A Relative in Bearskin: The Bear in Lower Amur Folk Beliefs

The study examines certain aspects of the bear cult practiced by the Lower Amur peoples. Using myths and rituals of Nivkhs, Ulchi, and Nanai people, a human-animal interface is reconstructed in the context of the Amur hunter-gatherer worldview. Reference is made to the concept of personification and situational identity, offering an approach to the beast image in ritual from the standpoint of perceiving it as a human capable of shapeshifting. With this approach we were able to explore the anthropomorphic aspect of the bear image in traditional beliefs. The comparative analysis of the bear cults of Eurasia and North America suggests that the mythical carnivore is not the same as that hunted by humans. Rather, oblique terms used with reference to the bear show that it was perceived as a personified ancestor, relative, member of a different world, one from which the welfare of each human being depends. Such a status agrees with the Amur natives’ belief that the bear personifies the “taiga/mountain man” visiting his “earthly kin” to help them solve their problems and fulfill their wishes. Ceremonial butchering symbolized the beast’s transformation: the animal was supposed to cast off its fur to put it on again after returning to its kin. The Amur bear feast, as the analysis shows, carried yet another, social message. Ceremonies of the bear cult were performed to conclude marital, clan, and trade treaties. In the 20th century, changes in the life of the Lower Amur peoples, relating to literacy, consumers’ ethics, and a more rational worldview, caused the decline of the bear’s ritual and social role.