C-M217 Na-Dene and Yeniseian Languages and Religion relatedness from Asia connecting to the Americas

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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My art and when as well as who may have brought in the new elitism and compulsory authority to the Americas.

“For the Tlingit (branch of the Na-Dené language family), hereditary slavery was practiced extensively until it was outlawed by the United States. Wealth and economic power are important indicators of rank. Scientists suggest that the main ancestor of the Ainu and of the Tlingit can be traced back to Paleolithic groups in Southern Siberia.” ref

• Dené–Yeniseian language, Old Copper Complex, and Pre-Columbian Mound Builders?
• Addressing Graham Hancock the Pseudoarchaeological Theorist, as well as Flaws in his Ancient Apocalypse, Great flood, and Seafaring R1b

Genetics Reveal Movements of Ancient Siberians

“DNA reveals the previously unknown degree of mixture between Japan, North America, and the Eurasian mainland. Ancient DNA preserved in the icy climate of Siberia has revealed new insights about how ancient humans migrated five to seven thousand years ago.” ref

“In a study published recently in Current Biology, the researchers examined the DNA from 10 different ancient humans, which is quite a lot considering most of them date from 5,500 to 7,500 years old. These remains came from three locations in Siberia — the Altai Mountains, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Russian Far East.” ref

Altai Mountains meetings and Shamanism?

“Researchers were surprised to discover a previously unknown population with mixed genetics in the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. At some point during the last Ice Age, a group of ancient north Eurasians mixed with a population from northeastern Siberia. The corresponding mixture is one that researchers haven’t seen before, the head researcher explained. It’s also not clear where these two groups first met and intermingled since the people were mostly nomadic at the time. It’s possible they met in the region where the remains are found, though, which may have provided a good passage between mountains to the north and the desert to the south. “It’s a perfect meeting point for groups, geographically speaking,” the head researcher explained.” ref

“Five of the Altai Mountains remains — all males — had very similar DNA, despite dating from different times between 7,500 and 5,500 years ago. But the sixth male, which dates to about 6,500 years ago, comes from farther east. The DNA shows this, but so does the archaeological context. The individual was buried with rich burial goods and a costume that the head researcher explained could indicate some sort of shamanism. Moreover, the head researcher explained it’s unclear whether this man is representative of a larger migration between the Altai Mountains and people farther east. But it shows that a degree of movement was occurring between different people at the time.” ref

Japanese Connection?

“Nest, one of the analyzed individuals was found in the Russian Far East. This male isn’t that remarkable at first glance, for the DNA resembles that of other similarly aged people that have been previously analyzed. Or at least three-quarters of the DNA is similar. The other quarter of this man’s genome appears to be Japanese. This discovery is surprising. This man dates back to about 7,000 years ago, but Japan was settled much earlier — possibly 30,000 years ago. This means that people from Japan were traveling back to the mainland and mixing with other humans there. “These hunter-gatherers were also able to cross bodies of water and interact among each other,” the head researcher explained. Overall, these results show how fluid ancient people were in Eurasia and even North America. “These foraging communities were in close contact with each other, they were highly mobile with each other and were admixing,” the head researcher also explained. “We are really talking about large-distance mobility.” ref

Crossing the water to and from the Americas?

“Two males and one female from Kamchatka lived relatively recently — only 500 years ago. The reason it’s interesting is that researchers haven’t previously published any ancient genome information from this region. All three of the remains the head researcher and his colleagues analyzed contained small portions of ancestry from Indigenous Americans. The presence of these markers suggests that Indigenous Americans were also crossing back to Russia prior to the period these individuals were alive. “This probably happened over a long period of time,” the head researcher explained. While researchers had previously known there was gene flow back and forth across the Bering Sea — perhaps for 5,000 years — this finding stretches that area of gene flow further south into the Kamchatka Peninsula.” ref

Here are other supporting articles:

• Americans’ Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago Analysis of ten Eurasian individuals, up to 7,500 years old, gives a new picture of movement across continents
• Genomic study of the Ket: A Paleo-Eskimo-related ethnic group with significant ancient North Eurasian ancestry
• Paleolithic to Bronze Age Siberians Reveal Connections with First Americans and across Eurasia
• The genetic history of admixture across inner Eurasia. The indigenous populations of inner Eurasia, a huge geographic region covering the central Eurasian steppe and the northern Eurasian taiga and tundra, harbor tremendous diversity in their genes, cultures, and languages. In this study, we report novel genome-wide data for 763 individuals from Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
• Genetic analysis reveals Europeans descended from at least three ancient groups. Almost all present-day Europeans descend from the mixing of Ancient North Eurasians and two other populations, earlier hunter-gatherers, and ancient Near Eastern farmers. Ancient North Eurasian DNA wasn’t found in either the hunter-gatherers or the early farmers, suggesting the Ancient North Eurasians arrived in the area later, he said. This group appears to have contributed DNA to present-day Europeans as well as to the people who traveled across the Bering Strait into the Americas more than 15,000 years ago. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Human Migration from Asia into Alaska (North America) (14,000 to 10,000 years ago)

“likely relates to the Ancient North Eurasians described as an R DNA lineage”

Lithic stage: before 8500 BCE

Dene-Yensieian Workshop 2012, Edward Vajda – Alaska Native Language

“Geography, Demography, and Time Depth: Explaining how Dene-­‐Yeniseian is possible.” ref

Dene-Yensieian Workshop 2012, Ben Potter – Alaska Native Language

“Archaeological Inquiries into Na-Dene and Yeniseian Prehistory” ref

Language Connection Between Asia and the Americas? — The Dené-Yeniseian Language Family Explained

Dené-Yeniseian Languages, Na-Dene, Yeniseian, Athabaskan, Tlingit, Eyak, Apachean, Ket, Yugh, Kott, Assan, Arin, Pumpokol

Edward Vajda – Tlingit and the Dene-Yeniseian Hypothesis

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Human Migration from Asia into Alaska (North America) (5,000 to 3,500 years ago)

Haplogroup C-M217

“The haplogroup C-M217 is now found at high frequencies among Central Asian peoples, indigenous Siberians, and some Native peoples of North America. If the paternal lineage C2 (M217 “C-P39”) is correlated with Altaic linguistic affinity, as appears to be the case for Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages and common among males of the indigenous North American peoples whose languages belong to the Na-Dené phylum. And Na-Dené connects to the Yeniseian languages of central Siberia into a Dené–Yeniseian in which the Yeniseian languages are thought to have contributed many ubiquitous loanwords to Turkic and Mongolic vocabulary, such as Khan, Khagan, Tarqan, and the word for “god” and “sky”, Tengri. So, seeing similarities in Turkish and languages in the Americas seems reasoned.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_C-M217

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeniseian_languages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den%C3%A9%E2%80%93Yeniseian_languages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na-Dene_languages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages

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“High-Resolution SNPs and Microsatellite Haplotypes Point to a Single, Recent Entry of Native American Y Chromosomes into the Americas” https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/21/1/164/1114763

“Phylogenetic analyses of STR variation within haplogroups C and Q traced both lineages to a probable ancestral homeland in the vicinity of the Altai Mountains in Southwest Siberia. Divergence dates between the Altai plus North Asians versus the Native American population system ranged from 10,100 to 17,200 years for all lineages, precluding a very early entry into the Americas. The geographic source of Native American Y chromosomes, shown as a circle that included the following territory: Lake Baikal (eastward to the Trans-Baikal and southward into northern Mongolia), the Lena River headwaters, the Angara and Yenisey river basins, the Altai Mountain foothills, and the region south of the Sayan Mountains (including Tuva and western Mongolia). The Native American sample, included 588 individuals from 18 populations allocated three major Native American language families as follows: 342 Amerind speakers, 186 Na-Dene speakers, and 60 Aleut-Eskimo speakers. Native American linguistic affiliations, C lineage network for Asia and the Americas, noting the position of the C-P39 ancestral node leading to C-P39 has haplotype (15–13–13–29–24–9–11–13–11–11) and was present in 2 Altai. This ancestral node is also connected to a one-step neighbor (DYS19 = 16) below it in the network that was found in 11 Altai. The first node after the C-P39 mutation differs from the ancestral node only at DYS390 (23 versus 24 repeats) and was found in a single Cheyenne individual. The one-step neighbor (DYS393 = 12) to the left of this node leads to a mixed Amerind and Na-Dene lineage, whereas the two-step neighbor (DYS389II = 28; DYS391 = 10) below it leads to an exclusively southwestern Na-Dene branch present in 14 Apache and 1 Navajo. The haplotype for the 2 Wayu (15–13–13–30–25–10–11–13–11–11) exhibited 6 mutational step differences from the C-P39 modal haplotype (15–13–13–28–23–9–11–12–11–11), reflecting its marked divergence from the predominant Native American C-haplogroup. Haplogroup C has a much more patchy distribution, with most of the C-P39 chromosomes in our sample concentrated in the three Na-Dene populations. Both Native American founder haplogroups are present at moderately high frequencies in our sample of 98 southern Altai (Q = 17%; C = 22%); however, it is the STR data that proved to be of critical import for narrowing down the presumptive Asian source region. The ancestral nodes leading to both Q-M3 and C-P39, the two Native American–specific haplogroups, were present in the southern Altai individuals. Although the Kets and Sekups currently inhabit the eastern part of Western Siberia and the Yenisey River Valley, according to Russian ethnographers, their ancient homelands are thought to lie farther south, on the slopes of the Sayan and Altai mountains. Thus, our present data support the hypothesis that the Altai Mountain region is the principal candidate for the geographic source of the founding Native American Y chromosomes. As far as we are aware, only the Altai region possesses all of the major Native American Y chromosome and mtDNA founding haplogroups, thereby making it the best available candidate for the ancestral source region for the Native American population system.” https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/21/1/164/1114763 

“It is believed that the Maya language developed from Proto-Mayan dating from minimum 2,000 BC. It then diffused into several branches known as Yucatecan, Huastecan, Cholan, Qhanjobalan, Mamean and Quechuan. All these Mayan dialects are agglutinative languages and can be shown to pertain to the Asiatic, Altaic language group. Here are some Maya words which are very similar to Turkish. The Maya word is given in bold and the corresponding Turkish word is in red within brackets.” ref 

“Leader:  Ahau (Agha), Ax: Baat (Balta), Servant, Low: Ashac (Uşak, Aşağı), A lot, Strong: Tchac (Çok), Pine tree: Tcha (Çam), Difficult: Tchetun (Çetin), Augment, Climb: Tchich (Çık), Left handed: Tchol (Çolak, Solak), Boulder: Kaa (Kaya), Bird: Kutz (Kuş), Inside: İçil (İçinde), Female: İş (Dişi), Belt: Kaşnak (Kasnak), Day: Kin (Gün), Sun: Kiniş (Güneş), Person: Kişe (Kişi), Old man: Koça (Koca), Slave: Kul (Kul), Mother: Naa (Ana), Be: Ol (Ol), Stay clean: Tamazkal (Temiz-kal), Inundation: Tosh (Taşkın), Hill: Tepek (Tepe), Stone: Tetl (Taş), Gather: Top (Topla), Dust: Toz (Toz), Full: Tul (Tolu, Dolu), Filled: Tulan (Dolgun), Deep: Tup (Dip), Pebble: Tzekel (Çakıl), Scabies: Ueez (Uyuz), Urinate: Uiş (İşe), Reach: Ul (Ulaş), Bore: Uy (Oy), Humid: Yash (Yaş), Green: Yashil (Yeşil). Summer: Yashkin (Yaz-günü).” ref 

“These 37 words form a small sample indicating the relationship of the main Maya Yucatec language with Turkish. Since there have been no physical interaction in the last two millennia between Asiatic Turks and Central American Maya, these words cannot be loanwords. They have to stem from a common root language, which I have labeled as the Proto-language.” ref 

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Mayans: a Y chromosome perspective

https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:622533/datastream/PDF/download 

“American Indians had their origins in Asia, and are basically Mongoloid in physical type. The earlier incomers to the new world possessed a series of traits that were relatively ancient and were shared with most cultural groups in the old world. These included the use of fire and the fire drill; the domesticated dog; stone implements of many kinds; the spear thrower, harpoon and simple bow; cardage, netting and basketry; crisis rites and shamanistic beliefs and practices. Important traits lacking in the new world but known in the old world included all the significant domesticated animals, plants and artifacts of the latter, cattle, sheep, the goat, pig, horse, camel and reindeer; wheat, barley and rice; the wheel and the plow; iron; and stringed instruments.” The Native Peoples of Americas migrated from Asia first into North America through the Bering Sea and Alaska. And some of the languages of Native Peoples of Americas corresponding to words “father” and “mother” in Turkish. The ancestors of Turks also lived in Asia all throughout the history. Since, the Proto-Indians and the Proto-Turks lived in the same area in the distant past, they could have been the same people or closely related people and speaking the same language or closely related language. While one group stayed in their motherland, other group left As~ a and went to North America in waves of migrations. Ali languages are dynamic and subject to change in time. Similarly, both the Proto-Turkic and Proto-Indian languages are expected to change throughout ~~ o 000 or more years of separation from each other even if the were the same or similar structured languages at the beginning. In their present form, it would be difficult to find the same language being spoken by both peoples in two widely find the same language being spoken by both peoples in two widely separated continents. However, if the Proto-Indians and the Proto-Turks were the same or closely related people and speaking the same or similar languages, there must stili exist in both groups of languages some living words which also have the same meaning.” https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin-pdf/1920/eng

“Andean civilization centering in Peru preceded the Incas by thousands of years and the Inca civilization was built upon and enriched by several pre-existing cultures. The religions of pre-Inca peoples were polytheistic, i.e., believing in many gods, and involved the practice of ancestor worship and included various aspects of magic such as amulets, fertility figurins and apacheta or piles of stones”. It should be noted that there is a definite parallel between this culture associated with pre-Inca civilization in South America and similar culture practiced by ancient Turkish people of Central Asia. The ancient Turks are also known to worship their ancestors and “piles of stones”. In Turkish spoken in Central Asia, there is the word “oba” or “obo” which has several meanings one of which is “piles of stones at a site designated as sacred”. Turkish people have considered such “piles of stones” sacred long before they adapted other modern religions and they have carried out rituals around such “mounds of stones” at certain times of the year. This culture is still being practiced by some Turkish people in various regions of Asia [ 9]. It seems that the practice of worship to “piles of stones” by pre-Inca peoples of Andean civilization is very much the same culture as the Turkish “obo” culture. In addition to the Turkish “obo” culture, we should also note that in Altaic mythology, there is the reference to a culture in which a particular stone was considered as sacred and was worshiped by ancient Turkish people. This magical stone, which was called “Yada Tashi”, was possessed by the Turkish people. They believed that it was due to the magic of this stone that they were always successful in their wars with their neighbors. Whenever they did not posses this magical stone, they would loose their strugles with their neighbors and environment. Misfortunes would befall on them. Here, again we have an ancient Turkish culture which bears resemblance to the worshiping of Inca ancestors to piles of stones.” https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin-pdf/1920/eng

