Siimets

doi:10.7592/FEJF2006.32.
siimets
THE SUN, THE MOON AND FIRMAMENT

IN CHUKCHI MYTHOLOGY AND ON THE
RELATIONS OF CELESTIAL BODIES AND
SACRIFICE
Ülo Siimets
Abstract
This article gives a brief overview of the most common Chukchi myths, notions
and beliefs related to celestial bodies at the end of the 19th and during the
20th century. The firmament of Chukchi world view is connected with their
main source of subsistence – reindeer herding. Chukchis are one of the very
few Siberian indigenous people who have preserved their religion. Similarly
to many other nations, the peoples of the Far North as well as Chukchis
personify the Sun, the Moon and stars. The article also points out the
similarities between Chukchi notions and these of other peoples. Till now
Chukchi reindeer herders seek the supposed help or influence of a constellation
or planet when making important sacrifices (for example, offering sacrifices
in a full moon). According to the Chukchi religion the most important celestial
character is the Sun. It is spoken of as an individual being (vaúrgún). In
addition to the Sun, the Creator, Dawn, Zenith, Midday and the North Star
also belong to the ranks of special (superior) beings. The Moon in Chukchi
mythology is a man and a being in one person. It is as the ketlja (evil spirit)
of the Sun. Chukchi myths about several stars (such as the North Star and
Betelgeuse) resemble to a great extent these of other peoples.
Keywords: astral mythology, the Moon, sacrifices, reindeer herding, the Sun,
celestial bodies, Chukchi religion, constellations.
The interdependence of the Earth and celestial as well as weather

phenomena has a special meaning for mankind for it is the co-exist-
ence of the Sun and Moon, day and night, wind, rainfall and soil
that creates life and warmth and provides the daily bread. Over all
things there is only one heaven. Stars emerge from the dark sky
and their innumerability makes the thinking man answer questions
about the essence and origin of life and its purpose. People already
meditated on such questions in foregone times and will do the same
in the future. In every era there have been attempts to give an-
swers to these questions according to the level of knowledge.
At different times different divinities have governed the world, yet

in the entire course of human history the Sun has been considered
129 www.folklore.ee/folklore
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Ülo Siimets Folklore 32
the very source of everything. The symbols of the Earth comple-

ment those of the sky and represent the Great Mother (Mother
Earth) who is fertilised by rain and gives birth to plants that give
food to other living beings. The mythological theme of Mother Earth
stretches back to thousands of years. There have been discovered
clay figures of big-breasted women representing their reproduc-
tive and feeding role dating back to over 20,000 years B.C. Accord-
ing to beliefs seas, lakes and rivers are a part of the bountiful gifts
of the universe, sharing feminine and nourishing qualities with the
earth. For the sky is the residence of the Sun, Moon and stars, it has
always been linked to creative powers and creative divinities.
This article gives a brief overview of the most common Chukchi

myths, notions and beliefs related to celestial bodies at the end of
the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Whenever similarities
with the myths of other peoples have been spotted, these are out-
lined in the article. The article is based on the observations of the
Chukchi explorer Vladimir Bogoraz-Tan, the book Eesti taevas.
Uskumusi ja tõlgendusi (Kuperjanov 2003) by Andres Kuperjanov
and the author’s notes taken in 1971 when he lived in the Chukchi
land. If any connections with a celestial body have been discovered,
interesting facts from the book Mythologies of the World (McKenzie
& Prime & George & Dunning 2001) are presented for comparison.
Similarly to many other nations, the peoples of the Far North as

well as the Chukchi personify the Sun, the Moon and stars. They
are alive, but of a somewhat different origin than other beings. How-
ever, it is still them people turn to in prayers and spells. Even in
the recent past very many peoples brought sacrifices in their hon-
our or still do.
While herding reindeer with the Chukchi I noticed that, firstly, all
their principal sacrificial activities are related to reindeer. It is
understandable for their entire life depends on the well-being of
the reindeer herd. Secondly, the supposed help or influence of a
constellation or planet was sought when making important sacri-
fices (for example, offering sacrifices in a full moon). I have seen
such sacrificial rituals myself and heard Chukchis explain them.
When bringing sacrifices, the supposed influence of the Moon, North
Star or some other celestial body is used.
www.folklore.ee/folklore 130
The Sun, the Moon and Firmament in Chukchi Mythology
THE SUN
In numerous cultures around the world the Sun, besides being the
embodiment of light and warmth, is seen as masculine. The every-
day rising and setting of the Sun represents death and rebirth. The
Sun warms the earth and ripens grain. When speaking about the
Sun or sun-gods, the first thought that springs to mind is certainly
that of the Egyptian solar deity Ra. Each morning he starts his jour-
ney across the sky, defeating the chaos of darkness and destroying
evil. It is common knowledge from history lessons that the Egyp-
tian pharaoh Amenhotep IV declared that Aton (the Sun) is the only
god. In ancient Egypt the sun-god Ra had three aspects: in the morn-
ing the dung beetle Khepri, in daytime the falcon-headed Ra and in
the evening man, or ram-headed Atum, who represented the set-
ting sun. Every morning the Sun had to fight the serpent god Apep,
the deification of chaos (McKenzie & Prime & George & Dunning
2001: 34).
The Sumerian sun-god Utu was the enemy of darkness and evil,
and chased away diseases with the healing power in his wings. He
was also the god of justice. In later times he was called Shamash
which in the Akkadian language means “sun” (McKenzie & Prime &
George & Dunning 2001: 24).
Lug, the god of light and the Sun, was one the few Celtic gods who
was worshipped from Ireland to Spain. In translation his name
means “bright.” Lug was a warrior, magician and the master of all
crafts. In Celtic mythology fire symbolised the Sun. Celtic people
celebrated the succession of seasons with four great festivals. Of
these the most important ones were samhain and beltine with which
the arrival of winter and summer, respectively, was celebrated. The
other two – imbolc and lugnasad – were held in February and Au-
gust. Scandinavians also had similar festivals of which the eminent
one was the celebration of the start of winter, lasting for several
days. It was called the celebration of winter nights. Antique authors
write about Celtic celebrations, especially fertility rites and hu-
man sacrifices during samhain. People were drowned in honour of
the god Toutatis and burnt in baskets to propitiate the god called
Taranis (McKenzie & Prime & George & Dunning 2001: 69, 72; see
also Ó hÓgáin 2004).
The most monstrous sacrifices to the Sun were brought in the Ameri-
cas. The Incas and Aztecs conducted especially bloody sacrificial
rites. The central form of worship in the Incan Empire was the sun
cult. The heart of the religion was located in the Coricancha temple
in Cusco. The temple included six rooms of which one was dedi-
cated to Inti, the sun-god, who was considered to be the divine male
ancestor of Incan genealogy. In the room, which was lavishly cov-
ered with gold, there was a statue of Inti. The main celebration held
in his honour was Inti Raymi. The second room was decorated with
silver and dedicated to the Moon. The moon-god was called Killa
and she was believed to be the divine female ancestor of the Incas.
The third room was for the thunder-god Illapa and the fourth for
the creator-god Viracocha.
When a new Incan king was enthroned, all four provinces of

