Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article considers the various aspects of the armory tradition of the Ob Ugrians and Samoyeds of the XVI–XV centuries, reflected in folklore and historical sources: the composition of close-quarter weapon, its tactical and technical characteristics; complex of weapons as the social status of a warrior; symbolic role of individual types of weapons. The lexical parallels in the names of weapons and metals used for their manufacture are especially notable. This indicates active intercultural contacts between the peoples of the taiga Ob-Irtysh region with the Ural and Turkic tribes, which were
both peaceful and conflicting in nature.
Objective: to identify the originality of armory representation in Ob-Ugric and Samoyed folklore in the aspect of intercultural interaction.
Research materials: folklore collections, reference books, oral reports of informants, handwritten materials by P. E. Sheshkin.
Results and novelty of the research: on the materials of Ob-Ugric and Samoyedic folklore, close-quarter weapon are correlated with historical realities, and the ways of their penetration into the folklore tradition are determined. 13 weapons are considered and systematized into 5 groups: cutting and thrusting, cutting, taper-cutting, thrusting, and impacting weapons. The involved military vocabulary of the Turkic languages testifies to the active contacts of the Ob Ugrians with their southern neighbors – the tribes of the Indo-Iranian and Iranian worlds (in particular, the names of metals). The conclusion is
formulated that the southern influence left a noticeable mark on the armory culture of the Ob Ugrians and Samoyeds, but at the same time, the weapons of the taiga people are not without local originality. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the weapons of medieval warriors are comprehended comprehensively in a regional-ethnic aspect with the involvement of folklore and historical sources, as well as linguistic data as a reflection of intercultural contacts. Unpublished materials from the handwritten heritage of P. E. Sheshkin related to early epochs (according to his periodization), where weapons combine the functions of universal hunting and combat equipment, have been introduced into scientific circulation.
Key words: Ostyak people, Vogul people, Samoyed people, Ob-Ugric folklore, the Middle Ages, close-quarter weapon, weapon vocabulary, intercultural contacts
For citation: Spodina V. I. Close-quarter weapon of the peoples of Northwestern Siberia the Middle Ages as the historical and cultural phenomenon // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2024; 14 (1/56): 149–162.