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“Its apparent identity to a variant recognized in Turkey seemed to indicate its origin in some Central Asian populations ancestral to both Turks and Native Americans.  The Albumin  Naskapi was restricted almost exclusively to Algonquian-  and  Athapaskan-speaking populations; the Turkish variant apparently was unrelated. Among the Algonquians, this gene was identified in 13% of Naskapi and 8% of Montagnais in Quebec, and in lower frequencies of Labrador Naskapi, Blackfoot, Chippewa, Cree, and Ojibwa. Among the Athapaskans, frequencies of   5% to 9%were found in some Navajos, the Whiteriver Apache of Arizona, the Slave and Beaver in Alberta, and some Alaska Athapaskans. Lower frequencies of 1% to 3.4% were observed in other Navajos and the San Carlos Apache. Very few examples were identified among Northern Ojibwa, Chippewa/Cree, and Dogrib; the presence of the variant in small numbers of Sioux, Assiniboine, Pima, and Hopi  is presumably attributable to their occasional intermarriage with neighboring Southwestern Athapaskan or Algonquian groups. In fact, the overall frequency of Albumin Naskapi in Athapaskans (3.4%) is slightly higher than the frequency in Algonquians (3.1%) (Scott and Turner 2008). More recently, it was found in 11 Bella Coola Indians (Salishan) and one Nootka. The distribution of Albumin Naskapi indicates that significant genetic exchange occurred in the past between neighboring Algonquian and Athapaskan-speaking groups.  On linguistic and archaeological grounds, the southward migration of ancestors of the Navajo and Apache from northwestern Canada can be dated to about 1,000 years ago. A very small number of Native American men are descendants of a distinct Central and Northeast Asian Y-chromosome haplogroup, C.  Prior to 2019, the northern branch of C-M217 in Asia was called C2b-L1373; now ISOGG labels it as C2a-L1373 or C2a1. A few men of the Wayuu in Ecuador belong to this basal, ancestral clade, which is estimated to have arisen between 34,000 and 16,000 years ago (Li et al.2020).  In  North  America, all of the  Haplogroup C men belong to a sub-clade, C2a1a1a (formerlyC2b1a1a), also known as C-P39. The intermediate clades in the phylogeny between C-L1373 and C-P39are C-F3447 (C2a1) (ca. 16,000 cal BP), C-F1699 (C2a1a) (ca. 15,900-14,100 cal  BP), and C-F3918 (C2a1a1 (ca. 14,100-12,400 cal BP). All of these dates are from YFull. Pinotti et al. (2019) estimate the age of C3-F1699 as 15,000-19,200 years, while Li et al. (2020) date C-F1699 to about 13,800 cal BP (with a possible range from 7900 to 22,600). All of these clades are restricted to Asia. C-P39 developed about 12,400 cal BP; its brother clade, C-F1756, arose at the same time, but the many descendant East Asian clades of C-F1756 converge on their last common ancestors at a much later date, ca. 5000 cal BP. Pinotti et al. (2019) present a somewhat different phylogeny. Instead of C-F3447 they have C3-MPB373, which gives rise to C3-MPB384. They assign all of the indigenous Ecuadorian males to  this C clade, although five SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) further distinguish one Warango man from the rest. C-P39/Z30536, as represented by a Chipewyan man, is a brother clade of C-B473, represented by a Central Asian Kazakh male. C-M48  and  CM504, with many members in Central and  East Asia, are“brother” clades of C-B473. They appear to be equivalent to C-F1756. Pinotti et al. date the origin of C3-B473 as ca. 13,800-17,700 cal BP. These ages are markedly older than those calculated by YFull.  The ISOGG phylogeny  (https://isogg.org)  is also slightly different from both the YFull and Pinotti et al. versions. ISOGG 2019 now designates C-P39 as C2a1a1a. This clade’s closest (ancestral) relative in Asiais C2a1a1*, represented by Uygurs; C2a1a1* is presumably equivalent to the Kazakh C-B473 of Pinottiet al.  ISOGG  recognizes two branches of   C3-P39/Z30536 (C2a1a1a), defined by the SNPsBY1360/Z30568 (C2a1a1a1) and Z38874 (C2a1a1a2). The Chipewyan chromosome analyzed by Pinottiet al. has the Z38874 markers. Consumer genetic testing has revealed the presence of a C3b-P39 (i.e., C-P39 or C2a1a1a) male lineage among diaspora Acadians, particularly of the Doucet family (https://www.familytreedna.com/public/ydna_C-P39/default.aspx?section=yresults). This clade is traceable to an indigenous male of 17th-century Nova Scotia, who presumably was Mi’kmaq. Some of the Doucet men are assigned more specifically to a subclade, Z30754. Another C3b-P39 lineage appears to be descended from a Quebec native (Rundquist 2012). Estes (n.d.) observes that the Eastern C-P39 males are split into two lineages, C2b1a1a1 (Z30750, Z30757, and   Z30761) (now C2a1a1a1) and C2b1a1a2(Z30764, Z30765, and Z30824) (now C2a1a1a2). The divergence date of these clades appears to be about 3500 years ago. The C2a1a1a2 (Z30764, Z30765, and Z30824) branch is the same as the ChipewyanZ38874 recognized by Pinotti et al. A man tracing his ancestry to the Appalachian region has a C-P39+C-BY1360 haplotype that may represent a basal clade. Apart from these Eastern, mainly Canadian, admixed individuals of presumed Algonquian ancestry, C-P39 is known mainly from northwestern Canadian and southwestern US Athapaskans. A few Cheyenne and Sioux men also belong to this haplogroup. Surprisingly, so do a small number of Mayan men (Perez-Benedico et al. 2016). All told, C-P39 accounts for only about 4.4% of sampled Native American men; the rest, the great majority, belong to one of several clades of the Q haplogroup. It is unclear exactly when the ancestors of the American C lineages arrived, or if they came in one or more migrations. Posth et al. (2018) report the presence of a C2b haplogroup from Lapa do Santo at ca.9600 cal BP (this was before ISOGG re-labeled C2b as C2a). Given the South American location and early date, this is probably the C2a-L1373 clade represented today in Ecuador, and the ancient date and basal character of this clade suggest an early migration coincident with the migration of the Q lineages. The absence of any ancient or modern representatives of the intermediate Asian ancestral clades C-F3447, C-F1699 and C-F3918 in the Americas suggests that C-P39 did not arise by local mutations from C2b-L1373. Rather, it may have arrived in a later migration. The predominant occurrence of C-P39 among Athapaskans, Plains Siouans, and Algonquians who might have come into contact with southward-migrating Athapaskans, would be consistent with a very late entry. However, if C-P39 was spread by a ca.AD 1300 Athapaskan migration, it is difficult to account for the small number of Mayan men who are C-P39.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341852651_algonquian_dna_2020

“The Iroquoian and Algonquian languages are extremely different and cannot have developed from a common ancestor within the past -10,000 years ago. The Algonquian-Athapaskan genetic connection is best explained as a legacy of the northward (Northern Archaic) and eastward (Shield Archaic) movements of this population around 7,000 years ago.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341852651_algonquian_dna_2020

Dené–Yeniseian languages

“In his 2012 presentation, Vajda also addressed non-linguistic evidence, including analyses of Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, which are passed unchanged down the male and female lines, respectively, except for mutations. His most compelling DNA evidence is the Q1 Y-chromosomal haplogroup subclade, which he notes arose c. 15,000 years ago and is found in nearly all Native Americans and nearly all of the Yeniseian Ket people (90%), but almost nowhere else in Eurasia except for the Selkup people (65%), who have intermarried with the Ket people for centuries. Using this and other evidence, he proposes a Proto-Dené-Yeniseian homeland located in eastern Siberia around the Amur and Aldan Rivers. These people would have been hunter-gatherers, as are the modern Yeniseians, but unlike nearly all other Siberian groups (except for some Paleosiberian peoples located around the Pacific Rim of far eastern Siberia, who appear genetically unrelated to the Yeniseians). Eventually all descendants in Eurasia were eliminated by the spread of reindeer-breeding pastoralist peoples (e.g. the speakers of the so-called Altaic languages) except for the modern Yeniseians, who were able to survive in swampy refuges far to the west along the Yenisei River because it is too mosquito-infested for reindeer to survive easily. Contrarily, the caribou (the North American reindeer population) were never domesticated, and thus the modern Na-Dené people were not similarly threatened.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den%C3%A9%E2%80%93Yeniseian_languages

Yeniseian people

The Yeniseian people are a Siberian population that speaks Yeniseian languages. Despite evidence pointing to the historical presence of Yeniseian populations throughout Central Siberia and Northern Mongolia, only the Ket people survive today. The modern Kets live along the eastern middle stretch of the Yenisei River in Northern Siberia. Based on hydronymic data, the Yeniseians originated from the area around the Sayan Mountains and the southern tip of Lake Baikal. The known historical distribution of the Yeniseians is likely to represent a northward migration, with the modern-day Kets representing the very northernmost expansion of the language family. This migration possibly occurred as a result of the fall of the Xiongnu confederation, which, according to Alexander Vovin, is likely to have had a Yeniseian-speaking ruling elite.” ref

“The Jie people, a branch of the Xiongnu who established the Later Zhao state in China, are likely to have been Yeniseian rather than Turkic in origin, as supported by linguistic and ethnogeographic data. According to several historians, the Yeniseians were part of the Xiongnu and were possibly the ruling elite of this confederation. It is also suggested that they played an important role in the Hunnic Empire. The Jie people, possibly having some relation to Yeniseian, created the Later Zhao dynasty and conquered parts of northern China. Based on linguistic records, they are considered to be a Pumpokolic tribe, a theory supported by evidence of long-term Pumpokolic inhabitation in northern Mongolia. After some time, they were defeated and either murdered or assimilated into the Han society. Like the Jie people, most other Yeniseian groups either went extinct or were assimilated into other ethnicities, most notably Turkic and Mongolic people.” ref

“Yeniseian languages have been significant in Chinese, Mongolian, and Central Asian history. Both the ruling elite of the Xiongnu and that of the Later Zhao dynasty appear to have spoken Yeniseic. It has been suggested that the Xiongnu underwent a linguistic shift from Yeniseian to Oghur Turkic in the process of westward migration, eventually becoming the Huns. Many recognizable Turkic and Mongolic words, such as the royal titles Khan, Khagan, and Tarqan, and the word for “sky” and later “god”, Tengri, are suggested to be loanwords from Yeniseian. Tengri in particular has been derived from Yeniseian tɨŋVr by linguist Stefan Georg, in an analysis praised as “excellent” by Alexander Vovin. The Yeniseians are closely related to other Siberians, East Asians, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They belong mostly exclusive to yDNA haplogroup Q-M242.” ref

“According to a 2016 study, the Ket and other Yeniseian people originated likely somewhere near the Altai Mountains or near Lake Baikal. It is suggested that parts of the Altaians are predominantly of Yeniseian origin and closely related to the Ket people. The Ket people are also closely related to several Native American groups. According to this study, the Yeniseians are linked to the Paleo-Eskimo groups. The ancestors of Yeniseian people may have been related to the Syalakh culture of ancient Yakutia. Yeniseian people, specifically Ket, also show high amounts of affinity towards Tuvans and other Indigenous peoples of Siberia, suggesting that Yeniseian ancestry can be linked to Paleo-Siberians, which replaced previous Upper-Paleolithic Siberians (Ancient North Eurasian) as the dominant population, and were subsequently largely assimilated by Neo-Siberians from Northeast Asia.” ref

Q-M242?

“Q-M242 is the predominant Y-DNA haplogroup among Native Americans and several peoples of Central Asia and Northern Siberia. Haplogroup Q-M242 is one of the two branches of P1-M45, the other being R-M207. P1, as well as R* and Q* were observed among Ancient North Eurasians, a deeply European hunter-gatherer-related population. Q-M242 is believed to have arisen around the Altai Mountains area (or South Central Siberia), approximately 17,000 to 31,700 years ago. Several branches of haplogroup Q-M242 have been predominant pre-Columbian male lineages in indigenous peoples of the Americas. Most of them are descendants of the major founding groups who migrated from Asia into the Americas by crossing the Bering Strait. These small groups of founders must have included men from the Q-M346, Q-L54, Q-Z780, and Q-M3 lineages. In North America, two other Q-lineages also have been found. These are Q-P89.1 (under Q-MEH2) and Q-NWT01. They may have not been from the Beringia Crossings but instead come from later immigrants who traveled along the shoreline of Far East Asia and then the Americas using boats. It is unclear whether the current frequency of Q-M242 lineages represents their frequency at the time of immigration or is the result of the shifts in a small founder population over time. Regardless, Q-M242 came to dominate the paternal lineages in the Americas.” ref

North America Q-M242

“In the indigenous people of North America, Q-M242 is found in Na-Dené speakers at an average rate of 68%. The highest frequency is 92.3% in Navajo, followed by 78.1% in Apache, 87% in SC Apache, and about 80% in North American Eskimo (Inuit, Yupik)–Aleut populations. (Q-M3 occupies 46% among Q in North America). On the other hand, a 4000-year-old Saqqaq individual belonging to Q1a-MEH2* has been found in Greenland. Surprisingly, he turned out to be genetically more closely related to Far East Siberians such as Koryaks and Chukchi people rather than Native Americans. Today, the frequency of Q runs at 53.7% (122/227: 70 Q-NWT01, 52 Q-M3) in Greenland, showing the highest in east Sermersooq at 82% and the lowest in Qeqqata at 30%.” ref

Mesoamerica & South America Q-M242

“Haplogroup Q-M242 has been found in approximately 94% of Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and South America.

The frequencies of Q among the whole male population of each country reach as follows:

• 61% in Bolivia.
• 51% in Guatemala,
• 1% (159/397) to 50% in Peru
• 37.6% in Ecuador,
• 37.3% (181/485) in Mexico (30.8% (203/659) among the specifically Mestizo segment)
• 31.2% (50/160) in El Salvador,
• 15.3% (37/242) to 21.8% (89/408) in Panama,
• 16.1% in Colombia,
• 15.2% (25/165) in Nicaragua,
• 9.7% (20/206) in Chile,
• 5.3% (13/246 in 8 provinces in northeastern, central, southern regions) to 23.4% (181/775 in 8 provinces in central-west, central, northwest regions) in Argentina,
• 5% in Costa Rica,
• 3.95% in Brazil, and so on.” ref

Asia

“Q-M242 originated in Asia (Altai region), and is widely distributed across it. Q-M242 is found in Russia, Siberia (Kets, Selkups, Siberian Yupik people, Nivkhs, Chukchi people, Yukaghirs, Tuvans, Altai people, Koryaks, etc.), Mongolia, China, Uyghurs, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and so on.” ref

North Asia

“In Siberia, the regions between Altai and Lake Baikal, which are famous for many prehistoric cultures and as the most likely birthplace of haplogroup Q, exhibit high frequencies of Q-M242. In a study (Dulik 2012), Q-M242 (mostly Q-M346 including some Q-M3) has been found in 24.3% (46/189: 45 Q-M346, 1 Q-M25) of all Altaian samples. Among them, Chelkans show the highest frequency at 60.0% (15/25: all Q-M346), followed by Tubalars at 41% (11/27: 1 Q-M25, 10 Q-M346) and Altaians-Kizhi at 17% (20/120). In a former study, Q-M242 is found in 4.2% of southern Altaians and 32.0% of northern Altaians with the highest frequency of 63.6% in Kurmach-Baigol (Baygol). The frequency reaches 13.7% (20/146) in the whole samples. In another study, the frequency rises up to 25.8% (23/89: all Q-M346) in Altaians. Based on the results of these studies, the average frequency of Q-M242 in Altaians is about 21%.” ref

“Tuva, which is located on the east side of Altai Republic and west of Lake Baikal as well as on the north side of Mongolia, shows higher frequency of Q-M242. It is found in 14%~38.0% (41/108) of Tuvans. Also, Todjins (Tozhu Tuvans) in eastern Tuva show the frequency at ≤22.2% (8/36 P(xR1))~38.5% (10/26, all Q-M346(xM3)). So, the average frequency of Q-M242 among Tuvans-Todjins in Tuva Republic is about 25%. Haplogroup Q-M242 has been found in 5.9% (3/51) of a sample of Tuvans from the village of Kanasi, 9.8% (5/51) of a sample of Tuvans from the village of Hemu, and 62.5% (30/48) of a sample of Tuvans from the village of Baihaba in northern Xinjiang near the international border with Altai Republic. In Siberian Tatars, the Ishtyako-Tokuz sub-group of Tobol-Irtysh group has a frequency of Q-M242 at 38%.” ref

“The highest frequencies of Q-M242 in Eurasia are witnessed in Kets (central Siberia) at 93.8% (45/48) and in Selkups (north Siberia) at 66.4% (87/131). Russian ethnographers believe that their ancient places were farther south, in the area of the Altai and Sayan Mountains (Altai-Sayan region). Their populations are currently small in number, being just under 1,500 and 5,000 respectively. In linguistic anthropology, the Ket language is significant as it is currently the only surviving one in the Yeniseian language family which has been linked by some scholars to the Native American Na-Dené languages and, more controversially, the language of the Huns. (See: L. Lieti, E. Pulleybank, E. Vajda, A. Vovin, etc.) Q-M346 is also found at lower rates in Sojots (7.1%, Q-M346), Khakassians (6.3%, Q-M346), Kalmyks (3.4%, Q-M25, Q-M346), and Khanty, and so on. In far eastern Siberia, Q-M242 is found in 35.3% of Nivkhs (Gilyaks) in the lower Amur River, 33.3% of Chukchi people, and 39.2% of Siberian Yupik people in Chukotka (Chukchi Peninsula). It is found in 30.8% of Yukaghirs who live in the basin of the Kolyma River, which is located northwest of Kamchatka. It is also found in 15% (Q1a* 9%, Q-M3 6%) of Koryaks in Kamchatka.” ref

