The book is a reworked variant of the doctor’s thesis by A. (1948), written on the base of his many years of field research in Siberia.
The author investigates the problem of the origin of the most ancient religious beliefs and practices, the Evenks’ concepts of soul, and the connected problem of shaping and development of Animistic ideas, in general. A special section of the book is on the origin and development of the cult of ancestors, and the family protecting spirits. He also analyzes the bear cult in the context of Totemistic ideas, and the issue of the origin of veneration of some superior spirits, as well as the shaping of the pantheon of spirits. A chapter presents some problems of the origin of Shamanism at Evenks; at that, Shaman is interpreted as a priest of a religious cult; the author studies the relations between Shamans and priests, as well. The issues of the origin and development of religious beliefs are interpreted in the context of the clan society; the author investigates thee peculiarities of the evolution of Totemistic beliefs, and the transformation and gradual decay of clan/tribal cults.