Shaman's mask

metal (copper), on fabric coated plywood plate (m: 40 cm x 42 cm)


The Evenks are one of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North. The native land of the majority of Evenki people is in the vast regions between Lake Baikal and the Amur River. Except in the majority of the regions of Siberia, they live in Mongolia and the People's Republic of China.

The religious beliefs and practices of the Evenks are of great historical interest since these retain some of the most archaic forms of belief.
Among the most ancient ideas are spiritualization and personification of all natural phenomena (animism), belief in an upper "ugu buga", middle ("duga buga") and lower world ("chargi buga"), belief in the soul ("omi") and certain totemistic concepts. There were also various magical rituals associated with hunting and guarding herds.

These rituals were conducted by shamans, who wore iron masks like the present one. Objects made of iron played an important role in the equipment of the shaman, one speaks of "iron shamanism".