Shamanic Elements in Some Early Eighteenth Century Russian Woodcuts
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that early eighteenth-century Russian woodcuts (lubki) referring to sorcery contain concrete links to shamanic cosmology and practice, offering evidence of Finno-Ugric and Turkic shamanic influence on Russian culture that had previously lacked concrete documentation for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. |
Abstract
While several authorities have held that the shamanism of indigenous Finno-Ugric and Turkic peoples influenced the Russians with whom they lived in close proximity, particularly via pagan Slavic volkhvy or sorcerers, little concrete evidence of that influence persisting in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries has been discovered. However, several early eighteenth century woodcuts (lubki) which refer to sorcery reveal concrete links to shamanic cosmology and practice in what are otherwise enigmatic textual references and visual symbols.