Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians

This study, based on materials collected in the 18th–20th centuries, and on the author’s field findings over the last 40 years, shows the role of rocks in the Ob Ugrian worldview and ritual practices. Evidence is provided on the veneration of various natural stone objects. Reasons for the cult of wo...

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Published in:Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Main Author: A. V. Baulo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IAET SB RAS 2022
Subjects:
legendary heroes
rites
legends
deities
Khanty
Mansi
khanty
khanty-mansi
Online Access:https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127
id ftjarchaeology:oai:oai.nsc.elpub.ru:article/1468
record_format openpolar
institution Open Polar
collection Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia (E-Journal)
op_collection_id ftjarchaeology
language English
topic legendary heroes
rites
legends
deities
Khanty
Mansi
spellingShingle legendary heroes
rites
legends
deities
Khanty
Mansi
A. V. Baulo
Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
topic_facet legendary heroes
rites
legends
deities
Khanty
Mansi
description This study, based on materials collected in the 18th–20th centuries, and on the author’s field findings over the last 40 years, shows the role of rocks in the Ob Ugrian worldview and ritual practices. Evidence is provided on the veneration of various natural stone objects. Reasons for the cult of worshipping such places are discussed. One reason was that the rock resembled a human or animal figure. In legends and myths, the stone houses of heroic ancestors were correlated with numerous caves in the Ural Mountains. The main part of the article introduces materials relating to the stone figures of deities and patron spirits, supported by mythical narratives explaining the ways that a mythological hero was changed into stone. Examples are given of the figures of deities with a stone base found among local groups of the Ob Ugrians, such as the Lyapin and Sosva Mansi, Synya and Polui Khanty. The role of rocks in childbirth and funerary rites is examined, as well as their role in economic practices such as fishing. In Khanty and Mansi mythological beliefs, the modifier «stony» was equivalent to «iron» or «strong».
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author A. V. Baulo
author_facet A. V. Baulo
author_sort A. V. Baulo
title Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
title_short Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
title_full Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
title_fullStr Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
title_full_unstemmed Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians
title_sort rocks in the religious beliefs and rites of the ob ugrians
publisher IAET SB RAS
publishDate 2022
url https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127
genre khanty
khanty-mansi
Mansi
genre_facet khanty
khanty-mansi
Mansi
op_source Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia; Vol 50, No 2 (2022); 119-127
Археология, этнография и антропология Евразии; Vol 50, No 2 (2022); 119-127
1563-0110
op_relation https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468/852
Bakhrushin S.V. 1935 Ostyatskiye i vogulskiye knyazhestva v XVI–XVII vv. Leningrad: Izd. Inst. narodov Severa.
Balandin A.N. 1939 Yazyk mansiyskoy skazki. Leningrad: Glavsevmorput.
Bardina R.K. 2009 Obskiye i nizhnesosvinskiye mansi: Etnosotsialnaya istoriya v kontse XVIII – nachale XXI veka. Novosibirsk: Izd. SO RAN.
Baulo A.V. 2013 Svyashchenniye mesta i atributy severnykh mansi v nachale XXI veka: Etnografi cheskiy albom. Khanty-Mansiysk, Yekaterinburg: Basko.
Baulo A.V. 2016a Ekspeditsii Izmaila Gemueva k mansi: Etnokulturniye issledovaniya v Nizhnem Priobye. Vol. 1: 1983–1985 gody. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN.
Baulo A.V. 2016b Svyashchenniye mesta i atributy severnykh khantov v nachale XXI veka: Etnografi cheskiy albom. Khanty-Mansiysk: Tender.
Chernetsov V.N. 1971 Naskalniye izobrazheniya Urala, pt. 2. Moscow: Nauka. (SAI; В 4-12).
Dunin-Gorkavich A.A. 1911 Tobolskiy Sever, vol. 3. Tobolsk: [Gub. tip.].
Finsch O., Brehm A. 1882 Puteshestviye v Zapadnuyu Sibir. Moscow.
Gemuev I.N. 1990 Mirovozzreniye mansi: Dom i Kosmos. Novosibirsk: Nauka.
Gemuev I.N., Sagalaev A.M. 1986 Religiya naroda mansi. Kultoviye mesta XIX – nachala XX v. Novosibirsk: Nauka.
Georgi J.G. 1776 Opisaniye vsekh v Rossiyskom gosudarstve obitayushchikh narodov, pt. 1. St. Petersburg.
Geroicheskiy epos mansi (vogulov): Pesni svyatykh pokroviteley. 2010 E.I. Rombandeeva, T.D. Slinkina (comp.). Khanty- Mansiysk: Print-klass.
Glushkov I.N. 1900 Cherdynskiye voguly. Etnograficheskoye obozreniye, vol. 15 (2): 15–78.
