Seite 113 [113]
THE IMPACT OF LANDSCAPE AND CLIMATE ON THE DENESULINE RELIGION
not attach much importance to these objects, it can be assumed that these
animal parts function in a similar way to the painted shields (104).
In fact, the Denesuline fish not only with nets, but also by angling. And just
as fishing with a net has its own habits, you should not just throw a fishing line
in the water if you want to catch fish. A medallion, like a small bag, is attached
under the bait to ensures that the bait is successful in luring the fish to be
caught. The natives put different parts of different animals in this bag. While
it is not clear from the description whether there were any obligatory compo¬
nents prescribed to be in the little bag, what is known for certain is that each
of them had to be changed according to the lake or river they were touching,
and the range of components to be included in it was very wide. This medallion
could contain otter teeth or moustache, beaver tail or fat, squirrel testicles,
digested milk extracted from the stomach of an animal, or human hair (Hearne
217). This justifies Vagner’s theory that these talismanic components must
have fulfilled a certain role in the process of fishing, on the basis of which they
were prepared (Vagner 104). Although Hearne’s description does not allow us
to draw a definite conclusion as to what exactly this role was, the Denesuline
took this practice so seriously that once the medallion worked, they would use
it again rather than make a new one (Hearne 218).
Similarly, Hearne mentions that during a hunt, a medallion was attached
to the trap to mark its outline. As we have already seen in the case of the fish¬
ing net, it can be assumed that these pendants served a function similar to
those applied to the net. Either they were used to “consecrate” the trap before
the first hunt, or they were simply meant to ensure the success of the hunt
(Hearne 212-213).
Going back to fishing, the first-caught fish was also a matter of great respect,
and if that respect was neglected, the net was deemed worthless:
[...] but the first fish of whatever species caught in it, are not to be sodden in the
water, but broiled whole on the fire, and the flesh carefully taken from the bones
without dislocating one joint; after which the bones are laid on the fire at full length
and burnt. A strict observance of these rules is supposed to be of the utmost impor¬
tance in promoting the future success of the new net; and a neglect of them would
render it not worth a farthing (Hearne 217).
Again, this is a ritual that ensures good luck. According to Georg C. Homans,
such rites, which bring good luck and banish uncertainty about the future, are
typical of the religions of indigenous peoples (Homans 164).”°
Nothing in the explorer’s writing better demonstrates that animism is a
dominant feature of aboriginal religion. His description clearly identifies these
10 Actually, Homans uses the word “primitive” to refer to indigenous populations.
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