Tawantinsuyu (the Four Lands Together) had to send offerings to
the capital. These included llamas, alpacas, fabrics, precious metals
as well as children. The Incas received the offerings in Cusco’s town
square. Children marched twice around the statues of the Creator,
Sun, Moon and Thunder. Then the Incas called the priests of the
four provinces and let them divide the offerings into four according
to the four regions of the Empire. Children were told to leave town
after which they travelled to huacas ‘sacred places’ in the moun-
tains. There they were sacrificed. Their hearts were torn out and
the surface of the huaca was smeared with blood.
The most important deeds of Aztec creation-gods are connected with

the creation of the Sun. It was believed that in order for the Sun to
continue its celestial journey which would also mean preserving
the unity of the Aztec Empire, the Sun needed to be continually fed
with human blood. Thus the cults of Tonatiuh (the Sun) and
Huitzilopochtl (wars of the Sun) were the cornerstones of the Aztec
Empire. Providing sacrifices was the task of warriors. When there
were not enough captives or volunteers, the warriors themselves
had to sacrifice their lives to gods. Obviously the Sun’s hunger for
blood was infinite. In the great temple children were also sacri-
ficed. Every year at sacrificial ceremonies around 20,000 people
were killed. The Sun occupied a central place in the Aztec calendar.
A year consisted of 18 months (McKenzie & Prime & George &
Dunning 2001: 129–136). Yet all explorers are not unanimous as to
whether human sacrifices were brought, for example, Tarmo Kulmar

has voiced different opinions (2004).
The Greek sun-god Apollo was the defeater of darkness who in pic-
tures and mosaics was depicted as a man whose head is surrounded
by flames.
Alchemists in medieval Europe thought that the Sun with its inter-
nal fire, being also one of the elements, is present in all matter.
Therefore the Sun is among the symbols of the Freemasons.
According to Chukchi religion the most important celestial charac-

ter is the Sun. Yet it is not as blood-thirsty as American sun-gods.
According to Vladimir Bogoraz-Tan the Chukchis describe the Sun
as an individual being (vaú rgú n). In addition to the Sun, the Crea-
tor, Dawn, Zenith, Midday and the North Star also belong to the
ranks of special (superior) beings.
The Sun is depicted as a man in shining clothes (in copper or gold)

who travels around the sky by a dogsled or reindeer team. The rein-
deer have golden or copper horns. He extended one of his rays to
the Earth, married an earthborn girl and pulled her up to the sky
with the ray. Every evening the Sun returns to his wife. The wife is
called Kavra-ŋŋ a ‘Woman Who Goes Round’ (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 25).
It can be gathered from the name that in Chukchi mythology the
Sun and his wife live as nomadic people – in a portable house.
Chukchi cattle herders are constantly on the move and their lodg-
ing with them.
The god gave some of his reindeer to men. It is white reindeer who
descend from the sun-herd. Spotted, grey and brown reindeer origi-
nate from below the ground, ‡ viri-nutenut ‘the land delivering furs’.
This land can be found where the earth and sky meet. At that place
there is a large hole in the ground from which reindeer escaping
from wolves run out.
THE MOON
The Moon is the symbol of death and rebirth due to its monthly wax
and wane. The Moon dominates waters, making them ebb and flow.
The Sumerian moon-goddess is called Nanna. In the city of Ur there

was huge ziggurat at the summit of which was located the goddess’
temple. City-dwellers brought gifts to Nanna, placing them on sac-
rificial tables of stone. They also presented little figurines depict-
ing praying persons which were set next to Nanna’s statue so as to
constantly pray for the givers. Animals were also sacrificed in tem-
ples. Governors regularly organised ceremonies at Nanna’s altar to
dispel evil and grant a long life for themselves. Only the high priest
was allowed to enter the holy of holies – Nanna’s abode. Later Nanna
was called by the Akkadian name Sin. It was symbolised by the new
moon (McKenzie & Prime & George & Dunning 2001: 25–27).
In Egyptian mythology the moon-god Thot was the messenger,

deputy and vizier of the sun-god Ra. According to myth Thot serves
as a judge in the quarrel for the throne between Horus and Set. Set
cajoled Horus to enter his house and attempted to have sexual in-
tercourse with him in order to prove the effeminacy of Horus. Horus
manages to catch Set’s seed. Isis, the mother of Horus, took some of
her son’s seed and sprinkled it on lettuce, the favourite food of Set,
which the latter then eats. When Set appeared in front of the coun-
cil of gods to boast with his victory and demand kingship, the judge
called the seeds of Set and Horus. Set’s seed answered from the
depth of the sea, but Horus’ seed turned into a moon disc that grew
out of Set’s head. Thot took the moon and put it on his head as a
divine symbol.
Gods could be called to temples by means of prayers and rituals,

using figures or sacred animals. The sacred animals of the moon-
god were ibises whose mummified bodies have been found in many
tombs. Thot was pictured as a baboon-faced man (McKenzie & Prime
& George & Dunning 2001: 32, 34, 38–39).
According to Incan myths the Moon (Killa) was at first brighter

than the Sun. The Sun grew jealous and threw ashes on Moon’s face
so that its brightness dimmed, resembling the Moon of today
(McKenzie & Prime & George & Dunning 2001: 129).
In Chukchi mythology the Moon is a man and a being in one person.

In the Chukchi worldview it has the opposite position to the Sun. It
is as the ketlja (evil spirit) of the Sun. Shamans and other conjurers
turn to the Moon. The Moon helps to carry out wicked schemes: to
cast curses or spells on others. The Moon should not be looked upon
for too long a time for then one goes mad or is taken from the Earth
to other spheres, for example, to the Moon. The Moon has a chaad ‘a
lasso’, ‘lariat’ which he uses to catch people and pull them to him.
He has already caught a boy or a girl or both of them with that and
dragged them to his abode on the moon. Because the Moon owns a
chaad, pieces of strap are sacrificed to him at Chukchi festivities
(Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 22–23).
The myth that a human being inhabits the Moon is widespread in

Estonia as well as in other Nordic countries (Kuperjanov 2003: 69).
Using the Moon to strengthen the influence of spells is very com-

mon in Chukchi culture. In a legend an old shaman Jelöpa turns to
the Moon for help. The shaman did not have enough power to pun-
ish his enemy who owned a reindeer flock and wanted to drive the
shaman away for he was too old. In that case the shaman would
have frozen to death in the tundra or just died of hunger. Now the
shaman has not been left any other choice than to seek the death of
his enemy by using spells. Next follows an extract of the story.
To carry out the ritual, the shaman needed the help of the full
moon. He could not do anything else but wait and secretly damn
the enemy. Finally it was the time of the full moon. The sky was
clear. The stars twinkled and the moon resembled a large yellow
disc. The shaman had started with rituals in good time in the
sacred or “dark” yaranga. The rumble of his bubin echoed fiercely
over the tundra which also witnessed his shrieks and screams.
Usually others took part in his rituals, but this time he carried it
out completely alone. People in nearby yarangas could not get
any sleep. At times his screams turned into screeching, at times
deep mumbling was heard. The same could be said about the beat
of the bubin – the sound came in waves. At times a quick and high-
pitched sound was heard, at times dark thumps.
At midnight the drum fell silent. One of the herdsmen, who did
not dare to go out before, left his yaranga to relieve himself. Hav-
ing finished with that, he heard voices over the shaman’s yaranga.
He peeked from behind his yaranga and saw to his surprise that
Jelöpa was walking on all fours. He was stark naked. The sha-
man was wearing only a hat made of the fur from animal scalps.
Jelöpa crawled to the tundra directly toward the moon.
The herdsman could not understand all that was said, but the
overall meaning of the words was something like:
“Oh Moon, Moon. You, who govern the night.
You who can break the darkness, help me. You see how humbly I
am crawling before you.
I have no secrets from you, I present my body to you completely.
Help me.
Help me to defeat my enemy. He has abased me. He has derided
me in front of others. Have mercy on me. I have always brought
you sacrifices and I will continue to do so, if you help me.
Help me to soothe my anger. Make my enemy die.” (For a longer
version, see Siimets 2003: 231–245.)
A couple of weeks after the ritual was carried out, the enemy died
and the shaman was again the most important person among rein-
deer herders.
The Moon was also personified in earlier Estonian beliefs. For in-
stance, he was one of the suitors of the Star Bride. In addition, the
custom that when seeing a new moon for the first time it should be
greeted and asked for money, wealth and the fulfilment of wishes
also gives witness to the belief. For the latter end it should be enough
to jingle coins in the pocket upon seeing a new moon or show money
to the moon. As a rule, the moon was addressed in spells. Estonian
moon spells have been recorded from ancient times to the present
day. Differently from many spells that are forgotten or known only
by special persons, moon spells are still used when healing
(Kuperjanov 2003: 74).
The situation among the Chukchi people is similar. Younger people

