The Nenets Autonomous Okrug has its own legends and myths. One of the most famous tells about a small people - Sikhirtya or Siirtya. According to legend, he lived in the polar tundra before the Nenets (“real people”) appeared there. Sihirtya representatives are described as stocky and strong people. They were supposedly very short, with white eyes. The Sikhirtya came to the polar tundra from across the sea.
The lifestyle they led was different from the Nenets way of life. They did not breed deer, preferring to hunt wild animals and fish. Sometimes sikhirtya are described as guardians of silver and gold; in some legends they are called blacksmiths, after whom “pieces of iron” remain on the ground and underground.
During the exploration of the North, the Russians called the local population the collective name Chud, highlighting the white-eyed Chud, which was engaged in gold and silver mining in the mountains. Ancient mines in Siberia, where gold, silver and copper were mined, were popularly called Chud mines. It is believed that the Sikhirtya inhabited vast areas from the Kola to the Gydan Peninsula. As for short stature (scientifically “nanism”), according to modern scientists’ ideas, nanism is an adaptation to various factors environment, including low temperatures. The Sikhirtya lived in large peat-turf houses, shaped like a hill. It is assumed that they led a sedentary lifestyle. The entrance to the houses was located at the top. Probably for this reason, the Nenets, who saw the sikhirtya for the first time, got the impression that they were hiding, going underground.
Legends about dwarfs living in caves or underground existed among all Finnish peoples, of which the most ancient inhabitants of the North are the Laplanders. The latter were nomads. Having spread out their dwelling in a convenient place, they sometimes heard vague voices and the clinking of iron coming to them from underground. Then the yurt was moved to another place, since it blocked the entrance to the underground dwelling of the Uldra.
Tales about underground inhabitants who knew how to process iron and had supernatural abilities have been preserved among all the peoples of the North of Russia. According to legend, miracles were magicians and could see the future. An echo of the legends about sikhirtya among the Russians is the wise and good-natured old man of the forest in fairy tales, who helped Ivan Tsarevich, with the help of a magic ball, find the way to the beauty kidnapped by Kashchei.
The invasion of Nenets reindeer herders is said to be the reason why the sikhirtya went underground. It is believed that interethnic conflicts broke out between them. At the same time, goods were exchanged between peoples and marriages took place. The languages of the Nenets and Sikhirtya were related. According to one version, the Sihirtya lived among people until the 20th century.
Thus, the article “The Blonde Sikhirtya: The Lost People of the Arctic,” published by the Krasnoyarsk Time resource, describes the memories of one of the inhabitants of the North. “Some of my classmates themselves descended from sikhirtya - but for some reason they all had roots through the female line (sikhirtya had a grandmother and great-grandmother, but I have never seen any mention of a sikhirtya grandfather). As a rule, these guys and girls differed from the rest in their short stature and roundness of facial features, which was especially pleasant in girls - such, you know, cardioid - i.e. the face is shaped like a heart. I took all this for granted.”
Unlike modern local inhabitants of the tundra, who wander behind reindeer herds and live in tents, ancient people lived in half-dugouts, the area of which sometimes reached 150 square meters. This suggests that they led a sedentary lifestyle. Sihirtya's companion was a dog. The Sikhirtya settled as families and had strictly limited land; such a management system did not facilitate communication between residents.
There were many legends about sikhirtya. According to one of them, one day the Nenets were driving past the hill and decided to take a break and give the deer a break. They entered the hill and found a small girl sleeping there. She was very beautiful and dressed in clothes decorated with painted buttons. Near the girl lay a cloud - a sewing bag, decorated with shiny beads sparkling in the sun. Bronze openwork pendants emitted a subtle melodic ringing. When the girl woke up and saw the strangers, she jumped up and instantly disappeared into the nearby bushes. The search for the stranger was unsuccessful. People decided to take a cloud bag with them. They continued their journey and after a while they placed the tent in a new place. And closer to night, a woman’s plaintive cry began to be heard: “Where is my cloud?” “Where is my cloud?” They say that the scream was heard until the morning, but no one dared to carry the sewing bag into the tundra. The family who took the bag died soon after. But the relatives still kept this precious find. The pouch became a sacred attribute. During a person’s illness, relatives hung this cloud on a chorea until the patient recovered.
