Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article is devoted to the study of the Mansi settlement of Lombovozh rich in events, religious sites and archaeological monuments, its history from antiquity to the present. Myths, legends, archival sources are considered, aimed at identification of its role and significance in the history of not only the Mansi people, but also the Ob-Ugric population as a whole, as a central cult object that has an impact on the lives of the inhabitants of a vast territory.
Objective: to identify myths, ideas, facts, and events in their temporal sequence that characterize the settlement of Lombovozh as the main political and cult center of the North Mansi group.
Research materials: published sources of foreign, Soviet and Russian ethnographers, archaeologists, linguists; oral folk art of the Mansi people; field materials of the author (1993–2017).
Results and novelty of the research: вuring the analysis, we revealed the outstanding role of the Lombovozh as a political and religious center, and discovered the essence of its purpose: a sacred hill, a place of worship, a princely residence. The etymological discrepancy of its names reflects the mythological and religious events of different eras: hillfort; climbing up; peat patch; bare as a palm; place of [temporary] death. As a cult center, it influenced the preservation of beliefs of different in origin, time, status and ethnic characteristics societies with the most significant sanctuaries for the indigenous population: phratrial – Tōrev Jīkv, inter-phfratrial – Tōrum Kan, ancestral – Pāvlyŋ ōjka. As a military and political center it represented chiefdom and princely rule. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that a new chronological material is introduced into scientific circulation
characterizing the sequence of development of the settlement of Lombovozh. In the reconstructed events, based on a comparative analysis of data of archaeology, ethnography, and linguistics, some processes related to the formation of the North Mansi group as a whole are reflected.
Key words: Mansi, Lombovozh, folklore, mythological and religious beliefs, history of the settlement
For citation: Popova S. A. The Mansi settlement of Lombovozh in a retrospective of myths and historical realities // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2023; 13 (4/55): 776–785.