Body belt
John F.C. Johnson (Contributor)
Raymond Eric Clock (Contributor)
Deborah McMullen (Contributor)
Dawn Randazzo (Contributor)
Brandon Moonin (Contributor)
Pamela Smith (Contributor)
Raymond Eric Clock (Contributor)
Deborah McMullen (Contributor)
Dawn Randazzo (Contributor)
Brandon Moonin (Contributor)
Pamela Smith (Contributor)
John Johnson: Likely from a cave in Cape Martin. We are not sure what the fir is on that (at the belt).
Raymond Eric Clock: Perhaps brown bear fur at the waist.
Deborah McMullen: Perhaps brown squirrel fur.
Lindsey Drury: Note: the above comments are for the other shaman belt. This one, it is agreed, has a sea animal fur (I forget what kind)
John Johnson: Everybody danced, so this could have been a regular person's dance belt as well - especially since it isn't embellished. In the book of Jacobsen it tells about a shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) who predicted the sinking of a ship, and how Jacobsen dressed up fully in shaman's clothes to terrify the people of Nuchek. It was a bad prank.
John Johnson: There is a story of a boy who was taken to the top of a high rock by a spiritual helper.
Vince Evans: I remember stories of shamans from my grandmother. A shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) would travel prince william sound, and if you saw a fireball in the sky, that's what they were - they would travel that way.
Deborah McMullen: Gold and red lights coming down from the mountain behind the village were described as shamans. There was a time a few years ago, there were a lot of sightings of them, and people would come tell me. A hunter shot at one of the lights and it exploded, and the hunter died not too long afterward. We have histories of the 'last known' shamans. That existence is still there, we just don't know how to identify it.
Brandon Moonin: You could say our dance groups practice shamanism by singing the old songs, shamanistic songs.
Dawn Randazzo: And what is shamanism, because that's a western term?
Deborah McMullen: A healer or midwife could be understood as a shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek).
Brandon Moonin: Yes, the western term is a very broad term.
Dawn Randazzo: Trying to define Indigenous spirituality through a western lens doesn't really work.
Pamela Smith: It would be interesting to speak with spiritual mentors to hear what they would have to say about these particular items. The Russian Orthodox church where I was raised, I was never allowed in the center where the holy items were, and I was never allowed to touch them, but the men were. And it is still that way.
John Johnson: After Christianity, shamanism was really suppressed.
Deborah McMullen: In the orthodox church now, guys can go in and out all the time (from the church), but females are not. And I'm okay with that.
John Johnson: Shamans (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) were buried with all their regalia throughout southwest Alaska.
Deborah McMullen: And they had special boxes their stuff was kept in. Maybe that would help answer how these should be kept.
John Johnson: The common person wouldn't really ever handle these things.
Dawn Randazzo: We saw wormwood at a market, which is the traditional sage of our region.
Raymond Eric Clock: Perhaps brown bear fur at the waist.
Deborah McMullen: Perhaps brown squirrel fur.
Lindsey Drury: Note: the above comments are for the other shaman belt. This one, it is agreed, has a sea animal fur (I forget what kind)
John Johnson: Everybody danced, so this could have been a regular person's dance belt as well - especially since it isn't embellished. In the book of Jacobsen it tells about a shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) who predicted the sinking of a ship, and how Jacobsen dressed up fully in shaman's clothes to terrify the people of Nuchek. It was a bad prank.
John Johnson: There is a story of a boy who was taken to the top of a high rock by a spiritual helper.
Vince Evans: I remember stories of shamans from my grandmother. A shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) would travel prince william sound, and if you saw a fireball in the sky, that's what they were - they would travel that way.
Deborah McMullen: Gold and red lights coming down from the mountain behind the village were described as shamans. There was a time a few years ago, there were a lot of sightings of them, and people would come tell me. A hunter shot at one of the lights and it exploded, and the hunter died not too long afterward. We have histories of the 'last known' shamans. That existence is still there, we just don't know how to identify it.
Brandon Moonin: You could say our dance groups practice shamanism by singing the old songs, shamanistic songs.
Dawn Randazzo: And what is shamanism, because that's a western term?
Deborah McMullen: A healer or midwife could be understood as a shaman (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek).
Brandon Moonin: Yes, the western term is a very broad term.
Dawn Randazzo: Trying to define Indigenous spirituality through a western lens doesn't really work.
Pamela Smith: It would be interesting to speak with spiritual mentors to hear what they would have to say about these particular items. The Russian Orthodox church where I was raised, I was never allowed in the center where the holy items were, and I was never allowed to touch them, but the men were. And it is still that way.
John Johnson: After Christianity, shamanism was really suppressed.
Deborah McMullen: In the orthodox church now, guys can go in and out all the time (from the church), but females are not. And I'm okay with that.
John Johnson: Shamans (Sugt'stun: Kaalan'lek) were buried with all their regalia throughout southwest Alaska.
Deborah McMullen: And they had special boxes their stuff was kept in. Maybe that would help answer how these should be kept.
John Johnson: The common person wouldn't really ever handle these things.
Dawn Randazzo: We saw wormwood at a market, which is the traditional sage of our region.
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IV A 6509
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