It is not known for certain whether the Sihirtya lived in our area, but small legends about the mysterious people are passed down from generation to generation
Sirte remained in memory only in the form of figurines made of walrus ivory
Works oral creativity: fairy tales, songs, legends, legends, myths - every nation has them. They arise at the dawn of a people’s life and live, passing from generation to generation.
In myths, the Nenets people reflected their ideas about the origin of the earth and natural phenomena, about the origin of the spirits with which the people endowed the surrounding nature. But, unfortunately, today very few people are familiar with the myths and mythological stories of the Nenets.
One of the most famous myths is the legend of a small people - Sikhirtya or Sirtya, who lived in the polar tundra before the arrival of the Nenets - “real people”.
The Sikhirtya are described as stocky and strong people of very short stature, with white eyes. According to legends, in time immemorial the sikhirtya came to the polar tundra from across the sea.
Their way of life was significantly different from the Nenets. The Sirtya did not breed deer, but instead hunted wild ones. These small people dressed in beautiful clothes with metal pendants. In some legends, sikhirtya are described as guardians of silver and gold or as blacksmiths, after whom “pieces of iron” remain on the ground and underground; their hill houses were represented as attached to the permafrost by iron ropes.
One day the Sirtya moved to the hills and began underground inhabitants, coming to the surface of the tundra at night or in fog. In their underground world, they own herds of mammoths (“ya-hora” - “earth deer”).
Meetings with Sirtya brought grief to some, happiness to others. There are known cases of Nenets marrying Sirtya women. At the same time, Sirtya could steal children (if they continued playing outside the chum until late), send damage to a person, or scare him.
There are also references to military clashes between the Nenets and Sikhirtya, while the latter were distinguished not so much by their military valor as by their ability to unexpectedly hide and suddenly reappear.
THE LEGEND OF THE SIKHIRTYA TRIBE
They say that a long time ago there lived in our northern regions little people called sikhirtya. They lived, according to legend, underground, in caves, under high hills. Quite scanty information about this small people has survived to this day. Legends say that Sikhirtya had a developed culture. Outwardly, they looked like Russians: blond, light-eyed, only very short. The Sikhirtya fished and hunted, and that’s how they lived. What’s strange is that the people of this tribe slept during the day. Life began to boil for them at night. They also say that the Sikhirtya had supernatural power. According to legend, ordinary people who saw sikhirtya soon died.
In ancient years, my fellow tribesmen found shards of beautiful pottery, bronze women’s jewelry and other painted household items near cliffs or crumbling mounds.
According to one legend, an argish was riding past a high hill. And it was summer. Driving past the hill, people decided to take a break and give the deer a break. We decided to explore the hill. Suddenly, a short girl was found sleeping near a grass hummock. The girl was very beautiful. She was wearing clothes decorated with painted buttons and silver plaques. Near the girl lay a cloud - a sewing bag. The newcomers had never seen such unprecedented beauty. The bag was decorated with shiny beads and beads that sparkled in the sun. Bronze openwork pendants emitted a subtle melodic ringing. Then the girl woke up, abruptly jumped to her feet and instantly disappeared into the nearby bushes. They only saw her. The search for the wonderful stranger did not yield any results. It's like she fell through the ground. People were spinning here and there. She’s not there and that’s all.
We decided to take the cloud-bag with us. They set off and drove on. At the end of the day we arrived at the place and installed the plague. And closer to night, a woman’s plaintive cry began to be heard: “Where is my cloud?” "Where is my cloud?" They say that the scream was heard until the morning. No one dared to come out of the tent and take the sewing bag somewhere into the tundra, as you already guessed, the girls are sikhirtya. The family who owned this beautiful handbag died soon after. But the relatives still kept this precious find. (They say that this cloud is still in the sacred sledge of one resident of the Nakhodka tundra).
As I already said, sikhirtya had supernatural power. So this bag became a sacred attribute. During a person’s illness, relatives hung this cloud on a chorea until the patient recovered.