do not know the meaning of spells any more or do not want to talk
about that. When I asked why they carry out certain rituals or say
spells, they answered: for things to go better. Many shamanic heal-
ing rituals took place during the full moon. Certainly such rituals
were conducted at other times, yet in Vaegis we noticed or heard
the rumble of bubin at moonlit nights. The moon brought light into
the long and dark northern night and I was frequently outside at
such times.
A drum is an indispensable aid for a shaman. It is used to invoke

benevolent spirits. When travelling in the higher realms or in the
underworld, it serves as a shield, even as protection against the

arrows of aggressive spirits. A shaman needs to use aids to make a
trip, for example, it takes hallucinogenic substances to carry out
rituals and change the state of consciousness. Chukchi shamans used
fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) to induce hallucinations. The spirit
in the mushroom is a helper to the shaman and so he can enter the
realm of spirits. Evil spirits need to be kept under control, but the
benevolent ones to be turned to for help. When returning from the
other realm, the shaman has usually accomplished his mission: found
the cause of a disease or an enemy and gathered information about
questions that interested him, all of which he will now put to use.
V. Bogoraz-Tan marks that here and there Chukchis sacrificed to

the new moon each month. This sacrifice included blood soup, meat,
fat and reindeer figurines made of crushed tree leaves. Reindeer
were rarely slaughtered, only in the cold season.
One evening bubin beats were heard from a lonely yaranga nearby
Vaegi village. We happened to be out at the time looking at the au-
rora borealis and asked locals what the beat meant. We were an-
swered that the shaman is healing somebody. We asked girls to take
us there to have a look. The girls agreed.
Having raised the skin covering the entrance of the yaranga, we

saw someone lying on the floor in the firelight. On the other side
of the fire the shaman was jumping up and down and playing the
bubin. He was in ecstasy and did not notice us entering. Time and
again he performed meter-high jumps in the air, at the same time
beating the drum with a reindeer calf’s shinbone. Someone was
lying motionless in front of the fire. Some people were sitting at
the back wall.
When Nina asked whether we could sit beside the fire, the sha-
man stopped the ritual and a terrible and shrieking flood of
Chukchi-language invectives befell us. The shaman must have said
something dreadful for the girls were petrified and then fled, drag-
ging us along by the sleeves.
What the girls were told remained secret because all our later
requests to see the shaman were firmly refused. Nobody told us
what the shaman had said.
Later, back in Estonia, I read Bogoraz-Tan’s book, who writes:
“Chukchi shamans are exceptionally cautious when it comes to
showing their rituals to foreigners. They are especially anxious

at the start of their shamanship. However, even shamans with
extraordinary powers refuse to demonstrate their art to foreign-
ers. They consent only after repeated requests and even then they
do not reveal the true extent of their powers and abilities.
They are afraid of other people whom they are not familiar with.
Shamans are afraid of the bubins of aliens and their guardian
spirits that could hide in their bags, as well as of “spirits” and
“souls” which circle and hover around aliens. The most insignifi-
cant intervention by aliens or a mere doubt that they might do
that ends a shaman’s performance. (Siimets 1999: 147)
Browsing the journal I found yet another description from March

1971. This time the healer was not a shaman, in this case a woman,
but a man from among reindeer herders. He had taken a vacation
and travelled to Vaeg.
This evening we were at a party organised by local girls. Music was

playing, people drank vodka shots and danced. Next follows an ex-
cerpt from my journal.
Suddenly drum beats started to sound from a nearby house. We

wondered what is going on. Lyuba said that a man who knows
how to heal people lives in that house. It is a full moon today and
thus a good time to heal people.
“Is he a shaman?”
“No, but from time to time he helps those who need help. There is
someone in each herd who knows the art of healing.”
“What has healing to do with a full moon?”
“They say it is easier to heal at such a time.”
“Maybe we could go and see?”
“Let’s go.”
We put overcoats on and went to the door of the house. Girls started
to knock on the door. I went around the corner and looked in
through the window. There were no curtains drawn and I saw a
man in national clothes with a bubin. Someone was lying on the
bed. The girls were still knocking on the door. The man stopped
beating the drum and asked something. The girls answered in
Chukchi and quickly explained something. We understood only
the words etteki (in Chukch “hello”) and ianki. I saw the man’s
angry face and through the window heard him railing. At any
rate, we were not let in and the girls said that the neighbour is not
in a good mood. We went back to the party.
I took some interest in healing and asked Lyuba whether she can
tell me some magic spells that can be used to heal people. She said
that such spells are usually received as an inheritance from forefa-
thers. Her grandfather and grandmother died in the war with the
Russians in 1950 and therefore could not pass incantations to her
mother and father. Many elderly people survived among reindeer
herders for they were the passers-on of ancient knowledge. Lots of
herders know some kind of spells, but these are accompanied by
unknown magic words or utterances. Incantations have no effect
without the latter. These words have no meaning. The words are
known only by a few people, the so-called sages. There are such
sages in each reindeer herd and the neighbour was one of them.
Later, when I worked as a reindeer herder I spent a lot of time with

