Comparative Study on Northern Peoples in North-Eastern Asia

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Based on cultural anthropological data gained from field investigations from 1996 to 1999, the dynamic relationships between the ecology of northern peoples in Northeast Asia and their world views were classified and analyzed. As a result, common shamanistic world views and rituals were observed in the cultures of ethnic groups in Northeastern Asia, even though natural conditions and forms of pastoral economy were different. These groups include the Yakut of the Sakha Republic who breed horses and cattle in northern forests, the Mongols of Inner Mongolia who graze horses, sheep, goats and cattle on northern prairies and the Koryak of northern Kamchatka of the Russian Federation who graze reindeer on the northern tundra.It was also revealed that the revival of traditional rituals is promoted in these areas based on this shamanistic world view and that it is closely connected with the formation of their cultural identities. In the case of the Yakut, the revival and performance of their most important ritual, Ysyakh (midsummer festival) has been the centerpiece of the revival of their shamanism and culture as a symbol of the Yakut's ecology and world view, as well as the basis of their ethnic identity. The Koryak are striving to maintain and reproduce their traditional culture, through hunting ritual based on the shamanistic world view. In Inner Mongolia, shamanism is practiced in the form of singing and dancing for healing, and it can be pointed out that it is closely related to their world view and the reproduction of the identity of the Mongols.