We don’t know if such little people really lived in our area. But small legends about the mysterious people – Sikhirtya – are passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps they lived here, since a song called “The Cry of the Sikhirtya Girl” has survived to our times. After all, legends often have a basis in reality.
L. A. Lahr
ORGANIZATION OF THE WORLD OF SPACE AND DEITIES IN THE WORLDVIEW OF THE NENETS IN THE 18TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES
For a deeper understanding of the patterns of evolution of Nenets religious traditions great importance has a study of the interaction and synthesis of cultures of various peoples inhabiting the north of Western Siberia at different stages of socio-economic development. In the process of international contacts, diverse mutual enrichment of contacting cultures occurs. The study of a foreign culture, the selective exchange of cultural forms leads from familiarization to the appropriation of some qualitatively processed elements, and then to the gradual merging of the borrowed and traditional, to the dissolution of what was acquired in the recipient culture.
ARRANGEMENT OF THE WORLD OF SPACE AND DIVINITIES IN THE NENETS WORLD OUTLOOK IN THE 18th - EARLY 20th CENTURIES
Studying of interaction and synthesis of various cultures in the north of Western Siberia at different stages of social and economic development is important for a more deep insight into the regularity of evolution of the Nenets religious traditions. Extensive mutual enrichment of the contacting cultures takes place during international communication. Research into a foreign culture, selective exchange of cultural forms results in acquisition of some qualitatively altered elements and then - in gradual fusion of the borrowed and the traditional, in dissolution of the acquired in the receiving culture.
When elements of a “foreign” religion are forcibly implanted by missionaries from outside (an exogenous form of syncretism), old views are not completely destroyed, but only fade into the background, exerting a constant influence on religious ideas. “At least, a baptized foreigner, without abandoning his gods, transfers his former pagan concepts and views to the new religion. This is why religious views
foreigners, are a mixture of poorly grafted Christianity and paganism with a predominance of the latter,” wrote A. A. Dunin-Gorkavich. When, for example, Christianity collides with pagan systems, the victory of the former over the latter is not achieved, as evidenced by the persistence of faith in lower deities and various spirits in the minds of the baptized over the centuries.
In the religious and mythological ideas of the Nenets, all parts of the surrounding world are perceived as alive: “they treat animals, plants, stones, natural phenomena as beings capable of understanding it.” The combination of vertical and horizontal systems for placing antagonistic worlds is natural and organic for them. According to myths, “Num” and “Nga” are equally involved in the existence of the world and the destinies of people. But in terms of the direction of their actions in the world, they are opposite: “Num does what is best for the Samoyed, and the devil does what is worst. The devil, as Num’s enemy, is therefore constantly at enmity against the Samoyed, whom Num loves, and has created everything for him.”
According to Nenets mythology, “Num” and “Nga” acted as like-minded people, after disagreements and misunderstandings related to different understandings goals of creation and the nature of the world order, they divided spheres of influence and dispersed to different ends of the Universe. Since then, “Num” and “Nga” have performed different, but equally honorable and equally responsible duties, having agreed with each other to live in harmony. “Num” is responsible for the Upper World, “Nga” for the Lower World. Sometimes misunderstandings and disagreements occur between them. But each of them understands that there is a certain critical limit that should not be crossed in the name of the safety of the Universe.
The basis of the “mythological picture of the world” is the idea of space and chaos (overcoming which is the central theme of the myth), as well as space and time, in which three stages can be roughly distinguished. The first is the birth of the gods, the second is the emergence of the world from chaos, and the third is the emergence of man and animals. Myths often begin with a description of what preceded creation, that is, non-existence, usually likened to chaos: “when there was neither earth nor water, but there was only mud and liquid clay.” “Num” and “Nga”, as some first beings, have a divine cosmic nature. The motif is widespread among the Nenets
biological generation of gods by the “Universal Mother”: “God and the Devil were born from a woman who lived in ... mud.” The Nenets call her “Ya’Myunya”: “1atet ri^ise - an underground old woman.” At her request, “Num created two lands - white and red. He gave the red land to his mother, and she now lives there” and leaves from there “at the call of the spirits, who, in turn, are instructed to call her by the shaman. The shamanic spirits call her Iayoko - grandmother."
