C

Siberian peoples may be either a man or

a woman. Among the shamans there

probably existed a division of tasks and

a hierarchy which was manifested in a

specialization in different shamanistic

skills. The respect enjoyed by the sha-

mans was dependent not on their sex

but on what they knew and remem-

bered. The Saami noaidi (in English

nojd) is a Northern European equiva-

lent of the Siberian shaman. Among the

Saami, shamanism seems to have been a

male institution; references to female

shamans are found only in the late

tradition.