Jie people

“There are widely differing accounts of the exact ethnic origins of the Jie, with one theory uncertainly suggesting that they spoke a Yeniseian language, while other authors have proposed a Turkic language. Others claim that the Jie were an ancient Yeniseian-speaking tribe related to the Ket people, who today live between the Ob and Yenisey rivers—the character 羯 (jié) is pronounced /kiɛt̚/ in Hokkien, /kʰiːt̚/ or /kiːt̚/ in Cantonese, /ciat̚/ in Hakka and ketsu in Japanese, implying that the ancient pronunciation might have been fairly close to Ket (kʰet). The root 羯 may be transliterated as Jié– or Tsze²– and an older form, < kiat, may also be reconstructed. This ethnonym might be cognate with the ethnonyms of Yeniseian-speaking peoples, such as the Ket and the Kott (who spoke the extinct Kott language). Pulleyblank (1962) connected the ethnonym to Proto-Yeniseian *qeˀt/s “stone”. Vovin et al. (2016) also pointed to *keˀt “person, human being” as another possible source. Alexander Vovin also suggests that the Xiongnu spoke a Yeniseian language, further connecting them with the Jie people.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jie_people 

Syalakh culture

Syalakh culture is an early Neolithic culture of Yakutia and Eastern Siberia. It formed in the middle Lena river basin in the V — IV millenniums BCE as a result of the migration of tribes from Transbaikalia, which assimilated the local Sumnagin culture (10,500-6,500 BP) that was preceramic. The Syalakh culture was followed by the Belkachi culture. According to the linguists, the most likely hypothesis is that representatives of this culture spoke one of the Dené–Yeniseian languages. According to Pavel Flegontov et al., “The new wave of the population from northeastern Asia that arrived in Alaska at least 4,800 years ago displays clear archaeological precedents leading back to Central Siberia. … the Syalakh culture peoples, spreading across Siberia after 6,500 YBP, might represent the “ghost population” that split off around 6,500-7,000 YBP, and later gave rise to migrants into America.” The ancient Paleo-Eskimo peoples were probably involved in these migrations.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syalakh_culture

Altai Mountains

“The Altai Mountains (/ɑːlˈtaɪ/), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast, and gradually becomes lower in the southeast, where it merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert. It spans from about 45° to 52° N and from about 84° to 99° E. The region is inhabited by a sparse but ethnically diverse population, including Russians, Kazakhs, Altais, Mongols and Volga Germans, though predominantly represented by indigenous ethnic minorities of semi-nomadic stock. The local economy is based on bovine, sheep, horse husbandry, hunting, agriculture, forestry, and mining. The Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain range. Altai is derived from the underlying form *altañ “gold, golden” (compare Old Turkic ???????????????? altun “gold, golden”) with coda -ñ underlying the -n & -y correspondence among cognates in different Turkic languages & dialects (e.g. qōñ ~ qoy “sheep”, Qitan ~ Qitay “Khitans”, etc.), as well as in Mongolian. The mountains are called Altain nuruu (Алтайн нуруу) in Khalkha Mongolian, altai-yin niruɣu in Chakhar Mongolian, and Altay tuular (Алтай туулар) in the Altay language.” ref 

Altai people

“The Altai people (Altay: Алтай-кижи, romanized: Altay-kiji), also the Altaians (Altay: Алтайлар, romanized: Altaylar), are a Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Altaians also live in Mongolia (Mongolian Altai Mountains) and China (Altay Prefecture, northern Xinjiang) but are officially unrecognized as a distinct group and listed under the name “Oirats” as a part of the Mongols, as well as in Kazakhstan where they number around 200. For alternative ethnonyms see also Tele, Black Tatar, and Oirats. During the Northern Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia, they were ruled in the administrative area known as Telengid Province.

• The Southern Altaians, who speak the Southern Altai language with its dialects, include the Altai-Kizhi, Teleuts, and Telengits. The Telesy were previously included but are now assimilated into the Telengits.
• The Northern Altaians, who speak the Northern Altai language and dialects, include the Chelkans, Kumandins, and Tubalars (Tuba-Kizhi).” ref

“The Northern and Southern Altaians formed in the Altai area on the basis of tribes of Kimek–Kipchaks. Recent linguistic, genetic, and archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest Turkic peoples descended from agricultural communities in Northeast China who moved westwards into Mongolia in the late 3rd millennium BCE, where they adopted a pastoral lifestyle. By the early 1st millennium BCE, these peoples had become equestrian nomads. In subsequent centuries, the steppe populations of Central Asia appear to have been progressively replaced and Turkified by East Asian nomadic Turks, moving out of Mongolia. According to one study in 2016, the Altaians, precisely some southern Altaians, assimilated local Yeniseian people which were closely related to the Paleo-Eskimo groups. The origin of the southern Altaians can be traced during this period from the result of the mixing of Kipchak and Mongol tribes. Meanwhile, the Northern Altaians were a result of the fusion of Turkic tribes with Samoyeds, Kets, and other Siberian groups. Traditional Altaian shamanism is rich with mythology and supernatural beings and some of the Altai remained shamanists. Popular deities included Yerlik, the god of the underworld, and Oyrot-Khan, a sagely and heroic figure who is a composite blend taken from historical Zungarian (Oirat) Khans and ancient legendary heroes.” ref

Altai people Genetics

Altai population can be divided into northern and southern clusters based on linguistics, culture, and genetics. According to a 2012 study that analyzed mtDNA (by PCR–RFLP analysis and control region sequencing) and nonrecombinant Y-DNA (by scoring more than 100 biallelic markers and 17 Y-STRs) obtained from Altaian samples, northern Altaians are genetically more similar to Yeniseian, Ugric, and Samoyeds to the north, while southern Altaians having greater affinities to other Turkic speaking populations of southern Siberia and Central Asia. The same study conducted a high-resolution analysis of Y chromosome Haplogroup Q-M242 that was found in Altaian samples and concluded that southern Altaians and indigenous peoples of the Americas share a recent common ancestor. In accordance with a new study by Russian geneticists, the genetic isolation of the northern and southern Altaians is undeniable. The southern Altaians are dominated by such variants of the Y chromosome haplogroup as Q-M242 and R1a, and there are also I-M170 and O-M175. Within the northern Altaians, the R1a haplogroup is dominant, Q-M242 is rarely found, and I-M170 and O-M175 are not found at all.” ref

“Proto-Yeniseian (before 500 BCE; split around 1 CE)

• Northern Yeniseian (split around 700 CE)
  • Ket (550 speakers)
  • Yugh†
• Southern Yeniseian †
  • Kott–Assan (split around 1200 CE)
    • Kott† (extinct by the mid-1800s CE)
    • Assan† (extinct by 1800 CE)
  • Arin–Pumpokol (split around 550 CE)
    • Arin† (extinct by 1800 CE)
    • Pumpokol† (extinct by 1750 CE)
    • ? Jie†” ref

“It is theorized that the Xiongnu and Hunnic languages were Southern Yeniseian. Only two languages of this family survived into the 20th century: Ket (also known as Imbat Ket), with around 200 speakers, and Yugh (also known as Sym Ket), now extinct. The other known members of this family—Arin, Assan, Pumpokol, and Kott—have been extinct for over two centuries. Other groups—the Buklin, Baikot, Yarin, Yastin, Ashkyshtym, and Koibalkyshtym—are identifiable as Yeniseic speaking from tsarist fur-tax records compiled during the 17th century, but nothing remains of their languages except a few proper names.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeniseian_languages

The Ket People are a tribe of Yeniseian-speaking people in Siberia studied by the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment

“The Ket people share their origin with other Yeniseian people and are closely related to other Indigenous people of Siberia and Indigenous peoples of the Americas.” ref

Ket Language Structure from the Ket People a tribe of Yeniseian-speaking people in Siberia

WWU Dean’s Lecture Series: Firelight on the River: Siberia’s Ket People and Ancient North America

Siberia’s Ket people: “Yenisein language speakers” and ancient Native Americans: “Na-Dene language speakers”

 ref

“Proto-Na-Dene (6,000 years ago?) Sino-Caucasian language/Dene-Caucasian hypothesis.” ref

Vajda Sino-Caucasian: Sino-Caucasian language/Dene-Caucasian hypothesis

“Edward Vajda lecture on the Ket language and distant genetic relationships: “Assessing the Sino-Caucasian Hypothesis”, Conference “Comparative Historical Linguistics of the 21st Century”, Moscow, Russian State University of the Humanities, March 20-22, 2013. Recorded by Matthew Anderson, University Communications, Western Washington University.” ref

Dené–Caucasian languages 

“Dené–Caucasian is a proposed language family that includes widely-separated language groups spoken in the Northern Hemisphere: Sino-Tibetan languages, Yeniseian languages, Burushaski and North Caucasian languages in Asia; Na-Dené languages in North America; and the Vasconic languages from Europe (including Basque). A narrower connection specifically between North American Na-Dené and Siberian Yeniseian (the Dené–Yeniseian languages hypothesis) was proposed by Edward Vajda in 2008, and has met with some acceptance within the community of professional linguists. The validity of the rest of the family, however, is viewed as doubtful or rejected by nearly all historical linguists.” ref

ref

“Ket shamans (word for shaman: sening “heal by singing”) – spiritual healers, mediators between the human world, sky, and underworld. ALL the Siberian Yeniseian and North American Na-Dene language speakers have this or related words.” ref 

“Two categories of people in Ket society were traditionally involved in healing the sick. These were the shaman (known as sening) and the sorcerer (bangos, or bangoket, a term meaning ‘earth person’). The sening operated exclusively through magical intervention involving contact with the spirit world and did not resort to the use of natural medicines, while the bangos treated the sick with the help of talismans containing various plants and minerals. Certain categories of shamans
were connected with the upper, heavenly world and were helped by the myriad spirits (esdeng) who dwelled in the seven layers of the sky. The bangos by contrast, was confined to the earthly realm and also had knowledge of the underworld. Such people were said to be able to see no higher than the flight of a bat, but could peer far down into the earth (Anuchin 1914: 19). The bat, mole, and snake were animals associated with bangos activity. The sening was able to ascend up to
the sky or fly far across the earth in order to commune with the spirit world, and each sening had his unique path, which was kept secret from that of other shamans. According to Anuchin (1914: 25), there were no “black” or evil shamans among the Ket, whereas a bangos could cast both good and bad spells on people. The bangos was thought to be able either to cure or induce rheumatism in people, for example. Both sening and bangos claimed to be able to foretell the future and
predicts good fortune for hunters. This suggests that sening and bangos were social roles, rather than invariably distinct personages or entirely unrelated spiritual traditions. Anuchin (1914: 32) reports that of 14 shamans operating among the Ket during his 1906–1908 expedition, a number of them functioned as bangos, as well. The latter role was most effective on moonless nights, whereas sening began their séances in the evening, preferably when both sun and moon were simultaneously visible in the sky. In general, the sening and bangos magic was kept in separate spheres, and even bangos talismans were disallowed during shamanic séances (Anuchin 1914: 19). Unfortunately, no detailed study of the bangos was ever conducted and it is possible that this social role represents the survival of a more ancient healing tradition.” ref

“Evidence from river names suggests the Ket and their now-extinct southern relatives (the Yugh, Kott, Arin, Assan, and Pumpokol) lived in the forests between the Upper Yenisei and the southern tip of Lake Baikal before being pushed gradually northward by the intrusion of pastoral peoples (Vajda 2001, in press). Though distinct from the reindeer-breeding tribes of western and southern Siberia both linguistically and anthropologically, the Ket maintained centuries of
contact with neighboring Samoyedic and Turkic tribes, often intermarrying with them. Consequently, all central Siberian peoples, including the Ket, share many parallels in their spiritual culture and traditional healing practices. Though Ket shamanism reveals a number of unique aspects, the features held in common with other West Siberian forest peoples such as the Selkup, Khanty, and South Siberian Turks (Khakas, Altai, Shor), places it squarely within the cultural heritage of spiritual traditions from aboriginal central Siberia.” ref

“The Ket people share their origin with other Yeniseian people and are closely related to other Indigenous people of Siberia and Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They belong mostly to Y-DNA haplogroup Q-M242. According to a 2016 study, the Ket and other Yeniseian people originated likely somewhere near the Altai Mountains or near Lake Baikal. It is suggested that parts of the Altaians are predominantly of Yeniseian origin and closely related to the Ket people. The Ket people are also closely related to several Native American groups. According to this study, the Yeniseians are linked to the Paleo-Eskimo groups. The Ket language has been linked to the Na-Dené languages of North America in the Dené–Yeniseian language family. This link has led to some collaboration between the Ket and northern Athabaskan peoples. The shamans of the Ket people have been identified as practitioners of healing as well as other local ritualistic spiritual practices. Supposedly, there were several types of Ket shamans, differing in function (sacral rites, curing), power, and associated animals (deer, bear). Also, among Kets, (as with several other Siberian peoples such as the Karagas) there are examples of the use of skeleton symbolics. Hoppál interprets it as a symbol of shamanic rebirth, although it may also symbolize the bones of the loon (the helper animal of the shaman, joining the air and underwater worlds, just like the story of the shaman who traveled both to the sky and the underworld). The skeleton-like overlay represented shamanic rebirth among some other Siberian cultures as well.” ref

“Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov compared Ket mythology with those of speakers of Uralic languages, assuming in the studies that they are modeling semiotic systems in the compared mythologies. They have also made typological comparisons. Among other comparisons, possibly from Uralic mythological analogies, the mythologies of Ob-Ugric peoples and Samoyedic peoples are mentioned. Other authors have discussed analogies (similar folklore motifs, purely typological considerations, and certain binary pairs in symbolics) may be related to a dualistic organization of society – some dualistic features can be found in comparisons with these peoples. However, for Kets, neither dualistic organization of society nor cosmological dualism have been researched thoroughly. If such features existed at all, they have either weakened or remained largely undiscovered. There are some reports of a division into two exogamous patrilinear moieties, folklore on conflicts of mythological figures, and cooperation of two beings in the creation of the land, the motif of the earth-diver. This motif is present in several cultures in different variants.” ref

“Ket people belong to the cluster of Siberian populations related to PaleoEskimos. Unlike others, (Nganasans, Ulchi, Yukaghirs, and Evens), Kets and closely related Selkups have a high degree of Mal’ta–Buret’ culture (Ancient North Eurasian) ancestry. Unlike the other members of the Nganasan-related clade, Kets and, to a lesser extent, Selkups have a high proportion of Mal’ta ancestry, alternatively referred to as ancient North Eurasian ancestry (Lazaridis, Patterson et al. 2014). As calculated by statistic f3 (Yoruba; Mal’ta, X) on the full-genome dataset, Ket891 is placed in the gradient of genetic drift shared with Mal’ta, ahead of all Native Americans of the first settlement wave and second after Motala12 (Fig. 5), an approximately 8,000-year-old hunter-gatherer genome from Sweden (Lazaridis, Patterson et al. 2014).” ref

Ket language

“Ket has three dialects: Southern, Central, and Northern dialects. All the dialects are very similar to each other and Kets are able to understand each other from all dialects. However, the most common southern dialect was used for the written model of Ket. The Ket language has many loanwords from the Russian language, such as mora ‘sea’ but Ket also contains loanwords from other languages such as Selkup, for example: the word “qopta” ‘ox’ comes from the Selkup word “qobda”. Ket also has some Mongolian words, such as: saˀj ‘tea’ from Mongolian tsaj. And from Evenki, for example: the word saˀl ‘tobacco’ is possibly borrowed from Evenki sâr ‘tobacco’.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ket_language

Ket people

“The Ket people share their origin with other Yeniseian people and are closely related to other Indigenous people of Siberia and Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They belong mostly to Y-DNA haplogroup Q-M242.  The Kets are thought to be the only survivors of an ancient nomadic people believed to have originally inhabited central and southern Siberia. The earlier tribes engaged in hunting, fishing, and reindeer breeding in the northern areas. According to a 2016 study, the Ket and other Yeniseian people originated likely somewhere near the Altai Mountains or near Lake Baikal. It is suggested that parts of the Altaians are predominantly of Yeniseian origin and closely related to the Ket people. The Ket people are also closely related to several Native American groups. According to this study, the Yeniseians are linked to the Paleo-Eskimo groups. The Kets have a rich and varied culture, filled with an abundance of Siberian mythology, including shamanistic practices and oral traditions. Siberia, the area of Russia in which the Kets reside, has long been identified as the originating place of the Shaman or Shamanism.” ref

“The shamans of the Ket people have been identified as practitioners of healing as well as other local ritualistic spiritual practices. Supposedly, there were several types of Ket shamans, differing in function (sacral rites, curing), power, and associated animals (deer, bear). Also, among Kets, (as with several other Siberian peoples such as the Karagas) there are examples of the use of skeleton symbolics. Hoppál interprets it as a symbol of shamanic rebirth, although it may also symbolize the bones of the loon (the helper animal of the shaman, joining the air and underwater worlds, just like the story of the shaman who traveled both to the sky and the underworld). The skeleton-like overlay represented shamanic rebirth among some other Siberian cultures as well.” ref