Ejgeli, who was the shaman-sage of our herd. He told me that many
spells mention the Sun, Moon, Milky Way, Morning Star and vari-
ous constellations. Ejgeli sincerely believed that it is possible to
kill your enemies by means of spells. That is why only shamans know
such spells and keep them strictly secret. For example, when you
kill a reindeer in a full moon, turn to the Moon with the right words,
cut off the reindeer’s head, put it on a pole, again say the right words,
turning to the Moon for help, add appropriate utterances and force
the pole with the head into the ground, your enemy whom you cursed
will be paralysed for the rest of his life. Ejgeli also said that he will
not tell me words because maybe I will do something foolish. It is
believed that when someone uses spells improperly and unfairly,
the person himself will be punished. However, when the enemy’s
guardian spirits are stronger than those of the one casting the spell,
the latter is in trouble. If the enemy knows the spell also, the curse
affects the one who said it first.
Such beliefs that it is possible to kill by means of spells or witch-

craft are common all over the world. Only recently the TV pro-
gramme Pealtnägija ‘Witness’ on ETV showed a clip from New Zea-
land where people were killed just on the assumption that they
were witches. The killing of a witch by the relatives of the one be-
witched was approved even by the relatives of the supposed witch.
In Oceania the so-called lovers of the Elema people embody the

paparet ‘the Moon’ who during mythic times draws women like a
magnet. Men call themselves Marai which is the secret name of the
moon, hoping to make the opposite sex as irresistible as they can be
(McKenzie & Prime & George & Dunning 2001: 146).
Next I will tell of a sacrificial ritual performed by Chukchi rein-

deer herders in a full moon.
August arrived. In the course of summer the horns of reindeer had

grown big, but were still covered with skin and hair.
In the tundra mushrooms had already popped out of the ground a

week before. The appearance of the first mushrooms excited the
reindeer herd. They craned their necks and looked upwind into the
distance. As soon as animals were released, leading reindeer made
a dash for mushrooms. Others followed them quickly. The herd split
as soldiers in a war. In a moment more than 4,200 animals were
scattered all over the tundra. Every animal tried to find a mush-
room. Having found one, it ran sniffing for the next one. Having got
yet another one, it picked it up with the mouth and rushed for the
next one. Reindeer had run as far as the eye could see.
I was with the Chukchi herder Ejgeli helping to drive slower ani-
mals closer to the first ones, leading reindeer. It was a hard job for
reindeer were crazy and did not follow orders. Thanks to the swift-
ness of a herding husky we managed to gather the herd together at
last. When the herd was released, everything repeated.
The closer to the end of August, the more mushrooms emerged from
moss. Here and there entire mushroom circles appeared which on
the ground looked like the Olympic rings. Such an abundance of
mushrooms calmed the herd down.
The majority of mushrooms were boletuses. There were also other

species, but in lesser numbers. I asked Ejgeli why Chukchis do not
pick mushrooms for they are so delicious. Ejgeli looked me in the
face and said: “At times you speak such nonsense as a stupid tanŋ g1.
Can’t you see what these mushrooms do to reindeer? Animals go
stark mad even if they smell mushrooms. Do you want to go crazy
like them? Go on, crawl on all fours and eat them until your belly is
swollen. Then you will see what happens.”
“But where I come from we eat boletuses and russulas. We even

have a song about boletuses, which says that boletuses fried with
butter are excellent with vodka. I like especially chanterelles,” I
said.
“See, you yourself are saying that mushrooms are good with vodka.
Can you get any vodka here? At home you eat mushrooms with vodka
and don’t even know that it is mushrooms that make you go crazy.
Later you think that you drank too much vodka and that is why you
were off your head.”
The Chukchi became thoughtful and answered: “We pick and hon-
our only fly agaric. These mushrooms are very strong. When grow-
ing, they can even break tree roots. Certainly there are other mush-
rooms that do that, but the real power of fly agaric lies in the fact
that it can take you to the other realm. Of course, it depends on
you – how well you can coax them. But bear in mind that you never
eat an even number of mushrooms.”
“It is said that when you eat two mushrooms, three spirits meet in
you – yours and two of the fly agaric. If one of them is on your side,
nothing bad happens. But when two of them turn against you, they
take your spirit with them. They might not let your spirit go back to
your body and then you will be dead. When you eat three fly agarics
for the start, then at least one of the spirits is on your side and
their powers are balanced, which means that everything is up to
you. A person who eats a fly agaric might even see the spirit of it.
The spirit can take you by hand and lead you to the underworld
where you can meet your ancestors. Shamans use fly agaric to find
souls that have been stolen by ketljas. The elderly speak about the
fly agaric people. These are human beings who have one arm and
one leg. They can be of immense help.”
We left the matter at that. In the evening when I gathered the herd
I saw a reindeer rubbing its skin-covered horns against a willow.
When rubbed, the skin came off the horns. The skin revealed red
bloody horns from which dangled few skin straps.
In the evening when I sat at the fire and watched meat boil in a pot,
I said to Vatap that a big male reindeer rubbed the skin off its horns.
Ejgeli had gone somewhere and it was Vatap’s turn to cook supper
for men. Vatap looked at me, a strange expression on his face and
shouted in Chukchi to other men to come to him. After Ejgeli had
returned to the fire, herdsmen started to quietly and privately dis-
cuss something. Afterwards Ejgeli came to me and said:
“We’ll be briefly away with the herd. In the meanwhile you rest
here. We’ll leave you here with the tent. We’ll be back in three-four
days. You have your rifle and cartridges, go hunting. Behind that
mountain bighorn sheep are frequently found. Maybe you can catch
one and make a nice meal out of it. By now they are quite fat.”
I got the gist of the conversation and answered: “I travel with you
people, sleep with you, eat the same food, drink the same water and
breathe the same air as you. I have the same clothes. The only dif-
ference is that yours are made of leather and mine of canvas, but
that does not matter. What I want to say is that I live with you and
I am a herder just like you – that means a Chukchi like you. I think
that the ketlja wouldn’t be displeased by me coming with you.”
Ejgeli didn’t say a word. He went to other herders. They discussed

the matter between themselves. Before long Ejgeli came back and
said: “Ok, you can come with us, if that is what you really want.”
Of course I wanted to go with them.
We travelled two days in a certain direction.
A SACRIFICE TO THE KETLJA
In the evening of August 9 a full moon started to slowly climb from

between the mountains. Herders caught a very strong and good-
looking male reindeer with a chaad. The animal was black and had
only lately removed the skin from his horns. The animal was pulled
by a chaad to the top of a nearby mountain. The reindeer skipped
and jumped on the rope. The animal was quite strong so that sev-
eral men had to hold it back. At last we reached the top of the moun-
tain and began to wait. Ejgeli had turned his face to the valley be-
neath us and sang something in Chukchi. In between stanzas ringed

the familiar monotonous “Eeeee, aaaaa, ooooo, uuuuu...”
Then he slowly took the ritual dagger from its sheath. Men pulled
the chaad tight. Meanwhile the reindeer had calmed down, but now
it started skipping again. Men held the animal on a tight rope. It
became exhausted and stood still. But it was still reluctant, digging
all four hooves strongly into the ground. Its body was at a backward
slant as is usual in case of reluctant animals. Its eyes were bulging
and it goggled at the preparations of nearby herders.
Ejgeli stepped closer. The reindeer, sensing danger, again started

to skip on the rope, but not for long. Soon it stood stiffly, legs at a
forward slant to resist the chaad’s pull. That was the moment herd-
ers were waiting for. In such a position it was easiest to stab the
animal to the left side, directly through the heart with a knife or
spear. Ejgeli did that, delivering a strong stab to the reindeer’s chest,
right behind the front leg and pulling the spear out again. Blood
gushed instantly from the wound. The reindeer started to skip and
prance wildly. Herders strengthened their hold on the chaad. First
the animal sank to its knees and then dropped on one side.
“Everything has gone really well,” Ejgeli said. He meant that the
animal had dropped on its right side. This meant that the chosen
animal was acceptable to the ketlja. If the animal had dropped to its
left side, blood would have poured out of its chest. Then a new ani-
mal would have been chosen and sacrificed. The procedure would
have gone on until they found a sacrifice pleasing to the ketlja.
The reindeer’s head was placed in the direction of the mountain

