Accession No
1933.379
Description
Awun. Shaman's headdress, of hide (possibly seal), surmounted by iron antlers and a brass and iron bird. With black beaded tassels suspended from the front brim. Long wool or plant fibre tassels at rear and orange textile side straps.
Place
Asia; East Asia; China; Inner Mongolia; Hulun Buir; Yimin River; Anggo Xules
Period
20th century
Source
Lindgren, Ethel John (Dr) [field collector]; Clarke, Louis Colville Gray [donor]
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
1933.379
Cultural Affliation
Orochen; Oroqen [Tungus; Numinchen]
Material
Metal; Iron; Copper Alloy; Brass; Hide; Skin; ?Seal Skin; Cloth; Glass; Fibre; Plant Fibre; ?Wool
Local Term
Awun [Lindgren 1935]
Measurements
160mm x 200mm x 200mm
Events
Context (Related Documents)
1933.379 is depicted on a drawing by Edith King (D.78784.LIN).
Event Date
Author: Lucie Carreau
Context (Display)
Old display label kept in the Shaman's headdress' box reads: 'Shaman's Dress which belonged to the elder daughter of the ex-chief of the Numinchen of the Chol and Imen region. 33.377, 379.'
Event Date
Author: Lucie Carreau
Context (Field collection)
According to the catalogue card, this object was collected by Dr Ethel John Lindgren in March 1932.
Event Date 3/1932
Author: maa
Description (Physical description)
Accession register for 1933.379: 'Shaman's headdress, fur, iron horns & bird.'
Event Date 1933
Author: Lucie Carreau
Context (Production / use)
Note by Lindgren on catalogue card for 1933.379: 'Worn by Shamaness of the Numinchen of the Upper Imen River. (Iron antlers no doubt made to order by Chinese) Sold with Shaman's dress, which see.'
Event Date 1933
Author: Lucie Carreau
Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card for 1933.379: 'Shaman's head-dress.'
Event Date 1933
Author: Lucie Carreau
Context (Display)
Removed from display case 16, CUMAA anthropology galleries, 9 July 1986.
Event Date 9/7/1986
Author: Imogen Gunn (admin)
Context (Display)
Displayed in the Andrews Gallery as part of the exhibition Assembling Bodies: Art Science & Imagination, from March 2008- November 2009.
Event Date 11/9/2009
Author: Flo Sutton
Context (Display)
Displayed in the Maudslay Gallery in the Manchuria Case from 1990-2009. The display label noted "The costume and equipment of a female shaman".
Event Date 11/9/2009
Author: Rachel Hand
Conservation (Remedial)
CON.2017.3980 | Remedial
Event Date 7/11/2017
Author: Kirstie Williams
Loan (Exhibition)
University Museum & Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong
, 15/09/2017 to 26/11/2017, Orochon
Event Date 15/9/2017
Author: Rachel Hand
Exhibition (Li Ka Shing Gallery)
EXH.2018.5 | A Survival Story: Prehistoric Life at Star Carr
Event Date 20/6/2018
Author: Imogen Gunn (admin)
Context (Display)
Exhibited in 'A Survival Story: Prehistoric Life at Star Carr', Li Ka Shing Gallery, Case 2.19, 21 June 2018 to 16 March 2020. Label text for the entire costume had a copy of Edith King's watercolour of the costume on it, and read: 'This costume has a headdress with iron antlers. Archaeologists have compared objects like this to the Star Carr headdresses to try to understand what they were used for. / A woman who lived in inner Mongolia at the start of the 20th century wore this costume. She was a shaman, who communicated with human and animal spirits. / A Shaman's costume was vital to their power. No two are the same and they were added to as shamans acquired new skills. The mirrors helped protect the shaman from evil spirits, and created a cymbal-like noise as she moved. / Shaman's costume. c.1900-1929. Orochen culture. Yimin River, Inner Mongolia, China.'
Event Date 21/6/2018
Author: Imogen Gunn (admin)
Context (Production / use)
Professor Songlin Meng and Mr Jinsong Bai (part of the Hulunbuir Delegation, Inner Mongolian visit to the museum, 28-29th January 2019), state:
'The costume is typical of an Oroqen Shaman but it is the first time PMA has seen one so exquisite.
Pm asked if the cowries were attached [to the backpiece or costume] when the costume was acquired? The cowries are traded from the East and are very rare and only possessed by the very wealthiest people. As a consequence of the Shaman performing a ritual, the weight of the costume c.20kg, they are often exhausted and collapse afterwards onto the floor.
This may have come from the hometown of Prof Meng, and could be related to his family as there are at least 7 generations of shaman’s in his family- possibly more.