“Today, the practice of shamanism has largely been abandoned. Monotheism has displaced the ideas of the shaman and shamanistic practices. Of great importance to Kets are dolls, described as “an animal shoulder bone wrapped in a scrap of cloth simulating clothing.” One adult Ket, who had been careless with a cigarette, said, “It’s a shame I don’t have my doll. My house burnt down together with my dolls.” Kets regard their dolls as household deities, which sleep in the daytime and protect them at night. Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov compared Ket mythology with those of speakers of Uralic languages, assuming in the studies that they are modeling semiotic systems in the compared mythologies. They have also made typological comparisons. Among other comparisons, possibly from Uralic mythological analogies, the mythologies of Ob-Ugric peoples and Samoyedic peoples are mentioned.” ref

“Other authors have discussed analogies (similar folklore motifs, purely typological considerations, and certain binary pairs in symbolics) may be related to a dualistic organization of society – some dualistic features can be found in comparisons with these peoples. However, for Kets, neither dualistic organization of society nor cosmological dualism have been researched thoroughly. If such features existed at all, they have either weakened or remained largely undiscovered. There are some reports of a division into two exogamous patrilinear moieties, folklore on conflicts of mythological figures, and cooperation of two beings in the creation of the land, the motif of the earth-diver. This motif is present in several cultures in different variants. In one example, the creator of the world is helped by a waterfowl as the bird dives under the water and fetches earth so that the creator can make land out of it. In some cultures, the creator and the earth-fetching being (sometimes called a devil, or taking the shape of a loon) compete with one another; in other cultures (including the Ket variant), they do not compete at all, but rather collaborate.” ref

Ket – Religion and Expressive Cultures

“In traditional Ket cosmology, natural phenomena and even objects were animate. Fetishes, ladles, sleds, and tipi doors all “saw” when decorated with eyes and thus animated. Propitiated through “feeding” and the observance of taboos, they helped humankind. There were also earth, stone, and heavenly spirits, good and bad. Particularly important were the Masters who controlled respectively the forests and game animals, water and fish, the mountains, and day and night. Kaygus, Master of Game Animals, was the son of a bear and a woman who offered animals, including himself, to kindly, ritual-observing men. This mystical unity was intensified by beliefs in the transmigration of souls, especially between people and bears. Khotsadam, Mother of the Sea, denizen of the cold north, ruler of day and night, and devourer of souls, was malevolent. Tomyam, the beautiful provider of migratory birds, who lived in the south, was entirely good. The sky god Es resided in the uppermost heaven, benign but remote from all but shamans. He battled against evil, aided by culture heroes, especially Alyba, and immortal shamans, particularly Doh.” ref

“The architecture of the universe remains unclear. The Ket shamanistic staff symbolizing the Universe Tree suggests a common Siberian model of many integrated levels through which shamans traveled in search of lost souls. East and south signified life; west and north, death. Because animals understood human speech and were sensitive to women’s smell, the Ket observed various taboos. In particular, hunting gear over which women had stepped had to be purified by fumigation. Forest spirits embodied in old larches protected lineages. The trees were marked with designs of faces, surrounded by anthropomorphic figures, and presented with gifts. Family fires, inherited patrilineally but cared for by women, protected each household. These Fire Mothers were “fed,” protected from abuse (e.g., trash or sharp sticks), and maintained as long as possible. Fires could be shared only with kin. Family fires could foresee events and issue warnings by means of suitable crackles. Alalt, kept in “clean” areas, were decorated anthropomorphic figures, also patrilineally inherited but cared for by women. Fed and periodically reclothed, they aided family welfare. More closely allied to hunting luck were the images of deceased relatives of note ( dangols ), prepared by shamans and also kept in the clean area. They purportedly led hunters to game.” ref

“Religious Practitioners. Shamanism was a calling inherited alternately by men and women in one lineage. It was actuated by a call (vision or dream), ensuing psychic illness, and curing under a shaman’s care. Normalcy, a song, curing power, and a succession of ritual acquisitions—drumstick, moccasins, mittens, tambourine, staff, and finally, coat and coronet—marked progress to the shaman’s full role. At this time he or she gained an assistant. Shamans were curers by means of soul recovery in séances. Their power derived from spirits, dead shamans and heroes, accessories for flight, the places visited, phallic symbols, and human bones. Whereas most shamans had primarily bird spirits and power from upper worlds, bear shamans were of the lower world. In shamanistic acting, beating on the right calf signified very fast travel. The staff was a weapon. If the shaman fell unconscious, he was believed to have flown away. Séances could be held in “dark tents” and involved animal noises, tent shaking, and other marvels. Apart from séances, shamans could call upon alalt, reinforce family rituals, divine events, resolve disputes, and counteract enemy shamans and wizards ( bangos). Wizards and witches were primarily magical practitioners who cured with amulets and medications. Their protector was the Earth Devil.” ref

“Death and Afterlife. People and bears have seven souls; other animals, one; fish, none. Death comes from loss of the ulyvei (shadow) soul, usually through Khotsadam’s malevolence. After death the ulyvei stays in the dwelling seven days, later spending time in the underworld and finally being reincarnated, particularly as a bear. Because souls of the dead could capture living kinsfolk in dreams, funerary rites were conducted by members of other clans. They included bathing the body, clothing it in reversed manner, covering the face, placing the body facing the dwelling entrance and the west, and burial in the ground or in a tree bole. Personal articles were left broken here. Although there were no cemetaries, burials took place in distant sacred places. Crosses often marked graves.” ref

Yugh language

Yugh (Yug) is a Yeniseian language, closely related to Ket, formerly spoken by the Yugh people, one of the southern groups along the Yenisei River in central Siberia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugh_language

Yugh people

“Yugh people (pronounced [ɟuk]; often written Yug) are a critically endangered Yeniseian people, an indigenous group who originally lived throughout central Siberia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugh_people

Kott language

“The Kott (Kot) language (Russian: Коттский язык) is an extinct Yeniseian language that was formerly spoken in central Siberia by the banks of Mana River, a tributary of the Yenisei river. It became extinct in the 1850s. Kott was closely related to Ket, still spoken farther north along the Yenisei river. Assan, a close relative, is sometimes considered a dialect of Kott.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kott_language

Kott people

“The Kott people were a Yeniseian-speaking people in Siberia. They were closely related to the Asan people (who are also extinct).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kott_people

Asan people

The Asan or Assan were a Yeniseian speaking people in Siberia. In the 18th and 19th centuries they were assimilated by the Evenks. They spoke the Assan language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asan_people

 Quick Siberian History

“Late Paleolithic southern Siberians appear to be related to paleolithic Europeans and the paleolithic Jōmon people of Japan. Various scholars point out similarities between the Jōmon and paleolithic and Bronze Age Siberians. A genetic analyses of HLA I and HLA II genes as well as HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 gene frequencies links the Ainu people and some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially populations on the Pacific Northwest Coast such as Tlingit, to paleolithic southern Siberians.” ref

Neolithic (until c. 2400 BCE)

“Finds from the Lower Paleolithic appear to be attested between east Kazakhstan and Altai. The burial of a Neanderthal child found in 1938 shows similarities with the Mousterian of Iraq and Iran. In the Upper Palaeolithic, by contrast, most remains are found in the Urals, where, among other things, rock carvings depicting mammoths are found, in Altai, on the upper Yenissei, west of Lake Baikal and around 25,000 on the shore of the Laptev Sea, north of the arctic circle. The remains of huts have been found in the settlement of Mal’ta near Irkutsk. Sculptures of animals and women (Venus figurines) recall the European Upper Palaeolithic. The Siberian Palaeolithic continues well into the European Mesolithic. In the postglacial period, the taiga developed. Microliths, which are common elsewhere, have not been found.” ref

“In North Asia, the Neolithic (c. 5500–3400 BCE) is mostly a chronological term, since there is no evidence for agriculture or even pastoralism in Siberia during the central European Neolithic. However, the neolithic cultures of North Asia are distinguished from the preceding Mesolithic cultures and far more visible as a result of the introduction of pottery. Southwest Siberia reached a neolithic cultural level during the Chalcolithic, which began here towards the end of the fourth millennium BC, which roughly coincided with the introduction of copper–working. In the northern and eastern regions, there is no detectable change.” ref

Bronze Age (c. 2400–800 BCE)

“In the second half of the third millennium BCE, bronzeworking reached the cultures of western Siberia. Chalcolithic groups in the eastern Ural foothills developed the so-called Andronovo culture, which took various local forms. The settlements of Arkaim, Olgino, and Sintashta are particularly notable as the earliest evidence for urbanisation in Siberia. In the valleys of the Ob and Irtysh the same ceramic cultures attested there during the neolithic continue; the changes in the Baikal region and Yakutia were very slight. In the middle Bronze Age (c. 1800–1500 BCE), the west Siberian Andronovo culture expanded markedly to the east and even reached the Yenissei valley. In all the local forms of the Andronovo culture, homogenous ceramics are found, which also extended to the cultures on the Ob. Here, however, unique neolithic ceramic traditions were maintained as well.” ref

“With the beginning of the late Bronze Age (c. 1500–800 BCE), crucial cultural developments took place in southern Siberia. The Andronovo culture dissolved; its southern successors produced an entirely new form of pottery, with bulbous ornamental elements. At the same time the southern cultures also developed new forms of bronze working, probably as a result of influence from the southeast. These changes were especially significant in the Baikal region. There, the chalcolithic material culture which had continued up to this time was replaced by a bronze-working pastoralist culture. There and in Yakutia, bronze was only used as a material for the first time at this point. The Ymyakhtakh culture (c. 2200–1300 BCE) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon. Its origins seem to be in the Lena river basin of Yakutia, and also along the Yenisei river. From there it spread both to the east and to the west.” ref

Proto-Yeniseian Homeland: https://indo-european.eu/2021/04/proto-yeniseian-homeland/

The Paleo-Siberian languages and other language families

“Many attempts have been made to show that the four Paleo-Siberian families are related either to each other or to adjacent (or more distant) language families. Thus, Ket has been compared with the Sino-Tibetan family (which includes Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages) and with some of the languages of the Caucasus, and Yukaghir has been compared with Uralic. Some of these comparisons (e.g., the comparisons of Ket with Caucasian languages) are fanciful experiments or completely unfounded. Even more sober efforts to demonstrate ties with other languages are seriously hampered by many millennia of separation from possible related languages. The systematic reconstruction of protolanguages, often assumed as a standard for relationship among the better-established language families, is not available. Of attempts to find relatives for the four Paleo-Siberian families, only a Uralo-Yukaghir relationship has been positively received. The remaining Paleo-Siberian families, including Luorawetlan as a family in its own right, must continue to be regarded as isolates, unrelated to any known language.” ref

“Although numerous resemblances in grammatical or phonological traits may be observed between Paleo-Siberian and adjacent languages (such as between Chukchi and Yupik, between Samoyed and Yukaghir, or between Nivkh and Korean or Japanese), these are not indexes of genetic affinity but are often the result of the diffusion of linguistic traits over large geographic areas. They may, however, provide clues to the linguistic prehistory of Siberia. The cultures of the Paleo-Siberian groups are similar in that they are all Arctic or subarctic. Each particular group, however, has its own characteristic cultural profile. These characteristics may on occasion very closely resemble the cultural profile of a non-Paleo-Siberian group; e.g., Ket culture resembles Selkup culture (the Selkup language is classified as Uralic) more closely than it resembles that of any Paleo-Siberian group, evidently because Selkup- and Ket-speaking groups are located in contiguous areas.” ref

ref

“The history of Russia is the history of a country being colonized….migration and colonization of the country have been fundamental facts of our history.” Vasily Klyuchevsky, Kurs russkoy istorii, I, 20–21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_of_Russia_(1500%E2%80%931800)

“The Russian colonization of Siberia and conquest of its indigenous peoples has been compared to the European colonization of the Americas and its natives, with similar negative impacts on the natives and the appropriation of their land.” ref

“The Russian conquest of Siberia took place during 1580–1778, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. It is traditionally considered that Yermak Timofeyevich‘s campaign against the Siberian Khanate began in 1580. The annexation of Siberia and the Far East to Russia was resisted by local residents and took place against the backdrop of fierce battles between the indigenous peoples and the Russian Cossacks, who often committed atrocities towards the indigenous peoples.” ref

Russian conquest of Siberia

“In order to subjugate the natives and collect yasak (fur tribute), a series of winter outposts (zimovie) and forts (ostrogs) were built at the confluences of major rivers and streams and important portages. The first among these were Tyumen and Tobolsk—the former built in 1586 by Vasilii Sukin and Ivan Miasnoi, and the latter the following year by Danilo Chulkov. Tobolsk would become the nerve center of the conquest. To the north Beryozovo (1593) and Mangazeya (1600–01) were built to bring the Nenets under tribute, while to the east Surgut (1594) and Tara (1594) were established to protect Tobolsk and subdue the ruler of the Narym Ostiaks. Of these, Mangazeya was the most prominent, becoming a base for further exploration eastward.” ref

“Advancing up the Ob and its tributaries, the ostrogs of Ketsk (1602) and Tomsk (1604) were built. Ketsk sluzhilye liudi (“servicemen”) reached the Yenisei in 1605, descending it to the Sym; two years later Mangazeyan promyshlenniks and traders descended the Turukhan to its confluence with the Yenisei, where they established the zimovie Turukhansk. By 1610, men from Turukhansk had reached the mouth of the Yenisei and ascended it as far as the Sym, where they met rival tribute collectors from Ketsk. To ensure subjugation of the natives, the ostrogs of Yeniseysk (1619) and Krasnoyarsk (1628) were established. Following the khan’s death and the dissolution of any organised Siberian resistance, the Russians advanced first towards Lake Baikal and then the Sea of Okhotsk and the Amur River. However, when they first reached the Chinese border they encountered people that were equipped with artillery pieces and here they halted.” ref

“The Russians reached the Pacific Ocean in 1639. After the conquest of the Siberian Khanate (1598), the whole of North Asia – an area much larger than the old khanate – became known as Siberia, and by 1640, the eastern borders of Russia had expanded more than several million square kilometres. In a sense, the khanate lived on in the subsidiary title “Tsar of Siberia” which became part of the full imperial style of the Russian autocrats. The conquest of Siberia also resulted in the spread of diseases. Historian John F. Richards wrote: “… it is doubtful that the total early modern Siberian population exceeded 300,000 persons. … New diseases weakened and demoralized the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The worst of these was smallpox “because of its swift spread, the high death rates, and the permanent disfigurement of survivors.” … In the 1650s, it moved east of the Yenisey, where it carried away up to 80 percent of the Tungus and Yakut populations. In the 1690s, smallpox epidemics reduced Yukagir numbers by an estimated 44 percent. The disease moved rapidly from group to group across Siberia.” ref

Effects on the indigenous peoples of Siberia

“Upon arrival in an area occupied by a tribe of natives, the Cossacks entered into peace talks with a proposal to submit to the White Tsar and to pay yasak, but these negotiations did not always lead to successful results. When their entreaties were rejected, the Cossacks chose to respond with force. At the hands of people such as Vasilii Poyarkov in 1645 and Yerofei Khabarov in 1650 some many people, including members of the Daur tribe, were killed by the Cossacks. 8,000 out of a previous population of 20,000 in Kamchatka remained after the first half century of the Russian conquest. The Daurs initially deserted their villages fearing the reported cruelty of the Russians the first time Khabarov came. The second time he came, the Daurs fought back against the Russians, but were slaughtered. In the 17th century, indigenous peoples of the Amur region were attacked by Russians who came to be known as “red-beards.” ref

“In the 1640s, the Yakuts were subjected to violent expeditions during the Russian advance into the land near the Lena River, and on Kamchatka in the 1690s the Koryaks, Kamchadals, and Chukchi were also subjected to this by the Russians according to Western historian Stephen Shenfield. When the Russians did not obtain the demanded amount of yasak from the natives, the governor of Yakutsk, Piotr Golovin, who was a Cossack, used meat hooks to hang the native men. In the Lena basin, 70% of the Yakut population declined within 40 years, native women were raped and, along with children, were often enslaved in order to force the natives to pay the Yasak.” ref

“According to John F. Richards:

Smallpox first reached western Siberia in 1630. In the 1650s, it moved east of the Yenisey, where it carried away up to 80 percent of the Tungus and Yakut populations. In the 1690s, smallpox epidemics reduced Yukagir numbers by an estimated 44 percent. The disease moved rapidly from group to group across Siberia. Death rates in epidemics reached 50 percent of the population. The scourge returned at twenty- to thirty-year intervals, with dreadful results among the young.” ref

