Deities and spirits in the ideas of the Khanty of the Surgut Ob region (based on materials from 2002 to 2017)

• Published in: VESTNIK ARHEOLOGII, ANTROPOLOGII I ETNOGRAFII
• Main Author: Rud’ A.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RA 2023
• Subjects: surgut khanty; traditional beliefs; deities and spirits; reciprocity; Archaeology; CC1-960; khanty; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2023-63-4-17; https://doaj.org/article/283d952f370e49099000cfbc4d5b540b

The research is aimed at the characteristics of deities and spirits in the traditional beliefs of the Khanty of the Surgut Ob basin (the territory of Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, and Nefteyugansk Districts of KMAO — Yugra and Uvatsky District of the Tyumen Oblast). The common traits are identified and differences between the categories of deities and spirits clarified; the transition of personified spirits to the category of deities is shown, as well as the transfer of the forgotten deities to the category of spirits. The sources for the research are represented by publications of the scientists of the late 19th — early 21st c., as well as by the author’s field materials collected in 2002–2017 amongst the Surgut Khanty on the rivers of Lyamin, Pim, Tromyogan, Agan, Bolshoy and Malyy Yugan, as well as on the Demyanka River (the right-bank tributary of the Irtysh River). The comparativehistorical approach is employed in this work. Concerning the study of the communicative nature of the relationships between the man and supernatural beings, the concept of M. Salinz (1999) on reciprocal relations and the theory of gift-exchange of M. Moss (2011) are used. Also used are the theoretical and practical exploratory work of E.S. Novik (2004) and E.P. Martynova (2021, 2022), who observed a close link between the traditional perceptions of the peoples of Siberia and the reciprocal and giftexchange relationships between the human world and the characters of traditional beliefs. Traditional beliefs of the Surgut Khanty include the narratives of a series of supernatural beings who influence all aspects of human life and environment. The author proposes the revision of the intension of the term ‘spirits’ frequently used by the majority of researchers to denote the whole variety of the characters of the traditional beliefs of the Khanty of the Surgut Ob basin. Taking into account the social significance, characteristics, functions, as well as the terminology of the Surgut Khanty, the author proposes to return to the division of their ...