Pax, Oslo. 0slerberg, D. 1974: Emile Dl(rklmms wmfioUl.slttre. Pax. Oslo. 0srerberg, D. 1980: Snmfimmtt'ori og lIYtft'ft'ori. Univcrsitctsforiagel, Oslo. 0sterbcrg. 0.1988: am Bourdieu. Sosiologiskdrbok 1988. p. 37-46. 0sterberg, D . & F. Engelstad J 995: SauifillmifomulSjollf1l: t'11 hlllforing i sosiologi.

Pax. Oslo.

Spiritual and material aspects of everyday ritual negotiation

Ethnoarchaeological data from the Evenk, Siberia

O le Gren, Michail Tu rov and Torunn Klokkern es

I

Abstract

Th is paper is focused on everyday feature.c; of tcrrilorial rela(ed ritual negmiarion in a hunter-gatherer sociery. The point of view, thar it is nOI only irs immediate conrent which is important for how it should be understOod. is basic. Its role and fU llclIon should also be seen in relation TO practical daily negoriarion or territorial rights and the marking of rights to resources. Special attention is given to the connection berween practical matcrial -economic-stratcgic aspects and ritual-spiri rual-cosmological aspects in the formation, organis.1tion, dynamic maincenancc and use or cultural landscapes. -Illcse [WO sides (end to appear as so imerwoven that rhey in pracrice are d ifficull TO disti nguish and analyse separately. This papcr~ aim is. on an empirica l basis. TO provide information about a single case ~ the henk, Siberia - [hat can contribUie ro a beller undemanding or the character and organisation of hunter-gatherer cultural landscapes.

The study areas and the Evenkl.'

Apart from Orochen and Trmgus) a large number of other names have been applied to groups with a closer or more distant' relation to [he Evenk CShirokogoroff 1929:56-109). In spire of rhe F.,cr rhar many sources give the impression [hat no Evenk follows a 'traditional' way of life any more (e.g. Anderson 2000: Vas ilevich and Smolyak 1964), a few small groups can sri ll be found which fo llow a quire

34 Gron et. al: Spiritufll find material aspects ...

co nservative lifestyle based on hunting and ga thering, and who have large parts of their old beli efs and behavioural systems preserved, basically livi ng in the way that Shirokogoroff observed before the revolution (S hirokogoroff 1929; 1935).

Interviews with form er leaders of colJecrive farms (kolkhos, sovkhos) and production units (promkhos) have shown that the local Communist adminisrrations when dealing with the Even k in some cases were highly pragmatic and often made a point of not interfering with their cultural values. So me were even fascinated by the Evenk Culture and became more or less integrated inm ir.

'As long as you let the Evenk do their own th ings there would be no probl ems', one stared. Basic m rhe collecrive unirs was mat the Evenk delivered fur and took care of the collective reindeer herds. The main part of the year the village centres of the collective units would be more o r less de-populated, because the Evenk were in the taiga, hunting. Some old people might be left, and if the village had a boarding school there would be schoolchildren as well.

The vi llage centres of the production units had during the Communist period , with regard to social function , some traits in common with the clan-assem bly si tes. 1lle main differences were chac they were often shared by a brger number of clans and that majo r rituals (religious activity was formally forbidden ) could not be carried out there because of the Russian/Communist presence. In some cases the si ngle clans are known ro have maintained ritual assembly sites (Gmn 2005a) in secret locarions in rheir terrirories, orren a few ki lometres from cenrral transport co rridors such as rracks or rivers. According to informants some of mese had been in regular use until about 20 years ago, and so me are probably sti ll used.

The pragmatic administration of the co llective units in some cases 'organised ' the Evenk, so that one clan became a brigade and the actual clan leader became its brigadie r. llle territory of such a unit cou ld well be the clan's original terrirory. This gave the Evenk

I The ethnoarchaeological research in Evenk hunter-gatherers has been carri ed our as part of initiatives from the Polish Research Council, Ihe Norwegian Research Council. and the Ethnographic Context ModlJe within rhe Baikal Archaeology Project supported by Major Collaborative Research Initiati ve grant no. 42 1-2000-1000 from [he Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. ~ Information not covered by references to publications is based on recorded interviews and the autho rs' field notes from the period 1997- 2005.

Six t.Ssays 011 the Materiality ojSociety and C~dture 35

good oppo rtuni ty ro co ntinue their traditional li festy le. Against the Evenk's w ishes, the Communists often organised [he vi llages so [hat the households o f the different clans were mi.xed, (0 promote integration. However, in a number of observed cases the clans mai ntain ed a high level of separat ion , even though fusion imo fewer and larger clans is also a genera! tendency. We have observed cases where members of me different clans d.id nor greet each other when rhey met in the cen tral street of vi llages with a few hundred inhabitants. And in so me cases there were standing feuds be[Ween the clans in a village wi th series of casualties over rime. TIle Evenk themselves see such feuds as a (traditional' feature. Thi s agrees with the fact that sllch feuds playa not unimportant role in their tales and myths (e.g. Shirokogoroff 1929: 195), even though it would here be natural if they were overemphasised. Most likely the co-existence of different clans in the villages increased the levd of confrontation and thus the active co nflict between them .

Some leaders of coll ective units were, of course, less pragmaric. Our point is, however, that a num ber ofEvenk in reality were able to

continue their traditional li festyle with lirrl e interference from the Communist admin istration. TIle teaching in Evenk in some of th e schools in the Evenk areas started already in the early Com lllunist period. This was the result of the progressive activi ties of people like Bogoras and Sthernberg, both members of the so-called 'Colllmittee of the North', a centra! body for the administrat ion of the ind igenous peoples (Forsyth 1992,283-287; Gmn 2005b).