“In Kamchatka, the Russians crushed the Itelmen uprisings against their rule in 1706, 1731, and 1741. The first time, the Itelmens were armed with stone weapons and were badly unprepared and equipped but they used gunpowder weapons the second time. The Russians faced tougher resistance when from 1745–1756 they tried to subjugate the gun and bow equipped Koryaks until their victory. The Russian Cossacks also faced fierce resistance and were forced to give up when trying unsuccessfully to wipe out the Chukchi in 1729, 1730–1731, and 1744–1747. After the Russian defeat in 1729 at Chukchi hands, the Russian commander Major Pavlutskiy was responsible for the Russian war against the Chukchi and the mass slaughters and enslavement of Chukchi women and children in 1730–1731, but his cruelty only made the Chukchis fight more fiercely.” ref 

“Cleansing of the Chukchis and Koryaks was ordered by Empress Elizabeth in 1742 to totally expel them from their native lands and erase their culture through war. The command was that the natives be “totally extirpated” with Pavlutskiy leading again in this war from 1744–1747 in which he led to the Cossacks “with the help of Almighty God and to the good fortune of Her Imperial Highness”, to slaughter the Chukchi men and enslave their women and children as booty. However, the Chukchi ended this campaign and forced them to give up by decapitating and killing Pavlutskiy. The Russians were also launching wars and slaughters against the Koryaks in 1744 and 1753–1754. After the Russians tried to force the natives to convert to Christianity, the different native peoples like the Koryaks, Chukchis, Itelmens, and Yukaghirs all united to drive the Russians out of their land in the 1740s, culminating in the assault on Nizhnekamchatsk fort in 1746.” ref 

“Kamchatka today is European in demographics and culture with only 5% of it being native, around 10,000 from a previous number of 150,000, due to the mass slaughters by the Cossacks after its annexation in 1697 of the Itelmens and Koryaks throughout the first decades of Russian rule. The killings by the Russian Cossacks devastated the native peoples of Kamchatka. In addition to committing massacres the Cossacks also devastated the wildlife by slaughtering massive numbers of animals for fur. 90% of the Kamchadals and half of the Vogules were killed from the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries and the rapid slaughter of the indigenous population led to entire ethnic groups being entirely wiped out, with around 12 exterminated groups which could be named by Nikolai Yadrintsev as of 1882. Much of the slaughter was brought on by the Siberian fur trade.” ref

“The oblastniki in the 19th century among the Russians in Siberia acknowledged that the natives were subjected to immense violent exploitation, and claimed that they would rectify the situation with their proposed regionalist policies. The Aleuts in the Aleutians were subjected to genocide and slavery by the Russians for the first 20 years of Russian rule, with the Aleut women and children captured by the Russians and Aleut men slaughtered. The Russian colonization of Siberia and conquest of its indigenous peoples has been compared to the European colonization of the Americas and its natives, with similar negative impacts on the natives and the appropriation of their land.” ref 

“The Slavic Russians outnumber all of the native peoples in Siberia and its cities except in the Republics of Tuva and Sakha, with the Slavic Russians making up the majority in the Buryat and Altai Republics, outnumbering the Buriat, and Altai natives. The Buryats make up only 33.5% of their own Republic, the Altai 37% and the Chukchi only 28%; the Evenk, Khanty, Mansi, and Nenets are outnumbered by non-natives by 90% of the population. The natives were targeted by the tsars and Soviet policies to change their way of life, and ethnic Russians were given the natives’ reindeer herds and wild game which were confiscated by the tsars and Soviets. The reindeer herds have been mismanaged to the point of extinction. The Ainu have emphasized that they were the natives of the Kuril Islands and that the Japanese and Russians were both invaders.” ref

“Map of the Expansion of Russia in Eurasia (1300–1945)” ref

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“Several groups of people living in northern Russia and linguistically related to the Sami people are also indigenous.” ref

“The Saami Council is a voluntary Saami organization (a non–governmental organization), with Saami member organizations in Finland, Russia, Norway, and Sweden.” ref

“Their traditional languages are the Sámi languages, which are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family. The western Uralic languages are believed to spread from the region along the Volga, which is the longest river in Europe. The speakers of Finnic and Sámi languages have their roots in the middle and upper Volga region in the Corded Ware culture. These groups presumably started to move to the northwest from the early home region of the Uralic peoples in the second and third quarters of the 2nd millennium BCE.” ref

“The Uralic languages form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25 million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (which alone accounts for more than half of the family’s speakers), Finnish, and Estonian. Other significant languages with fewer speakers are Erzya, Moksha, Mari, Udmurt, Sami, Komi, and Vepsian, all of which are spoken in northern regions of Scandinavia and the Russian Federation.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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A geographical perspective on the Numbered Treaties in Canada

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What If The U.S. Honored Its Native Treaties?

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Judicially Established Indian Land Areas, 1978

“Portrays the results of cases before the U.S. Indian Claims Commission or U.S. Court of Claims, in which an American Indian tribe proved their original tribal land occupancy. U.S. Geological Survey. Indian land areas judicially established. Prepared under the direction of the Indian Claims Commission as a part of its final report. 1978. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.” ref

Na Dene Language Lesson by the National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education

Dëne Sųłıné – Our People (a video on the people of the Na-Dene languages, a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages)

Na-Dene languages

Na-Dene (/ˌnɑːdɪˈneɪ/; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considered doubtful. By far the most widely spoken Na-Dene language today is Navajo. In February 2008, a proposal connecting Na-Dene (excluding Haida) to the Yeniseian languages of central Siberia into a Dené–Yeniseian family was published and well-received by a number of linguists. It was proposed in a 2014 paper that the Na-Dene languages of North America and the Yeniseian languages of Siberia had a common origin in a language spoken in Beringia, between the two continents. In its uncontroversial core, Na-Dene consists of two branches, Tlingit and Athabaskan–Eyak:

• Tlingit: 1,360 speakers
• Athabaskan–Eyak
  • Eyak: the last native speaker died in 2008
  • Athabaskan
    • Northern
    • Pacific Coast
    • Southern

“For linguists who follow Edward Sapir in connecting Haida to the above languages, Haida represents an additional branch, with Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit together forming the other. Dene or Dine (the Athabaskan languages) is a widely distributed group of Native languages spoken by associated peoples in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alaska, parts of Oregon, northern California, and the American Southwest as far as northern Mexico. The southwestern division of Athabaskan is also called Southern Athabaskan or Apachean, and includes Navajo and all the Apache languages. Eyak was spoken in south-central Alaska; the last first language speaker died in 2008. Navajo is by far the most widely spoken language of the Na-Dene family, spoken in Arizona, New Mexico, and other regions of the American Southwest.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na-Dene_languages

Tlingit language

“The Tlingit language (/ˈklɪŋkɪt, -ɡɪt/ KLING-kit, –⁠git; Lingít [ɬɪ̀nkɪ́tʰ]) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada and is a branch of the Na-Dene language family. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to revive and preserve the Tlingit language and culture.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlingit_language

Tlingit people

“The Tlingit (/ˈklɪŋkɪt/ or /ˈtlɪŋɡɪt/; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively Lingít, pronounced [ɬɪ̀nkɪ́tʰ]), in which the name means ‘People of the Tides’. The Tlingit have a matrilineal kinship system, with children considered born into the mother’s clan, and property and hereditary roles passing through the mother’s line. Their culture and society developed in the temperate rainforest of the southeast Alaskan coast and the Alexander Archipelago. The Tlingit maintained a complex hunter-gatherer culture based on semi-sedentary management of fisheries. Hereditary slavery was practiced extensively until it was outlawed by the United States. An inland group, known as the Inland Tlingit, inhabits the far northwestern part of the province of British Columbia and the southern Yukon in Canada.” ref

“The Tlingit culture is multifaceted and complex, a characteristic of Northwest Pacific Coast people with access to easily exploited rich resources. In Tlingit culture, a heavy emphasis is placed upon family and kinship, and on a rich oratory tradition. Wealth and economic power are important indicators of rank, but so is generosity and proper behavior, all signs of “good breeding” and ties to aristocracy. Art and spirituality are incorporated in nearly all areas of Tlingit culture, with even everyday objects such as spoons and storage boxes decorated and imbued with spiritual power and historical beliefs of the Tlingits.” ref

“Tlingit society is divided into two moieties, the Raven and the Eagle. These in turn are divided into numerous clans, which are subdivided into lineages or house groups. They have a matrilineal kinship system, with descent and inheritance passed through the mother’s line. These groups have heraldic crests, which are displayed on totem poles, canoes, feast dishes, house posts, weavings, jewelry, and other art forms. The Tlingits pass down at.oow(s) or blankets that represented trust. Only a Tlingit can inherit one but they can also pass it down to someone they trust, who becomes responsible for caring for it but does not rightfully own it.” ref

“Like other Northwest Coast native peoples, the Tlingit did practice hereditary slavery. Tlingit thought and belief, although never formally codified, was historically a fairly well-organized philosophical and religious system whose basic axioms shaped the way Tlingit people viewed and interacted with the world around them. Tlingits were traditionally animists, and hunters ritually purified themselves before hunting animals. Shamans, primarily men, cured diseases, influenced weather, aided in hunting, predicted the future, and protected people against witchcraft. A central part of the Tlingit belief system was the belief in reincarnation of both humans and animals.” ref

“Tlingit tribes historically built plank houses made from cedar and today call them clan-houses; these houses were built with a foundation such that they could store their belongings under the floors. It is said that these plank houses had no adhesive, nails, or any other sort of fastening devices. Clan houses were usually square or rectangular in shape and had front-facing designs and totem poles to represent to which clan and moiety the makers belonged. Genetic analyses of HLA I and HLA II genes as well as HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 gene frequencies links the Ainu people of Japan to some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially to populations on the Pacific Northwest Coast such as Tlingit. The scientists suggest that the main ancestor of the Ainu and of the Tlingit can be traced back to Paleolithic groups in Southern Siberia.” ref

Genetic link between Asians and Native Americans: Evidence from HLA genes and haplotypes

“An indigenous population in North Japan, Ainu, was placed relatively close to Native Americans in the correspondence analysis and relation to migration and dispersal routes.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11802426_Genetic_link_between_Asians_and_Native_Americans_Evidence_from_HLA_genes_and_haplotypes

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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“The ANE lineage is defined by association with the MA-1, or “Mal’ta boy“, the remains of an individual who lived during the Last Glacial Maximum, 24,000 years ago in central Siberia. Populations genetically similar to MA-1 were an important genetic contributor to Native Americans, Europeans, Ancient Central Asians, South Asians, and some East Asian groups (such as the Ainu people), in order of significance.” ref

“Groups partially derived from the Ancient North Eurasians: Eastern Hunter-Gatherer (R1a-M417, around 8,400 years ago), Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherer (around 8,000 years ago), Ancient Beringian/Ancestral Native American (around 11,500 years ago), West Siberian Hunter-Gatherer, Western Steppe Herders (closely related to the Yamnaya culture), Late Upper Paeolithic Lake Baikal (14,050-13,770 years ago), Lake Baikal Holocene (around 11,650 years ago to the present), Jōmon people, pre-Neolithic population of Japan (and present-day Ainu people).” ref

“Since the term ‘Ancient North Eurasian’ refers to a genetic bridge of connected mating networks, scholars of comparative mythology have argued that they probably shared myths and beliefs that could be reconstructed via the comparison of stories attested within cultures that were not in contact for millennia and stretched from the Pontic–Caspian steppe to the American continent.” ref

“For instance, the mytheme of the dog guarding the Otherworld possibly stems from an older Ancient North Eurasian belief, as suggested by similar motifs found in Indo-European, Native American, and Siberian mythology. In Siouan, Algonquian, Iroquoian, and in Central and South American beliefs, a fierce guard dog was located in the Milky Way, perceived as the path of souls in the afterlife, and getting past it was a test. The Siberian Chukchi and Tungus believed in a guardian-of-the-afterlife dog and a spirit dog that would absorb the dead man’s soul and act as a guide in the afterlife. In Indo-European myths, the figure of the dog is embodied by Cerberus, Sarvarā, and Garmr. Anthony and Brown note that it might be one of the oldest mythemes recoverable through comparative mythology.” ref

“A second canid-related series of beliefs, myths, and rituals connected dogs with healing rather than death. For instance, Ancient Near Eastern and Turkic–Kipchaq myths are prone to associate dogs with healing and generally categorized dogs as impure. A similar myth-pattern is assumed for the Eneolithic site of Botai in Kazakhstan, dated to 3500 BC, which might represent the dog as absorber of illness and guardian of the household against disease and evil. In Mesopotamia, the goddess Nintinugga, associated with healing, was accompanied or symbolized by dogs. Similar absorbent-puppy healing and sacrifice rituals were practiced in Greece and Italy, among the Hittites, again possibly influenced by Near Eastern traditions.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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The Fascinatingly Mysterious Origins of the Ainu

Ainu – History of the Indigenous people of Japan DOCUMENTARY

Japan’s indigenous Ainu people still hunting for acceptance of their ancestral traditions

The Connection Between Whites and Asians? Genetics of the Sami, Ainu and Siberian Peopels

“Could the Sami, Ainu, and other Siberian peoples be the missing link between modern East Asian and European populations? Today, we’re going to go through the genetics, DNA, and haplogroups of many of the various peoples of Northern Asia. The natives of Siberia are a very interesting group to learn about, and not very well known by the general public. We are also going to touch on the fact that Hungarians, Finns, and Estonians all speak languages that come from outside the borders of Europe.” ref

Ainu people

“The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Yamato Japanese and Russians. The Ainu are the native people of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kurils. Early Ainu-speaking groups (mostly hunters and fishermen) migrated also into the Kamchatka Peninsula and into Honshu, where their descendants are today known as the Matagi hunters, who still use a large amount of Ainu vocabulary in their dialect. Other evidence for Ainu-speaking hunters and fishermen migrating down from Northern Hokkaido into Honshu is through the Ainu toponyms which are found in several places of northern Honshu, mostly among the western coast and the Tōhoku region. Evidence for Ainu speakers in the Amur region is found through Ainu loanwords in the Uilta and Ulch people. Research suggests that Ainu culture originated from a merger of the Okhotsk and Satsumon cultures. Genetic testing has shown that the Ainu belong mainly to Y-DNA haplogroup D-M55 (D1a2) and C-M217.” ref

“Y DNA haplogroup D M55 is found throughout the Japanese Archipelago, but with very high frequencies among the Ainu of Hokkaidō in the far north, and to a lesser extent among the Ryukyuans in the Ryukyu Islands of the far south. Recently it was confirmed that the Japanese branch of haplogroup D M55 is distinct and isolated from other D branches for more than 53,000 years. Several studies (Hammer et al. 2006, Shinoda 2008, Matsumoto 2009, Cabrera et al. 2018) suggest that haplogroup D originated somewhere in Central Asia. According to Hammer et al., the ancestral haplogroup D originated between Tibet and the Altai mountains. He suggests that there were multiple waves into Eastern Eurasia.” ref

“A study by Tajima et al. (2004) suggest that fourteen out of sixteen Ainu (or 87.5%) belong to YAP+ lineages (Y-haplogroups D-M55* and D-M125), with 13/16 (81.3%) belonging to D-M55 and 1/16 (6.25%) belonging to D-M125 (the latter is much more typical of mainland Japanese males than Ainu). The presence of Haplogroup C M217 in the Ainu suggest a degree of genetic admixture with the Nivkhs. Two out of a sample of sixteen Ainu men (or 12.5%) belong to , which is the most common Y chromosome haplogroup among the indigenous populations of Siberia and Mongolia. Hammer et al. (2006) found that one in a sample of four (or 25%) Ainu men belonged to haplogroup C M217.” ref

“Hideo Matsumoto (2009) suggested, based on immunoglobulin analyses, that the Ainu (and Jōmon) have a Siberian origin. Compared with other East Asian populations, the Ainu have the highest amount of Siberian (immunoglobulin) components, higher than mainland Japanese people. A 2012 genetic study has revealed that the closest genetic relatives of the Ainu are the Ryukyuan people, followed by the Yamato people and Nivkh. A genetic analysis in 2016 showed that although the Ainu have some genetic relations to the Japanese people and Eastern Siberians (especially Itelmens and Chukchis), they are not directly related to any modern ethnic group.” ref

