Ethnic and Cultural Aspects of Nanai Healing Ritual Sculptures

Ethnic and Cultural Aspects of Nanai Healing Ritual Sculptures

O.V. Maltseva.

The present study discusses the ethnic and cultural aspects of ritual healing sculptures – sevhens, used by the Nanai people. The tradition of producing and using healing sculptures was common in shamanism. The practice encompasses certain archaic beliefs held by the Amur peoples which also resonate with various ecological, historical, and cultural themes. An analysis of the form and function of the sevhens points to their dual role as embodiers of disease and shaman’s assistant. The study is based on literary and archival sources as well as the author’s fi eld materials generated by a survey carried out among the Gorin and Amur Nanai people.

Keywords: Ritual sculpture, Nanai people, shamanism, soul, spirits, diseases, images of predators, tree species, transformation.