Visual images in the worldview, mythology and folklore of peoples of the North
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the RAS, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article analyzes the specifics of verbal visual means and techniques used in mythology and folklore of people of the North and Siberia to characterize the images intended for visual perception.
Objective: to analyze the visual markers of mythological and folklore images within the boundaries of such dimensions as «large» and «small», «beautiful» and «ugly»; to reveal regularities of color symbolism of images.
Research materials: the article is based on field materials collected by the author in expeditions of 1984–2015 years to the Koryaks, the Сhukchi, the Chuvans, the Teleuts, the Ulch, as well as literary and archival sources.
Results and novelty of the research: the article reveals the associations and symbols related to visualization of mythological and folklore images of different categories, such as the universe, other world, people, gods, spirits, objects of nature, large and small objects; considers the principles of visualization of the invisible things (diseases, human physiology, etc.); studies the specificity of the use of such concepts as size, beauty, color in mythology; shows how worldview and religious attitudes determined the principles of visualization of the images; pays attention to telling of dreams as the way of visualization of the images. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of the principles and mechanisms of visualization of worldview, folklore and mythological images on the example of several peoples of Siberia and the Far North, taking into account the ethnic and cultural specificity of these peoples.
Key words: worldview, mythology, folklore, peoples of the North, visual images, color symbolism, verbal means of visualization, the Chukchi, the Koryaks, the Teleuts.
Acknowledgements: the research is performed within the framework of the Program of Fundamental Research «Culturally complex societies: understanding and management». The project’s title is «Ethnic borders in multicultural communities of the North of Russia» (under the guidance of E. A. Pivneva).
For citation: Batyanova E. P. Visual images in the worldview, mythology and folklore of peoples of the North // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric studies. 2018; 8(4): 695–704.