over the valley. The animal was skinned right by the fire. Its guts
were taken out. Its eyes were cut out of the skull with a sharp knife.
The skull itself was chopped in half lengthwise and larger-than-
usual skull pieces were left with the horns.
All that took place in complete silence, without any words spoken.
The only sound was the men shuffling around. It is one of the
Chukchi customs that it is forbidden to laugh or whistle while skin-
ning an animal and it is best to keep silent.
Ejgeli took a handful of blood from the reindeer’s chest. He smeared

its horns with it and placed them on the ground, tops down so that
the skull formed something of a bowl. He also put some blood in the
makeshift bowl. The reindeer’s one eye was put into the blood. A
piece of its liver, kidney, heart, lung and meat from its leg were also
added. Next he took the offering and went down to the valley.
The full moon had risen high and the surroundings that before were
in complete darkness were now clearly moonlit. I took interest in
what the herders did and then directed my gaze to Ejgeli. All at
once I noticed that moonlight that illuminated the mountainside
opposite me created a weird sight. At a certain angle the shadows
of bushes and rocks created by moonlight formed an image of a hu-
man head on the opposite mountainside. The man’s head had eyes,
a nose, mouth, moustache and beard and it looked down to the val-
ley. Ejgeli was quite far, but still I could see how he bowed down at
the foot of the mountain and put the offering on to the ground. His
singing could be heard at the fire: “Eeeee, aaaaa, uuuuu, ooooo...”
Men sat at the fire, legs crossed and rocked back and forth to the
rhythm of the murmur. Years later when I told about my experi-
ence to Vigala Sass, he said that such singing (repeating vowels)
has an effect on the solar plexus. Singing in such a way, murmuring
inwardly and rocking to oneself gives a sense of pleasure and lib-
eration. In general, people can be influenced with rhythm and sound.
Charms and spells accompanied by rhythm have a stronger effect.
Vigala Sass claims that he has conducted experiments that the vi-
bration of drum beats during a ritual gives ions a positive charge –
neutrons gain charge and turn into cations. The phenomenon is es-
pecially distinct at sites of ritual activity where nature is said to
thrive. The same can be achieved by means of singing.
The effect is made use of at religious and public events: in churches,

chapels, song festivals, nightclubs and dance clubs. But in essence
it is hypnosis and autosuggestion in its purest form.
When Ejgeli came back, he put the meat to boil in a pot. He cut the
other eye out of the skull and cut in half on his palm. Liquid oozed
out of the eye into the hollow of his hand. At first he drank the
liquid and then ate the rest of the eye. He was the main character of
this ritual – the performer. Eyes are given only to the most impor-
Figure 1. The Chukchi

conception of the sky. After
Vladimir Bogoraz-Tan.
tant guests. This time there were two of them: the ketlja (the spirit)
and the shaman.
In a little while partly bloody meat was taken from the pot and men
started to eat it. When the meat was finished, more of it was boiled.
Later blood was taken from the reindeer’s chest by handfuls and
added to the meat soup. Veem took some roots from his backpack
which were later added to the boiled blood. When the blood did not
stick to a bone spoon any more, the pot was removed from the fire
and placed in the middle of the circle. Every man took a short-han-
dled bone spoon from his belt. In turn they took the blood soup with
it and blowing on the hot liquid, started to eat it. In a long time they
ate as much as they could. Veem and Vatap went to the herd to
replace the men so that they could come too and join the feast. It
was around three o’clock when everyone went to the tent to sleep.
In the morning when the sun rose, it could be seen that there were
lots and lots of horns at the foot of the opposite mountain. In some
places they had been piled into heaps, forming round horn stacks.
The sacrifice had been thankfully received for the horns at the foot
of the mountain were on their side and offerings had disappeared.
It could be guessed, watching the heaps or horns, that the sacrifi-

cial site had been used by Chukchi herders for decades. Such a heap
of horns is called a tönmaj. They can be found at burial sites and
other sacrificial sites.
The sacrificed reindeer is usually eaten completely but this time

the rest of it was dragged from the place of killing down to the foot
of the mountain and left there. The bones of previous sacrificial
animals were already waiting there. Bones could be seen under a
number of bushes. The desolate place was left in silence.
THE EARTH AND THE ESTONIAN STAR BRIDE
According to a Chukchi legend the Earth (Nutenut) lives in a large

house of iron. The story tells that the Sun, Moon, Sky, Sea, Dawn,
Mist and the Universe were visiting him. They all wanted to marry
the Earth’s beautiful daughter. The story resembles to some extent
the Estonian myth of the Star Bride yet their endings are different.
In The Star Bride the maiden picks the Star to be her fiancé. In the
Chukchi myth the maiden does not get to choose a fiancé, but suit-
ors compete and the winner marries the bride. However, none of
the aforementioned suitors wins the contest, but a Chukchi sha-
man Jettögöt, who raises his staff and touches every rival with it.
As a consequence the touched side of each suitor catches fire and
they all flee in panic. And Jettögöt marries the girl.
By the way, polygamy is not forbidden among Chukchis and is unof-

ficially practiced to our day. As can be seen from the above text, the
Sun already has a wife called Kavra-ŋŋ a.
Stars and constellations are among the prominent beings listed

above (vaú rgú t).
THE NORTH STAR
The North Star (in the Chukchi language Iluk-eŋ er ‘the Immobile
Star’, ‡ lqep-eŋ er ‘the Nail Star’ or Unp-eŋ er ‘the Driven-in Stake
Star,’ ‘Pole Star’) is cast in the central role among stars. V. Bogoraz-
Tan claims that the latter version of the star’s name is common all
over Europe. The North Star in the firmament is like a pole or stake
driven into the ground around which stars circle, resembling horses
or reindeer tied to a pole. Its house is near the Zenith and through
its smoke opening it is possible to travel between worlds. Due to
that opening the North Star can be seen in all worlds, in the under-
world as well as in upper realms, while other stars and constella-
tions are not the same in different realms. At the same time it is
believed that the North Star’s house is higher up than other houses.
Its house is made of ice-like substance and to its top is fixed a light-
house-like source of light (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 23).
In his book Andres Kuperjanov lists the names different peoples

call the North Star by the Golden Pillar (Mongols, Buriats, Kalmyks
and Altaian Tatars), the Iron Pillar (Kyrgyzes, Bashkirs and Sibe-
rian Tatars), the Lonely Stake (Teleuts), the Golden Stake (Tunguses)
(Kuperjanov 2003: 143). All these ethnic groups picture the North
Star as an immobile stake or pillar or a stake driven into the sky.
The same applies to Chukchis. The Chukchi name of the Nail Star
has a close resemblance to the Estonian name of Põhjanael ‘North-
ern Nail’.
ARCTURUS AND VEGA
In the Chukchi worldview stars ranking next to the North Star as

to their importance are the so-called heads (in Chukchi Leutti).
Heads are formed of two stars. The First Head is Arcturus in the
constellation Bear Watcher (Chukchi Janotlaut, Estonian Karu-
valvur ‘Guardian of Bear’) and the Second Head is Vega in the con-
stellation Lyra (Chukchi Jaatlaut, Estonian Vabamees ‘Freeman’,
Voorimees ‘Coachman’). According to Chukchis these stars are broth-

ers or cousins.
Travelling in the nighttime tundra Chukchis use the mutual posi-

tion of the heads and the North Star as a reference point to find the
right direction. Arcturus is sometimes also called the leader or the
guide of stars (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 24).
Chukchis turn to both of the stars to seek help when healing. In

