Photograph: General appearance of Kholai, a Ket sanctuary.

Selkup

Yenisei Guberniya

early 20th century

12,1 x 17

РЭМ 305-39

Kholai is a ghost, Lady of a riverside place, therefore Ket sanctuaries were always located on river promontories, in the lower course of rivers. Every year in midsummer days, before the fishing season, a rite was held to celebrate the start of a new work year, in which the shaman played an important role. The picture shows anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and ornitomorphic wooden figures, which were structural elements of a Ket sacral space. Abstract by I.A. Karapetova