The harmful properties of the material world: symbolic understanding of being
English
journal number:
Journal’s Subject Headings:
History, ethnography, archeology
About author:
Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: at present, the problem of symbolic aspects of the man-made world in traditional folk culture attracts more and more attention in Russian science. The article considers the ways of construction of the meanings of the world of things in traditional culture, one of which is the endowment of certain objects with harmful properties. On the basis of the attracted materials, a hierarchy of the acquisition of destructive functions by a thing is built.
Objective: to identify and structure the mechanisms of endowing things with harmful properties from the point of view of the idea of «symbolic forms».
Research materials: folklore data, oral reports of informants, published ethnographic materials.
Results and novelty of the research: the article is the first experience of comprehension of the thing world by the Ob Ugrians and Samoyedic people from the point of view of construction (spontaneous or conscious) by a person given functions, in particular, harmful ones. The main ways of semantization of the man-made environment of a person are revealed, such as: violation of prohibitions, disregard of etiquette norms, loss of a thing as a break of the mental connection, deliberate endowment of a thing with harmful properties, etc. All this makes it possible to reconstruct a holistic idea
about the existence of things in the traditional culture of northern ethnic groups. The author of the article, relying on the philosophical ideas of «symbolic forms» by E. Cassirer, opens up the prospect of a comprehensive disclosure of the worldview aspects of the traditional culture of the Khanty, Mansi and Nenets people. The provisions of the work can be used in the creation of complex studies on rhealogy on the materials of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples, special courses on the semiotics of certain local groups of indigenous peoples of the North, as well as in teaching social and humanitarian disciplines.
Key words: Khanty people, Mansi people, Nenets people, traditional culture, material world, prohibitions, harmfulness, taboos, etiquette norms.
For citation: Spodina V. I. The harmful properties of the material world: symbolic understanding of being // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2021; 11 (1): 168–177.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: at present, the problem of symbolic aspects of the man-made world in traditional folk culture attracts more and more attention in Russian science. The article considers the ways of construction of the meanings of the world of things in traditional culture, one of which is the endowment of certain objects with harmful properties. On the basis of the attracted materials, a hierarchy of the acquisition of destructive functions by a thing is built.
Objective: to identify and structure the mechanisms of endowing things with harmful properties from the point of view of the idea of «symbolic forms».
Research materials: folklore data, oral reports of informants, published ethnographic materials.
Results and novelty of the research: the article is the first experience of comprehension of the thing world by the Ob Ugrians and Samoyedic people from the point of view of construction (spontaneous or conscious) by a person given functions, in particular, harmful ones. The main ways of semantization of the man-made environment of a person are revealed, such as: violation of prohibitions, disregard of etiquette norms, loss of a thing as a break of the mental connection, deliberate endowment of a thing with harmful properties, etc. All this makes it possible to reconstruct a holistic idea
about the existence of things in the traditional culture of northern ethnic groups. The author of the article, relying on the philosophical ideas of «symbolic forms» by E. Cassirer, opens up the prospect of a comprehensive disclosure of the worldview aspects of the traditional culture of the Khanty, Mansi and Nenets people. The provisions of the work can be used in the creation of complex studies on rhealogy on the materials of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples, special courses on the semiotics of certain local groups of indigenous peoples of the North, as well as in teaching social and humanitarian disciplines.
Key words: Khanty people, Mansi people, Nenets people, traditional culture, material world, prohibitions, harmfulness, taboos, etiquette norms.
For citation: Spodina V. I. The harmful properties of the material world: symbolic understanding of being // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2021; 11 (1): 168–177.
