Chelkans. Spiritual culture

Chelkans’ religious beliefs in the 19 th -early 20 th century were, like the beliefs of other mountain-taiga ethnic groups in the region, a whimsical mix of old shamanic ideas and the gradually spreading Orthodox Christianity. However, since Chelkan villages were removed from the Altai Spiritual Mission, official Orthodox Christianity failed, for a long time, to make much progress among Chelkans. In 1889, nearly 90% of Chelkans were listed as “not converted to Orthodox Christianity” (371 men and 380 women). It is no accident that of all peoples, it was Chelkans with their vivid and expressive shamanistic rituals and paraphernalia that attracted particular attention of scholars. When analyzing the origins of Chelkan clans, Leonid P. Potapov was the first to comment that Chelkan shamans called their drum ak adan during rituals and tüür in everyday life; in Leonid P. Potapov’s opinion, “a gelded sacred camel,” which is the translation of the term, is “a strong evidence of Chelkans’ ancestors being livestock breeders who were knowledgeable in camel breeding.”

Chelkans have several types of shamanic drums The “Shor” drum was called alty köstü ala mars (“a six-eyed spotted leopard”), just like Shors called it, and Chelkans called their own drum kaläch . Depending on the spirits or deities the drum was received from, the kaläch drum could be called tezim (if it came from a heavenly deity), or an ochyn (if it came from the lords of the mountains). A vertical wooden haft of the Chelkan drum was an anthropomorphic two-headed figure (recorded by both Kaarlo Hildén and Leonid P. Potapov). Information on the drawings on drums varies: early descriptions claimed that Chelkan drums bore no drawings. Potapov provided detailed descriptions of drums and the drawings inscribed of them.

There was no special shamanic garment. Shamans would only tie a band around their forehead since without it, “incantations would have no power.” Curiously, contemporary Chelkan shaman Timofey P. Krachnakov who conducted the rituals with the stick alone also always wore a special band on his forehead, although he also wore a robe with a belt during rituals.

After the war, since the mid-1940s, Chelkans no longer had powerful shamans with drums. The shamanic “gift,” nonetheless, was still passed down in the families of the Barbachkovs, the Kandarakovs, and the Krachnakovs.

Chelkans have several types of folklore: heroic epics ( kai shӧrshӧktӧr ), fairy tales ( shӧrshӧktӧr ), mythological tales ( ook shӧrshӧktӧr ), legends ( t’ooktor ), songs ( sarynnar/takpaktar ). Lesser folklore genres include riddles ( tavyskaktar ), tongue twisters ( modor sӧstӧr ), proverbs and sayings ( ukpan sӧs ), well-wishings ( algyshtar ), curses ( kargyshtar ). Kaichi storytellers telling epic stories of heroes were particularly famous, as was generally typical for the Sayan and Altai mountains. The largest chunk of folklore was closely connected with Chelkans’ hunting way of life.

The Chelkan tradition had several forms of performing epics. In the1960s, scholars recorded epics sung a capella in the kay voice (the Kan Kylysh legends by Karilep B. Pustogachev, Shivey Altyn by Manakop D. Kandarakov). Contemporary epic performing tradition (the late 20 th century) is close to telling fairy tales with song elements (a combination of a narrated story and song fragments). There were also narrated epics. Some witnesses recalled that Chelkans used to have a musical instrument called kyl komys/kovy , a hollowed-out long-necked bowl-shaped lute, used to accompany epic tellers.

Lullabies are called bay-bay , pala paylapjam (“the child is falling asleep”), palam uyukta (“sleep, my child”), pezhik saryn (a lullaby), saryn (“a song”). Songs called saryn or takpak also hold an important place in Chelkans’ musical culture.

Chelkans’ traditional calendar reflected their adaptation to the environment, climate, and resources in the Lebed area. Names of the months largely reflect specific types of seasonal occupations and their sequence. For instance, April is called körük ay , (i.e., “the month of hunting chipmunks”), May was called taru ay (“the sowing month”), August was called kezekten ay (“the harvesting month”), November was called chana ay (“the skiing month”), etc. These names attest to hunting and land farming which are Chelkans’ primary occupations.