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How did some Evenk communities support their shamans?
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Shamanism
Korean shamans, or mudang, performing a ritual dance in South Korea.
Because shamans among the Evenk were unable to participate in productive labor like hunting or fishing due to their professional duties, the community considered it a duty for every clan member to provide them with economic support.1
This support took several forms:
- Direct Payments: Families provided animals to the shaman for his activities, with poor families typically giving one animal annually and wealthier families contributing two to four.1
- Resource Allocation: During the distribution of fishing spots in spring and summer, the shaman was granted access to the areas most abundant in fish.1
- Labor Assistance: Clan members assisted the shaman in herding and grazing his reindeer in the autumn. During the winter, members of the clan would hunt on the shaman's behalf.1
- Gifts and Honors: The shaman was occasionally presented with furs. Furthermore, he was accorded high social status, which included always being given the best food and being treated with deference, as he was never contradicted or spoken of unfavorably.1