Traditions and rituals of the peoples of Siberia

In the field of mythology, the peoples of Siberia have ideas about the vertical division of the Universe: the Upper World, where the gods live, the Middle World (people, animals) and the Lower World (spirits). The upper world consists of seven heavens, the Lower one consists of seven layers of permafrost. Symbols of the Upper world — birch, eagle; Middle — pine, elk; Lower — cedar, pike. Accordingly, the world is ruled by three deities, the main one of which is the creator of the world (Torum, Num, Nom). According to mythology, Thorum created life and did not interfere with it, he lives in the Upper seventh heaven in a golden house (plague) with a silver chimney. Only the upper spirits can ascend to the Torum. Thorum created humans. According to one legend, God made a man out of sticks of tallow smeared with clay, according to another — from his saliva.

Besides, the whole world is inhabited by spirits. The Khanty and Mansi are especially revered by the spirits of the taiga tracts, the Nenets the spirit of the Ob River. The shaman was the mediator between people and spirits.

In each house there were figurines of ancestral deities. There were also common tribal places of worship, such as the island of Vaigach (among the Nenets).

The totemic beliefs of the peoples of Siberia have been preserved in the form of veneration of animals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. The owner of the water is a pike, the owner of the forest (land) is a bear. The Hunts had a tradition of swearing on a bear’s paw and on a pike’s nose — this was how a man’s contract with land and water was concluded; pike and bear acted as judges of his perjury on land and on water. If a bear was killed, it was brought to the village and a Bear festival was held. However, only a "good" bear deserved an "invitation", which did not harm people and pets. The characters of people were described as the properties of animals: "slow as a spring deer", "fussy as a wagtail". There were various nicknames: Chipmunk, Deer Leg.

The traditional calendar of the peoples of Siberia is also connected with their occupations: the Ob Ugrians — with fishing and hunting, the Nenets — with reindeer husbandry. Several important holidays are highlighted in the calendar, for example, the Crow’s Day holiday (April 7), which is considered the beginning of spring in Khanty and Mansi.

Reindeer Herder's Day

In February and March, Deer Day or Reindeer Herder’s Day is held — this is a new tradition. Dozens of reindeer sleds are coming to the place of celebration in the tundra. All residents of the big tundra gather for the holiday: Nenets, Khanty, Komi-Zyryans. It is a celebration of dexterity and courage. The main sight here is a variety of deer racing — trotting, swinging, standing on sleds, skiing for deer and on deerskin. At the same time as the races, competitions are held in traditional northern sports: sled jumping, hunting skiing, shooting, and long-range axe throwing.

Crow's Day

In the Khanty and Mansi calendar, or as they were formerly called — the Ob Ugrians, the year consists of four seasons: summer (moons), autumn (sus), winter (tal) and spring (tovi). However, the calendar began the year in spring, in March and April. It was only in the last century that indigenous peoples switched to a generally accepted calendar starting the year on January 1. Each month among the northern peoples is marked by natural changes and human activity during this period, therefore it bears the appropriate name. For example, November is called the Month of solidification of the Ob, and February is called the Month of the lazy eagle. This name is based on the saying "Lazy Eagle — one day flies, another day does not", which means that it is warm, then it is cold, one day is long, another is short.

The first holiday on the calendar of the Ob Ugrians is Vurna Hatl or Crow’s Day (today it is April 7). The arrival of the crow is associated with the arrival of spring and warmth, because it is the crows who arrive first, begin to build nests and croak loudly, awakening nature. On this day, you can not sew, chop wood, chop firewood. Bundles of rolls and buns are hung on birch branches. Also, scraps of cloth with coins tied in them are tied on tree branches, wishing loved ones all the best in life.

Bear Holiday

The bear was the most respected by the northern peoples. According to legend, in ancient times the bear was a man, but was punished by the gods for offending the weak and not honoring the elderly. One day, climbing over a mossy forest, he grew fur and went into the forest. According to another legend, he was the son of the god Torum and was thrown to the ground by his father for disobedience and arrogance. He fell naked into the fork of two trees and slept there for so long that he was covered with a bearskin.

