Dolgan - Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs and Practices. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Dolgan and the Yakut were considered the most faithful Orthodox Christians on the Taimyr Peninsula. The Church of the Epiphany in Khatanga was in existence from the early eighteenth century to 1920. The Dolgan have retained their ancient beliefs, however, which vary with different territorial groupings. At the basis of traditional Dolgan beliefs is the veneration of nature and of a multitude of spirits that control the hunt, the increase and safety of humans and cattle, and the preservation of life and the family hearth. Christmas and Easter were celebrated before the Soviet period and traces of Christianity are found in the intertwining of Dolgan traditional rituals with celebrations of saints' days. Shamans existed in almost every nomadic group, however, and the older generations among the Dolgan maintain their beliefs even today. In connection with the recent general democratization, it is possible that shamanism, which had been destroyed, may experience a kind of renaissance.

Medicine. Traditional means of healing sickness involved appealing to the spirits but also included minerals, medicines, animal parts, and metal plates. In cases of serious illness, shamans were consulted. Nowadays, a helicopter, summoned by radio, may transport the patient to a larger medical center than the one available in the settlement. Women about to give birth are also transported to such a center. Medicines and medical services are free of charge.

Art. Visual art, decorative and applied, was traditionally rather well developed. Reproduction of traditional wooden sculptures, however, has practically ceased because of the destruction of certain ritualistic beliefs. The fine and labor-intensive decoration of dressy clothing with fur mosaic, multicolored braid, embroidery thread, skin strips, and glass beads is highly developed. Traditional designs are used. Outstanding are the wooden details on the old reindeer saddles, inlaid with lead and pewter. Blacksmiths were also masters of copper inlay over steel, used on traditional hunting and household implements. The formerly rich folklore, songs, and narratives are preserved in a few places, but there are no more traditional storytellers. The modern poet and writer Ogdo Aksenova and the painter Boris Molchano are well known.

Death and Afterlife. A dead person's body remains in the dwelling for two days. Interment takes place at the cemetery on the third day, after noon. The preparation of the grave varies regionally. The Eastern Dolgan bury the body with the feet to the east in a coffin within a wooden chamber deep in the earth. On the surface, the grave site is marked by a cross or an obelisk at the foot. Occasionally, some of the following are appended to the cross: a star, an icon, the head of a reindeer consumed at the funeral feast, a model of a bow, an arrow, oars (if the deceased was a man), scrapers for skin processing (for women), or little birds (for children). Often the grave site is enclosed in a narrow wooden palisade. Formerly the grave was visited for three years. Nowadays it may be visited for longer periods. According to Dolgan belief, the deceased persons continue their existence in another world, dwelling with their dead kin.