Models of the universe in the Ob-Ugric picture of the world: to the question of the initial structurality of space
English
journal number:
Journal’s Subject Headings:
History, ethnography, archeology
About author:
V. I. Spodina Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
S. A. Popova Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: many issues of the traditional worldview of the Ob-Ugric peoples are well studied, while others, for example, historical types of worldview, ideas about various deities and spirits, their functions and hierarchy, local features of the spread of ancestor worship among the Khanty and Mansi peoples, the peculiarity of the Bear Holiday require new materials, additional understanding, as well as new hypotheses. The question of the initial model of the universe also belongs to such discussed topics. The article provides additional arguments in favor of the primordial nature of the horizontal model of the world, materials on the local dominants of the vector of spatial constructions of various ethnographic groups of the Khanty and Mansi peoples.
Objective: to analyze the existing points of view on the structural models of the universe and their origin; to reveal the factors that influenced the structurality of the picture of the world.
Research materials: published ethnographic materials, linguistic research data, and oral reports of informants.
Results and novelty of the research: three scientific approaches to determination of the origin of the vector of structural spatial constructions of the Ob Ugrians (horizontal, vertical and mixed model of the universe) are analyzed. For the first time, local research findings were combined into the most unified system revealing the idea of the original models of spatial constructions in integrity. The involvement of archaeological materials made it possible to determine the time of addition of these models: horizontal – the Upper Paleolithic period, vertical and mixed – the time of transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. For the first time, the idea of involving linguistics data, in particular the grammatical category of time, for the argumentation of the vector of spatial constructions is proposed. The authors come to the conclusion that various structural models of the universe of the Ob Ugrians were formed in
different historical epochs; their formation was influenced by two worldview systems: the Southern, characteristic for the Turkic-speaking peoples of Southern Siberia and associated with the culture of nomadic pastoralists, and the Northern autochthonous system. The nature of cross-cultural contacts and their own ethnic history manifested itself in the fact that the horizontal model of the universe is more typical for the Northern groups of the Ob Ugrians, while the vertical model is more typical for the Eastern ones. The formation of the vertical model was influenced by shamanism and subsequently by
Christianization and the complication of the social stratification of society.
Key words: traditional worldview, Ob Ugrians, Khanty people, Mansi people, spatial models of the universe, river orientation
For citation: Spodina V. I., Popova S. A. Models of the universe in the Ob-Ugric picture of the world: to the question of the initial structurality of space // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2022; 12 (1): 163–173.
S. A. Popova Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: many issues of the traditional worldview of the Ob-Ugric peoples are well studied, while others, for example, historical types of worldview, ideas about various deities and spirits, their functions and hierarchy, local features of the spread of ancestor worship among the Khanty and Mansi peoples, the peculiarity of the Bear Holiday require new materials, additional understanding, as well as new hypotheses. The question of the initial model of the universe also belongs to such discussed topics. The article provides additional arguments in favor of the primordial nature of the horizontal model of the world, materials on the local dominants of the vector of spatial constructions of various ethnographic groups of the Khanty and Mansi peoples.
Objective: to analyze the existing points of view on the structural models of the universe and their origin; to reveal the factors that influenced the structurality of the picture of the world.
Research materials: published ethnographic materials, linguistic research data, and oral reports of informants.
Results and novelty of the research: three scientific approaches to determination of the origin of the vector of structural spatial constructions of the Ob Ugrians (horizontal, vertical and mixed model of the universe) are analyzed. For the first time, local research findings were combined into the most unified system revealing the idea of the original models of spatial constructions in integrity. The involvement of archaeological materials made it possible to determine the time of addition of these models: horizontal – the Upper Paleolithic period, vertical and mixed – the time of transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. For the first time, the idea of involving linguistics data, in particular the grammatical category of time, for the argumentation of the vector of spatial constructions is proposed. The authors come to the conclusion that various structural models of the universe of the Ob Ugrians were formed in
different historical epochs; their formation was influenced by two worldview systems: the Southern, characteristic for the Turkic-speaking peoples of Southern Siberia and associated with the culture of nomadic pastoralists, and the Northern autochthonous system. The nature of cross-cultural contacts and their own ethnic history manifested itself in the fact that the horizontal model of the universe is more typical for the Northern groups of the Ob Ugrians, while the vertical model is more typical for the Eastern ones. The formation of the vertical model was influenced by shamanism and subsequently by
Christianization and the complication of the social stratification of society.
Key words: traditional worldview, Ob Ugrians, Khanty people, Mansi people, spatial models of the universe, river orientation
For citation: Spodina V. I., Popova S. A. Models of the universe in the Ob-Ugric picture of the world: to the question of the initial structurality of space // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2022; 12 (1): 163–173.
