The Funeral Rite of the Verkhnii Paren' Koryaks: An Unidentifi ed Element of the Rite

Abstract

Drawing on her own fi eld research data, the author describes an unidentified element of the funeral rite observed among the Koryak, namely the practice of taking a seat at the chest of the deceased in a horseman pose just before the body is taken out. She offers a number of possible interpretations of the rite that still remains an ethnographic mystery. The author discusses the state of research on sources for studying the Koryak funeral rites and the disciplinary practices of representation of fi eld observations.