The trad itional pagan religion seems in general to have been lirrle influenced by (he activi ties of missionaries. To the Evenk, who in princi ple are monotheist, even though their 'central God' is a fairly vague figure, (he ir 'three-layer-cos mology' with an upper, a middle and an underworld (Anisimov, A.F. 1963a; Shirokogoroff 1935: 125; Vasilevich & Smolyak 1963) is com patible with the C hris tia n cosmology of heaven, earth and hel l. For them to declare themselves as Christians by incorpo rating, for example. Jesus into their religious lore is no big deal. During the Stalin period, when many sha mans were prosecuted by the Communisrs (Forsyth 1992:287-296), Evenk in fo rmants have mid how they pretended to be Orthodox Cathol ics because (hat was more acceprable to Stalin and (hus gave them some protection.

Trad itional tents are st ill used by many Evenk groups. Bark

36 Grrm eL al: Spiritual and material aspects.

tents were used by some till the early '80s. But generally, canvas has replaced bark as sum mer cover. Skin covers are used in winter, often in combi nation with log cabins for the coldest periods. Hunting families often use 15-30 domesticated reindeer for uansporrat ion -riding them or using them to pull the sledges - bur they are hunters not herders. -n1e domestic reindeer of the Evenki can be compared to the dogs of rhe Greenland Inuit. 'TI,e hunting groups subsist on the meat of wild reindeer, elk, red deer, musk deer and mountain sheep, as well as birds and fi sh from the lakes and rivers (Anderson 1991 ; Shirokogoroff 1929: 18).

This paper is based on observations of Evenk groups from three study areas (fig. I) in cenrral to eastern Siberia: a) The Kalar Region , east of Lake Baikal - a mountain region with mountain heights up to 3 km and a population of non-migratory wild reindeer - b) the Katanga Region , north of Lake Baikal - a flar undularing regio n with extremely few wild reindeer (the Evenk are here elk-hunters)

- and c) the Olenok Region in northern Sacha, the northernmost of the three study areas - an undulating region with large amounts

Fig. I. The three study areas where observations were made in centra l ro eastern

Siberia: The Kalar Region , east or Lake Baikal, the Katanga Region, north of Lake

Baikal and the Olenok Region. th e northernmost of the three study areas.

Six Essays on the Materiality a/Society and Culture 37

of migratory reindeer. The diversity in landscape and resources facilitates observations of how the Evenk relate to such contrasts.

Above rhe open grass areas in the broader valleys is an open forest of pine, larch, fir, a little Siberian cedar and so me birch in the more humid places, and with lichen strongly represented in its Aoor. This 'taiga' contin ues up to the tree line at an ahirude of about 2,000 metres. Th e average temperatures vary from -36 oC in winter to 18 oC in summer, with extremes around -60 oC and 40°C. This, combined with the restricted snow cover due {Q the general ly low average precipitation, maintains permafrost condirions, even in the Kalal' Region in spite of (he fact that its centre is as far south as 570 30' N, 150 km north and 550 km east of the northernmost point of Lake Baikal (Baulin er al. 1984; lvanenkov & Fraicheva 1997; Wright & Barnovsky 1984).

Th eclan is the basic territorial unit in Evenk society (Shirokogoroff J 929: 195), which mostly consiStS of from three to ren households. The smaJier clans are often united in strong alliances mat with regard to size and many fun ctional and structural aspeCts match the larger clans of around 10 households. "The hunting and gathering Evenk form a strictly strat ified society. The wealth tends to be equally distributed within the single clans, whereas the wealth ::lI1d status gradient between the different clans can be significant. Poor are those who own no domestic reindeer for rransporra[ion. Reasonably well off are those with 15-20 reindeer for transpo rtation per family. Wealthy are those with a surplus of domestic reindeer up to a toral around 60-80 animals per household. Even in such a siruadon , the domesti c reindeer are not eaten bur 'buried', hanging fro m twO

metre high tripods in bags when they die. According to rhe Evenk's own concepts they become pasroralists if they have more domes[ic reindeer than th is, 'because (hen the reindeer wi ll control their movements' . The pasroralisrs consume rheir domesticated reindeer on a regular basis.

Ir is important to understand that a high degree of mobility is related to possession of a relat ively large number of domestic reindeer (fig . 2). Poor hunters with no domesdc reindeer which need changing grazing areas can live a nearly sedentary life in areas wirh a good resource basis - at rimes forming a central 'village' that is only moved a few hundred metres when (he old location starts

'stinking toO badly' . 11,e larger pastoralists have to be highly mobile,

38 Gnm t:f. al: SpiritlUd and materia/aspects ...

180

120

NumOO< OI ,~

o~~~~ o 50 100 150 200

Fig. 2. Sket ch ed

relation bcnvcen

degree of mobiliry (vertical ax is) :lnd

number or reindcL'r

(horizontal axis) .

often movi ng camp as often as every third day. In many cases such famil ies are proud that they master such a mobile lifesryle. O n the other side ir is regarded as uncomfortable, and in so me cases wealthy hunter-gatherers - or even large pas(Oralists - can be seen ro have other Evenk take care of thei r domestic reindeer while they live a much more sedentary and comfortable lifesryle (identical to that of poor hunters!), subsisting o n hunting and fishing.

The best way to descr ibe the cultural Landscapes of the Evenk groups is as clilrural and ideological constrllcrions developed and main tai ned as dynamic interf:'lces (0 the ' raw' narure and to other terrirorial groups (fi g. 3). One important - and probably central

- fu nction of this type of co nstruction is th ar rhey f:'lc ili rate rimal negotiation with the natural and cultural environm em. 111e stereotype 'personification' wirhin an ideological or cosmologica l framework of places, physical features, natural princi ples, etc., as well as of other territo rial groups, serves as a vehicle for ritual negotiation with the important elements in the environment. It is difficu lr ro imagine a riruaJ negotiation that successfully can influence non-personified elements in the environmen t wirhout consciousness, withour abili ty to make decisio ns or ro act.