The central place in any religious worldview is always occupied by the image or idea of God: “Num means the sky and the heavenly god among the Samoyeds.” God here is considered as the first principle and fundamental principle of everything that exists: “he is kind, omnipotent, all-seeing, but he left the world to govern by spirits, tadebtsii.” Moreover, this is no longer a genetic principle, as in mythology, but a creative, creating, producing principle: “all natural phenomena - thunder, lightning, storms, rains, are manifestations of the one who created the world and rules over it.”
The deity is not only active, but also involved in human affairs, its activity is ethically colored - it rewards for good, correct behavior and punishes for bad: “Num is the deity who rewards for good life deer, successful mining operations. For bad - poverty, misfortunes. Nenets beliefs contain whole line moral rules. Depending on the fulfillment of these rules, the believer can expect either mercy or punishment from Num. Num personifies a good and fair beginning." Subsequently, it becomes the object of an organized cult.
The upper deity combines the beginning of life - for it is the creator and often the keeper of all living things, including humans - and the beginning of death: “Num has already outlined the fate of any person in advance and established the end of life.” After all, the owner of the world of the dead, “Nga,” often appears next to “Num.” People go to him after death, and this is evident from Nenets folklore: “When a person dies -
Yes, by order of Num, death eats the soul of a person.” Their characteristic features are mainly borrowed from widespread legends of the Russian-Zyryan population, despite the fact that local conditions introduced their own flavor into them.
“Num” comes to the forefront under the influence of Christianity and acts as the supreme deity living on the seventh-ninth tier of heaven, personified as a male spirit: “the Samoyed god is the same as the Russian one.” Archimandrite Veniamin believed that the Nenets identified “Numa”, the “giver of life,” with the ruler of the Universe under the influence of Christianity. Considering the god “Numa”, M. A. Castren drew attention to his closeness to the Christian god: “they usually consider him the creator of the world and are firmly convinced that he himself is the ruler of the world, that he gives man happiness, goodness, and deer, and foxes and all kinds of wealth."
The opinion that “Num” rose under the influence of Christianity was held by scientists I. I. Ogryzko, V. A. Kononenko and others. A. M. Zolotarev believes that “Num” among the Nenets began to be conceptualized as the supreme deity in the 18th century, and in myths he acted as a cult hero.
L.V. Khomich also believes that the rise of "Numa" above other deities occurred under the influence of missionaries. N.A. Minenko thinks that the image of “Num” arose among the Nenets under the influence of Christianity no earlier than the 18th century, from among the baptized Khanty. She believes that the religious ideas of the Nenets were more earthly in nature, and the ascension of spirits to heaven was not typical for them. “Nga” in Nenets mythology appears as an evil spirit underworld
began to exist as a heavenly deity and became “evil, like all devils.” Nenets legends say that “Num got angry with him and pushed him out of the sky,” and “Nga,” offended by him, began to “send various troubles to people.” If we impartially consider the mythology of the Khanty and Nenets, we will see that the legends about evil deities and the development of the Lower World were significantly influenced by the Russian worldview.
The main cosmogonic acts include: the establishment of universal space; formation of three space zones; creation of a cosmic support - a mountain, a world tree; mediation within the created cosmic space between cosmic zones, carried out by gods descending to earth or in underground kingdom, shamans going to heaven or descending to the underworld. The idea of the origin of the universe in the religious tradition of the Nenets began to form a coherent system at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 20th centuries. on the Christian concept of the divine creation of everything that surrounds us. Man is the pinnacle of creation.
It is common to divide the universe into three spheres: upper, middle and lower: “The earth has seven floors, as well as seven heavens, which are located on top of each other in layers.” The concept of a multi-tiered universe has been recorded among many peoples of the world. The word “Universe” is usually understood to mean the entire world that surrounds us, limitless in time and space, infinitely diverse in the forms that matter takes in the process of its development. Yu. B. Simchenko noted that mythological ideas about the Universe ordinary people and shamanic legends have great differences.
