48 The Religions Ideas and Practices of
Gods.
There is no clear idea of an anthropomorphic god among the Palaeo-Siberians. Gods and spirits are mostly half animals, like the Big Raven, their chief god. The dis- tinction between men and animals disappears in myths and in representations of superior beings, such as fetishes called Ongon (a Mongolic word). The animals on which the people depend for sustenance are objects of cult, (viz. the whale and other sea animals among maritime tribes, and the reindeer among reindeer-breeding tribes, the bear, wolf, and fox being common to both).
Inanimate objects of worship, so-called "things en- chanted," are frequently symbols of these animals. An example of this is found in the ceremony performed most regularly by the Chukchis at the slaughtering of the reindeer, where pictures of certain parts of the animal are used as Ongoiis (fetishes); but, as Jochelson says, "The notions as to the direct interference of the Supreme Being with worldly affairs are very confused. Men seem to be left to their own resources in their struggle with evil spirits, diseases, and death." -^
Among the Neo-Siberians in some tribes, eg. the Yakuts
and the Altaians, there is a monotheistic tendency ; among
the Buriats, Ostiaks, and Woguls there is a regular
polytheism.-^" The Supreme God of the Altaians is
Ulghen, of the Yakuts Uyun-Artoyen. llie Buriats have
no supreme deity, but a whole assembly of them. The
Ongon, — called by the Turkic tribes Tyjis' and by the
Altaians Kiiriucs, — is not merely a fetish, but the image of
a god invested with his power. Animals such as the horse,
eagle, hedgehog, swan, and snake are respected, but do not
rise to the rank of protectors or zayaiis, such as are found
in the form . of deified human beings like the shamans.
Here also the bear is venerated, except by the Buriats.
-* The Koryak, p. 25.
"^ Agapitoff" and Khangaloft", BanzarofF, Wierbicki, Potanin.