The culrural landscapes are in prac rice the clans' most im portan t means ofinreracring wirh and rhus 'controlling' their enviro nm ent. Furthermore. [he cla n is not on ly the terriroriaJ unit , bur also represents what one could call rhe 's tate-level' of rh e socicry as well as the mosr important level of identification fo r its members. Neighbourin g clans may orga nise their culrural landsca pes in different ways and rhus conceive one and the same part of rhe

Six Essa)'s 011 tbe Materiality 0 Society and Culture 39

landscape as twO qui te different culrurallandscapes.

Culturally created dynam.c Interface 10 the 'raw landscape including Ideologic constructlOOS resource management stralegles as well as temtonahty + environmental features thaI restnct the cultures optlOOS

CJ) a. :::J e OJ

~ :::J ~

:::J Ll '-Q) .c ~ o

" .... Cultural .. .. group

II'!"

Culturally created dynamiC Interfaces between cullural groups at different levels invOlVing .dentlty features

!-ig. J. The cultural 13ndscapt: constructed as an ideologica.l/cosmological intcrface

bcnvccn the group and th e ' raw' nature and its neighbouring groups inhabit ing

neighbouring l:l.I1dscapes.

Landscap e and territoriality

One of the cennal aims for the clan members in rhe Evenk society is to con rrol territory, because that is the way they can secure rhe clan's fu tu re th rough control of the resources here. If a cla n does not use a part of its terrirory for a longer period, the neighbouring cla ns ca n claim if. This is obviously a siruation which the clan leaders act ively try to avoid. One widely accepted strategy is to adopt children into the clan. To have many children is a good rhing, because it justifies a clan's righr to a large territory and is thus an expression of wealth. Poor people ",,"ith more children (han rhey can manage ro feed will tend to let 'wealrhy' fami lies adopt memo

It is difficult to obtai n concrete info rmarion about conflicts berween rhe clans. To get information about their co ntents and co nsequences is considerably more difficult. It seems ro be parr of

40 Cron et. al: Spiritual and material aspects ...

a well -developed conBin-avoidan ce behaviour that conAkts are never discussed o r even hinted at - at least not in the presence of fore igners. This is as sign ificant as the fan that it is highly unusual to hear Evenk say bad things about each o ther - at least when they are sober. Ir is accepted to refer to unacceptable ac tions of a person in very precise and objective terms. To express or even indicate a personal att itude to this. however, is unacceptable.

It is obvious for those who have been dealing with two neighbouring clans simultaneously that there is a consta nt struggle go ing on between them in a very subtle and diplomatic way. The one side tries to get rhe foreigner who is a valued guest with his/her info rmation about countries far away and potential exotic presents involved in conAicts with the other side.

Th e clan-territories are often organised around a main river's larger tributaries. Tributaries that are too small can often be seen not to be inhabited. Alternatively they can serve as 'annexes' to terri tor ies arou nd larger tributaries. The te rminology used by th e Evenk is not related to territo ry as such, but to rivers. Th at clan hunts on that river and that river and the lower half of that river. The rivers are the main transport corridors. At rimes it can be necessary to cross a mountain ridge to get from one river-system to another. Bll[ the main transportation fo llows the rivers on the banks of which are normally substantial paths found that are used by humans and animals. Unless there are special resou rces of interest in the mountain s, the Eve nk will restrict their movements to the river valleys, where most of the larger game will come to drink at rimes.

The Evenk feel comfortable with in the confines of their own terr itory but wi ll typi cally be uncomfortable when they (fave! through foreign territory. The huther away fro m their own territory, the worse. 'We were afrajd of the fo reign sp irits an d every rime we made a tea-break or made our camp fo r the ni gh t we made a sacred tree to proteer us against rhe foreign spirits'.

Tradi t io nal defenders of a clan's te rr imry are the spiri ts of its deceased forefath ers and -mothers. Th ey are typicaUy thought of as defending a te rrimry around their grave of a size that depends on their power in life. The sou l of an impon am shaman will control a large area. A less important and powerfu l shaman will con trol a smaller area. The Evenk are extremely afraid of th e spi rits or sou ls of dead persons. Those from oth er clans can catch your soul and take

Six Essays on the Materiality of Society and CuLture 41_

it wim them ro the underworld whereas those from one's own clan are no serious ducat.

I n this perspective the old custo m of placing the traditional 'air­graves' (coffins res ting on cut-down u ees and thinn er supporr-poles 1-2 metres above the ground) in posi tions that are visually ex posed to the larger ri vers - the main 't ransporr corridors' of the taiga

- becomes understandable: the graves have an imporrant fun ction as 'scarecrows' to members of other clans than the one using the territory in question (fig. 4) . They are strong 'territori al markers', demonstrati ng that the local spiritslrhe spiti ts of the land accept the local clan's (their own kin's) use of the territories they controL If a clan takes over territory that has belonged to another clan. the oldest clan-members enter into a rimal marriage with the spiri ts of their new land - so that they are now kin and ca n co minue to defend the land of their living ki n! The use of cut-down trees as supports for the coffins in the traditional air graves is not only a practical physical part of the buria l structure but also makes it possible fo r the 'grave' to be connected to the other worlds (fig. 6).

Physical marking of territory is pronounced. A strange custo m of leaving valuable objects such as axes, iron ovens, etc., in

Fig. 4. the remains of a collapsed traditiona l Evenk air grave visually exposed on

rhe sou th bank ofthe Olenok River. YakurialSacha Republic.

42 Gro" er. 31: Spiri/mr/ lind mtllerial flSpects ...

scrrlcmenrs that apparendy were not fe-used appeared to be a way of demonstrating ro 'others' that these se((lemen" 'belonged' ro the clan present in the terrirory in question.

Sertlements are marked by significant cutS in the trees vis ible from the river or lake o n which they are located . In this way it is made 'formally' impossible to overlook a serriement and it is regarded as extremely impolite to pass an inhabited settlement without paying at leas[ a shan visi t. An el em ent in this seems to be that one must pay respect ro the clan inhabiting the territory and thus demonsrrate o ne's acceptance of their presence in it and their contro l w ith the area.