“Further, the study detected genetic contribution from the Ainu to populations around the Sea of Okhotsk but no genetic influence on the Ainu themselves. According to the study, the Ainu-like genetic contribution in the Ulch people is about 17.8% or 13.5% and about 27.2% in the Nivkhs. The study also disproved the idea about a relation to Andamanese or Tibetans; instead, it presented evidence of gene flow between the Ainu and “lowland East Asian farmer populations” (represented in the study by the Ami and Atayal in Taiwan, and the Dai and Lahu in Mainland East Asia).” ref

“A genetic study in 2021 (Sato et al.) found that the Ainu probably derived about ~49% of their ancestry from the local Hokkaido Jōmon, ~22% from the Okhotsk (samplified by Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples), and ~29% from the Yamato Japanese. Population genomic data from various Jōmon period samples show that their main ancestry component split from other East Asian people at about 15,000 BCE. Following their migration into the Japanese archipelago, they became largely isolated from outside geneflow. However, geneflow from Ancient North Eurasians towards the Jōmon period population was detected along a North to South cline, with a peak among Hokkaido Jōmon. Overall anthropometric characteristics and cranial features group the Ainu people most closely together with Native Americans, especially Eskimos, followed by other East Asians, rather than with Europeans.” ref

“Never shaving after a certain age, the men had full beards and moustaches. Men and women alike cut their hair level with the shoulders at the sides of the head, trimmed semi-circularly behind. The women tattooed (anchi-piri) their mouths, and sometimes the forearms. The mouth tattoos were started at a young age with a small spot on the upper lip, gradually increasing with size. The soot deposited on a pot hung over a fire of birch bark was used for color. Their traditional dress was a robe spun from the inner bark of the elm tree, called attusi or attush. Various styles were made, and consisted generally of a simple short robe with straight sleeves, which was folded around the body, and tied with a band about the waist. The sleeves ended at the wrist or forearm and the length generally was to the calves. Women also wore an undergarment of Japanese cloth.” ref

Ainu Religion

“They hunted in groups with dogs. Before the Ainu went hunting, particularly for bears and similar animals, they prayed to the god of fire, the house guardian god, to convey their wishes for a large catch, and to the god of mountains for safe hunting. Men wore a crown called sapanpe for important ceremonies. Sapanpe was made from wood fiber with bundles of partially shaved wood. This crown had wooden figures of animal gods and other ornaments on its center. Men carried an emush (ceremonial sword) secured by an emush at strap to their shoulders.” ref

“Women wore a necklace called rektunpe, a long, narrow strip of cloth with metal plaques. They wore a necklace that reached the breast called a tamasay or shitoki, usually made from glass balls. Some glass balls came from trade with the Asian continent. The Ainu also obtained glass balls secretly made by the Matsumae clan. The worn-out fabric of old clothing was used for baby clothes because soft cloth was good for the skin of babies and worn-out material protected babies from gods of illness and demons due to these gods’ abhorrence of dirty things. Before a baby was breast-fed, they were given a decoction of the endodermis of alder and the roots of butterburs to discharge impurities. Children were raised almost naked until about the ages of four to five.” ref

“Even when they wore clothes, they did not wear belts and left the front of their clothes open. Subsequently, they wore bark clothes without patterns, such as attush, until coming of age. Newborn babies were named ayay (a baby’s crying), shipo, poyshi (small excrement), and shion (old excrement). Children were called by these “temporary” names until the ages of two to three. They were not given permanent names when they were born. Their tentative names had a portion meaning “excrement” or “old things” to ward off the demon of ill-health. Some children were named based on their behaviour or habits. Other children were named after impressive events or after parents’ wishes for the future of the children. When children were named, they were never given the same names as others.” ref

“The Ainu are traditionally animists, believing that everything in nature has a kamuy (spirit or god) on the inside. The most important include Kamuy-huci, goddess of the hearth, Kim-un-kamuy, god of bears and mountains, and Repun Kamuy, god of the sea, fishing, and marine animals. Kotan-kar-kamuy is regarded as the creator of the world in the Ainu religion. The Ainu have no priests by profession; instead the village chief performs whatever religious ceremonies are necessary. Ceremonies are confined to making libations of sake, saying prayers, and offering willow sticks with wooden shavings attached to them. These sticks are called inaw (singular) and nusa (plural).” ref

“They are placed on an altar used to “send back” the spirits of killed animals. Ainu ceremonies for sending back bears are called Iyomante. The Ainu people give thanks to the gods before eating and pray to the deity of fire in time of sickness. They believe that their spirits are immortal, and that their spirits will be rewarded hereafter by ascending to kamuy mosir (Land of the Gods). The Ainu are part of a larger collective of indigenous people who practice “arctolatry” or bear worship. The Ainu believe that the bear holds particular importance as Kim-un Kamuy’s chosen method of delivering the gift of the bear’s hide and meat to humans. John Batchelor reported that the Ainu view the world as being a spherical ocean on which float many islands, a view based on the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. He wrote that they believe the world rests on the back of a large fish, which when it moves causes earthquakes.” ref

“Ainu assimilated into mainstream Japanese society have adopted Buddhism and Shintō, while some northern Ainu were converted as members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Regarding Ainu communities in Shikotanto (色丹) and other areas that fall within the Russian sphere of cultural influence, there have been cases of church construction as well as reports that some Ainu have decided to profess their Christian faith. There have also been reports that the Russian Orthodox Church has performed some missionary projects in the Sakhalin Ainu community.” ref

“However, not many people have converted and there are only reports of several persons who have converted. Converts have been scorned as “Nutsa Ainu” (Russian Ainu) by other members of the Ainu community. Even so, the reports indicate that many Ainu have kept their faith in the deities of ancient times. Since late 2011, the Ainu have cultural exchange and cultural cooperation with the Sámi people of northern Europe. Both the Sámi and the Ainu participate in the organization for Arctic indigenous peoples and the Sámi research office in Lapland (Finland).” ref

“The Sámi (/ˈsɑːmi/ SAH-mee; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Russia, most of the Kola Peninsula in particular.  From the Bronze Age, the Sámi occupied the area along the coast of Finnmark and the Kola Peninsula. This coincides with the arrival of the Siberian genome to Estonia and Finland, which may correspond with the introduction of the Finno-Ugric languages in the region. There is no single Sámi language, but a group of ten distinct Sámi languages. The Sámi languages belong to the Uralic language family, linguistically related to Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian. Due to prolonged contact and import of items foreign to Sámi culture from neighboring Scandinavians, there are a number of Germanic loanwords in Sámi, particularly for “urban” objects.

Sámi Religion

Main article: Sámi shamanism

“Many Sámi people continued to practice their religion up until the 18th century. Indigenous Sámi religion is a type of polytheism. (See Sámi deities.) There is some diversity due to the wide area that is Sápmi, allowing for the evolution of variations in beliefs and practices between tribes. The beliefs are closely connected to the land, animism, and the supernatural. Sámi spirituality is often characterized by pantheism, a strong emphasis on the importance of personal spirituality and its interconnectivity with one’s own daily life, and a deep connection between the natural and spiritual “worlds”. Among other roles, the Noaidi, or Sámi shaman, enables ritual communication with the supernatural through the use of tools such as drums, Joik, Fadno, chants, sacred objects, and fly agaric. Some practices within the Sámi religion include natural sacred sites such as mountains, springs, land formations, Sieidi, as well as man-made ones such as petroglyphs and labyrinths.” ref

“Sámi cosmology divides the universe into three worlds. The upper world is related to the South, warmth, life, and the color white. It is also the dwelling of the gods. The middle world is like the Norse Midgard, it is the dwelling of humans and it is associated with the color red. The third world is the underworld and it is associated with the color black, it represents the north, the cold and it is inhabited by otters, loons, and seals, and mythical animals. Sámi religion shares some elements with Norse mythology, possibly from early contacts with trading Vikings (or vice versa). They were the last worshippers of Thor, as late as the 18th century according to contemporary ethnographers.” ref

“Through a mainly French initiative from Joseph Paul Gaimard as part of his La Recherche Expedition, Lars Levi Læstadius began research on Sámi mythology. His work resulted in Fragments of Lappish Mythology, since by his own admission, they contained only a small percentage of what had existed. The fragments were termed Theory of Gods, Theory of Sacrifice, Theory of Prophecy, or short reports about rumorous Sami magic and Sami sagas. Generally, he claims to have filtered out the Norse influence and derived common elements between the South, North, and Eastern Sámi groups. The mythology has common elements with other indigenous religions as well—such as those of indigenous peoples in Siberia and North America. Today there are a number of Sámi who seek to return to the traditional Pagan values of their ancestors.” ref

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Yeniseian Shaman’s Drum

SHAMINIST BIRD FIGURES OF THE YENISEI OSTYAK

By: H. U. Hall

“When the whole destinies of a people are, as they believe, dependent upon the action, helpful or harmful, of spirits, a class of experts, skilled in means of securing the good will or combatting the malice of these spirits, comes into existence. These men—or women—are generally called, in speaking of Siberian natives, “shamans,” from the Tungus name for them. The shaman Langa, of the Hukachar family group of the Limpiisk Tungus, one day about fifty years ago, fired with the patriotic idea of putting out of the way as many Russians as he could, went in, so the Tungus say, from the tundra to the Yenisei, ostensibly to exchange fox and ermine pelts for supplies at the nearest trading post on the river, really to work disaster to all the white men living along the stream. Langa’s spirit helper, or one of them, was, it seems, the smallpox spirit.” ref

“He sent this to the Russians—after concluding his deal in furs—and they began to die off “like sick reindeer.” After a time the smallpox spirit appears to have got beyond control and taken to killing Tungus in the tundra. So Langa, they say, sent the bird away to the north, to the Dolgan and the Samoyed. In all the shamanist cults of Siberia, animals, and particularly birds, play a great part as spirit messengers of the shamans or medicine men, or of the gods, as the shaman’s familiars, as servants of the shamans and of the various divinities. There is no distinction made between men and animals in the matter of possession of a soul, unless it be to attribute powers to the spirits of certain animals superior to those of men. Such spirits may or may not be benevolent, and may have themselves almost the rank of gods.” ref

“Among the Kamchadal of eastern Siberia, Raven was the creator. But he left the Kamchadal for the Koryak and the Chukchee. Yet the Koryak regard him not as a creator, but rather as a transformer or organizer of the universe. The Buryat of the Lake Baikal region believes in evil spirits which originated as the souls of wicked men, but have now the shape of malevolent birds. In this case, the bird appears to be regarded as an instrument or at least a vehicle of a kind of degeneration, an analogue to which idea may be found among the Ostyak, a tribe of the northeast, who say that men’s souls go through a series of transformations after death, becoming birds, gnats, finally specks of dust.” ref

“There is a close association between the shaman and the spirits of animals. The impulse and desire in which religion is rooted is the. craving which the individual feels to get outside of himself, to loose somehow the spirit trammeled by bodily limitations that it may by contact and cooperation with other spirits, freer and hence more powerful, win strength to compel the fulfilment of desires. What can be freer than the birds? They are not bound by horizons. The shaman, watching their free flight, sees them fade through the blue, drop out of sight below the skyline. Surely they can pass to Erlik or to Ess, beyond the seventh heaven or below the ninth underworld.” ref

“All a man needs for this is wings, and he sets about to secure. them vicariously by making the spirits of the birds his helpers. So he may use them for conveyance of his messages or even borrow from them the winged faculties he lacks, and surpass them in their own field. The winged powers of the Altaian shaman are thus compared with those of familiar birds. He goes to visit Erlik, god of evil, but susceptible to propitiation. On his way he crosses a yellow steppe such as no magpie can traverse; or a pale one such as no crow can pass over; and when he arrives before Erlik, the god, in amazement and anger, demands to know how he got there, for “no winged creature can fly hither.” ref

“The objects illustrated here are shamanist representations of birds, brought by the Museum’s expedition to the Yenisei from the people known as Yenisei Ostyaks or Yeniseians. Their medicine men have a great reputation among all the natives of the lower Yenisei. The costume worn by the Yeniseian shaman at the present day is distinguished from the everyday dress chiefly by a deerskin apron. On this are crudely painted figures of men and women, and on the breast and below hang representations in iron of birds and other spirit helpers of the shaman. Divers (probably the black-throated diver, Colymbus arcticus), which are the shaman’s messengers to Khosadam, chief of evil spirits, formerly the wife of Ess, the somewhat passively benevolent chief of the spirits of good. Khosadam was cast down to earth by Ess from his seat above the seventh heaven as punishment for infidelity. She is the patron or symbol of all evil things that afflict men—cold, darkness, sterility, and disease.” ref

“The most familiar accessory of shamanist performances is the shaman’s drum, Plate XII. In the middle of the tympanum of this Yeniseian drum is painted a representation of the shaman. The lines radiating from his head symbolize winged thoughts: with admirable economy of effort the artist merely forks the ends of the rays to suggest the wings of birds. Winged rays also proceed from the sun, to the left, and the crescent moon to the right, of the central figure. To a wooden bar which extends across the inside of the drum are usually attached small iron figures of birds: the two-headed eagle, teacher of the first shaman; the swan, sacred to Ess; and three divers, messengers to Khosadam.” ref 

The Union of Two Worlds:

Reconstructing Elements of Proto-Athabaskan Folklore and Religion

“The Okhotsk culture is an archaeological coastal fishing and hunter-gatherer culture that developed around the southern coastal regions of the Sea of Okhotsk, including Sakhalin, northeastern Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands during the last half of the first millennium to the early part of the second. The Okhotsk are one of the ancestral components of the Ainu people and probably contributed the Ainu languages and significant cultural elements. It is suggested that the bear cult, a practice shared by various Northern Eurasian peoples, the Ainu, and the Nivkhs, was an important element of the Okhotsk culture but was uncommon in Jomon period Japan. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Okhotsk culture proper originated in the 5th century CE from the Susuya culture of southern Sakhalin and northern Hokkaido.”

Okhotsk culture Genetics

“Morphological studies of the skeletal remains of the Okhotsk people have suggested their similarity to populations currently living around the Amur Basin and in northern Sakhalin (Ishida 1988, 1996; Komesu et al. 2008). In addition, the results of mitochondrial DNA analysis support the morphological evidence. Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups Y1, G1b, and N9b, which were shared among the Lower Amur populations at high frequencies, were commonly detected from Okhotsk skeletal remains (Sato et al. 2009b), which suggests that the Okhotsk people originated in the Lower Amur region. The mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies in 37 Okhotsk skeletal remains from a 2009 study were as follows: A, 8.1%; B5, 2.7%; C3, 5.4%; G1, 24.3%; M7, 5.4%; N9, 10.8%; Y, 43.2%. Thus, in the mitochondrial gene pool of the Okhotsk people, haplogroup Y was major. This genetic feature is similar to those of populations currently living around the lower regions of the Amur River, such as the Ulchi, Nivkhi, and Negidals.” ref

“The findings show that the Okhotsk people are genetically closer to populations currently living around the lower regions of the Amur River as well as to the Ainu people of Hokkaido. Moreover, the study indicates that the Okhotsk people were also affected by gene flow from the Kamchatka peninsula. A genetic study in 2021 (Sato et al.) found that the Ainu derived about ~49% of their ancestry from the Hokkaido Jōmon, ~22% from the Okhotsk (simplified by Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples), and ~29% from the Yamato Japanese. The Okhotsk people had higher genetic affinities with the Nivkh and Ulchi, as well as with the Ainu, among the compared northeastern Asian populations. The Nivkh, Ulchi, and Ainu populations are currently distributed in areas geographically close to the Okhotsk culture sites.” ref

Okhotsk culture Religion

“The Okhotsk from Rebun Island transported adult bears and bear cubs (Ursus arctos) from the Hokkaido mainland for ceremonial activities, while also practicing small-scale pig (Sus scrofa inoi) and dog (Canis domesticus) rearing. Ten ivory figurines depicting females with elaborate clothing are known from Okhotsk sites in both northern and eastern Hokkaido. A baby quadruped on a figurine from the Hamanaka 2 site on Rebun has been interpreted as a bear cub by Maeda. If correct, this may link women with the raising of bears for rituals. This is important because bears probably became ‘‘socially valued goods’’ in Okhotsk society and a DNA analysis of brown bear remains from Kafukai has shown that juvenile bears were brought by boat from southwest Hokkaido to Rebun Island. Bear rituals were important in Okhotsk households but there is no evidence (from burials for example) that female status increased because of their involvement in shamanistic activities related to bear ceremonies.” ref

