ABSTRACT
The special costume worn when shamanizing constitutes a religious microcosm indicating a sacred presence and symbolizing the shamanic worldview. It is an independently existing object possessing its own magical power because of its in-dwelling spirits. By means of the costume the shaman is transformed into a superhuman being before the assembled people; thus the shaman becomes that which one displays. Originally, it signified the animal spirit ancestor of the shaman – the same ancestor animal of the clan. This belief lasted until the beginning of the twentieth century. It is customary to hand the costume down to the shaman's successor. An aged Ket shaman gave his regalia to his own granddaughter saying: ‘Now she will shamanize for you’.