Gondatti N.L. 1888 Sledy yazycheskikh verovaniy u inorodtsev Severo-Zapadnoy Sibiri. Moscow: [Tip. Potapova].
Gorodkov B. 1912 Reka Konda. Moscow: [s.n.]. (Zemlevedeniye; vol. 19, bk. 3/4).
Grevens N.N. 1960 Kultoviye predmety khantov. In Yezhegodnik Muzeya istorii religii i ateizma AN SSSR, iss. 4. Moscow, Leningrad: AN SSSR, pp. 427–438.
Infantiev P.P. 1910 Puteshestviye v stranu vogulov. St. Petersburg: [Izd. N.V. Elmanova].
Istochniki po etnografii Zapadnoy Sibiri. 1987 N.V. Lukina, O.M. Ryndina (publ.). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ.
Ivanov S.V. 1954 Materialy po izobrazitelnomu iskusstvu narodov Sibiri XIX – nachala XX v. Moscow, Leningrad: Nauka. (TIE, nov. ser.; vol. 22).
Ivanov S.V. 1970 Skulptura narodov Severa Sibiri XIX – pervoy poloviny XX v. Leningrad: Nauka.
Kannisto A., Liimola M. 1951 Wogulische Volksdichtung. Bd. 1: Texte mythischen Inhalts. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura.
Kannisto A., Liimola M. 1958 Materialien zur Mythologie der Wogulen. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. (MSFOu; vol. 113).
Karjalainen K.F. 1994, 1995 Religiya yugorskikh narodov. N.V. Lukina (trans.). In 2 vols. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ.
Castrén M.A. 1860 Puteshestviye po Laplandii, Severnoy Rossii i Sibiri (1838–1844, 1845–1849). In Magazin zemlevedeniya i puteshestviy, vol. VI (II). Moscow.
Kushelevsky Y.I. 1868 Severniy polyus i zemlya Yamal. St. Petersburg: [Tip. MVD].
Lugovsky L.E. 1894 Legenda, svyazannaya s dvumya ostyatskimi idolami iz kollektsii “prinadlezhnostey shamanskogo kulta” v Tobolskom gubernskom muzeye. Yezhegodnik Tobolskogo gubernskogo muzeya, iss. 2: 1–3.
Mify, predaniya, skazki khantov i mansi. 1990 N.V. Lukina (trans. from Khanty, Mansy, German, comp., intro., and notes). Moscow: Nauka.
Mify, skazki, predaniya mansi (vogulov). 2005 E.I. Rombandeeva (comp.). Novosibirsk: Nauka. (Pamyatniki folklora narodov Sibiri i Dalnego Vostoka; vol. 26).
Munkácsi B. 1896 Vogul népköltési gyüjtemény, vol. IV. Budapest.
Nosilov K.D. 1997 U vogulov: Ocherki i nabroski. Tyumen: SoftDizain.
Novitsky G. 1941 Kratkoye opisaniye o narode ostyatskom. Novosibirsk: Novosibgiz.
Ogryzko I.I. 1941 Khristianizatsiya narodov Tobolskogo Severa v XVIII v. Leningrad: Izd. Leningr. Gos. Ped. Inst.
Opisaniye Tobolskogo namestnichestva. 1982 Novosibirsk: Nauka.
Patkanov S.K. 1891 Tip ostyatskogo bogatyrya po ostyatskim bylinam i geroicheskim skazaniyam. St. Petersburg.
Perevalova E.V. 2002 Voiny i migratsii severnykh khantov (po materialam folklora). Uralskiy istoricheskiy vestnik, No. 8: 36–58.
Rudenko S.I. (s.a.) Ugry i nentsy Nizhnego Priobya. Arkhiv RAN (SPb.). F. 1004, Inv. 1, item 66.
Shteinits V. 2009 Totemizm u ostyakov v Sibiri, iss. 3. N.V. Lukina (trans. from German). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Ped. Univ., pp. 151–164. (Arkheologiya i etnografi ya Priobya: Materialy i issledovaniya).
Sibir XVIII veka v putevykh opisaniyakh G.F. Millera. 1996 Novosibirsk: Sibirskiy Khronograf. (Istoriya Sibiri. Pervoistochniki; iss. VI).
Sirelius U.T. 2001 Puteshestviye k khantam. N.V. Lukina (trans. from German, publ.). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ.
Sokolova Z.P. 1971 Perezhitki religioznykh verovaniy u obskikh ugrov. In Religiozniye predstavleniya i obryady narodov Sibiri v XIX – nachale XX veka. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 211–238. (Sbornik MAE; vol. 27).
Sokolova Z.P. 2009 Khanty i mansi: Vzglyad iz XXI v. Moscow: Nauka.
Startsev G. 1928 Ostyaki. Leningrad: Priboy.