Each shaman will make their own coat, but the coat referred to from the shaman’s father which was used to make the tails at the back seems reasonable. The back of the costume’s tails/cloth pendants are lined with patterned cloth which would have been traded from China. The Oroqen did not have the technology to weave and print their own textiles. The embroidery on the sleeves are typical of the Oroqen.
The number of antler points on the headdress is significant and indicates status. The highest number is seven, and this headdress has four points. The beads at the front are unusual as the shamans’ face should be hidden when in a trance. There are normally more and the whole face is covered, so some strands may be missing
There is an eagle figure on each shoulder [bright blue textile is visible under the wings- suggesting that the colour has faded significantly.] The headdress also has an eagle in the centre. Eagles are sacred to the Northern Tungus. They can fly everywhere and are very powerful birds. They can swoop on small animals and even children. This is why babies are tied into the cradles which are also tie to trees. This protects them from wolves and snakes too. [The rear of the coat has pendants of ferret fur, these are considered sacred animals and only shaman can touch them. If ordinary people do, they can fall sick.
[Sarah-Jane Harknett asked about the antlers and if symbolism related to their loss and regrowth can be attributed to the Shaman’s costume, as speculated by some]. Professor Meng replied that the antlers were used in hunting and worn for disguise, like the others in the exhibition. When a hunter wears a hat with the antlers, an outfit made of deer skin as camouflage and uses the wapiti caller, the deer only sees one of their own. Need to get within 50m of a deer to shoot it.
Two men may engage in a competition or bet with each other that one of them can sneak up on a sleeping deer and put a money coin on the sleeping deer and get away, while the other will suggest he can sneak up and remove the coin from the still sleeping deer. Oroqen people are very light footed almost as if they were flying through the forest’.
The large copper mirrors on the back are traded from China and there are many stories associated with mirrors. If China refuse to trade with the Oroqen, then there could be war according to Chinese histories. The Northerners would attack and take large laden wagons back home like Genghis Khan did! Mirrors reflect the evil spirits and ghosts, so that the shaman becomes aware of their presence and can then chase them away. They do not become visible per se but as the shaman has a supernatural mind and is clairvoyant and is assisted by the mirrors’ reflections.
Before the shaman starts a ritual, candles are lit and the rhythm of drums connects the shaman to the eternal sky- gods, and the shaman sends messages to them and hears their reply. The shaman then interprets the replies. During the ceremony the shaman is in a trance and unaware of the surroundings]. They can collapse into unconsciousness for 3-4 hours and wake up on their return to the human realm. The ceremony combined with the weight of the outfit is a significant undertaking and not easy, can get very physically intense and sweaty. Upon their recovery the shaman will know their next step or action, such as chase away spirits, heal the sick or predict the future.
But many people believe in the shaman as they are often right. Genghis Khan consulted shaman before embarking his activities so he would know who, when and where to attack. He never lost a war! There is a story that he once spent 3 days and nights on a mountain [without sleep or food or drink] with a shaman waiting for a prediction and then attacked the Middle East. Details are written in the Secret History of the Mongols.
Shamans believe that individual animals have sacred spirits and will embroider images of those animals that have special spiritual qualities that the Shaman may relate to. Each shaman will pick their own spirit guardian or animal e.g. bear, roe deer, even rabbit. Here the shaman has embroidered tigers, which used to be very common then- presumably when the costume was collected'.
Event Date 28/1/2019
Author: Flo Sutton
Context (Amendments / updates)
3D photography was undertaken by Prof. Sarah Kenderdine and Paul Bourke for the Experimental Museology at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, as part of the Orochen loan to the City University of Hong Kong.
Event Date 1/4/2019
Author: rachel hand
Description (Physical description)
Awun. Shaman's headdress, comprising a short and wide cylindrical hide (possibly seal) and fur cap with a small textile brim at the front. There is an iron disc on top of the cap, surmounted by iron antlers and a brass and iron bird, which moves back and forth on a central pin. The brim has black beaded tassels suspended from the front, and there are long ?wool or ?plant fibre strings suspended from the bird's tail. From the underside of the cap are suspended two orange textile straps, which are tied together.
Event Date 20/12/2022
Author: Flo Sutton
Context (References)
A detailed description and analysis of the shaman's costume and related items (1933.377-382) is offered in: E.J. Lindgren, 'The Shaman Dress of the Dagurs, Solons and Numinchens in N.W. Manchuria', Geografiska Annaler, 1935, Vol.17, Supplement: 'Hyllninngsskrift Tillagnad Sven Hedin' (1935), pp.365-378.
Event Date 19/1/2023
Author: Flo Sutton
Conservation (Freezing)
CON.2023.5599 | Freezing
Event Date 15/2/2023
Author: Ayesha Fuentes
FM:91178
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