The pendants presented in the museum’s collection hung on the belts of Jurchen shamans.

The belt consisted of a wide strap made from the hides of wild animals. The pendants were cone-shaped, often forged by the shamans themselves from iron. Each cone was attached to an iron ring, which was suspended from a belt. The number of such cones on the belt always had to be odd — ranging from 13 to 31.

In addition to hollow iron cones, metal mirrors, also known as “toli, ” as well as copper bells and chimes could also be tied to the belt. Thus, the total weight of the belt could reach seven kilograms. When the shaman danced, the metal parts would produce noise.

Shamanism was the original early form of religion for the Jurchens, although Buddhism and Taoism were also widespread among the nobility. Ancient shamanism continued to dominate among the common people and remained their primary religion until the fall of the empire.

The Jurchens believed that the whole world was inhabited by spirits, both good and evil, and only shamans could appease them. Both men and women could be shamans among the Jurchens. Shamans were able to heal people, foretold the future of newborns, and knew various spells.

The general concept of shamanism is as follows: above is the Sky — the protector of people and the earth. The fate and prosperity of the world depend on it. The Jurchens believed that the souls of people are eternal, and, after physical death, they are called to protect their descendants, so they worshiped the spirits of their ancestors and sought the favor of the Sky through them.

For the Jurchen people, the Sky was understood as nature, the universe. Under Chinese influence, the Jurchens began to worship a ruler of the Sky, Shangdi, the supreme deity.

The cults of Sky, Mountain, Taiga, or Earth, as well as Water were characteristic to all Tungus-Manchu peoples. The Sky was worshiped more often than the others.

The Jurchens had sacred sites: the Changbai Mountains, the sacred Songhua River, and the sacred Hugolin Grove.

There were a huge number of small spirits, to whom the believers also paid a lot of attention; however the spirits of the ancestors occupied a special place. In importance, this cult was second only to the worship of the Sky.

To reduce the harmful influence of spirits, the Jurchens sometimes practiced sacrifice. Sacrifices became more frequent during the war between the Jurchens and the Mongols.