The Sarmatian Shaman

In 2013, archaeologists found in Kurgan (Russia) what seems to be a Sarmatian burial mound. In the southern Ural steppes this amazing finding shows some peculiar items that may suggest that the individual buried there was a shaman.

A little bit of history is needed to know who the Sarmatians were. Most people though for an age that they were natives to Europe in the region we now call Poland. However, the Sarmatians were Iranian (an Indo-European people such as the Alans/Alani, very caucasian-looking) flourishing from around the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. The burial mound found in Russia, dates to early in the range, corresponding to the Early Iron Age within the region. The Sarmatians spoke a Scythian language and later their territory corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia (mostly modern Ukraine and Southern Russia nowadays). Around 100 BC, the Sarmatian tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. The Sarmatians traded with the Mediterranean cultures to the west, although, they retained their own customs and traditions, rooted in their nomadic lifestyle.

In the burial mound, in the grave itself to be more precise, 26 golden deer statues have been found, which may have been representations of Gods or spirits to the people that put them there. Further excavations were carried out and a body was revealed. Archaeologists first found a bronze cauldron (of great size) in the entrance passage to the grave, which might have been especially made for the burial. It is definitely in the Sarmatian style as the handles are made from two griffons. Such animals are prominently features in the art of the region and may represent spirit animals since griffons are mythical creatures. 

The grave was richly furnished and, since the remains comprised those typically found with female burials, as well as a quantity of fine jewellery, the burial was concluded to be that of a woman. A small wicker case was found near the skull. It was stuffed with items including a wooden box, leather pouches, glass, horse teeth with red pigments, a cast silver lidded container, bathroom flasks, silver and earthenware and gold pectoral cages. There was also a large silver mirror that lay nearby. It was decorated with gilded stylised animals on the handle, and an embossed decoration on the back. The image of an eagle sat in the centre of the mirror, surrounded by a procession of six winged bulls. Mirrors at this time were very rare and such intense decoration suggests a spiritual use. It is common to link Iron Age mirrors to Shamanism because they were used for such purposes.

Archaeologists also uncovered equipment used for tattooing, including two stone mixing palettes and gold-covered iron needles, as well as bone spoons used to blend paints. The pens were decorated with animals. It is impossible to say whether the body had tattoos as only bones remain but, elsewhere, waterlogged kurgans reveal tattooed bodies with depictions animals such as those found in this burial mound. Tattooing at this time is often linked with shamanism and many of the other tattooed bodies contain items used in a spiritual lifestyle.

Later tests on the body revealed that the body found is not a woman at all, but actually a man. Now the items on the grave take a total different meaning.

In the Greek literature, there is an account about Enaree (a Scythian shaman described as effeminate or androgynous).Transvestite shamans in Scythian culture lived in the guise of the opposite gender. There are some details about these androgynous figures, suggesting that they received serious damage to their manhood through riding and therefore live the rest of their lives as women. Such transformation clearly marked them out as shamans. Blurring gender and sexual boundaries for spiritual practice still occurs in the area and is also found in many other parts of the world, where many male shamans live as women.

This might explain the items placed with the body in the Samaritan burial mound. This person might have been a male shaman living as a woman, and providing spiritual guidance to the local community. He was buried with his beautiful clothes and jewellery, vanity items, and also the tools of his shamanic trade. Given the wealth of grave goods, he was clearly highly esteemed by his community both during his life but also after his death.

Yakut - The recognition of a pagan creed

Contradicting the trend against the official recognition of unusual religions, the neo-pagan faith Aar Aiyy won formal recognition in the Siberian republic of Sakha. Practicers of the religion have been waiting for this moment for at least 18 years.

This creed was native to the original Turkic-speaking population of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, but was forced out as Orthodox Christianity spread during Russia's 17th century colonization of the region. Even so, the Yakuts have preserved the creed and are now free to practice it. 

The Russian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of belief, but while creating a "religious group" requires no formal permit, the relevant legislation sets strict limitations on the rights of such groups to proselytize and to carry out daily operations.

Registering an "organization" requires a minimum waiting period of 15 years and comes replete with exhausting inspections, including by the Federal Security Service, KGB's successor. The registration of Aar Aiyy was finalized in late April 2014.

The religion — whose name translates roughly from Yakut as "belief in higher deities" — teaches that the Universe, consisting of three worlds, possesses a Creator aided by 12 celestial helpers and is populated by numerous spirits. The creed comprises elements of shamanism, animism and Tengrianism, a religion unique to Central Asian and Siberian nations, which was followed by Ghengis Khan's Mongols.

It was unable to provide an estimate of the number of Aar Aiyy practitioners among a population of 950,000, including 467,000 ethnic Yakuts. But it is said that the group never had any run-ins with the powerful Christian church and does not expect trouble as it plans to limit its missionary activity to   — as such, anyone can join.

Many Yakut Shamans died during the Soviet period, but neo-pagan beliefs remain strongly rooted in Yakut culture. In the 1990s, neo-pagans were actually an opposition force to be reckoned with in Yakutia's parliament, though they lost all of their mandates during the 2000s.

