12 
PSYCHOMENTAL COMPLEX OF THE TUNGUS 
its understanding are the opinions of the individuals and 
groups investigated when they are textually recorded, and 
not the interpretations of these opinions.* 
Another important source of objective data concern 
ing psychomental complex, ought to be mentioned, namely, 
nervous, psychic and mental disturbances. The study into 
the behaviour of the persons affected by these disturbances, 
also the attitude towards them of the persons who are not 
affected sometimes may give a right key for the under 
standing of the “normal” psychomental complex**. 
I will not now speak of the instrumental methods of 
investigation for under the conditions of field-work, especi 
ally for ethnographers, these are out of the question. Yet, the 
investigation into the physiological conditions of the units, 
which theoretically must have a definite influence on the 
ethnical psychomental complex, may be quite convincing as 
an objective method, but since this investigation requires 
special laboratory conditions it is also out of the question. 
However, some observations of this kind are possible and 
they may be used for the purpose of an analytical descrip 
tion of the psychomental complex. 
I have here enumerated some of the objective methods 
of investigation which have been used for gathering and 
describing the psychomental complex as it had been observed 
amongst the groups here treated. However, the question 
as to how far these methods may be used and practically 
applied depends on the investigator and the mode of life of 
the groups investigated. In fact, the Northern Tungus who 
live chiefly on hunting have no settlements. They gather 
in large numbers very rarely, only on the great occasions 
of weddings and annual markets, and rarely in small groups 
for shamanizing. Furthermore, since the number of 
population in these groups is not large the mass material 
generally is very limited. For an exhaustive investigation of 
a group it would take several months before one could start 
a special investigation into the psychomental complex. Yet, 
when a group is investigated this cannot suffice, for the 
investigator must have some comparative material without 
which the conclusions and even the description cannot be 
carried out. This involves the investigator in other 
similar inquiries which again take a long time. Practically 
one needs several years of assiduous investigation before 
being able to make an approximate idea of the complex. 
However, such a diligent work leaves little time for 
analysing the material and preparing it for publication. 
In fact, we have many instances of investigators who be 
come so specialized in one of the directions of these inves 
tigations that they lose their ability of having a general 
* Description and interpretation of shamanistic and other 
“religious” and “magic” implements meet with great hindrances when 
the investigator is imbued with the European (or other) ethnograph 
ical complex. These objects are very often regarded as “fetishes”, 
“idols” etc. while in reality they may be simple symbols and “placings 
for spirits”. Description of the shaman’s costume is, for instance, a 
very important item, but one very often forgets that the same ele 
ments may have entirely different meaning in different complexes or 
even have no “meaning” at all, being preserved as simple marks of 
distinction. The use of these objects becomes reliable only on condi 
tion that they are correctly defined in the given complex. 
** The question is how to make a definition of the limits of 
“•normal” and “abnormal” which sometimes present some difficulties. 
Since in the hospital conditions the specialists very often find them 
selves in a difficulty to label the intermediary cases, in the conditions 
of field-work it is sometimes altogether impossible. Yet, there are 
some disturbances so frequent in the ethnical units and even territorial 
units, that they cannot be regarded as “abnormal” in the given 
groups. 
outlook on the phenomena. Yet, some other investigators 
are so overloaded by the material gathered that they be 
come unable to analyse and publish it*. However, it 
is not enough to collect and analyse, even with the help 
of the best methods, the material concerning psy 
chomental complex for these phenomena cannot at times be 
fully understood from the point of view of their internal 
mechanism, their causes of changes being beyond this 
complex. The psychomental complex becomes much clearer 
when it is investigated in connexion with the concrete 
ethnical units in which it is found and in connexion with 
other ethnographical phenomena. It is common that 
the causes of changes in the psychomental complex 
have only secondary origin. Therefore, in this setting 
of the problem one must approach the psvchomental 
complex in its functioning within the ethnical units 
ana thus we must stop on the problem of ethnical 
unit in general as formulated by me in the theory 
of ethnos. As a matter of fact, I might now confine myself 
to a reference to my previous publications dealing with the 
theory of ethnos, but I consider it desirable to make an addi 
tion in the present work for some of publications to which 
I might refer may not be available, while others are not 
sufficient for an introduction to the psychomental complex. 
5. AN OUTLINE OF THEORY of ethnos. There are many 
units with 
which the scientists aie dealing according to their special 
ization, e.g. (1) ethnical groups by ethnographers; (2) po 
pulations by biologists; (o) nations by historians, and 
students of political science; (4) regional groups by 
geographers; (5) social groups by sociologists; (6) religious 
and generally cultural groups by psychologists, historians 
of culture, and especially “philosophers” of the old sociolo 
gical and ethnographical schools. These groups do exist as 
realities covering a certain mass of population which are 
the actual subjects of these investigations. 
The study of a great number of ethnical units leads us 
to the conclusion that the units are very numerous, their 
size is variable, they are conscious of their existence, they 
possess means for mutual understanding, they are cultural 
ly more or less homogeneous, and they intermarry within 
themselves, i.e. they are endogamous. These are units in 
which the process of cultural adaptation takes place, where 
it is transmitted, and in which hereditary conditions are 
transmitted and modified, i.e. in which the process of 
biological adaptation, in the broadest sense of the phrase, 
is carried on. However, there are also very numerous 
* It is very common that the persons who are not familiar with 
field-work make their suggestions to the field-workers, even propose 
their programs of investigation, sometimes attracting attention of 
the investigators to the questions which are difficult only for the 
people who confine their work to the study of the existing literature. 
Yet, the influence of these people is sometimes more dangerous for 
the investigator than the theoretical aberrations discussed in the pre 
vious section. Practically the investigator must adapt himself to the 
complexes under the investigation. Indeed, if he is unable to do this, 
it may be supposed that even with good programs he will produce 
no useful work and will burden the existing publications with a new 
failure. In the eyes of critics and persons patronizing such an in 
vestigator his publications very often become more valuable than the 
original investigations which bring up new material and a new 
treatment. But since this question is one of the questions connected 
with science as an ethnographical phenomenon of the European com 
plex, I shall come back to it in my other publications.