Synskiye khanty. 2005 G.A. Aksyanova, A.V. Baulo, E.V. Perevalova, E. Ruttkai, Z.P. Sokolova, G.E. Soldatova, N.M. Taligina, E.I. Tylikova, N.V. Fedorova. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN.
Taligina E.L. 2002 Toponimy Synskogo kraya. In Narody Severo-Zapadnoy Sibiri, iss. 10. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ., pp. 70–77.
Taligina N.M. 2004 Obryady zhiznennogo tsikla u synskikh khantov. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ.
https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468
doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127
op_rights Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
op_doi https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127
container_title Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
container_volume 50
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spelling ftjarchaeology:oai:oai.nsc.elpub.ru:article/1468 2023-10-09T21:53:09+02:00 Rocks in the Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Ob Ugrians A. V. Baulo 2022-07-03 application/pdf https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468 https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127 eng eng IAET SB RAS https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468/852 Bakhrushin S.V. 1935 Ostyatskiye i vogulskiye knyazhestva v XVI–XVII vv. Leningrad: Izd. Inst. narodov Severa. Balandin A.N. 1939 Yazyk mansiyskoy skazki. Leningrad: Glavsevmorput. Bardina R.K. 2009 Obskiye i nizhnesosvinskiye mansi: Etnosotsialnaya istoriya v kontse XVIII – nachale XXI veka. Novosibirsk: Izd. SO RAN. Baulo A.V. 2013 Svyashchenniye mesta i atributy severnykh mansi v nachale XXI veka: Etnografi cheskiy albom. Khanty-Mansiysk, Yekaterinburg: Basko. Baulo A.V. 2016a Ekspeditsii Izmaila Gemueva k mansi: Etnokulturniye issledovaniya v Nizhnem Priobye. Vol. 1: 1983–1985 gody. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN. Baulo A.V. 2016b Svyashchenniye mesta i atributy severnykh khantov v nachale XXI veka: Etnografi cheskiy albom. Khanty-Mansiysk: Tender. Chernetsov V.N. 1971 Naskalniye izobrazheniya Urala, pt. 2. Moscow: Nauka. (SAI; В 4-12). Dunin-Gorkavich A.A. 1911 Tobolskiy Sever, vol. 3. Tobolsk: [Gub. tip.]. Finsch O., Brehm A. 1882 Puteshestviye v Zapadnuyu Sibir. Moscow. Gemuev I.N. 1990 Mirovozzreniye mansi: Dom i Kosmos. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Gemuev I.N., Sagalaev A.M. 1986 Religiya naroda mansi. Kultoviye mesta XIX – nachala XX v. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Georgi J.G. 1776 Opisaniye vsekh v Rossiyskom gosudarstve obitayushchikh narodov, pt. 1. St. Petersburg. Geroicheskiy epos mansi (vogulov): Pesni svyatykh pokroviteley. 2010 E.I. Rombandeeva, T.D. Slinkina (comp.). Khanty- Mansiysk: Print-klass. Glushkov I.N. 1900 Cherdynskiye voguly. Etnograficheskoye obozreniye, vol. 15 (2): 15–78. Gondatti N.L. 1888 Sledy yazycheskikh verovaniy u inorodtsev Severo-Zapadnoy Sibiri. Moscow: [Tip. Potapova]. Gorodkov B. 1912 Reka Konda. Moscow: [s.n.]. (Zemlevedeniye; vol. 19, bk. 3/4). Grevens N.N. 1960 Kultoviye predmety khantov. In Yezhegodnik Muzeya istorii religii i ateizma AN SSSR, iss. 4. Moscow, Leningrad: AN SSSR, pp. 427–438. Infantiev P.P. 1910 Puteshestviye v stranu vogulov. St. Petersburg: [Izd. N.V. Elmanova]. Istochniki po etnografii Zapadnoy Sibiri. 1987 N.V. Lukina, O.M. Ryndina (publ.). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ. Ivanov S.V. 1954 Materialy po izobrazitelnomu iskusstvu narodov Sibiri XIX – nachala XX v. Moscow, Leningrad: Nauka. (TIE, nov. ser.; vol. 22). Ivanov S.V. 1970 Skulptura narodov Severa Sibiri XIX – pervoy poloviny XX v. Leningrad: Nauka. Kannisto A., Liimola M. 1951 Wogulische Volksdichtung. Bd. 1: Texte mythischen Inhalts. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. Kannisto A., Liimola M. 1958 Materialien zur Mythologie der Wogulen. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. (MSFOu; vol. 113). Karjalainen K.F. 1994, 1995 Religiya yugorskikh narodov. N.V. Lukina (trans.). In 2 vols. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ. Castrén M.A. 1860 Puteshestviye po Laplandii, Severnoy Rossii i Sibiri (1838–1844, 1845–1849). In Magazin zemlevedeniya i puteshestviy, vol. VI (II). Moscow. Kushelevsky Y.I. 1868 Severniy polyus i zemlya Yamal. St. Petersburg: [Tip. MVD]. Lugovsky L.E. 1894 Legenda, svyazannaya s dvumya ostyatskimi idolami iz kollektsii “prinadlezhnostey shamanskogo kulta” v Tobolskom gubernskom muzeye. Yezhegodnik Tobolskogo gubernskogo muzeya, iss. 2: 1–3. Mify, predaniya, skazki khantov i mansi. 