case of diseases a sacrifice has to be brought to Arcturus or the
First Head. In case of stomach ache the sacrifice and spell have to
be addressed to Vega or the Second Head.
STAFF STARS, ORION AND OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES
The Estonian Staff stars are the three stars in a row in the constel-
lations Aquila (Old Staff Stars) and Orion (New Staff Stars)
(Kuperjanov 2003: 177).
The stars a (Altair) and g (Tarazed) in the constellation Aquila have

a special meaning to Chukchis. They are called by the name Pettigú n.
The Aquila constellation brings the new year to Chukchis for it ap-
pears for the first time on the horizon on the winter solstice. Rein-
deer herders as well as Chukchis living in the coastal areas brought
sacrifices on the occasion, at least formerly. Especially suitable sac-
rifices were fat male reindeer. At other festivals blood is sometimes
sacrificed and reindeer are exchanged for symbolic statues made of
plants or snow (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 75).
V. Bogoraz-Tan heard in Anadyr as well as Kolyma that Pettigún

had once been a chieftain who was lifted to the sky. Unfortunately
he had no chance to gather more data about the subject (Bogoraz-
Tan 1939: 24).
Other constellations are not considered to be prominent beings

(vaú rgú t) by Chukchis. V. Bogoraz-Tan has listed the most impor-
tant ones.
Chukchis call Orion Rultennin ‘Humpback’. It is the humpbacked

archer. The star l of Orion is its head, a and g shoulders, k and b
legs. Orion’s belt forms the Humpback’s hunched back. The two large
stars below the belt are the Humpback’s genitals.
Chukchis call the constellation Leo Vetcaŋ aut ‘Standing Woman’.

Women participating in folk dances are usually called by that name.
In folklore Standing Woman is believed to be the Humpback’s wife,
who sleeps on bare ground. She was so jealous over Orion who lusted
after the Pleiades that he hit Humpback with a cutting board. The
blow was so strong that it injured her husband’s back. That is why
he has a hunched back. After the fight Orion drove his wife away
and up to this day she is forced to sleep in the mid-sky.
The constellation Leo consists of seven stars. The star e is her head,
h shoulders, Regulus her knee, the tiny star between e and h is a
pillow she rests her head on while sleeping, and other stars form
the contour of her body.
The Chukchi name of the Pleiades is Nausqatiomkú n ‘Group of

Women’. These are six single girls waiting for their men. After hav-
ing been crippled and driving his wife away Humpback tried to marry
whichever one of them, but all the girls disdained him for his too
big phallus. The obtrusive suitor took a bow and started to shoot
the frightened girls who fled from the shooting range of his bow.
The main star of the constellation Taurus is a copper-tipped arrow
shot by Orion. It is called accordingly in Chukchi mythology – Celgú -
maqú m ‘Copper Arrow’. The arrow did not fly as far as the fleeing
girls and fell into some moss. The humpback’s bow is an arched,
bow-like star cluster between Orion and Aldebaran. A version of
the same myth by Kolyman Chukchis tells that the Group of Women
standing coolly in a distance are protecting themselves with nets.
The net is formed by numerous tiny stars into which the Copper
Arrow has been caught (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 25).
In Greek mythology Orion was a wild and mighty hunter from

Boeotia who pursued the Pleiades. In case of many Siberian peo-
ples the constellation Orion is associated with hunting. In Esto-
nian folklore it is the household tools of celestial beings that are
scattered in the heavens. In southern Estonia Orion is called Flail
and Rake, also in Lahemaa and Saaremaa the constellation is asso-
ciated with threshing, but is called after a threshing stick Vart or
Vart stars (Kuperjanov 2003: 165).
Pleiades is due to its compactness and peculiarity known every-

where it can be seen. Pleiades has usually been seen as a group of
people (mainly of girls), seeds, chickens or a nest. In classical as-
tronomy each of Pleiades’s nine stars has its own name: these are
Atlas and oceanic nymph Pleione and their seven daughters Alcyone,
Maia, Asterope, Taygeta, Celaeno, Electra and Merope, whom Zeus
lifted to the heavens when they were fleeing from Orion who wanted
to marry Merope (Kuperjanov 2003: 183). It is interesting to note
that the classical version has a close resemblance to the Chukchi
myth of Orion and the Pleiades.
According to Chukchi mythology the star a of the constellation

Auriga or Capella is a male reindeer who has been harnessed to a
human being’s (e) sledge drawn by two reindeer. All the four stars
are in Chukchi called Cú mŋ a-Nletelú n ‘Guided Steers’. The star b
is a leather collar that has been lost by others who were travelling
with reindeer and have turned back to look for it. A spare male
reindeer d tied to the sledge and running next to it is also included
in the constellation. From the other side a fox is approaching the
collar (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 25).
The material gathered by Jakob Hurt reveals the Estonian belief

that Capella was the original Christmas Star which in ancient times
signalled the birth of Christ and guided the wise men from the East
to Bethlehem (Kuperjanov 2003: 163).
Ursa Major is a well-known constellation as in all regions it is vis-

ible. With Orion they form so clearly defined constellations that it
is impossible to think that they might have a different shape. The
Estonian equivalent for Ursa Major is Suur Vanker ‘Great Wagon’
and in many English-speaking countries the constellation is called
Big Dipper. For Tatars Ursa Major is an omen of doomsday. For them
the constellation consists of seven dogs and when they flee, dooms-
day arrives.
In Germanic beliefs Ursa Major represented Odin and later Char-

lemagne’s wagon. In China the constellation is called Emperor’s
Wagon (Kuperjanov 2003: 180–182).
Yet for Chukchis Ursa Major does not form an integral constella-
tion. Six of its stars are called Wú jotkúŋ aulú t ‘Sling-Throwers’. The
seventh star, which actually is a pair of stars, is a fox that is gnaw-

ing discarded reindeer horns.
The constellation Gemini, the twins Castor and Pollux, are two rein-
deer fleeing from two hunters. Either hunter drives a reindeer team.
One of the men has tied a dog to the sledge. Chukchis call the con-
stellation Gopka-velerkú lelú t ‘Hunters with Reindeer’. Hunters are
represented by the stars g and c, and l and h from the neighbouring
constellation.
Chukchis call Northern Crown (Corona Borealis) ‘White Bear’s Paw’.