11,e se((lemenrs are highly visible key-pa in " for the activities of the clan th at co ntrol a territory: apan from the marks on the (fees they will be visi ble a long time after they have go ne alit of use, because they wi ll appear as concen trations of standi ng tcnt­frames, kitchen heanhs, platfo rms for ritual disposa l of bones, other types of plalforms, smoke-heanhs for the reindeer (looking like the framcs of small tents), sacred trees, so meti mes burials, ete. h wi ll also be obvious that the areas aro und the sett lements are near human habitarion: numbers of stumps from trees cu[ down for firewood {the Evc nk trad itio nally cur down young trees with o ne diagonal Cllt of their 'palma' [a shan spear with a spea r-head sharp on the one side] whereas rhe Russians use axes and cut fro m both sides}. If the set tl ement has been in use for some rim e there will ofren be a zone around ir where the vegetarian is dominared by yOllng (fees (G r0n et al 1999).

The sacred trees, the platforms (and mher s(fllcrures) for ritual deposition of bones, the old hea rths, the [ent-frames, the ki[chen­hearths, the graves, and acruaJly most of the structures presen t in me serdemenrs (G r0n & Kuznersov 2003, 2004) also rep resenr spirirual-cosmological aspects in a way that commun icates ro others that the sertlement and its present/former inhabiralHs are/were accep[ed by [he local spirirs.

In the less central pans of a clan terrirory, another type of territorial markers are used in relation to , for example, the 'kill-sire' ri[uals. When a reindeer, ano[her deer or an elk is killed, irs gen i[als (male as well as fema.le) are cut our and hung on [he nearest free . In rhe old days it was placed [here rogerher wim [he arrow char killed it. Larer if became the cusrom ro place it with rhe buller. With th e

Six I:.SSIIYS 011 the Mauriality o/Socil'ty and CUllllrl' 43

appearance of bullers rha[ disinregrare when rhey hie rheir ta rget i[ has become increasingly diflicul[ [Q get [he buller our, and [he custom has been reduced ro JUSt hanging the genitals on (he tree. 1his is in a spiritual/cosmological sense intended ro secure thar the animal's ferr ili ty is not wasted bur returns to (he upper world frolll where if ca n be reborn as a new animal. Trees serve as 'rransport co rridors' [Q rhe upper wo rld and [he underworld. Bu[ of course the rirual also leaves a physical feature which for as lon g as i[ is preserved signifi es rhat rhe clan using the rerrirory has luck in hunting - an d rhus char i[ is accepted by the local spirirs.

Where an animal is butchered - at (h e same place where it was killed, or in a difl'erenr place - irs eyes are cut out and hung on a nearby rree. Some Evenk also ClIt out irs tongue. These actions are ro prevent [he animal from seeing whar happens ro irs body and to prevc nr ir from teUing other animals aboll l" it. But aga in , the rirua! leaves a physical signarure in the place - often in connecrion

Fig. ) Fig. Righ[; Typical mark cut in tree beside a (Tack by [he Evenks. Left: Similar looking scratch~mark made by a bear on a nee beside::I winter hOllse near

Teneia, [he K:ltanga Region, Irkutsk Oblasr, bdonging (0 the Evenk Vbdimir

Kolobovschin, [Q challenge his right fO [he territor),.

4... Gran CL al: Spiritual and maurial aspects ...

wirh a platform for sro ring rhe meat unt il it can be brought ro the ca mp inhabited at the moment. Or, in some cases, the ca mp can be moved ro the place where rhe meat is sro red.

Along the main paths in the ir terrirory the Evenk mark {fees with cutS, often as close as each 40-50 m, often on both sides of the path. It is difficult to understa nd thar rhis shou ld be necessary in order ro follow a rrack for the Evenk, who know their rerrirory so well. Accordi ng to themselves they do not need them. When one co nrinues aslcing what these marks are for, ir often becomes obvious that rhis is a subjecr rhey do not like ro discuss. However, it is interesting thar bears as wel l as tigers (now ex tinct in the region) use scrarch-marks looking very much like rhe Evenk's cur-marks to

mark their rerrirories. Shirokogoroff describes how men, rigers and large bears compere about the terrirories. Furthermore, he describes how bears and rigers between each other and among themselves usc marks on rhe {fees in their rerrirorial competirion (but wrongly writes rhat the bears make ' bire-marks' - borh tiger and bear make scratch marks), 11,e one who c.:1n put its mark highest can scare the other part away (Shirokogoroff 1929:42-43). These scrarch-marks look very much like rhe Evenk's cut-marks along rhe paths (fig. 5).

111e Evenk V1adimir Kolobovschin had his right to [he territory where his winrer house is located challenged by a bear. He explained rha, if he cut a mark above rhe bear's mark, rhe bear would either leave rhe terrirory or destroy his winter-house. His intentio n was not ro do so, thus Icning the bear be 'master' of the terrirory. That would n't interfere with his hunri ng in the area which was, when the bear was hibernaring. 111is strongly indica res that rhe Evenk lise their ma rks on rhe trees along the paths to comm unicate their territorial rights ro rhe bears. Because the bear is a sacred animal (here are IllOSt likely sacred aspects related ro this custom which we have not recorded ye t. 11,e Olenok area is the only one of rhe three study areas where rhe Evenk claim [hat there are no bears. ll,is is also rhe only study area so far where no cllt-marks have been observed along rhe paths. Even though such cut-marks are probably nor primari ly intended for other Evenks relarively fresh marks sri II signalise that the area is in use.

The Evenk cosmos consists of an upper world with clouds and wi nd. Its element is fire, and rhis is the place where rhe unborn souls are. Below that is rhe ea nh . where the humans live. Its element is

Six Essays 011 ,be MaurialilY a/Society and Culture 45

earth. Below these is the underworld wirh rhe souls of rhe dead people (a soul ,har is not re-born aga in). Its elemen t is water. 11,e main elements are fire and water. Earth is not rega rded as being of the same importance as these two elements.

