ul
Erlik-Khan, the Prince of Darkness, sits on a black throne, surrounded
by a court of evil spirits and genii. The intermediate layers are the
abode of divinities and spirits of different degrees of light and
darkness; most of them are the spirits of deceased men. All spirits
exert influence on the destiny of man for good or evil; the children of
men are unable to soften or to subdue these spiritual beings, whence the
necessity of Shamans or Priests, who alone possess power over the
spiritual world."[36]

[Footnote 35: The Tunguses number about 12,000 to 15,000, and inhabit
the region lying to the north-west and north-east of Yakutsk.]

[Footnote 36: "Through Siberia," by J. Stadling. London, 1901.]

I met some years ago at Tomsk, in Western Siberia, a fur-trader who had
once secretly witnessed a Shaman ceremony, which he thus described to
me: "Half a dozen worshippers were gathered in a clearing in a lonely
part of the forest and I came on them by accident, but concealed myself
behind some dense undergrowth. In a circle of flaming logs I saw the
Shaman, clad in pure white and looking considerably cleaner than I had
previously thought possible. Round his neck was a circular brass plate
signifying the sun, and all over his body were suspended bits of metal,
small bells, and copper coins, which jingled with every movement. The
ceremony seemed to consist of circling round without cessation for
nearly an hour, at the end of which time the Shaman commenced to howl
and foam at the mouth, to the great excitement of his audience. The
gyrations gradually increased in rapidity, until at last the Priest fell
heavily to the ground, face downwards, apparently in a fit. The meeting
then dispersed and I made my escape as quickly and as silently as
possible, for had I been discovered my life would not have been worth a
moment's purchase."

The museum at Yakutsk contains some interesting relics pertaining to
Shamanism, amongst others some articles found near the Lena, in the tomb
probably of an important personage, for the grave contained valuable
jewellery, arms and personal effects. I observed that everything, from
garments down to a brass tobacco-box, had been punctured with some sharp
instrument, and Mr. Olenin explained that all articles buried with
persons of the Shaman faith are thus pierced, generally with a dagger,
in order to "kill" them before interment. About twenty miles north-east
of Tostach we came across the tomb of