Amanita muscaria in the household, beliefs, rituals, and art of the peoples of the North
The article explores religious ideas of the peoples about amanita muscaria in the north-east of Siberia, as well as ritual practices linked to it, and traditions in using this mushroom both as a hallucinogen and for medicinal purposes. It draws on field materials collected by authors among indigenous populations of Chukotka and Kamchatka (the Chukchi, Kor-yaks, and Chuvans) in the 1980s - 2000s. The article includes household and mythological stories about amanita muscaria recorded by the authors during expeditions. Images of 'amani-ta muscaria people' depicted in the ancient Pegtymel rock paintings and those engraved by the artist of Chukotka Lidiya Teyutina on walrus tusks are compared and analyzed.
Keywords
мухомор, народы Севера, галлюциногены, шаманизм, обряды, Чукотка, Камчатка, наскальная живопись, косторезы и граверы Уэлена, amanita muscaria, peoples of the North, hallucinogens, shamanism, rituals, Chu-kotka, Kamchatka, rock-painting, carvers and engravers of UelenAuthors
Name | Organization | |
Batyanova Elena Petrovna | Department of Siberia and the North, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology Russian Academy of Sciences | elena-batyanova@yandex.ru |
Bronshtein Mikhail Mokovich | State Museum of Oriental Art | bronmi@list.ru |
References

Amanita muscaria in the household, beliefs, rituals, and art of the peoples of the North | Sibirskie Istoricheskie Issledovaniia – Siberian Historical Research. 2016. № 1.