Hearths in use as well as old ones nor in lise any longer afe because of their relation to fire regarded as represen tations of rhe upper world. When old hearrhs ar rea-break places in the forest are re-used during travels they are said to make rhe souls of rhe members of the clan who used the hearrh in rhe past and those who wiJl use it in rhe furure, present. Hea rths should thus also be seen as ma.rkers of rhe clan's right to utilise the territory,

In principle all hearrhs can be seen as one single place: the upper world, because of their connection ro ir through rhe fire. This is rhe basis for rhe facr that some Evenk who are 1110re spiritually orientated than others will c1ajm that they are ahvays in the same place when rhey rravel, whereas others will say thar they move through rhe physical world fro m place to place when rhey travel. Both points of view are apparently correct, bur can be weigh red

Fig. 6. The Evenk cosmos. COJl1l1lunicarion berwccn lilt: worlds is possible by water (the large river that rUlls from the Polar Slar Ihrough the world down to

lhe underworld ), by [rees, by th e loon CGagara') (hal travels berween (he worlds.

and by fire. Hearths are reprcscllIalions of (he fire in Ihe upper world and arc

therefore in a spirirual seme 'always in the same place'.

46 Groll Cl. al: Spiritual and material aspects ...

differently according [Q the person's spiriruallreligious orientation (Gron & Kuznetsov 2003) .

The practical and cosmic dweUing

Ir is ofren stared rhat rhe dwellings ofhunrer-garherers are perceived as a kind of micro-cosmos while at (he same rime (hey serve as practical and highly functional structures. It is obvious thar [he ru les for rhe organisario n of rhe dwelling space - around the hearth - are of a cosmic/sacred characrer. As rhe dwelling from a cosmological poinr of view is always in the 'same place', its space should also be organised in rhe same way (Gm n & Kuznersov 2003) . Closer observation of rhe dwelling reveals thar its character as a dwelling is shared with other fearures in rhe Evenk culrural landscape. lllis may be wonh some considerarion.

\X1hen a tradirional poinred Evenk rent (a 'dju' in some Evcnk dialects) is erecred, three poles are firsr put up as a tripod. The term for these poles is 'haJon'. 1 his tripod forms rhe basis of the other poles [har are added. Where [he Evenk lise modern canvas rents with a horizolllal ridge. the ridge-pole rests on (WO lripods, each forming one of the tenr's gables wirh rwo of its legs and an outward suppOrt wirh irs rhird. The two side ridges are suppo rted by two poles attached to [he rwo gables. "This frame rype is diA'erenr from rhe one used by rhe Russia ns for rhe same rype of rent. They do nor lise tripods as the basic carrying elemcms. but vertical poles hammered into the ground.

It is normal rhat the Evenk erect shades or even build regular 'summer-stables' for their domestic reindeer - light srru((ures with a couple of smoke-fires inside, so that the animals can disappear in the smoke and protect themselves from the mosquito during the day-rime when they do not graze in the summer. In the Olenok Region, Yakutia/rhe Sacha Republic, rhese strucrures rend to be more massive than in other places. This may reAect inAuence from close contact with {he Yakut Pascoralis(s in the area. In the Evenk summer-srables the use of tripods as supportS for rhe roof has been recorded, with one or twO additional POStS JUSt stand ing on {he ground as basis for th e constructions. In general, the Evenk tend nor to use POStS dug inro the ground. No formal prohibition has

Six EsslIYs on tb~ Mntaialiry o[Society lUU/ Culmrt' 47

been recorded so far. but {he phenomenon is so significam that it would nor be surprising ro find one.

OutSide the Evenk dwelling one finds rhe household's kirchen­hearth. This is used winter and summer. In wimer the outdoor cooking-place is protecred be a low wall of snow 5-6 m in diameter. The indoor hearth is in summer used co produce smoke [Q keep the mosqu iroes o ur, and in winrer for heating. It can also be used for some cooking acrivities, sllch as keeping things hor thar already have been prepared outSide, to finish the frying of mea r, etc. -J he main kitchen hea nh . however, is the ourdoor hearrh. It consists of a tripod from which buckets and pars used in rhe cooking process are hung. When people refer to 'rhe hearth' they seem mainly [Q mean rhe outdoor hearth. Food offerings ('feeding the fire) have mainly been observed as fed to the out-door hearth. The distinction between the inner and the outer hearth seems ro be blurred bmh wirh regard to function, and to [he ideological/cosmological aspecrs.

In the cemereries rhe systemarically destroyed belongings of rhe deceased are ofren hung on rrees. The skull of his/her riding­reindeer is put on the trunk in a visually central posirion. La rger objecrs such as sledges can be placed on rhe ground leaning against the trcc. The systematic destruction is to 'release' the objects' souls from rheir physical shapes so rhar they can follow rhe deceased inro rhe upper world. 1l1C trees serve as mea ns of comlll unicat ion between the worlds (fig. 6). However, ir is inreresting thar rhe trees in some areas (e.g. the Olenok Region) can be replaced by tripods. The tripods secm to be able to serve as means of cO lllmunicarion berween rhe worlds as well as the trees. I n the graves the tripods have served for cooking during the funeral meal on the cemetery. and are thus placed over the remains of a hearth.

The graves are called 'dju' jusr like [he rents. In relation to

graves where rhe belongings of rhe deceased are placed on a tripod rhis is interesting, because it implies that the tripod is on rhe one side the symbol of rhe dwelling and on the orher is a means of communication between the worlds.

