ABSTRACT
Most images are of animals which for thousands of years were so important in the economic life of Siberian and other early peoples. Among the anthropomorphic images are the ancestor spirits and those of the cult of important female protective spirits called emelgelcči-ēren.Vajnsšteyn suggests that the name is derived from the Mongolian term emeg (‘grandmother’). Sometimes they are represented by cloth dolls sewn on to felt. Such figures were inherited by Tuvan women and often buried with them. 1