In the mythological model of the world, one of the key conceptual points is the creation of the earth, which among the Nenets seems “flat, slightly humped in the middle, where there are mountains from which rivers flow, including the Ob. The earth is surrounded by the sea." In the acts of primordial creation fi-
The water element governs. Water was one of the fundamental elements of the universe. In a variety of myths, water is the origin, the initial state of all things, the equivalent of chaos. It is also known that water in the mythology of many peoples of the world is “the origin, the initial state of all things, the equivalent of primeval chaos... Water is the medium, agent and principle of universal significance and generation.”
In most mythologies, the motif of raising the world (earth) from the bottom of the primordial ocean is widespread. According to the ideas of many northern peoples of Western Siberia and the Far East, a diving bird retrieves the “Earth” from the bottom of the world ocean, and from the mixture of bottom silt with the bird’s blood, the Earth begins to grow. Water was considered the fundamental principle and source of all life. Myths about the origin of the world tell of a huge expanse of water.
The Nenets have three versions of the creation of the earth. First version: two gods “Num” and “Nga” were involved in the birth of the earth: “Nga stuck his hand into the water and took the sand, but it slipped between his fingers. Then Num took a handful of sand and shaped it into a cake. Secondly, in the creation of the earth there is a biblical cosmogony, where God from the very beginning acts as the only creator and “world organizer”, and all stages of creation - the “six days” - are acts of his creative will: “Considering a great being (arka) and immortal (hanga ida yangu), they attribute to him alone the creations of the world (ya'), spirits (tadebtsii) and man (khazova)." Third - The earth was raised from the bottom of the ocean by a bird. The Nenets legend about the universe has similarities with Finno-Ugric legends about the creation of the earth by God and a loon.
What is common in the myths common among all groups of Nenets is the plot according to which in the beginning everything was covered by a vast expanse of water. At the command of the demiurge god, the loon dives under the water and takes out a lump of clay from the bottom, from which the earth was created. The diving bird is an image associated with
as much with the Upper World, since all birds are connected with the sky, as with the Lower World. Therefore, the lower spirit, embodied in the loon, turns out to be an accomplice in creation. Particular emphasis is placed on giving the initially shaky earth stability, achieved by erecting a large stone (the Ural Mountains; in another Nenets myth, the inviolability of the earth is supported by the support of the earth located in the underground world).
The further structure of the world is often associated with the activities of the two demiurges “Numa” and “Nga”: “Everything that Num created, Ngiliko (Nga) also created, but always twice as much.” Moreover, “Nga” initially showed himself to be a much more active creator of the animal world than “Num”. Thus, “Num” created the hare, deer, squirrel, sable, arctic fox and dog, and “Nga” in response created the wolf and other predatory animals. "Num" created the partridge, and "Nga" created the crow. In addition, “Nga” became the creator of pike, burbot and harmful insects: mosquitoes, midges, gadflies and spiders. The animals created by “Nga”, at least many of them, underwent recoding by “Num” - having received a special distinctive sign, they were counted among his creations and changed their orientation: “Num got angry with Nga, took his staff and hit spiders. They immediately decreased. Num says to the spiders: “From now on you will eat the insects that Nga created.” And people now tell children not to kill spiders, since they are considered sacred.
Regarding the emergence of people in Nenets mythology, there is an idea of the integrity of man and nature. Man is not opposed to Nature. His energy is not aimed at overcoming the forces of nature, dominating it, but rather at preserving the order of things established once and for all. The indissoluble connection of a social community with the land, beliefs and rituals with a specific area is one of the most characteristic features religions of traditional society. Here a person feels his connection with the earth and as a connection with his sacred past, with his ancestors, with the heroes of mythology.
The anthropogonic myths of the Nenets were, of course, influenced by biblical ideas: the demiurge fashions images of a man and a woman from clay and blows a soul into them. He created man “at first good and sinless.” “Nga” here also acts as the culprit of the fall of man and the root cause of all his troubles: “in order to deprive the Samoyed of earthly happiness, the devil... spat on him, and his whole body became covered with pimples” and “with the sinful fall of man, according to Samoyed legend, it ended and the favor of the Supreme deity towards man. Because of this, the Samoyed considers himself unworthy to turn to him with requests, except for the most extreme needs and hopeless situation.”
