Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-manchu Ethnic Minority Sakhalin Island

The article contributes to research into concepts of sacredness held by the Tungus-Manchu ethnic minority living on Sakhalin Island. The study focuses on the Rukutama staff found by a hunter in 1972 on the Angurovka River, an old arm of the Rukutama River. The staff displays the spatial features of Sakhalin Island in great detail, all of which were included into the life cycle of the island's inhabitants. Sacred knowledge was transmitted over centuries via generations of shamans using the language of sacred compositions, “visual folklore.” Visual art is central to the study of the ethnic history and culture of the modern inhabitants of Sakhalin Island.