The Gilyaks: an ethnographic sketch

Seeland, Nicolas; Schütze, Frieda

article

The Gilyaks: an ethnographic sketch

Russische revue • 21 • Published In 1882 • Pages: 97-130, 222-254

By: Seeland, Nicolas, Schütze, Frieda.

Abstract
Although the author does not give the dates for his stay in the Amur country among the Gilyak, he spent four years there, and he states that his material is based on his own observations and also on information obtained from Russians who were familiar with the Gilyak. This, he says, is particularly true of the information on the Sakhalin-Gilyak whom he did not visit, for which he is indebted to Dr. A. Lebedev. His article is a completely ethnographical account which is both unbiased and complete for the amount of space which it covers. As the sub-headings to a certain extent indicate, the information deals with: the geographical distribution and population; geography; food and cooking; clothing; tobacco use; transportation methods; occupation (hunting, fishing, and household tasks); weapons; marriage customs and child rearing; position of women; morality and crime; personality traits; intellectual development; time computation; council, jurisdiction, duels, prosecution of criminals and inheritance laws; economic and social conditions; amusements and festivals; burial customs; religion and belief in the afterlife; sicknesses and medical care; and, finally, the Gilyak language.

Regulation of marriage

Termination of marriage