Circumpolar religion
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The Circumpolar religion is (or was) shared by all Circumpolar peoples and is essentially a social structure based on three factors: a religion inherited and maintained from pre-agricultural antiquity, ancestral knowledge, and living in extreme conditions (i.e. the arctic climate).
Traditional economic activity, based on fishing and hunting, today relies on vehicles and helicopters. Khantians are one of the few peoples who, at the end of 20th century, still lived in the traditional manner; a major oral history still exists.
Circumpolar shamanism is has been described as "magic", "sorcery" and "supernatural".
Ceremonies were usually accompanied by drums. Pictograms (glyphs) on Norwegian drums can be associated with some petroglyphs (see Alta.)
Specially shaped features or areas of landscape have traditionally been the focus in sacrifice, an important act usually performed to improve luck in hunting and fishing. It was managed by a male figure that English-speakers often call a shaman. Euroasian peoples used "white" animals in ceremonies; that is, wild animals with white fur or domesticated animals such as horses and goats.
[edit] From the Arctic Circle
Religion of the circumpolar ethnic groups of the Arctic Circle (and extending to Subartic) includes:
- Norse paganism
- Finnish Paganism
- Icelandic religion
- Inuit religion
- Sami religion
- Siberian religion
- Slavic mythology/religion