Legends, myths and fairy tales tell about the dog’s long-standing connection with “Nga”, who deprived it of its purity and endowed it with the ability to see evil spirits. The version about a dog receiving fur from the dark demiurge as a reward for allowing him to “spoil” the first man is known in the mythology of the Udmurts, Mari, Mordovians, Komi-Zyryans, Khanty, Altai Turks, Evenks. In Nenets mythology, ideas about a dog reflect two aspects: the relationship with humans and the relationship to the world of spirits. And the image of the dog included not only negative, but also positive traits.
The role of animals, as well as the animal (zoomorphic) element in general, in mythology is exceptionally great. The animal acts as a cultural hero who can combine two roles - the creator of certain cosmic elements (the structure of the earth) and the founder of a new cultural and social tradition (the structure of society, teaching crafts, etc.).
Legends about the creation of man, in which the dog played a significant role, are found among the Finno-Ugric population, as well as among the Khasi tribe in Assam. The Mari tell the story of the creation of the world, reminiscent of some episodes from Nenets legends. We find the same story among the Komi. Among the Khanty, as punishment for disobedience and failure to follow instructions, “Torum” turned the first guilty person into a dog.
The cosmogonic cycle also includes myths about the Flood, which were influenced by biblical tales. Describing the history of the Flood, with an explanation of the reasons for this worldwide event, the missionary learns that the Nenets also have a legend “about this Holy Water, and... that all people descended, both initially and after the Flood, from one couple, or the family of Noah ".
According to a Nenets myth, there once grew a birch tree with seven branches and seven roots, to which people went to worship and make sacrifices, but its roots began to rot, and when the last one rotted, the tree fell. Blood gushed from its trunk, and then a stream of water that swallowed up all the rivers. Thus began the great flood. People escaped from him on a raft, on which they took one representative of each type of animal, and the great shamans - on the top of a sacred mountain. The flood was stopped by a powerful shaman who directed the water into the rivers.
In another Nenets myth, the flood is only the first of three disasters that befell humanity: it was followed by a terrible drought and famine, and only a young man and a girl survived. From them came the new human race. Legends about the flood also include “sikhir-tya”, who took refuge in the hills during a strong flood of the Ob, Yenisei and Pechora rivers.
The Forest Nenets have a legend where they, together with the Khanty and Russians, first lived amicably, and then quarreled. “Num Nisya” ordered them to go to different places: the eldest to the Ob, the middle and youngest to the cold regions. But after some time, ice started coming from the north and there was a lot of water. People escaped on the island. The water flowed for seven days. Then it was summer for three years, and the water dried up everywhere, all the animals disappeared [PMA].
Legends about the division of the people into various tribes and languages belong to the same period, where the cause is “pandemonium, and through what thoughts people reached
to such an insane action." One of the legends was recorded by T. Lehtisalo. In it, the people who inhabited the land spoke Nenets. One day they began to build a staircase to climb to heaven, but “Num” destroyed it, and only the Nenets, Khanty, Komi-Zyryans and Russians remained alive. After futile attempts to understand each other, they went their separate ways.
Khanty folklore had a noticeable influence on the synthesis of images of Nenets deities. It is the main material for characterizing not only the Khanty culture, but also the nature of relations between the Khanty and the Nenets.
In this regard, we can note one of the most multifunctional deities - “Yav-mal”, who is considered the ancestor of all spirits of water, rivers and sea, the deity of air and wind, which fill the entire visible world and give life to everything on earth. According to several versions of researcher T. Lehtisalo, collected in the Purovsky and Tazovsky regions, this is a Khanty spirit that outwitted the god “Nga”. Yu. Kushelevsky, examining the image of “Yaumal”, also noted its connection with “Masterko” - “the forest and river god, the eldest, who has all others under command and obedience.” About the idol of Masterko, “all the foreigners of the Berezovsky district, Ostyaks and Samoyeds from everywhere go to worship him, but they don’t seem to show anyone where he is, but instead they seem to show his likeness.”
