The shaman was the most
important person in each tribe or group. Shamans were paid for their
work in food, hides, and other items of value.
The shaman was not a medicine man. He was a
mystical man. A shaman was credited with many magical powers.
Through the power of chant and dance and magical signs and behavior,
the people believed he could call up winds, interpret dreams, break up
marriages, and foretell the weather.
The
power to control magical beings: The early
people of the far north believed in many magical beings. Some were
good and some were evil. The shaman had the power to talk to these
magical beings and to direct their behavior.
The
power to predict the movement of the herds: Before
hunters left to follow the herds, they consulted their shaman. The
shaman used magical aids to find the best path. First, a shaman carved
animal images on a piece of caribou bone. He heated the bone over a
fire. When it cracked, hunters were told to follow the lines to find
the animals. Since animals were plentiful in olden times, this method
almost always worked. As in all far north tribes, the shaman was the
most powerful person.
The
power to kill: Some ancient people believed shamans could
kill someone by sending an evil spirit into their bodies to make them
sick or trick them into dying.
In the
Kutchin world, people could hire a shaman to kill someone. The shaman
was never guilty of anything. He was just doing the job for which he
had been paid. Revenge was taken on the people who hired him.
