Part of a device for making ritual fire

Koryak

peninsula Kamchatka, Kamchatka Oblast, Koryak Autonomous Region, Olyutorsk, village Achai-Vayam

late 19th century

Wood; tendinous cord

length of figurines 35.0, 18.0

Peoples of Siberia and Far East

РЭМ 10072-76/1

It consists of a wooden anthropomorphic figure (“gychgyya”), symbolizing the owner of domestic deer, a bow made of deer horn and a deer kneecap. Symbolic lassoes and a figurine made of a tree knot, depicting a deer shepherd, are tied to the gychgyi's neck. It was used by reindeer herders to produce ritual (“clean”) fire during ritual actions.