A Comparative Study on Circumpolar Cultures-Language, Ecology and Worldview

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The languages, ecologies, and worldviews of circumpolar cultures which extend from Northern Eurasia through Japan to North America were examined from a comparative viewpoint to clarify cultural dynamics - how traditional cultures have changed and remained the same through time. Each investigator seperately studied either the Ainu, Northern Athapaskan, Koryak, Even, Yakut, Chukchi, Inuit and Mongols.In 1995, an international symposium on "Animism and Shamanism in the North" was held at Hokkaido University, where circumpolar cultures were discussed through comparison. As a result, it was revealed that northern shamanism not only functions to clarify the relationship between nature and supernature, but also operates as a core of many cultural revitalization movements, i.e., as a dynamic institution adapting to contemporary social changes. Moreover, the academic terms of animism and shamanism were re-examined and newly defined in an anthropological framework. In 1996, further research was conducted on each circumpolar culture. In 1997, the results were published in a book, "Circumpolar Animism and Shamanism" (Hokkaido University Press).Thus, the original purpose of the research, to clarify contemporary cultural dynamics of northern cultures, was achieved through interdisciplinary comparative research on the languages, ecologies, and worldviews of circumpolar cultures.