A cusrom that is very Iirrle spoken of is what seems to be rhe placing of one or some objects belonging to a deceased person hanging on a uee or placed on a cut-down [ree in a location aparr from rhe Srate-type inhumarion grave where rhe body of the dcceased is buri ed. 111is seems to represenr the SpOt where rhe

48 Groll er. al: Spiritunl al1d mllterial aspects ...

death occurred. It can be their clothes. boots. a pillow. etc. 1l,ese features have been observed in four different cases in the forest in rhe immediate vicinity of setrlements. This may, however, be because the activities of old people. who are most likely to die. will be more co nfined ro the serrlemems than (he younger ones and because observacion is more likely near senlements. These feamres are nOt concealed. but obviously also not talked about. The Evenk are clearly very un comfortable with quesrions about these features. So far they have not been observed with tripods instead of trees. h seems thar they should be seen as secret traditional 'a ir-graves' on trees (Fig.4) 'co mpl ementary' to - and possibly more important (han - (he inhumation graves che Evenk were forced to use in th e Communisr period.

When the domestic reindeer ofEvenk hunter-gatherers die. they are nOt eaten but buried. They are hung in a bag from a quite large tripod erecTed in the foreST not far from me camp in opposiTion

Fig. 7. Thl" use or tripods instead or trees as carriers or the belongings or I he deceased in the

cemcrery or H ari lak

on the Olcnok Rivcr.

Six EssllYs 011 the Mllteria/;ry ofSocie~y lind Culture 49

to rhe remai ns of wi ld reindeer thar are pur on platforms on the periphery of the camp (Gt0 n & Kuznersov 2003).

The tripod that forms a central parr of (he construcrion of rhe rradirional Evenk renr seems to have a profound cosmological rnea ning as a means of communicarion between rhe worlds, a kind of'home of the fire' that connects to the uppet world and thus has a quality of 'sa me- place-ness' . The three legs of the tripod apparen tly represent the three worlds of the Evenk cosmos. -Jl,is has not ye t been confirmed directly by Evenk informants, bur rhey have srated so much as thar the idea must be correct and that they will rry ro find old people who can confirm it.

It may seem awkward wirh so much cosmology and symbolism in and arollnd the ser tlements of the Evenk . However, rhere are indicarions rhat each tree in rhe forest is actually in a co ncrere way regarded as a means of communication between rhe worlds. if a n ee rhar is cur down appears ro be hollow inside, a branch is immediately put into the hole to close it - so that 'evil spirits shall nor come up from the underworld'. The close connection between the three worlds which seem to interact everywhere and at any time appears in many cases as more related ro 'practical and everyday cosmological management' of the environment than ro what some might see as a 'sacred ' way of livi ng. To the Evenk with a more practical [han cosmological orientation (his is nor something rhar causes much co ncern. It is just things one does without reAeccion. In a way one gets the impression that the di stincrion berween material/practical and spiritual qualities is considerably less marked than we are used ro in our culture.

Spirit and matter - discussion

In so me cases one ca n in the Evenk society observe [he co nceprs of processes involving the separation or assembly of spirir and marrero The belongings of the dead are desrroyed to release their spirirs so rhat they can follow the soul of the deceased. Binh-hu rs are in some areas built around a young larch [Tee which is meant ro serve as the mea ns of transpo narion for the soul of rhe child comi ng down from the upper world. In rhe laner case, apparently, rhe ph ys ical body of a new chi ld and the soul coming down from the

50_ Gron er. al: Spiritual and mmerilll aspects

upper world fuse intO a live individual. I n other cases, however, it is obvious that even though maner

and sp irit/sou l have been separated, ' remains' of the laner continue [0 be related [0 the objects in question. For instance used clothes, when they are discarded, are hung on trees or pur on old platforms so that 'the remains of the soul of the person who carried [hem are not polluted by tOuching the impure ground. This is also the case with the items that seem [0 have been left where death occurred.

In a way the presence of a soul or of its ' remains' in several places seems con nected to the way that fire can create a 'same­place-ness' between difFerent physical locJrions. It is not unl ikely that fire and sou ls share features, due [0 the close relation between the humans' 'upper-world sou ls' and fire, which is the centra l element in the upper wo rl d. On the othet hand one shou ld also be aware that in the Evenk logic 'yes' and 'no' do not necessa rily appear with the same consequent compl ementarity as in our Western scien tific thinking.

In small-scale societies such as th e Evenk groups, the creation of hypothesis is not controlled byan extensive research and investigation sector. ~nle acceptance of new ideas and hypotheses is dealt with at a more personal and less objectivised level. Even though the Evenk maintain a strict distinction between told stories and ' information about the real world ' (Shirogokoroff 1935: 114-120), the concepr of this real world seems closer related to mythology, cosmology and the individual's personal experiences and observations than ours, which to a much higher degree is based o n transmission of generalised and formali sed knowledge. TIle Evenk sysrem facili tates a surprisingly good ability to act correcdy in given situations in the given environment - which is a central quality in small-scale societies

- even though rhe models and ideas applied are not provable or even correct seen from OUt perspective (Gr0n et al 2002; Shirokogoroff 1935:117). Apparently the aim is not so much as in our culture to explain and 'understand ' phenomena objecrively correctly bm to be able to at the individual level to predict situatio ns and their development, no matter what the explanato ry models behind it are.

The diffe rence berween these twO modes is o ne of degree, because our general ised understanding obviously also aims at predicrion , and the Evenk attitude of course in volves 'understandin g' in accordance with their generally accepted models and terminologies. However,

Six l:.-j"JllYS on the Materiality of Society find Culture 51

the lattet is far more individual and subjective than the former, and therefore less consistem with regard to formaJ logic. As the hunters are dealing with different rypes of biotopes/environments and with animals, plants, etc., with types of behaviour that can vary with the environment, show cyclic variations such as mating behaviour, cyclic variatio ns in the different an imal populations, ete., the, ability to grasp all the variabili ty in such a system to a degree where it can be used for precise predictive planning, for example at the level of the ind ividual animal , is fascinating and exceeds our best ecological modelling. lt just lacks its formal logical basis. It is to a h igh degree based on imuition or what rhe Evenk agree can be seen as a subconscious processin g of a mass of observations and data that is too large for suAlciendy fast conscious co ntrol and management. Thus the single indi vidual and all his/het sense­impressions, observations, experiences, etc. including subjective and more objeCtive bits of information, is the basis for the Evenk thinking and decision-making.

