Bear Hunt

On the way back from a snow sheep hunt, a bear was killed more or less incidentally. Since the Koryak hunters had occasionally worked as guides for sport hunters in the past, they had apparently adopted from them the usual practice of posing for a trophy photo. Otherwise, local people’s behavior after killing an animal – especially reindeer – is typically more apologetic or conciliatory. From the bear, mainly the valuable bear bile used for medicinal purposes was removed, along with the intestines and fat, while the meat was left behind. I remarked that, as has often been observed, it would usually be considered improper – or even a sacrilege – for older hunters to leave parts of a killed animal unused. After a brief moment of reflection, the hunters conveyed to me a convincing explanation in line with the traditional Koryak worldview: the meat was intended for the raven, who, as their helper, would show them the way during the hunt.