Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

  • Data
  • Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by The Burke: University of Washington. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Exhibit Label

Of all animals, the land otter was the one most firmly associated with shamans' work. It was feared as a manifestation of dangerous supernatural power. Shamans acquired their most powerful supernatural help from otters. Before the economic motivation of the fur trade and before the missionaries' inroads on the power of shamans broke down earlier reluctance, no Tlingits, except for shamans, trapped otters or used their furs. This was due to the belief that otters were really transformed humans who had drowned or become lost, and that they took drowned people and made them into land otters or land otter men. These attitudes about otters have not entirely disappeared. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

Item History

With an account, you can ask other users a question about this item. Request an Account

With an account, you can submit information about this item and have it visible to all users and institutions on the RRN. Request an Account

Similar Items