Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 41 (1) 2013

Annotation:  Chagyrskaya Cave: A Middle Paleolithic Site in the Altai Large Mammal Fauna from the Pleistocene Deposits of Chagyrskaya Cave, Northwestern Altai (Based on 2 Environmental Conditions During the Early Human Settlement of Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Dental Remains from the Middle Paleolithic Layers of Altai Cave Sites An Archaic Human Ulna from Chagyrskaya Cave, Altai: Morphology and Taxonomy The Neanderthals of Okladnikov Cave, Altai: Environment and Diet Based on Isotopic Analysis The Sibiryachikha Facies of the Middle Paleolithic of the Altai The Burial Rite of the Early Scythian Nomads of Tuva (Based on the Bai-Dag I Cemetery) The Oxus Temple: Localization of the Avestan Vahvi Daitya Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-Manchu Ethnic Minority, Sakhalin Island Interethnic Dynamics among the Indigenous Peoples of Southern Siberia (Demographic Aspect)   

Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-Manchu Ethnic Minority, Sakhalin Island

L.I. Missonova.

The article contributes to research into concepts of sacredness held by the Tungus-Manchu ethnic minority living on Sakhalin Island. The study focuses on the Rukutama staff found by a hunter in 1972 on the Angurovka River, an old arm of the Rukutama River. The staff displays the spatial features of Sakhalin Island in great detail, all of which were included into the life cycle of the island’s inhabitants. Sacred knowledge was transmitted over centuries via generations of shamans using the language of sacred compositions, “visual folklore.” Visual art is central to the study of the ethnic history and culture of the modern inhabitants of Sakhalin Island.

Keywords: Rukutama staff, sacred space, Sakhalin, North Asia, Tungus-Manchu ethnic minority, Evenki, Uilta.