Ethnic views of the Tungus-Manchu ethnic groups of the south of the Far East of Russia on the nature and society

Abstract

A characteristic feature of the spiritual culture of the peoples of the Amur region and Primorye is the identity of animistic representations. In the ethnic ideas of the Tungus-Manchurians, nature and society traced the idea that all nature is alive, that every object has a soul that must be considered with a person who does not separate himself from the outside world, otherwise you may incur the wrath of the spirit and not only evil, but even good. Therefore, all small ethnic groups in the region believe in the existence of different souls - the owners of nature, who help people or punish them for their misdeeds. At the same time, the punishment for a crime against relatives was borne not by the person who committed it, but by his sons, daughters or grandchildren. The punishment for a big crime was determined by the masters of the taiga, water and fire. Death in water or fire was considered the most severe punishment, because the aborigines believed that the souls of drowned and burned people did not return to the earth and did not appear in the family from which they left for another world. That is why the indigenous peoples of the region respected all owners of nature and wildlife, worshiped the owner of the fire, respected the owner of the sea (water, river) and the family spirit - the guardian of the house.