죽음과 상례(喪禮)에 나타난 에벤족의 영혼관

The View on the Soul of Even in Death and Funeral

The purpose of this paper was to clarify the Even’s view of the soul through related funeral. In the funeral of the Even, ideas from various eras, such as the view of universe, life and death, view of soul, totemism, and shamanism, were mixed together, and christian elements were accepted along with the characteristics of the local group, creating an original model, but the traces of traditional beliefs are still preserved. A adult’s funeral usually goes through the ritual to straighten out the dead body ⇒ ritual to wash and shroud dead body ⇒ funeral ⇒ meal ⇒ return home ⇒ purification’s rite. In the traditional funeral methods of the Even, there are a wooden funeral, where a coffin is placed on a tall tree top or a wooden post, and a ground jang, where a coffin is placed by making a square structure with wooden poles or pillars on the ground. Wooden funerals are the oldest funeral method, and after Christian acceptance, all turned into burial. Churima is a house where the dead will live in the underworld, and hɛvɛ is a storage warehouse for the dead’s belongings. It is an essential element of the Even funeral, and this tradition is still maintained. Since reindeer are a means of transportation for the deceased to ride to the underworld, the rite of dedication of reindeer was essential in the past Even funeral. The taboo that family members and relatives of the deceased have to keep, which has been passed down to the Eben since ancient times, is basically due to fear of the souls of the dead. Blood, fire, and birds are used as main motif in the entire process of funeral of the even.