Shamanic cone-shape bells, brass 90 millimeter

The traditional type of bell where three metal cones are hung together on a ring is a very archaic and ancient type that can often be seen on the traditional costume of Siberian, Mongolian and Yakutian shaman. The name may vary with the region. They are for example called hamhinuur, shanginur, shomshorgo or holbogo.

The historical origin of this bell can be traced as a mostly very practical one: In the wild, rural early Siberian landscapes, loud rattling things such as these were used to scare away wild animals from the camp side. From this, the step to them being used to scare away the more invisible nasty creatures, the evil spirits, is then of course not so big. So at some point they also found their way onto the coats of the local shamans.

The specific shape of the cones is actually derived from an early style of measuring cups, used when preparing food. Associated with this is another interesting piece of history. In those days, a shaman spent pretty much his whole day shamanizing. For his worldly needs, such as food, he was provided for by the community he served. When the cone-bells found their way on the shamanic costume, it became a custom that the shaman would receive a number of portions from the food according to the number of cones on his coats. And of course; the more experienced a shaman, the more cone-bells he had on his coat and thus the bigger part of the meal he could claim. This was however limited to a maximum of 99 cone-bells and thus 99 portions of the food.

These cone-bells come to us via our friends at Shaman Bazar. They have been made by a traditional shamanic blacksmith. Traditionally these bells are made of three iron cones hanging on an iron ring, but these here are a bit more fancy with the cones being made of brass. Total length (measured the size of the ring together with the cones) is approximately 90 millimeters.

These bells are sold per piece, which in this case obviously means; one ring with three cones on it.