“The Old Man of a Sacred Town”: Ancient and Recent Representations of a Bear-like Deity

• Main Authors: A. V. Baulo, А. В. Бауло
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian; English
• Published: IAET SB RAS 2016
• Subjects: ханты; ritual; bear; mirror; tradition; Mansi; Khanty; обряд; медведь; зеркало; традиция; манси; khanty; khanty-mansi
• Online Access: https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/204

Native northwestern Siberian representations of a bear-like deity known as the Old Man of a Sacred Town span the period from the Early Iron Age to the present. It is proposed that the character standing full-length is indeed the deity, whereas bears shown in side view or in so-called sacrifi cial po...