The constellation Delphinus is called ‘Seal’: the star e is its head
and the other four are its flippers. Chukchis call the Milky Way
Cigej-veem ‘River of Sand’ which flows eastward. There are many
islands in the river (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 25).
In an ancient Egyptian myth the god-creator Atum appears from

the primeval ocean Nun. Of its seed, or unity, he created duality
which is represented by the twins Shu, the god of light and evening,
and the lioness Hathor-Tefnut, who embodies the Sun. The couple
begat Nut, the sky, and Geb, the earth. Nut was represented by a
woman whose toes and fingers touch the earth, her body forming
the sphere of heaven. Stars on her body are the Milky Way. Geb and
Nut in turn begat the gods of the so-called Osiris-cycle. The eldest
son, Osiris, inherited kingship from Geb. Osiris was accompanied
by his sister Isis who at first could have been the symbol of king-
ship. Isis also symbolised Sirius. Set killed Osiris in a quarrel over
the kingship of Geb, chopped up the body and scattered its pieces
all over Egypt. Based on that myth numerous centers of the cult of
Osiris sprang up and all had allegedly a piece of the body of some
god for a relic. After Osiris was murdered, his two sisters Isis and
Nephthys travelled around gathering the pieces of Osiris’ body and
putting them together. They even succeeded in reviving Osiris for a
short time. The identification of Osiris with Orion which is not seen
in the sky for around 70 days a year reflects the 70-day Egyptian
mummification ritual. Isis floated over Osiris’ aroused penis and
conceived. She gave birth to Horus. Isis was forced to hide Horus in
rushes from Set. She was helped by Uto or Uadzit (English ‘fresh,
green’) and the vulture Nehbet from Al Kab, who both represented
one of the two most important crowns (McKenzie & Prime & George
& Dunning 2001: 35–37).
According to Chukchis the five stars of the Cassiopeia constella-

tion are five reindeer standing in the middle of a river.
Chukchis call comets smoking stars. The word “smoking” refers to

the Chukchi belief that comets are some kind of creatures who cook
all the time.
Planets are called “stars that have crooked paths” which is due to
their seemingly incorrect trajectory in the sky.
The Morning Star or Venus is called Gú to-tlap. The first part of the
name means in Chukchi “big, strong.” The other part Chukchis were
not able to explain, but it has probably something to do with the
Koriakian word lelapú can, which refers to a star and is in turn de-
rived from the verb lelapekú n ‘to look’. In that case the name of
Venus would be the ‘Great Star’ or ‘Great Eye’.
Venus, which is seen in the morning, is called Kerg-aŋ atlúŋ ú n ‘the

Bright Star’. Chukchis tell that Venus is mú k-evirú nlú n ‘has sev-
eral robes’ which means that the star shines differently at different
times (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 29).
The Sumerian myth of seasons is connected to the Morning Star.

The Akkadian moon-goddess Sin (Sumerian Nanna) had a daughter
called Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna). She is associated with the planet
Venus. She was the goddess of love and sex who was well-known as
to her insatiable and restless nature. Of Ishtar’s many lovers the
most prominent one was Dumuzi (later Tammuz), the god of fertil-
ity and vegetation. The goddess Ishtar left for the underworld to
visit her sister. She passed seven gates each of which ripped off one
of her garments. So when she met her sister Ereshkigal she was
stark naked. She fell ill and the earth ceased to yield fruit. Ea, the
goddess of water and witchcraft, tried to save Ishtar, but with no
success. Then Ereshkigil had mercy upon her sister and let her re-
turn to the earthly realm. Having returned, Ishtar found all her
servants mourning. Only her lover Dumuzi was having the time of
his life. For punishment Ishtar sends Dumuzi to the underworld
for a certain period of time each year (McKenzie & Prime & George
& Dunning 2001: 25).
In ancient Egypt Horus was the king of the gods and the ruling
pharaoh was believed to be his incarnation. Horus’ falcon head and
double crown depict him on the one hand as the god of the sky,
relative of Ra and the embodiment of the Morning Star, but on the
other hand refer to his royal functions (McKenzie & Prime & George
& Dunning 2001: 35).
Chukchis sacrifice to the Morning Star in many cases. After the

autumnal sacrificial rites of young reindeer the next important day
is putting up the winter-yaranaga. I have not taken part in that
sacrifice for I returned to Estonia at the beginning of October. As
described by V. Bogoraz-Tan, at that time two reindeer are sacri-
ficed to the Morning Star and one to the earth. I have also written
earlier of the offering Chukchis bring to the Morning Star to win
their beloved’s heart (Siimets 2003). Next follows an excerpt of the
story.
When a Chukchi herder falls in love with a Chukchi girl, who

pays no attention to him and doesn’t want to marry him, he has
to hide near or behind her yaranga. In a word, the girl must not
see him. When the girl takes a pee, the herder goes to the blotch of
urine on snow after the girl has left. There he must say the follow-
ing words:
“It was not pee that dropped here. These were your heart, liver
and kidneys that dropped here.”
Now the herder has to wait until the Morning Star rises. He has
to bring an offering to the Morning Star. A small-scale offering,
for example, a puppy, will be enough. Of course, a rich man can
sacrifice a reindeer calf or a reindeer. When the offering has been
brought, the herder asks the Morning Star to give him ironclad
boots that have sharp nails underneath. Then he goes back to the
puddle of pee and starts to stomp his feet on it. At the same time
he repeats these words over and over again. (Siimets 2003: 231)
The ritual has to be conducted seven times and the girl will be in
love with you forever.
The Morning Star can also be used to bring your darling back from
the underworld. For that end the dead one has to be placed on a bed
of reindeer skins in the sleeping polog ‘a sleeping tent inside the
yaranga’ and the one conducting the ritual has to go out to the tun-
dra in the direction of the Morning Star. Then a puppy has to be
sacrificed to the Superior Being and the Morning Star and a series
of procedures has to be carried out, for example, blowing into the dead
one’s ear and barking like a dog. The latter dispels the ketlja who has
taken the dead one’s soul and so the soul can return to its body.
In order to heal a sick organ, a sacrifice has to be brought to the

Morning Star in the early morning.
Chukchi hunters celebrate a special festival so the hunt for wild

reindeer will be successful. In the morning of that festival a rein-
deer is sacrificed in the honour of a wild male reindeer and the
other to the Morning Star. Sometimes a third sacrifice is brought to
Nadir. The horns of a wild reindeer shot earlier are decorated with
the intestines and blood sausages made of the killed animal. A rich
blood soup is made and meat is boiled. Sacrifices are brought to all
guardian and home spirits. Later a young reindeer is killed and its
blood is used to smear reindeer horns. During the festival the heads
of sacrificed reindeer are brought to the yaranaga and hung over
the fire on a prop. Afterwards these are taken to the graves of an-
cestors (Bogoraz-Tan 1939: 81).
If a wild reindeer comes to your yaranga and you want to domesti-

cate it, you have to turn to the spirit of Zenith or to the spirit of a
superior being who lives there. The same applies when you want to
get rid of bad weather.
SUMMARY
For their entire lives people have to make choices. The quality of
their lives depends on these choices. The same applies to Chukchis.
Oftentimes conquerors introduce their own beliefs and religions,
for example, Christianity in Estonia. This brings along new visions,
legends and myths, of which some are also related to the firma-
ment. Chukchis are probably the only nation in the territory of the
former czarist Russia and the Soviet Union who have in general
retained their animalistic religion. It is a historical fact that the
Chukchi land is the only territory of czarist Russia that gained real
autonomy and that was not completely conquered by Russians.
According to a paragraph in the Russian code of laws the Chukchi