As with the fire, where the morc 'spiritually' orienwted Evenk seem ro focus on the 'same-place- ness' it creates and the less 'spiritual ' persons on the difference between the physical locations where the dwelling has been, the arciwde to [he question of marter's relation ro me spirirual sides of physical objects and fearures is not uniform and logically consistent in the Evenk society. A similar difference between more and less spiritualJy orienta ted Sami is observed by Lxstadius in his manuscript from 1839-45 (Lxstadius 2003:52). Even single indi viduals can in the Evenk society be observed to

have so different atti tudes in , for instance, spirirualmarrers that we would regard it as inconsistency.

Small-scale var iation between clans is a significant factor in the Evenk society. As part of the creation and maintenance of group­identity at me clan level - rhe level of rhe basic territorial group

- it appears that all aspects of rhe Evenk culmre can be exposed to variation at [his scale-level: language (i n some cases so such a degree that neighbouring clans have problems understanding each other), ri tual and cosmology, material culture, ideology, etc. (Barrh 1969, 1987; Donnet 19/ 5:75; Gf0n et a1. 2003; W iessner 1983, 1984). As Wiessner notes, the differences can be more pronounced at the shorr-distance level dun at dle long-distance level. One of rheir ce nt ral fun ctions is {Q distinguish the one clan fro m the other.

52 Gron c{. al: Spiritunl and matl'rial aspl'cts

Because o ne of the cen tral factors in small-scale SOClcnes is small-scale va riability, one ca n say that detailed questions about the general reiadon bct\>vccn spiri tuali ry and materialiry in fo r example. the Evenk sociery are put in a \vrong' way. It is obvious that spiriwal and material aspects are here integrated to sllch a degree that one at dmes can have problems disdnguishing the twO from one another. Is the spiritual aspect co mrolling the features of th e physica l object, or is it the physical objects that because of thei r physical fea tures attractllead/co m rol the spiritual aspects' At oth er rimes spiritual and phys ical aspects seem able to function rathe r independ ently, as we have seen.

In relation to a discussion of spiriruaJi ry and materiali ry it is interesting to nore that some shamans with a traditional training, who have also been in contact with (he termino logy of modern medicine. instead o f the term 'helping spirits' have starred usi ng terms such as 'powers' . E.g. 'My father [a fa mous Eveni-shamanJ called them his helping spiri ts, but I call them powers, because it is the sa me thing' (in terview with Aleksandra C hirkova. who apart frol11 being a traditional shaman is also a trained physician, Yakutsk 2004) . Small-scale cultures did nOt traditionally have an objcctivc/scicnrific termino logy. This may resu lt in a personification of the phenomena dealt with even though it does not necessa rily imply that these by the cultutal groups in questio n are necessa rily perceived as independen tly and consciously acting individual forces.

'Spirits' seems to be a general tetm for act ing forces at all levels of individuali ty and consciousness, including physical forces.

On this basis it is interesting to see some shamans' reaction to 'supernarural' phenomena. 'There is no thing above narure! It is nonsense to ta lk about 'super-narural' phenomena. Everything we do is based on ca reful observation of nature' (interview w ith Aleksandra Chirkova, Yakutsk, 2004). A good shaman should do two things: 'He must be ki nd and help oth er people, and he must be a good observer of natu re.' This is an often repeated 'code' for how a proper sha man should be. Some shamans even seem [Q display a degree of atheism: 'A shaman must help ro make peoples' lives easier in a difficult world. He must provide them wi th a worldview and a spiritual wo rld that ca n hel p them live better lives' (A natoli Alekseivich C rigorievu). The shaman is described as a person , who especially in the initial phases of his/her training risks his/her sani ty

Six /:.SSflYS 011 thl' Mllteriality ?fSociny and Cult lire 53

because of [he trllths he/she is confronted with (clearly not truths with which to bother their sociery's ordjnary members). Phenomena such as telepathy and the ability to con trol animals and other hum ans over long distances are often regarded mo re as application of physical abi liti es/phenomena than as something 'spiritual' in our sense of the word. Bur even me 'atheist' shamans believe in the so uls o fli ving creatures and all other things as a principle of nature. llle shama ns are generall y co ncerned about the three worlds, not solely as a cos mological principle but also as a basic prin ciple in life that ca n be empl oyed in the process of cuting diseases. To ordin ary Evenks l interest in this perspective is less pronounced, apart from the fac t that the name of the underworld is used as an expression when rhey swear in their own la nguage.

It is suggested that we should be ca reful nOt to overem ph asise, over-i nterpret or over-si mpli fY the spi rirual ity of rhe worldview of small-scale hunter-gathering societies such as the Even k. The spirit world plays an importan t role in their terminology, but it looks as if no t everybody believes in all aspects of it, many have differing perspectives o n it and quite a number have no great interest in it. As Anaroli Alekseivich Grigorievu pur it: 'You must be aware that [he spirituaJiry and interest in religio n varies a lot from household to household. Some have no interest in it at aJi whereas it for some is a matter of central ex istcmial co ncern' .

One basic problem for our understanding of the spiritual and the pract ical-marerial sides o f the Evenk culrure seems to be that Ollr 'scientific' understanding of th is relation is based on models of thought that have difficult ies coping with 'non-linea r' features and what we conceive as 'inconsistencies' of a logica l or system- related character - features that are generally accepted in the traditional Evenk sociery. O ne critical area is for instance the way we co nceive of ' rules'. For us they regulate how things should be done. If they are not followed it is wrong and in some cases can be punished. The Evenk are able to give information about a large amount of general rules when interviewed. However, the general (endency seems to be that individual solutions are sought where it is possible and rules are on ly applied when it is not possible to co me up with individual solutions. When an Even k is interviewed, he often makes a great effort ro 'explain' things in a systematically ordered way so char (he interviewer is abl e to understan d them . He will often be [mally

;4 Groll e(. 31: Spirilun/l1l1d mnterin/ aspects ...

exhausted after an hour of interview from his arrempts ro transfer knowledge in a way that is adverse to (he way it is pracrised in his own culture. His normal method is to hint, LO lei (he receiver 'guess' solurions ro ' riddles and ro supporr his expla nar io n wi rh physical acriviries and lo re (Barrh 2002; Dunfjeld 2001 :28; Fors 2004:6; Hamil ron 1980; Narive Science 2006; Si lli roe 1998). In o rher words, the informa nr has to 'formulatc'/'develop' a streamlined and logical fra mework for rhe elemems of knowledge he wishes ro trans fer during rhe interview, instead of, as his habit is, (Q lead the receiver by means of physical and anecdotal indications.