Nevertheless, Yakut neo-paganism retains popularity, and its institutionalization cannot be stopped. This is a native folk tradition, which always was and hopefully will always exist.

Shaman gathering in Tuva

The gathering of the most powerful shamans from different parts of the globe, have arrived in the Republic of Tuva in southern Siberia, near the border with Mongolia. Shamans from Sweden, Greenland, Mexico, Mongolia, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, gathering at the festival devoted to the shamanic culture.

Asite from participants all over the world, this festival attracted shamans from four different corners of the regions of Russia. Altai, Khakassia, Yakutia and Tuva. All sorts of shamanic practices can been seen in this great event, such as drum rites, rituals, throat singing and meditation. The organizers also promise to hold interesting seminars and master classes on the spiritual practices of shamans and divination. Typical healing dances will also be taught to whoever wants to learn. The global goal of the festival is the revival of the shamanic traditions.

The festival is called "Call of 13 Shamans" and the idea came from its originator, the khoomei throat singing master Nikolay Oorzhak, a hereditary Tuvan shaman from the Black Heaven clan. 

The festival is taking place for the first time and so far without any sponsor support.

The honorary guest of the festival, the Mexican shaman Don Rogelio Carrillo, said that it was the similarity in the traditions of his people and those of Tuvans that drew him to the distant Siberian region.

Experimental Archaeology and the Russian Hermit

There is this new type of archaeology which is called, Experimental Archaeology which I would very much like to bring into the country where I'm living, Portugal, because it is a country filled with history and different cultures in a 5000years time frame. Anyway, Experimental Archaeology is what the name says it is, studying a period in history and reconstruct it, it can either be in the place of the archaeological findings, it might be reconstruct an already existing structure or recreate it in a different part. Reconstructing old buildings and settlements using the tools and materials of that time placing everything it was needed to survive and live to better understand how the human being lived life, it helps us to understand the social behavior, the connections they had with other cultures, where did the materials come from, what did they do in the different periods of the year, the type of food they were eating and so on.. This would be very interesting to make in Portugal with the Celtic and Lusitanian settlements, or the Germanic structures to the North or even the similar type of Norse settlements along the northern and central coast of Portugal, not even to mention the thousands of megalithic structures all over the country. But I'm getting off the topic now.

So speaking of Experimental Archaeology, in Russia a 24 year old man is spending eight months living completely alone in thr harsh freezing Russian wilderness, in an attempt to reconstruct the life of a 10th century hermit, it is part of a social experiment as well as Archaeological one. The project started in September and it is expected to run until the end of May. The man is caled Pavel Sapozhnikov, from Moscow, and he can only abandon the project if his mental or physical health is at serious risk, or if by any way his life is under threat. The dangerous thing is, even if contracts an illness, for example, lung infection, he is expected to carry the project on as his ancestors would have done a 1,000 years ago.

This isn't an easy task, Sapozhnikov is living in the replica of a 10th century farm house placing in a forest clearing around 50 miles north of Moscow. With the help of the expert archaeologist, Alexander Fetisov, the farm was built using only materials and techniques that would have been used by ancient Russians. Obviously this includes fire lights that burn on linseed oil, wooden beds, animal fur clothes and bedding and calendar scratched into the wall of the house. Sapozhnikov is only allowed to leave the fenced-off area of the farm to hunt and gather food. His is banned from any kind of communication and he can only use authentic tools that were used in ancient Russia.

He is already been living there for six months but the real challenge is during the cold harsh Russian winter season, a time when temperatures in the region can drop as low as minus 30ºC. This period of the year was deliberately chosen to highlight exacly how difficult Russian ancestors would have been living and hunting in these conditions.

The experiment is part of a project called ‘Hero’ and was set up by events manager Alexei Ovcharenko from agency Ratobor.  The theory behind the experiment is ‘to trace the social and psychological changes in personality and learn how important the support of others is to modern humans.’  Ovcharenko added that eight months is long enough for the experiment to yield results, but not too long that it will 'pathologically endanger' Sapozhnikov.  However, a medical expert and project leader does visit him once a month to check on his progress.

Sapozhnikov starts his morning by milking his goats, collecting eggs, butchering chickens for food and eating breakfast, follwing by chopping wood and collecting water from the well, and when the season calls for it, gathering mushrooms from the near by forest. The rest of the day is spent either hunting for food or carrying out manual labour on the farm. This also includes insulating the house with manure, maintaining his house and outbuildings, and other tasks around the farm.

Of course Sapozhnikov wasn't sent to this mission with lack of information, he spent months learning how to prepare animals and how to live in these conditions. He also became skilled in using ancient tools and familiarised himself with ancient fire-building and washing techniques with the help from the archaeologists.
For example, to produce hot water he must place stones in his fire stove until they are glowing, before putting these stones into a bucket of cold water, he then uses this water to wash his clothes, cooking utensils, his home, and his own body, although, because water is scarce there, clothes and body washing is carried out infrequently.