Handbook to the ethnographical collections . no pottery, but use birchbark and wood for making in North America and North Asia the birch-tree is to thenative what the bamboo or the palm is to the inhabitant of thetropics, and is turned to a multitude of domestic uses. Iron forknives and arrow-heads is procured from the peoples to thesouth. For transporting themselves and their effects they use woodensnow-shoes and light sledges with high curved runners. Theyare good marksmen with the bow, and also use a short spear. They smoke tobacco, using pipes of a Chinese type, and some-times
Handbook to the ethnographical collections . no pottery, but use birchbark and wood for making in North America and North Asia the birch-tree is to thenative what the bamboo or the palm is to the inhabitant of thetropics, and is turned to a multitude of domestic uses. Iron forknives and arrow-heads is procured from the peoples to thesouth. For transporting themselves and their effects they use woodensnow-shoes and light sledges with high curved runners. Theyare good marksmen with the bow, and also use a short spear. They smoke tobacco, using pipes of a Chinese type, and some-times made of ivory. Their religion is spirit-worship, which,on account of the important part played by the medicine-man or Shaman, is often called Shamanism (see p. 38). Theyare partially Christianized, but are said still to carry about ontheir persons small carved wooden figures which they regard ascharms. Owing to the hardness of the ground the dead are notburied, but exposed on sledges, surrounded by the objects whichthey used in daily Fift. 47.—Fish-skin coat. Gilvak. The Gil yak The Gilyak probably belong to the most ])rimitive group (tfthe Northern Mongolians, though their physicaHyi)e has in somecases been modified ])y contact with the Ainu. They inhabit the 60 ASIA lower course of the Amur River, and the northern part of tlieisL-ind of Saklialien. They are of short stature, the averageheioht of males being only 5 ft. 3 in. Their dress, which is similar for both sexes, consists of a looseshirt, trousers, and high Ijoots. The garments are of seal- or dog-skin in winter; for summer wear, Chinese cotton-cloth haslargely replaced the formerly popular fish-skin (fig. 47). A conicalbirch-bark hat may complete the costume, while a strap girdle,from which depend a needle-case and tinder-box, is often wornround the waist. In winter the Gilyak live in the forest in earth-covered hutspartly excavated in the ground ; in summer their habitations arelog-huts with birchbark roofs,
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjoycetho, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1910
