There is a certain force in the Nenets worldview called sya mei. It is connected with the other world, that of birth and death, and can be harmful when it comes into contact with this world. Post-pubescent women are permanently affected by this, as are newborn babies and people who have recently been present at a funeral or death. There are a remarkable number of taboos and restrictions on people affected by sya mei. They must not touch the sacred sledge, they must not step over anything that has been touched by a reindeer, instead passing harnesses, etc, over their heads and going under them, they must not cross an imaginary line which runs from the central pole in the chum to the sacred pole at the back of the chum and out into the tundra while still in sight of the chum, they cannot visit sacred sites or participate in sacrifices. They must not cut certain fish, cross the tracks of bears which are considered sacred, step over a pregnant dog, wear men’s reindeer fur boots, step over men or even hang up their clothes anywhere, as this might lead to men passing under them. Nenets women have to bear these considerations in mind constantly and are affected by them hundreds of times every day so that if you watched them at work without knowing this many of their actions would seem completely incomprehensible. Sometimes rituals have to be performed to cleanse something that has been affected by sya mei, the most common of which involves stepping over a smoking fire multiple times. After a child is born in a chum a reindeer must be sacrificed outside the entrance.
There is a certain force in the Nenets worldview called sya mei. It is connected with the other world, that of birth and death, and can be harmful when it comes into contact with this world. Post-pubescent women are permanently affected by this, as are newborn babies and people who have recently been present at a funeral or death. There are a remarkable number of taboos and restrictions on people affected by sya mei. They must not touch the sacred sledge, they must not step over anything that has been touched by a reindeer, instead passing harnesses, etc, over their heads and going under them, they must not cross an imaginary line which runs from the central pole in the chum to the sacred pole at the back of the chum and out into the tundra while still in sight of the chum, they cannot visit sacred sites or participate in sacrifices. They must not cut certain fish, cross the tracks of bears which are considered sacred, step over a pregnant dog, wear men’s reindeer fur boots, step over men or even hang up their clothes anywhere, as this might lead to men passing under them. Nenets women have to bear these considerations in mind constantly and are affected by them hundreds of times every day so that if you watched them at work without knowing this many of their actions would seem completely incomprehensible. Sometimes rituals have to be performed to cleanse something that has been affected by sya mei, the most common of which involves stepping over a smoking fire multiple times. After a child is born in a chum a reindeer must be sacrificed outside the entrance.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