Anorher central problem is rhar we apparently catego rise and orga nise phenomena in a diff-erent way. Our terminology promotes for instance a distinction between spiritual and practical-material phenomena. We conceive them ro be different sub-spaces (e.g. planes) expa nded in our conceptual space (G r0n 2005a). 11,ey intersect blll do nOt coincide. To the Evenk. spiritual and practical­material phenomena can be present in one single sub-space. Each of their three cosmological layers imegrates both aspects so that rhey acrually operare with three 'parallel ' sub-spaces at diflerent practical and spirirua l levels with both features imegrated in each of them. Comm unication between these three closely related sub-sp3ces is fac ilitated by several fearu res (fig. 6). The chro nological relatio n bcnNcen thelll is complex. COlll munication from the middle wo rld with deceased and future clan-members is possible. But the Evenk react strongly ro rhe suggestion that the 'movement' o r time in one of rhese sub-spaces ca n deviare from a regu lar linea r progress.

In our an em prs (Q understand hunring-gathering societies and their spirirual and strategic-practical relations wi rh thei renvi ronment it is im porralH (Q keep in mind that our way of Ih inking in it-self may represent a significanr cultural obstade. This themaric area i interesting because it so precisely highlights the character of the problem of cultural incompatibility. The problem is nOt restrained ro the more ephemeral aspects of the hunting-gathering cu ltures, btl{ relates also to their practical strategic and material aspects. It is important to undersmnd thar the on-go ing everyday negotiation between practical material-economic-srraregic 3nd rillla l-spirirua l­cosmological aspects is a central element in the Evenk cu lture and is reAected in irs ani tude to and organisation of its cui rural landscape as well as in irs practical and spiritual strategies. Models [har foc us

Six Essa 'S on tbe Materinlity ofSoeirty flud eu/tllrl' ;;

solely on the pracrical.economicaspects ofhunrer-ga lherers' relation ro their cu ltural landscape wi ll therefore be of restricted value, whi le models that over-emphasize its spi ritual-ideological sides will also rend to be mi leading. A logical first-phase approach would seem to be to look for general traits in differem hunter-gatherer societies' 3ttirudes to rheir environment and ways of thinking.

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Six Essays Oil the \1ateriality or Society and Culture

Material culture studies has steadily incteased in popularity. This book provides a platform for scholars of anthropology

and archaeo logy upon which ro address central questions conce rning the materiality of society in a wide-reaching geographi ca l and cultural setting. Six essays deal with case stud ies ranging from sacrifi ce in medieval saami society ro

museums in present day Cuba. The essays are of relevance ro students and scholats of material culmre studies and research in the humanities and social sciences. Hakon GI0rstad and Lotte Hedeager introduce some of the founding work on social material srudies that make up [he framework for the

present interest in [he material qualities of reality.

Contributions by:

Fredrik Fah lander Michelle Tisdel Flikke Hakon Glorsrad Ole Gr0n Lorre Hedeager Torunn Klokkernes Kllur Odner Knm Rio Mich.il Turov

ISBN 978-91-85411-06-X

2 -s-~ Cb

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H ~lkon Gl0rslad and Lotle Il ecleager (e(

Six Essays

on the :Vlateriality

of'Society

and Cu ltu re

6' Bricoleur

Publi shed wirh support from

"Ihe Norwegian Research Council

SIX ESSAYS ON THE MATERIALITY OF SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Edited by H:ikon Glorslad and Lone Hedeager

Bricoleur Press Sraviksvagen 2

437 92 Lindome SWEDEN

Bricoleur@relia.com www.bricoleurpress.com

© Selection and editorial maner. (he (.'JilOrs: individual chaplers. rhe conlfihl1(or~.

AJi rights reserved. ·Ih i .. hook may be phowcopied freely except for resale. \Y/e rcsen',' aU righls 10 selling of reprinrs or rcproduuion in any rorm.

English m ';sed ky Erla Bergendahl Hohler

ryprsming, layout find COl ier I~v

Tom Ht'ibreen

Tjprm ill Adobe Garamond Pro and FUllIra

Pr,lIud and bound ~y ~l('diaprim. Uddt'\'alla AB

Udde\'alla :W08

1 ~IlN 978-91-85411-06-X

Contents

Preface ............................................................................................... 7

Hfikon Glori/lid fwd Lotte Hedetlger

On the Materialiry ofSocicry and Culrure .................................. ....... 9

Olt! GrOll, MiciJtliI7';frov (md Torul111 Klokkernes

Spiritual and mat('ri,ll aspecrs of everyday ritual negot iation Erhnoarchaeological data from rhe Evenk, Siberia ............................ 33

KIIII/ Odner t Saami Sacrifices. Mareriality and Biography ofl'hings ...................... 59

Mich,lle Tisdel Hikk, Three illlerprl'lalions of Marerialiry and Society Afro-Cuban Heritage and the Cuban Sbvc Roule Museum .............. 87

Frrdrik FnMnlldrr Differences thal matter Marcrblities, material cu lture :tlld social praclice ........................... , 127

KIIW Rio ~Jlle scale of mat('rialiry Objects between the ~ocial and [he ma{erial .................................... 155

Hakon Glorsltld Celebraring Materiality - The Antarctic Lesson ............................... 173

Con tributors ....... ............................................... ............................ 213