Kerektun Celebration

It is celebrated by coastal settlements – by the people of Chukchee and Eskimo. The time of celebration is usually connected with the peak of the hunting season. The main character of the ritual is Kerektun – a sea and sea-animals spirit.

Kerektun and his wife have black faces, wear headbands and clothes made from guts of sea animals. They eat the corpses of those drowned in the sea and protect from evil spirits. During the ritual fires are started and coppers for cooking food are hung. Another bigger fire is started nearby and serves a place for bringing sacred food. One of the most important elements of decoration of the yaranga is Keretkun’s net which is described in detail by Tan-Bogoraza: “The net is made of tendons. It is is suspended under the smoke-hole of a large tent. A pole is often used to accomplish this. The net hangs flat, with each of its corners attached with straps to the walls of the tent. The net itself is decorated with figurines of birds and toy oars, painted with the blood of a seal. There can be dozens of toy oars hanging from the net. The bird figurines are crudely rendered from wood and painted in stripes. From the pole piercing through the smoke-hole, a wooden figure of a seagull is hung”. During the celebration, the net is thereby «fed», the spirits are treated to food and the villagers wish the spirits good and ask for favours.