FISHSKINLAB - SPIRIT AND SKIN

SPIRIT AND SKIN

Spirit and Skin: The Role of Fish Skin Objects in Arctic Indigenous Cosmologies

Presented during the conference 'Objects: Between Absorption and Isolation',at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut organised by the KHI Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects."

The Inuit, Ainu, Saami, Hezhe, and Nanai Indigenous Peoples, regarded fish as sacred entities, using fish skin in rituals and attire. Arctic shamans, assisted by water spirits, crossed the "river of the world" by playing fish skin drums, wearing fish skin garments and amulets during sacred ceremonies. This performing act of dressing communicated with the spirit realm, raised consciousness while connecting with nature, and served as conduit for transformative experiences and spiritual growth.
Nivkh Siberian Peoples dressed the dead in elaborately embroidered fish skin robes aiding them in finding their way to the afterlife, symbolising the interconnectedness of the living and the death planes.
Likewise, “Two-Spirit" Alaska Natives, embodying both a male and female spirit, wore fish skin parkas when serving as healers and shamans. Their fluid identity allowed them to mediate between the human and spirit worlds despite having suffered colonial discrimination based on their gender status.
Arctic communities have long used their environmental knowledge for sustenance, medicine, spirituality and crafting materials. This social practice empowering identities, often overlooked by dominant cultures, is now being reclaimed as these communities gain recognition as custodians of scientific and ecological wisdom. Indigenous cultures are significantly reclaiming their access rights to objects held in museums, previously removed from their communities, which led to a disconnection from their material heritage.
Integrating spirituality, anthropology, material culture, postcolonial and gender studies, while exploring dress and identity issues, this paper advances the understanding of Arctic shamanic practices of fish skin artefacts preserved in Western museums.