land is called Russkaia ne vpolne pokorennaia territoria ‘a region
not completely subdued by Russia’ and local laws applied there.
The territory west of the Anadyr and Chauna rivers was called
Chukchi Land. The inhabitants of the territory, like all ordinary
Chukchis, had certain privileges to decide matters, including mur-
ders and blood feud related to it, according to their old traditions.
But only in case such a criminal incident occurred in the bounda-
ries of their territory. Siberia was conquered very quickly. In 1586
the Tyumen castle was built on the ruins of Chingi-Turo, the capi-
tal of the realm of the khan Kutchum. In the following 62 years
Cossacks from Tomsk reached the Sea of Okhotsk, but could not
press on to the north. The lower reaches of the Kolyma River served
for decades as a borderline. Chukchis took a fierce stand against
the invaders. When the war had lasted for as long as the conquest
of the whole of Siberia, Catherine II was forced to yield to the Sen-
ate’s request and abandon the idea of conquering Chukchi Land. In
1771 Anadyr castle was destroyed and finally in 1778 peace was
made which neither of the sides violated. An order was issued from
St. Petersburg to make national coats of arms and send these to the
Chukchis to be hung on trees on the coast and to be shown to peo-
ple who disembark from ships as to announce that these lands be-
long to the Russian Empire.
The fact that nobody knew the exact extent of the Chukchi land
and the size of its population certainly contributed to the former
development. Chukchis did not exchange captives and all conquer-
ors were killed. Hence nobody knew much about these people.
Chukchis could not be brought to Christianisation in the czarist
era or were completely assimilated in the Soviet time. We can only
assume what goes on there now.
When I was in the Chukchi land, bringing sacrifices was a part of

the everyday life of the reindeer herding team to dispel evil spirits
and attract good ones.
The firmament of the Chukchi world view is related to their main

source of subsistence – reindeer herding. In many cases it is the
names of reindeer or their herders or hunters that stars are called
by. There are myths about constellations the original sources of which
can be traced back to the migration route of humans through Eura-
sia or even to the common homeland of yet earlier times.
Certainly Chukchi beliefs would be of great help when interpret-

ing the background of Estonian nature-worship. Such mythologies
and beliefs should be studied before it is too late, for the Chukchis
are a nation on the verge of extinction and their culture will be lost
forever with them.
Comment
1
Tanŋ gtan means ‘stranger’, ‘enemy’ in the Koriaki language. Probably
the word has the same meaning in Chukchi (Bogoraz-Tan 1934: 3). In
1971 a shorter word tanŋ g was used to refer to foreigners, especially to
Russians or as an invective. We were also called tanŋ gs when we first
arrived, but later they called us by the name ianki. According to Bogoraz-
Tan (1934: 8), tanŋ g means ‘a Russian’.
References
Bogoraz-Tan, Vladimir 1934. Chukchi [The Chukchis], I. Leningrad:
Izdatelstvo glavsevmorputi.
Bogoraz-Tan, Vladimir 1939. Chukchi [The Chukchis], II. Leningrad:
Izdatelstvo glavsevmorputi.
Kulmar, Tarmo 2004. Inti Raymi ehk päikesepüha – Kolumbuse-eelse
Peruu inkade suurimaid usupühi [Inti Raymi or the Sun Holiday – One
of the Greatest Religious Holidays of Pre-Columbian Peruvian Incas].
Mäetagused: Hüperajakiri, 24, pp. 81–90. http://haldjas.folklore.ee/tagused/
nr24/kulmar.pdf [In German: Das Sonnenfest Inti Raymi als ein Höhe-
punkt des religiösen Jahres in der Inka-Religion. Mitteilungen für Anth-
ropologie und Religionsgeschichte (MARG), 15, 2000: Religiöses Reisen.
Ugarit-Verlag, Münster, 2003, pp. 51–60.]
Kuperjanov, Andres 2003. Eesti taevas: Uskumusi ja tõlgendusi [Es-
tonian Sky: Beliefs and Interpretations]. Tartu: EFI.
McKenzie, Michael & Prime, Richard & George, Lisa & Dunning, Ray
2001. Mythologies of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Mythological
Beliefs & Customs. 2001. New York: Checkmark Books.
Ó hÓgáin, Daíthí 2004. Kujund kui narratiivi allikas iiri
rahvajuttudes [Image as the Source of Narratives in Irish Folk Tales].
Mäetagused: Hüperajakiri, 24, pp. 151–169. http://haldjas.folklore.ee/tagused/
nr24/iirijutt.pdf
Siimets, Ülo 1999. Tšuktšid II [The Chukchis II]. Mäetagused: Hüper-
ajakiri 12, pp. 130–137. http://www.folklore.ee/tagused/nr12/tsukts.htm
Siimets, Ülo 2003. Tšuktšimaa legendid [Legends of the Land of the
Chukchi]. Mäetagused: Hüperajakiri, 21, pp. 231–245. http://www.folklore.
ee/tagused/nr21/legendid.pdf

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doi:10.7592/FEJF2006.32.

THE SUN, THE MOON AND FIRMAMENT

The interdependence of the Earth and celestial as well as weather

At different times different divinities have governed the world, yet

the very source of everything. The symbols of the Earth comple-

This article gives a brief overview of the most common Chukchi

Similarly to many other nations, the peoples of the Far North as

When a new Incan king was enthroned, all four provinces of

The most important deeds of Aztec creation-gods are connected with

whether human sacrifices were brought, for example, Tarmo Kulmar

According to Chukchi religion the most important celestial charac-

The Sun is depicted as a man in shining clothes (in copper or gold)

The Sumerian moon-goddess is called Nanna. In the city of Ur there

In Egyptian mythology the moon-god Thot was the messenger,

Gods could be called to temples by means of prayers and rituals,

According to Incan myths the Moon (Killa) was at first brighter

In Chukchi mythology the Moon is a man and a being in one person.

The myth that a human being inhabits the Moon is widespread in

Using the Moon to strengthen the influence of spells is very com-

The situation among the Chukchi people is similar. Younger people

A drum is an indispensable aid for a shaman. It is used to invoke

underworld, it serves as a shield, even as protection against the

V. Bogoraz-Tan marks that here and there Chukchis sacrificed to

Having raised the skin covering the entrance of the yaranga, we

showing their rituals to foreigners. They are especially anxious

Browsing the journal I found yet another description from March

This evening we were at a party organised by local girls. Music was

Suddenly drum beats started to sound from a nearby house. We

Later, when I worked as a reindeer herder I spent a lot of time with

Such beliefs that it is possible to kill by means of spells or witch-

In Oceania the so-called lovers of the Elema people embody the

Next I will tell of a sacrificial ritual performed by Chukchi rein-

August arrived. In the course of summer the horns of reindeer had

In the tundra mushrooms had already popped out of the ground a

The majority of mushrooms were boletuses. There were also other

“But where I come from we eat boletuses and russulas. We even

Ejgeli didn’t say a word. He went to other herders. They discussed

Of course I wanted to go with them.

We travelled two days in a certain direction.

A SACRIFICE TO THE KETLJA

In the evening of August 9 a full moon started to slowly climb from

neath us and sang something in Chukchi. In between stanzas ringed

Ejgeli stepped closer. The reindeer, sensing danger, again started

The reindeer’s head was placed in the direction of the mountain

Ejgeli took a handful of blood from the reindeer’s chest. He smeared

The effect is made use of at religious and public events: in churches,

Figure 1. The Chukchi

It could be guessed, watching the heaps or horns, that the sacrifi-

The sacrificed reindeer is usually eaten completely but this time

THE EARTH AND THE ESTONIAN STAR BRIDE

According to a Chukchi legend the Earth (Nutenut) lives in a large

By the way, polygamy is not forbidden among Chukchis and is unof-

Stars and constellations are among the prominent beings listed

THE NORTH STAR

In his book Andres Kuperjanov lists the names different peoples

ARCTURUS AND VEGA

In the Chukchi worldview stars ranking next to the North Star as

Voorimees ‘Coachman’). According to Chukchis these stars are broth-

Travelling in the nighttime tundra Chukchis use the mutual posi-