The Scythians: nomad goldsmiths of the open steppes; The ...

Jranians and Scythians belong as a
whole to another type despite some
similarities in their epic and myth to
the images of "northern mythology".
However, a good many Iranian and
Indian specialists consider that the
religious practice of the Indians,
Iranians and Scythians had features
that were similar to northern shama¬
nism, especially that of the Finno-
Ugrians.
Historians know something about
the earliest connexions between the
ancestors of the ancient Indians,
Iranians and Scythian tribes and the
ancestors of the Finno-Ugrians. They
know, for instance, of many simila¬
rities between the languages of these
peoples. Among these is the name
of the ecstatic medium with the aid
of which the shamans and priests
put themselves into a state of ritual
possession.
Various plants were used for this
purpose, including hemp. The Scy¬
thians also were aware of these pro¬
perties of hemp and used it in cult
ceremonies. The Greek lexicogra¬
pher Hesychius informs us that hemp
is "the Scythian smoking plant" and
is so powerful that it makes all parti¬
cipants in this ritual sweat. The
Western neighbours of the Scythians,
the inhabitants of Thracia, used
hemp in preparing a sacred libation.
This is what Herodotus has to tell
us about the practice: the Scythians
"place three poles leaning towards
each other, and pull onto them strips
of woollen felt, stretching these to
fit as tightly as possible. They then
throw red-hot stones into a vessel
standing between these poles and the
woollen strips.
"In their land grows hempa plant
very like flax, but much coarser and
taller; it grows wild there and is also
sown by the people... The Scythians
take the seeds of the hemp, crawl
under the felt strips and there throw
the seeds onto the heated stones;
these seeds give out such a vapour
as no Grecian steam-bath can exceed.
The Scythians enjoy this and howl
loudly..."
This probably reflects a ritual cere¬
mony which is reminiscent of shamanic
practices. If this is the case,
then the "howl" represents the song
of the servant of the cult, in a state
of ecstasy which is attained by the
stupefying effect of the smoke from
roasting hemp seeds. Herodotus'
account and the ritual nature of the
custom he describes are confirmed by
the excavations of the famous Soviet
archaeologist Sergei Rudenko, in the
Altai mountains of Siberia (see p. 34).
In the burial mounds of the Altai
(5th-4th centuries B.C.) the perma¬
frost layer has preserved some small
huts made of poles lashed together
at the top (two of the huts had
covers on them, one of woollen felt
and the other of hide). In one of
these graves copper vessels were
46
On wings
of ecstasy
According to Scythian mythology a fabulous
land where day and night each lasted half
a year lay far to the north in the polar
regions. It was a bountiful country that
could be reached only by heroes and sages.
This belief, recorded by many Greek and
Roman authors of antiquity, closely
resembles those found in ancient Indian
and Persian mythologies and epics, which
describe an earthly paradise lying beyond
towering mountains towards the north.
How were the priests, sages and heroes
to reach this reputedly inaccessible land?
According to the Shamanic traditions of
the Asian steppes the journey could be
accomplished by entering into an ecstatic
state, the secret of which was known to the
shaman. Soothsayer and healer, the
shaman could transform himself into a bird
(Siberian shaman in drawing at left wears
costume with sleeves representing wings).
Photo and drawings © "Miysl" Publishers. Moscow.