“Like the Ainu, the Okhotsk also appears to have engaged in the rearing of live bear cubs, and these earlier traditions appear to be the origins of later Ainu practices. Many interpretations of the significance of Okhotsk human-animal interactions draw on direct historical analogies with the Ainu. The parallels are often striking – for example, in almost all households of the Okhotsk Culture, bear crania are gathered in the sacred rear part of the house and placed on a specially raised platform shrine – this may have formed a sacred area where likely only certain members of the group are given access. Many Okhotsk Culture sites also contain abundant evidence for a much wider repertoire of elaborate and deeply respectful animal-related mythology, including animal burials, clusters of animal bones subjected to ritualized treatments, with some clusters found in association with elaborately carved objects, that together may have been utilized as a part of specific rituals.” ref

“Another dimension to human-animal cosmological relations is the sanctity of shell middens. Again, there appears to be deep continuity between traditions of the Okhotsk and Ainu cultures. In the Ainu culture, shell middens comprise a wide range of marine fauna, such as abalone shells, which are not viewed as discarded food or refuse, but rather sacred areas belonging to the spirits and ancestors. In and around these shell middens, animals, plants, tools, and other objects important to the Ainu are deposited – and sent back to the deities – through the celebration of sending rites. This tradition aligns well with the material culture and settlement patterning witnessed at numerous Okhotsk sites, where shell middens accumulate around the habitats and other social spaces. Plenty of material evidence suggests that rituals were performed around these areas, and for instance at the Hamanaka 2 site several human and dog burials were documented in shell midden contexts. The Okhotsk may therefore have regarded shell middens similarly, or even passed on this tradition to the Ainu in the early 2nd millennium.” ref

Haplogroup G

“Subclade G1 is almost completely responsible for the high frequency of haplogroup G in populations located around the Sea of Okhotsk (Itelmen, Koryak, Negidal, Ulch, Ainu, Chukchi, Nivkh, etc.). G1 in Luoravetlans (Koryak & Chukchi) is essentially G1b, and this subclade is also found with generally low frequency in populations of Yakutia to the west (Evens, Yukaghirs, Evenks, Yakuts, Dolgans) as well as in Japan. G1a has been found in samples from China (Daur, Hui, Kazakh, Sarikoli, Korean, Manchu, Yi, Jino, Yunnan Dai, Jiangxi Han, and a sample of the general population of the city of Shenyang), Tajikistan (Pamiris), Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and central Siberia (Yakut, Altai-kizhi). G1c has been found in China, Korea, and a Seletar. Today, haplogroup G is found at its highest frequency in indigenous populations of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk. Haplogroup G is one of the most common mtDNA haplogroups among modern Ainu, Siberian, Mongol, Tibetan, and Central and North Asian Turkic peoples people (as well as among people of the prehistoric Jōmon culture in Hokkaidō). It is also found at a lower frequency among many other populations of East Asia, Central Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. However, unlike other mitochondrial DNA haplogroups typical of populations of northeastern Asia, such as haplogroup A, haplogroup C, and haplogroup D, haplogroup G has not been found among indigenous peoples of the Americas.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_G_(mtDNA)

Athabaskan languages

“Athabaskan (also spelled Athabascan, Athapaskan or Athapascan, and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Coast and Southern (or Apachean). Linguists conventionally divide the Athabaskan family into three groups, based on geographic distribution:

1. Northern Athabaskan languages
2. Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages
3. Southern Athabaskan languages or “Apachean” ref

“The 32 Northern Athabaskan languages are spoken throughout the interior of Alaska and the interior of northwestern Canada in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, as well as in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Five Athabaskan languages are official languages in the Northwest Territories, including Chipewyan (Dënesųłıné), Dogrib or Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì, Gwich’in (Kutchin, Loucheux), and the Northern and Southern variants of Slavey. The seven or more Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages are spoken in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. These include Applegate, Galice, several Rogue River area languages, Upper Coquille, Tolowa, and Upper Umpqua in Oregon; Eel River, Hupa, Mattole–Bear River, and Tolowa in northern California; and possibly Kwalhioqua-Clatskanie in Washington.” ref

“The seven Southern Athabaskan languages are isolated by considerable distance from both the Pacific Coast languages and the Northern languages. Reflecting an ancient migration of peoples, they are spoken by Native Americans in the American Southwest and the northwestern part of Mexico. This group comprises the six Southern Athabaskan languages and Navajo. Tlingit is distantly related to the Athabaskan–Eyak group to form the Na-Dene family, also known as Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit (AET). Eyak and Athabaskan together form a genealogical linguistic grouping called Athabaskan–Eyak (AE).” ref

Athapaskan Religious Traditions

“The Athapaskan-speaking (alternative spellings include Athabascan, Athabaskan, and Athapascan) nations of Alaska, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and the American Southwest can be sorted into three broad cultural areas: the Northern Athapaskans, the Southern Athapaskans of the American Southwest, and the Athapaskans of the Pacific Northwest. Religious traditions in each of these areas vary markedly from each other. In general, the Northern Athapaskan religious traditions follow culturally scripted theories of ever-watchful spirit forces whose primary relationship with human beings centers on hunting and other subsistence issues. By contrast, the Southern Athapaskan religious traditions of the American Southwest focus on patterns reinforcing social harmony. The Athapaskan religious traditions of the Pacific Northwest fall into two general categories: subsistence-based traditions poised in complex social structures, and millenarian traditions that followed the arrival of European immigrants. Sacred stories, concepts of the numinous, cultural practices, ritual activities, and concepts of leadership align themselves within these cultural areas.” ref

Northern Athapaskan Religious Traditions

“Northern Athapaskan nations are divided by the Canadian–United States border. Eleven of the twenty-nine Northern Athapaskan nations extend across the interior rivers of Alaska, while the rest occupy much of Canada’s subarctic interior and western regions. Numerous sacred stories fall into cultural patterns in roughly three large geographic zones: (1) those nearest the northwest-coast cultural region, who include the Dena’ina, Ahtna, Tahltan, and Tagish; (2) those of the interior Alaskan Tanana and Yukon riverways (Gwich’in, Han, Koyukon, Holikachuk, Deg Hit’an, Tanana, Tanacross, and Upper Tanana); and (3) northern Canadian Athapaskan nations, including the Dogrib, Hare, Sekani, and Kaska.” ref

“The Athapaskans nearest the northwest-coast cultural region tell stories closely reflecting their historical links with the coastal Tlingit and Haida, nations with whom they have long-established family and trading connections. Raven is a key element in these stories, always serving in its capacity as a trickster and harbinger of change. Many of the key animal species depicted in stories of this region, such as Wolf, Whale, Seagull, and Eagle, reflect kinship group names or euphemisms for trading partners from the northwest coast. The development of shamanic power serves as a key component of oral narratives, underlying all Northern Athapaskan religious traditions.” ref

“Among the interior Athapaskans, the most important of these stories includes a pantheon of narratives about a mythical traveler, sometimes accompanied by his younger brother. Through feats of unexplained powers or humorous accidents, the traveler populates the world with animals and plants. Significant species, such as ducks, mink, foxes, and wolves, are featured in their own narratives, while less important species take supportive roles. Here, too, Raven serves as the catalytic trickster figure whose actions often reverse or galvanize new lifeways among the creatures introduced by the traveler. Another important narrative from the Alaskan interior is commonly called “The Blind Man and the Loon,” a sacred story with links to Inupiat stories in the north and Algonkian stories in the south.” ref

“These myths, always an expression of the tellers’ subsistence needs and the precarious impact of weather and environmental catastrophes, enclose humanity in a framework of spirits ever weighing human judgment, moral behavior, and mental attitudes. Canadian Athapaskan sacred stories also feature a mythological heroic man, but rather than moving from area to area in a methodical way to populate the natural environment, the Canadian Dené hero interacts with his wife in constant tension with enemies from other areas. Translated into English as “The Man without Fire,” stories about the northern Canadian Athapaskan hero narrate exploits about saving his wife from kidnapping and avenging his brother’s murder. Northern Athapaskans situate their concepts of the supernatural, humanity, and related worldviews in sacred stories.” ref

“Where human populations are small and widely separated, the spiritual world dominates all activity, and ethical decisions emerge from good rapport with the natural world rather than human relations. The scarcity of food predicates the importance of sharing everything. Throughout the Alaskan Athapaskan community, clan-based feasts (usually called potlatches) serve as the primary institution for marking life-cycle events and redistribution of goods. The needs of the group submerge individual aspirations in an ethos of survival. Likewise, Northern Athapaskan individuals who manage to display appropriate self-sacrifice, personal strength, and devotion to the group emerge as great leaders. While a few women have filled such roles, Northern Athapaskan cultures generally allow primacy to men in leadership and authority.” ref

Southern Athapaskans of the American Southwest

“Two Athapaskan peoples, the Diné and the Apache, prevail in the American Southwest in terms of population and land holdings. They are unique among Athapaskans because of their agricultural subsistence base (primarily corn) and herding. The Diné, or Navajo, with the largest Native American population in the United States (298,197 in the 2001 census) and one of the largest North American territories (over 27,000 square miles in the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) also predominate in terms of the amount of scholarly research into their religious traditions.” ref

Navajo traditions

“Diné bahane,’ popularly known as the Navajo creation story, forms the paradigmatic core of all Diné religious, philosophical, medical, and artistic traditions. Diné bahane’ narrates four emergences of human beings into new worlds, each replete with its own benefits and sources of trouble. The fourth and present world, like the three previous worlds, revolves around dualistic relations between male and female, harmony and chaos, and sky and earth. Changing Woman, the most important of the Diné pantheon of deities, represents the renewal of life as the core of the earth and its seasons. Other Diné deities include First Man, First Woman, and Monster Slayer, all of whom are described and explained in Diné bahane’.” ref

“Gender relations dominate the narrative themes in Diné bahane’, along with a discussion of linguistic styles, artistic styles, and daily work activities, all emphasizing the importance of social roles in Diné society, in contrast to the dominance of subsistence values in the Northern Athapaskan regions. Diné environmental conditions, while harsh, nonetheless have provided reliable food and shelter over the centuries, allowing the Diné to focus on their relations to each other as well as to the land. Diné bahane’ provides a metaphoric explanation for the importance of the four mountains held sacred by the Diné: Blanca Peak in Colorado, Mount Taylor in New Mexico, San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, and Hesperus Peak in Colorado. According to the sacred narrative, the Diné are never to leave the precincts of these four sacred mountains.” ref

“The hogan, or dwelling, reveals the cosmological significance of the four sacred mountains by its configuration and spatial orientation. Each part of the hogan represents structures of the universe, with the floor corresponding to the earth as well as to female power, and the round roof reflecting the sky and male power. Many religious ceremonies take place in the hogan. The Diné makes use of many ritual ceremonies, of which the blessing-way is the most important and performed most frequently. A two-day ceremony, the blessing-way brings peace, beauty, and protection so one may achieve a long and harmonious life. During a blessing-way, Diné bahane’ is recited in its entirety. Although balanced gender relations form a core religious and social value in Diné life, from the smallest elements of daily hegemony to the largest, men dominate in the household, as ritual leaders, and in their communities, as well as in national affairs.” ref

Apache traditions

“Apachean religious traditions are in some ways similar to those of the Diné, particularly in terms of the central deity, White Clay Woman, also known as Changing Woman, or Ἰsánáklésh in the Mescalero language. Like the Diné’s Changing Woman, Ἰsánáklésh is considered to be the earth and all of its seasons and changes, as well as representing female power. Her counterpart, Usen, also called Life Giver, represents male power and appropriate leadership. The Apachean peoples of the American Southwest include the Jicarilla, Chiricahua, White Mountain, San Carlos, Mescalero, and Kiowa-Apache, many still living on reservations across the Southwest.” ref

“The women’s puberty rite continues to be the most important Apache religious ceremony. Since precolonial times Apache people have celebrated a woman’s first menses through what is now a four-day event in which the young woman is sponsored by a prominent religious leader (usually female) and an equally prestigious male singer, who are expected to instruct her in the sacred arts of becoming an adult Apache woman. The ceremonial activities include long hours of dancing, running at dawn toward Ἰsánáklésh, and finally a blessing by all of her family and kin with the use of sacred cattail pollen.” ref

Athapaskans of the Pacific Northwest

“The Athapaskans of the Pacific Northwest area, unlike other Athapaskan peoples, live near rugged coastal areas in Oregon and northern California. These Athapaskan nations include the Tolowa, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Lassik, Wailaki, and Kato. These Athapaskan nations competed for territory with Algonkian and Hokan peoples in precolonial times. Of these, the Hupa are the largest group, numbering around two thousand in the twentieth century. Their traditional subsistence resources have been salmon, acorns, and trade. Like most of the nations of this area, Athapaskan and otherwise, the aboriginal societies were hierarchical and wealthy enough to have community leaders whose primary occupations entailed conducting ritual procedures and redistributing goods.” ref

“Sacred stories and songs, although spoken in their own languages, blended thematically with those of neighboring nations. In addition to ceremonies related directly to subsistence efforts, such as the Acorn Feast and the ceremonies to honor the first salmon of the spring salmon run, some of the Pacific Northwest Athapaskan ceremonials, such as the Jump Dance, initiate young men into what Alfred Kroeber (1907) referred to as secret societies, groups which inaugurated them into the socioeconomic and political system. (Some of the nations are now bringing back female initiation ceremonies as well.) Other ceremonials centered on protection from earthquakes and mudslides, common environmental disasters in this area.” ref

“Postcolonial religious traditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries include the Shaker religion, originated in 1882 by Joe Slocum and his wife, Mary, of Puget Sound after Mr. Slocum recovered from a near-death experience. The Shaker religion came to northern California in 1926. Termed a revitalization movement or millenarian religion, the Slocums’ revelations encouraged Native peoples throughout the northwest Pacific coast to rediscover the individual rapport with spirit forces found in earlier traditions, in a mode much like the Prophet Dance of Washington and the Plateau area.” ref

Apache Religious Traditions

“All Apaches carry this spiritual respect for the Creator, the Four Directions, Mother Earth, and “certain deities in the sky like the north star, the sun, the moon, and some of the other stars that are there. According to Meredith Begay, a medicine woman from the Mescalero Apache Reservation with Lipan, Mescalero, and Chiracahua lineage, the Apache religion is based on a spiritual sense by which Apaches live with respect. Begay referred to this as a sixth sense that directs Lipans to treat the sacred in a specifically Apache way. Importantly, Lipans should seek to understand the stories told about the way people act and the way that people should act, and conduct themselves accordingly.” ref

“The deities take care of humans and so must be revered. The desire to build correct relations in accordance with the stories provides direction for Lipan life and a means by which Lipans cultivate knowledge and the power to heal. It is through this alignment of the stories with personal vision and action that medicine is acquired. Medicine is intended for the good of one’s family and tribe, and when a person pursues and utilizes such power for personal gain at the expense of others, this is understood as witchcraft or the misuse of power.” ref

“The Lipan account of the creation of the earth involves the prophets Killer-of-Enemies and his brother Child of Water, as well as their mother ‘Isánáklésh, also known as Changing Woman. ‘Isánáklésh’s part in the creation story is the model for the girls’ puberty ceremony that is common to all Apaches. Special ceremonies such as this are times when families are called upon to bring their medicine in the form of songs and the spiritual work of ceremonial preparation and participation. However, sacred narratives are not just ceremonial guideposts, they are integral to teaching basic understandings of Lipan life.