Bear hunting was not prohibited. If he was killed, the bear was "invited to visit." Only a "good" bear deserved an invitation.

A Bear festival was held in the village, which lasted for several days. The dead bear was laid on its stomach and its paws were stretched out. A cap was put on his head, if it was a bear, then a handkerchief. The hunters themselves wore birch bark masks so that the bear’s soul could not recognize its killers. According to the traditional views of the Hunts and Mansi, a bear killed during hunting remains "alive". His prey turned into a universal celebration and fun — the arrival of a welcome "guest" to the hunter’s house. The bear was presented with treats — bread, fish, berries, wine. All the relatives and neighbors moved out. Up to 300 numbers were performed at the bear games: songs, dances, skits, puppet shows. Then the killed bear was divided into parts, boiled and eaten.

According to the custom of the forest Nenets, after three days of "visiting" the killed animal in the hunter’s plague, the bearskin was placed in a sacred sled, the bones (certainly whole) were left near the river bank on a flooring constructed of four pillars and transverse poles, the skull was fixed on a pine trunk. Since the skeleton remained intact, it would soon become overgrown with meat and the bear would be reborn.

Veneration of the deer

Deer played a very important role in the life of the peoples of the north. Deer meat was eaten, warm clothes were sewn from the skin, glue was cooked from the horns, harness parts were made, strong threads were made from tendons. The newborn was wrapped in a deerskin, the children played "in deer". In the funeral rite of the Nenets, the deceased was sewn into a deer skin. The face of the deceased was covered with a piece of cloth. All the things were put with the deceased, many of which he used during his lifetime (knife, axe, pipe, etc.). The deer on which the deceased was brought to the cemetery was killed on the grave. A pole was stuck next to the grave. It served as a guide for the living, so that they would be careful not to visit the cemetery at untimely times, for example, after sunset.

Images of deer females, according to legend, are taken by Nenets goddesses, for example, the deer-woman goddess Yamal Khada. In mythology, she is assigned the role of the guardian mother of people and gods.

Nenets culture is full of natural symbols, most of them are associated with deer. Many Nenets surnames are formed from the word "deer", for example, Nocatetto ("multi-salted"), Sarotetto ("white-salted"), Horatetto ("male-salted"), Teseda ("saltless").

The Shaman

The shaman was the mediator between the human world and the spirit world. He performed the functions of a priest, a doctor and a fortune teller. Not everyone could become a shaman, a child born in the third generation of same-sex children could become a shaman, a future shaman should have a special sign on his body from birth, or a tuft of gray hair, or a birthmark of an unusual shape, or a tooth in his mouth, but that’s not all, at the age of 13−14, the future shaman should be overcome by spirits, asking him for a job and if he does not help at this moment, do not start teaching him, then he will either die or go crazy. Those who, out of curiosity or vanity, wanted to test themselves in the role of a shaman, according to the Khanty tradition, had to taste a fly agaric potion, according to the Nenets tradition — to sleep through the night at the sanctuary, according to the Selkup tradition — to kill a cuckoo and cut it into pieces, roast pieces on a fire and hang them on a tree, lie down under this tree and fall asleep. According to the Selkups, those who survive the ordeal will become a shaman, and those who do not will go mad.

Elements of the shamanic cult: a tambourine, a mallet, mittens and an iron dart, with which the shaman protected himself from evil spirits during a journey to another world. The shaman’s power is in his tambourine. This power increases by the time the shaman matures, and gradually disappears by old age. A shaman can have up to seven tambourines of different sizes during his lifetime.

The shaman is not disturbed by a trivial request (for example, how to find a fawn), he is called in case of misfortune — a serious human illness or the death of deer. During the ritual, the shaman’s soul leaves the body and travels to other worlds. Upon returning, he gives an answer as to the cause of the misfortune.

In Soviet times, shamanism was fought in the North, but it still exists.