The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia Book

Given the topic, it may be appropriate that this book is sad and thin.

Like indigenous peoples all over the world, the natives of Siberia were steamrollered by the cruelties of the modern age. Unlike indigenous peoples elsewhere, however, there seem to be few people, in the country where the various indigenous Siberians now find themselves, who feel at all regretful or wish to record the recollections of the final witnesses to their ancient way of life.

Whenever I see a person of European descent (anywhere in the world) dressed up as a native American, or a white Australian in the center of some large world city blowing on a didgeridoo, I stop myself in mid-eye-roll and remember something that is worthwhile is being preserved here, and the implied enthusiasm and reverence of amateur and professional preservers is worthy of respect. But it seems like the native Siberians are a bridge too far – too wild, too remote, too various in their sparse settlements, too victimized by the accidents of murderous modern history. Even though a few hardy new-agers seem interested, you just aren't going to find summer festivals where people dress up like the Buryat, sing Buryat songs, sleep in Buryat yurts.

So instead you have this book. The author writes clearly about her long and inconclusive travels, but there are no hidden pockets of optimism. There are no communities or apparently few individuals working to preserve or even record the old ways. Reviving them seems beyond hoping for. Again: a sad book.

Perhaps this is why Anna Reid chose to exclude all mention of physicist Richard Feynman from the chapter on the Tuvans (i.e., chapter 4). Feynman, also a best-selling author and general eccentric character, took an interest in the Tuvans for unapologetically unserious reasons. The reason: because, for a boy from Brooklyn, they seemed exotic. The result was a haphazard collections of books, articles, and documentaries, starting in the 1980s and continuing into the early 2000s, which brought Tuva to the attention of many people who would have never otherwise heard of them. Feynman was a naturally ebullient and his enthusiasm for things Tuvan may have struck Reid as shallow and insufficiently reverent, given the cruelty and sadness of their recent history. (For more on Feynman and Tuva, see the book Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey by Ralph Leighton, or one of the following videos on Youtube: ”The Quest for Tanna Tuva”, ”Last Journey of a Genius” or ”Genghis Blues”. The last one is my personal favorite.)

As of this writing, this book is available for a very reasonable $7.37 on Kindle. I urge you to support ebooks that are priced under $10, which is certainly enough to pay for a bunch of 0's and 1's.