For example, Child of Water represents the “right hand” and loving way, whereas the Killer-of-Enemies symbolizes the “left hand,” which is not so loving. Child of Water provides refuge and salvation for people and animals, whereas Killer-of-Enemies changes animals from destroyers and killers of people to providers of meat and clothing by making sacred agreements between animals and people.” ref

“Lipan oral traditions and the rituals and games associated with them not only instruct Lipans on how to behave, they also explain a system of correspondences between human and animal behaviors and attitudes that is rooted in the time when animals spoke and acted like people. The Moccasin Game reflects the way that the sun first broke free and lit up the earth after a Lipan gambling game. The game is played with a “buffalo shoe,” which is the ball that is above the buffalo’s heel. Four holes are dug into the ground, songs are sung for every animal and bird, and one person hides the ball. Players form two teams and all night long bet on who will find the ball. The center of the Yucca flower is used to keep count.” ref

“During the Moccasin Game, all of the animals did crazy things that changed them forever. For example, when the fight broke out in the morning, the bear put his feet on backwards and the snake—which at that time had many legs, like a centipede—gambled away all his limbs. Coyote was already up to his tricks. While the other animals were trying to win for their respective teams, Coyote was sneaking around in the back, switching sides all night long, trying to get on the winning side. This vacillating attitude and behavior stayed with him and is a central element of Lipan Coyote Stories that admonish people, especially men, for selfish and irresponsible behavior. In addition to providing spiritual knowledge and warnings about the consequences of bad behavior, the stories also provide positive role models that exemplify proper leadership, participation, and etiquette in everyday life. Lipan leaders are constantly reminded of the necessity for proper conduct and the dangers of transgression. Similarly, other family and social roles are defined in the stories and Lipans are strongly encouraged to fulfill these roles by exhibiting proper behavior and respecting important taboos.” ref

“Important to the Lipan spiritual life are medicines that fulfill both spiritual and medical needs. Preparation for the religious work of blessing and healing includes the gathering of medicine. Medicine in this sense is part of a system of kinship relations that a Lipan has with celestial, elemental, animal, and plant beings that are corresponded with and called upon through the correct arrangement of words, actions, and objects. For example, Apaches are supposed to always carry cattail pollen in case they have a vision or other similar experience and must bless both themselves and the place in which the sacred event occurred. Thus, the simple act of carrying a pollen bag and knowing how to make a pollen blessing are ways in which Apaches manifest their respect for the sacred.” ref

“Pollen is a central part of Lipan religious life. According to Begay, “pollen is used because it is so light and so fine that it brought light to us. So pollen is used for blessing anything. An Apache never goes anywhere without pollen, they always carry it in a bag” (2004). Other important medicines include tobacco, sage, osha, the eagle feather, and ashes from a clean wood fire. Begay comments, “cigarette smoke, tobacco, is part of our religion … [and] the sage medicine from burning the sage, smudging and all that.” She also refers to the importance of herbal medicines, such as Hi’eechida, known in Mexico as Tuchupate, and in English as osha, bear root, or hot root. Ashes can help people with Son on di kou, a state of anxiety or trauma often accompanied by nightmares and sleepwalking. According to Begay, Son on di kou occurs to people “cause they saw somethin’ crazy, or they did something crazy during the day, or something scared them so bad that they get up that night and they walk around” (2004). But, as in all blessing and healing, 99 percent is in the mind and spirit and only 1 percent comes from outside.” ref

“It is important to understand the Lipan conception of the dead. Zelda Yazza, Mrs. Begay’s daughter, comments in unpublished notes: “Dead people go to the other side of the river within four days after they die. When they go over there they join with those other people and become enemies. This is why it is traditionally important to bury people within four days.” This belief has much to do with Lipan avoidance and even fear of the dead. However, this attitude has been altered over time by Christian beliefs and practices.” ref

Lipan Apache Religious Use of Peyote 

“By the middle of the eighteenth century, Spanish documents attribute the religious use of peyote to Apache buffalo hunters, within the context of their reputation as a key pivot in anticolonial action and warfare. Indigenous people living in missions near the peyote gardens, from present-day Coahuila through Nuevo León and into Tamaulipas, form an important foundation of the use of peyote in mitotes (a term used by Spanish chroniclers to refer to Native American spiritual gatherings and festivities). Father Juan Larios, who in 1673 established a mission just south of the Lomería de los Peyotes (Peyote Hills) near Villa Unión, Coahuila, identified the local hills as gardens from which Indians would harvest peyote for their mitote and ceremonials (Steck, 1932). In 1674 San Bernardino de la Candela was founded for Catujano, Milijae, and Tilijai Indians, known for their mitotes (Wade, 1998). Alonso de León described the mitote as the most common and frequent pastime for the indigenous people of northeastern Mexico. León reported that indigenous people collected peyote and gathered around a fire to sing vocables (words with no linguistic meaning), shake small gourds filled with stones gathered from ant mounds, dance, and hold giveaways in the morning (León, Chapa, and Zamora, 1961, p. 24). All of these practices are traditions in the Native American Church.” ref

Navajo Religious Traditions 

“The path of walking in beauty and harmony, known as Hózhóójí, is the basic philosophy of the Diné Nation and is the foundation for their culture, beliefs, and traditions. The path of K’e is based on a reciprocal relationship of kinship with the surrounding environment and the universe. The Diné bá’ólta’í (teacher, messenger) Wilson Aronilth Jr. explains: “According to our great forefathers’ teaching, our clan system is the foundation of how we learn about our self-image and self-identity. … A wise Diné can look back into the values of his clan and see his true self”. The Diné were instructed by the Diyin Dine’é to live within the boundaries of the four mountains located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Instruction were given by the Diyin Dine’é to build a hooghan (round house). The primary function of the hooghan was as a place for ceremonies and prayers.” ref

“The Diné origin myth recounts the Diné hajíínáí (emergence) from a series of underworlds onto Nahasdzáán (the Earth’s surface). Using a medicine bundle brought from the underworlds, in an all-night ceremony at the place of emergence, First Man, First Woman, and other Diyin Dine’é set in place the “inner forms” of natural phenomena (earth, sky, the sacred mountains, plants, and animals), creating the present world (the fourth world). The Diné creation story recounts that it is in the fourth world that ‘Asdzáá Náleehé (Changing Woman) was born; she was impregnated by Jónaa’éí (Sun) and gave birth to twin sons, who killed various monsters that had been endangering the Diyin Dine’é. Using the medicine bundle First Man had given her, ‘Asdzáá Náleehé created maize. She also created the Diné (Earth-Surface People), from epidermal waste rubbed from her skin.” ref

“The Diné creation myth indicates that there is no dichotomy between the natural and supernatural in Diné religion. Furthermore, humans (the Earth-Surface People) and the Diyin Dine’é are conceived of in terms of the same set of motivating forces: the notion of nílch’í (wind), the concept of bii’gistiin (inner form) or bii’sizíinii (in-lying one), and the opposing notions of hózhó (harmony, balance) and hóchó (disharmony, disorder).” ref.

“Wind is a unitary phenomenon that is the source of all life, movement, and behavior. However, wind has various aspects that have different functions and, hence, different names. Before the Emergence, winds are said to have given the means of life (i.e., breath) to the inhabitants of the underworlds. After the Emergence, mists of lights were placed along each of the cardinal directions and four sacred mountains were created in each direction. Each direction is said to have an “inner form” (bii’gistiin) as well as a closely associated wind. From the four directions these winds give the means of life, movement, thought, and communication to the natural phenomena, the Diyin Dine’é, and the Diné. Wind’s Child is sent to guide and advise the Earth-Surface People. Finally, each Diné also has a “wind within one” (nílch’í biisíinii) that enters at birth and guides the individual.” ref

“Thus both natural phenomena and humans have inner forms or “in-lying ones” animated by wind. As Gary Witherspoon has written, “In most cases the Holy People of the fifth world are those who are the inner forms of various natural phenomena and forces, including animals. These in-lying ones are the controlling and animating powers of nature. Diné ritual is designed to control the Holy People who are the inner forms and controlling agents of natural phenomena”. The Diyin Dine’é are immune to danger, destruction, and death. They are not holy in the sense that they are virtuous, but rather in the sense that they are powerful. It is the responsibility of each Diné to maintain harmonious relations with the Diyin Dine’é, though the Diyin Dine’é may be persuaded to aid in the restoration of a person who has become ill through improper contact with them.” ref

“In Diné belief the term hózhó refers to a positive or ideal environment. As Witherspoon puts it, “The goal of Diné life in this world is to live to maturity in the condition described as hózhó, and to die of old age, the end result of which incorporates one into the universal beauty, harmony, and happiness described as ‘Sa’áh naaghái, Bik’eh hózhó’ ” (Witherspoon, 1983, p. 573). The phrase “Sa’áh naaghái, bik’eh hózhó” (long life, filled with happiness and harmony) occurs in most ritual songs and prayers and clearly exemplifies the Diné ideal. The foundation of the philosophy is the reciprocal relationship between the Diné and all of the entities in the universe, including animals, plants, the cosmos, and the earth that sustains all living things.” ref

“Illness is thought to be a state of hóchó that has resulted from the patient’s contact with something “dangerous.” Leland C. Wyman and Clyde Kluckhohn list four groups of “etiological factors” that can produce sickness:

• Natural phenomena such as lightning, wind, and thunder.
• Some kinds of animals, including bears, deer, coyotes, porcupines, snakes, eagles, and fish.
• Coming into contact with ceremonial paraphernalia at inappropriate times.
• Diné ghosts, aliens, witches, or werewolves.
• Following such an encounter, a ceremony is required to restore the individual to the state of hózhóójí.” ref

“Chants are associated with a number of rituals, the most important of which are the Hózhóójí and Enemyway ceremonies. The Hózhóójí (Blessingway) ceremony is of central importance for the Diné, and is intended to preserve a beautiful, peaceful, harmonious state of balance (hózhó). It is the foundation of the Kinaaldá ceremony, a puberty ritual for young girls. The Enemyway ceremony (‘anna’jí), in contrast, is designed to counteract the evil effects of contact with non-Diné people killed in battle and is used to exorcise their spirits (ghosts). According to Wyman, it is one of a mostly obsolete group of ancient war ceremonials and is now classed together with other ceremonies collectively labeled Evilway (hóchó’ojí).” ref

“The Diné model of the cosmos is expressed in the setting of the ceremony itself. The chant takes place in the hooghan, which is circular like the horizon. Movement during a ritual is always clockwise or “in the direction of the sun.” Men sit on the south side of the hooghan; women on the north side. The singer sits on the southwest side and the patient, when resting, sits on the northwest side. The east (where the door is located) is associated with the Hayoołkááł Hastiin Diyin (Dawn Spirit Talking).” ref

“Although Diné elders do not make cross-cultural comparisons between Diné traditions and the traditions of other Native American Indians, some scholars, such as Louise Lamphere, note striking similarities between Diné ceremonialism and that of both the Apache and the Pueblo. Both the Diné and the Apache place great emphasis on the goal of achieving long life, and both center their ceremonies on the individual—that is, on changing his or her state through prestation, the removal of evil objects, and identification with supernatural power. Like Pueblo religion, Diné religion entails a view of a cosmos that is structured as a bounded universe in which the present world is at the top of several layered worlds through which the ancestors emerged. While Diné ritual replicates the cosmos differently than Apache ritual, its use of color, sex, and directional symbolism find many parallels in Pueblo ritual and in the Pueblo worldview.” ref

“The similarities between the ceremonies of the Diné, the Apache, and the Pueblo suggest that there are unifying features to ceremonialism in native Southwest cultures. Southwest religion, like that of other Native American cultures; is closely tied to the natural environment. Native cosmologies are rooted in conceptions of time and space that imbue the local terrain with supernatural meaning. Natural objects are made into ritual objects and are used to attract positive supernatural power, to remove dangerous power, and to represent sacred presence. A ceremonial specialist using these objects and ritual actions communicates with the supernatural in order to ensure that natural and cultivated plant and animal life will continue to be abundant and that individual and communal health and prosperity are maintained.” ref

The Archaeology of Place

Finding America: The Arrival of the First Americans

Origins of the first Americans by Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages

An “Idiot’s Guide” to the American Upper Paleolithic by The Archaeological Conservancy

Reclaiming the Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere, a lecture presented Dr. Paulette Steeves, by The Archaeological Conservancy

What is the migration route of modern humans with Y-chromosome haplogroup C?

Origin of Native American and Y-DNA Haplogroup Q

The Evolution of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Abundance, Prosperity & Complexity

Indigenous American Culture Zones: The Pacific Northwest Coast

Origin, Migration Story of the Tlingit Kaagwaantaan Clan

“Na-Dene (also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Na-Dene consists of two branches, Tlingit and Athabaskan–Eyak.” ref

Tlingit Spirituality and Shamanism in the 21st Century

Haida: Indigenous “Vikings” of Canada

“The Haida are known for their craftsmanship, trading skills, and seamanship. The Haida language is considered to be an isolate. Haida society continues to produce a robust and highly stylized art form, a leading component of Northwest Coast art. While artists frequently have expressed this in large wooden carvings (totem poles), Chilkat weaving, or ornate jewelry, in the 21st century, younger people are also making art in a popular expression such as Haida manga. The Haida also created “notions of wealth”, and Jenness credits them with the introduction of the totem pole (Haida: ǥyaagang) and the bentwood box. Missionaries regarded the carved poles as graven images rather than representations of the family histories that wove Haida society together. Chiefly families showed their histories by erecting totems outside their homes, or on house posts forming the building. The Haida nation was split between two moieties, the Raven and the Eagle. Marriages between two people from the same moiety were prohibited. Transformation masks were worn ceremonially, used by dancers, and represented or illustrated the connection between various spirits. The masks usually depicted an animal transforming into another animal or a spiritual or mythical being. Masks were representations of the souls of the mask owner’s family waiting in the afterlife to be reborn. Masks worn during ceremonial dances were designed with strings to open the mask, transforming the spiritual animal into a carving of the ancestor underneath. There was also an emphasis on the idea of metamorphosis and reincarnation. They are thought to have frequently carried out raids and to have practiced slavery. The Haida have been compared to the Vikings by Diamond Jenness, an early anthropologist at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. For thousands of years since Haida have participated in a rigorous coast-wide legal system called Potlatch.” ref 

Potlatch?

“A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, among whom it is traditionally the primary governmental institution, legislative body, and economic system. This includes the Heiltsuk, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Coast Salish cultures. Potlatches are also a common feature of the peoples of the Interior and of the Subarctic adjoining the Northwest Coast, although mostly without the elaborate ritual and gift-giving economy of the coastal peoples (see Athabaskan potlatch). A potlatch was held on the occasion of births, deaths, adoptions, weddings, and other major events. Typically the potlatch was practiced more in the winter seasons as historically the warmer months were for procuring wealth for the family, clan, or village, then coming home and sharing that with neighbors and friends.” ref

The potlatch among Athabaskan peoples?

“The traditional potlatch among Athabaskan peoples was a gathering that combined aspects of competition, peacekeeping, and a show of wealth. The traditional Athabaskan potlatch had “social, religious, and economic significance.” It was a gathering that combined aspects of competition, peacekeeping, and a show of wealth. During a potlatch, members of the society with a surplus of food and supplies provide these for all members of a clan, and in situations with other clans this sharing of resources is either a competitive showing or one of creating loyalties, and sometimes both simultaneously. Traditionally the village was centered on the chiefs’ house, and this is where potlatches were held. This was because the chief had the biggest cache where the food was stored. There were many different reasons to hold a potlatch in Athabaskan culture, including the birth of a child, a surplus of food, or a death in the clan. The most elaborate of Athabaskan potlatches was the mortuary or funeral potlatch. This marked “the separation of the deceased from society and is the last public expression of grief.” ref

“There were slight variations in the funeral and mortuary potlatches depending on the status or role of the member of the clan who had died. Different songs and dances were performed for a warrior than for an elder. Because of the tight-knit manner of a group or clan, usually due to extended family ties, the death of an elder, in particular, had a very large effect on the tribe. The corpse would first be dressed by the women of the clan and be prepared, while the mobilizing and putting together of the funeral would be taken care of by the closest male relative of the deceased. The preparations would differ but the proceedings of the funerals themselves were generally similar. A traditional Athabaskan potlatch is concluded with the giving of gifts. Valuable trade items, traditionally dentalium shells, now largely replaced by rifles, blankets, cash, and beaded items, are collected by the host from members of their mother’s moiety and are redistributed by the host to members of his father’s moiety in exchange for their contributions of celebration and participation in the potlatch.” ref

“The potlatch generally consisted of “the feast, dancing & singing, oratory, and the distribution of gifts”. The feast was provided by a wealthier member of the group to communicate “sentiment, affection, familiarity and goodwill.” Dancing and singing were a reciprocation of the guests to the hosts for their generosity. Stories were told in the same manner, and for entertainment. The act of giving out gifts was possibly the most dynamic aspect of the traditional Athabaskan potlatch. This was a generous act of sharing one’s wealth with the rest of the tribe, and simultaneously a show of the abundance and superiority of the host. Modern potlatches still contain many of the traditional aspects of sharing food, giving gifts, singing, dancing, and telling stories, but now the purpose has changed. Most modern potlatches can be held for similar reasons, such as a birth or a death, but now they are no longer so much a show of wealth, but a celebration to keep the tradition alive.” ref 

About the Navajo language

“Navajo is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America.” ref

Navajo Language 101 W/ Navajo Man

A Navajo Creation Story | The Story of God

The Balance of Two Worlds – A Story of the Navajo Nation

Navajo: Story of the Stars

Native American Spirituality and Practice by UWW Continuing Education

The True Ancient Origins Of The Native Americans | 1491: Before Columbus | Timeline

What Was Life Really Like In America Before Columbus? | before 1492 | Chronicle

The Buried Secrets Of The Native American Civilisations | before 1491: America Wars | Timeline

1492: The Catastrophic Cruelty And Greed Of The European Colonists | Before Columbus | Chronicle

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey 

“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:

• Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
• Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
• Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
• Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
• Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
• Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
• Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref

This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com