Incantations and Yupik Language in the Context of Contemporary Religious Rituals: Continuity, Secrecy, and Indetermination
It is thought that if the language of many indigenous peoples of Siberia is preserved anywhere, it is in the domain of traditional wildlife management: reindeer herding, hunting in the sea or forest, and fishing. Among the Yupik of coastal Chukotka, however, the Indigenous language is used in another domain as well: in the religious sphere, particularly in various ritual practices aimed at communicating with the spirits of ancestors. This paper is devoted to the social life of Yupik incantations and, more broadly, to the Yupik language in the present ritual context. This focus makes it possible to identify and reflect on the characteristic features of the indigenous ritual space, which are largely neglected in the ethnographic literature: secrecy and indetermination. In addition, the paper raises questions of family memory, family heritage and the continuity of ritual knowledge.