1990 N.V. Lukina (trans. from Khanty, Mansy, German, comp., intro., and notes). Moscow: Nauka. Mify, skazki, predaniya mansi (vogulov). 2005 E.I. Rombandeeva (comp.). Novosibirsk: Nauka. (Pamyatniki folklora narodov Sibiri i Dalnego Vostoka; vol. 26). Munkácsi B. 1896 Vogul népköltési gyüjtemény, vol. IV. Budapest. Nosilov K.D. 1997 U vogulov: Ocherki i nabroski. Tyumen: SoftDizain. Novitsky G. 1941 Kratkoye opisaniye o narode ostyatskom. Novosibirsk: Novosibgiz. Ogryzko I.I. 1941 Khristianizatsiya narodov Tobolskogo Severa v XVIII v. Leningrad: Izd. Leningr. Gos. Ped. Inst. Opisaniye Tobolskogo namestnichestva. 1982 Novosibirsk: Nauka. Patkanov S.K. 1891 Tip ostyatskogo bogatyrya po ostyatskim bylinam i geroicheskim skazaniyam. St. Petersburg. Perevalova E.V. 2002 Voiny i migratsii severnykh khantov (po materialam folklora). Uralskiy istoricheskiy vestnik, No. 8: 36–58. Rudenko S.I. (s.a.) Ugry i nentsy Nizhnego Priobya. Arkhiv RAN (SPb.). F. 1004, Inv. 1, item 66. Shteinits V. 2009 Totemizm u ostyakov v Sibiri, iss. 3. N.V. Lukina (trans. from German). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Ped. Univ., pp. 151–164. (Arkheologiya i etnografi ya Priobya: Materialy i issledovaniya). Sibir XVIII veka v putevykh opisaniyakh G.F. Millera. 1996 Novosibirsk: Sibirskiy Khronograf. (Istoriya Sibiri. Pervoistochniki; iss. VI). Sirelius U.T. 2001 Puteshestviye k khantam. N.V. Lukina (trans. from German, publ.). Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ. Sokolova Z.P. 1971 Perezhitki religioznykh verovaniy u obskikh ugrov. In Religiozniye predstavleniya i obryady narodov Sibiri v XIX – nachale XX veka. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 211–238. (Sbornik MAE; vol. 27). Sokolova Z.P. 2009 Khanty i mansi: Vzglyad iz XXI v. Moscow: Nauka. Startsev G. 1928 Ostyaki. Leningrad: Priboy. Synskiye khanty. 2005 G.A. Aksyanova, A.V. Baulo, E.V. Perevalova, E. Ruttkai, Z.P. Sokolova, G.E. Soldatova, N.M. Taligina, E.I. Tylikova, N.V. Fedorova. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN. Taligina E.L. 2002 Toponimy Synskogo kraya. In Narody Severo-Zapadnoy Sibiri, iss. 10. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ., pp. 70–77. Taligina N.M. 2004 Obryady zhiznennogo tsikla u synskikh khantov. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ. https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1468 doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127 Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia; Vol 50, No 2 (2022); 119-127 Археология, этнография и антропология Евразии; Vol 50, No 2 (2022); 119-127 1563-0110 legendary heroes rites legends deities Khanty Mansi info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2022 ftjarchaeology https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.2.119-127 2023-09-10T20:01:37Z This study, based on materials collected in the 18th–20th centuries, and on the author’s field findings over the last 40 years, shows the role of rocks in the Ob Ugrian worldview and ritual practices. Evidence is provided on the veneration of various natural stone objects. Reasons for the cult of worshipping such places are discussed. One reason was that the rock resembled a human or animal figure. In legends and myths, the stone houses of heroic ancestors were correlated with numerous caves in the Ural Mountains. The main part of the article introduces materials relating to the stone figures of deities and patron spirits, supported by mythical narratives explaining the ways that a mythological hero was changed into stone. Examples are given of the figures of deities with a stone base found among local groups of the Ob Ugrians, such as the Lyapin and Sosva Mansi, Synya and Polui Khanty. The role of rocks in childbirth and funerary rites is examined, as well as their role in economic practices such as fishing. In Khanty and Mansi mythological beliefs, the modifier «stony» was equivalent to «iron» or «strong». Article in Journal/Newspaper khanty khanty-mansi Mansi Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia (E-Journal) Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 50 2 119 127

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