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Sevokhi, a cult object: Bear’s image (“mafa”). Oroche

Title:

Sevokhi, a cult object: Bear’s image (“mafa”)

Ethnic groups:

Oroche

Territory:

river Samarga, Ussuri Krai, village Makhtukhu

Date:

late 19th - early 20th century

Material:

Wood; glass: colored glass

Dimensions:

length 31.0; width 5.5

Collectors-person:
Arseniev Vladimir K.
Number:

РЭМ 1870-45

Annotation:

Sevokhi mafa, a shamanic cult object. It is an image of a bear standing on four paws. The bear’s neck has a hole. The shaman made the bear figurine for himself. The bear symbolized the shaman’s strong helper ghost who is good for illnesses, and in hunting, and during shaman initiation.

Albums:
“... You can rely on me”: Vladimir Arseniev’s collections in the Russian Museum of Ethnography
Rus:
Предмет культа «севохи» – изображение медведя («мафа»). Орочи