THE DYING UDEHEYS.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 296, 11 July 1929, Page 3

THE DYING UDEHEYS.

TRACED TO AMERICAN INDIANS.

The Udeheys, once a powerful hunters tr.be, inhabiting the shores or rivers running through the Ussuri forests, in the Par Eastern Republic are gradually dying out. Their origin, which some attribute to American Indians and others to the Oroehons, a Mongolian tribe inhabiting the same region, remains a mystery. The tribe to-day numbers only about 1330 men and women. The Udeheys pass their entire life In the forests hunting Siberian sables and other precious fur animals. Access to their settlement is. difficult. The husband is the absolute ruler of the family. He hunts and fishes and procures a means of living- for the whole family. As a reward he re-

ceives the best dishes. When he has had his fill his wife muct be content to eat what is left. Children are inured from babyhood to the hardships of forest life. A child of four can usually manage a canoe made of bark, puff his father’s big pipes, fish, and assist his father 5n tracking wild animals. At the age of five his parents generally look for a bride for him. A peculiarity of the tribe is their honesty and fidelity to their word. Whenever the family starts on a hunting trip, tents are always left open with food supplies, furniture, and ammunited unguarded. A birch branch is stuek in the earth in front of the home to indicate to strangers that the family is away. The Udeheys are heathens. “Shamans,” or heathen priests rule over J the community. The remedy for ill- i ness, bad luck, and other hardships ' of life is dancing by the “shamans,” j while the whole population join in. j Once a wealthy tribe, the Udeheys to- j day are gradually growing poorer and I poorer, which is chiefly due to a ruthless extermination by neighbouring J hunters of sables, virtually the sole j income of the tribe. Several years ) ago Udehey hunters killed more than j 30 sables each season. Lately the kill J has fallen to four or five. j Another reason for the incline of the tribe is the scarcity of women. I There are only 70 women to every I 110 males. This disproportion forces the Udeheys to look for brides elsewhere. Once gone, the Udehey .sel- I dom comes back to his primitiv forest j life. » .