In the journal report of priest E. Ponomarev, we find information about “the Trinity shaitan - Masterko, the main idol, respected by all Ostyaks and partly Samoyeds... that all Russians know and revere him, the authorities know about him and do not forbid anyone to bow to him. .. From the story about Troitsky, I learned that to make sacrifices to him, the Ostyaks and Samoyeds go every year to the village of Troitsky, for butts they bring him the best fox skins and money in significant sums, in addition, after three, sometimes seven years, secret collectors go to whom the promised butts are handed over, in return for which they are sacrificed
"Theirs receive insignificant little things from Trowel - rings, belts, cloth scraps and others."
Yu. B. Simchenko believes that the ancestral home of “Yav’mal” is Altai, he “rides a horse and waves a saber.” One legend says that “Yav’mal hehe” is a shaman who ascended to heaven and remained there to serve “Num” [PMA]. When traveling to the reindeer herders' camps, we were lucky enough to see in the sacred sledges of N. Khudi, Y. Khudi, N. Kh. Sero-tetto, Kh. Kh. Vanuito the image of the deity “Yav'mal” in the form of a saber, which was wrapped in many colored ribbons and tissues [PMA].
The Khanty influence on Nenets mythology can be seen in the example of a deity named “Yaptik hekhe”, where T. Lehtisalo’s informants considered him the son-in-law of the Khanty deity “Ort iki”. His image was brought to religious holidays, which were dedicated to the Khanty spirit. The deity “Yaptik hehe” patronized the Yaptik family and was depicted in the form of a dog. The place of worship of this deity, as noted by V.N. Chernetsov, “is located on the Yuribey River (Yaptik hae). According to various sources, his sanctuary is located on the eastern shore of Yamal, between Cape Peu-sala and Nakhodka Bay. This is the habitat of the son of Num (Num nu), who walked here in former times. It used to be warm, and then the first snowstorm came, the son of Numa got lost. It was in Yuribey. Now here is a sacred place, and the son of Numa himself lives here." White dogs are sacrificed to him. “Yap-tik-hehe” is used in case of serious illness. According to some reports, he has an older brother, "Pongarme Iriko". A. Bushevich noted that the shamans called him as an assistant during their travels, and with him they could “go to any of the worlds, no matter what horrors loomed there.”
One of the most negative mythological and folklore female images is "Parne". The etymology of “Parne” is not clear: parallels with the Khanty and Mansi “porne”, “pornyng” are possible. “Par-ne”, “palny” is a rather ancient image, found in many
myths, legends and fairy tales of the Nenets, Khanty and Mansi. He has deep historical roots, dating back to the pagan era. Over the course of several centuries, among three neighboring cultures, the mythical character “parne” was mutually supplemented with features and details that turned out to be so mutually acceptable that even its etymology was accepted by Nenets folklore in the most relaxed way.
In Mansi folklore, “porne” is a female creature tricked into marriage. In Khanty mythology: “porne” - some call it a forest spirit living in the hollows of trees, others say that it lives along the banks of rivers and lakes, eats frogs and snakes. In their case, this character is clearly hostile towards people. The Nenets divide “parne” into good and evil: “par-ne, after all, there are two kinds (tenz). Some are a little more people, with long claws and evil ones, they scratch people, and with a tail, while others are kind and - like people - without a tail." According to T. Lekhtisalo, M.A. Kastrena “parne” lives in the depths of the forest under a stump or on a tree and does not show itself to people.
As a result of cultural ties with the Russian-Zyryan population, Nicholas the Wonderworker (of Myra) organically fit into the religious traditions of the Nenets. The spread of the cult of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - “Mikola Mut-ratna” among the Nenets of the Obdorsky region occurred through contact with the European Nenets, Komi-Zyryans, Khanty and Russians: “The Samoyeds believed in the power of this saint and even gave him various vows in extreme cases in which they their idols could not help." The assumption that this cult came from the Komi-Zyryans is the very sound of the “Russian” name of the saint “Mikola”, “Nikola”, in the Komi-Zyryan version - “Mykola”. The Nenets began to call Nicholas the Wonderworker the Komi-Zyryans and Pomors “Mikola” with the addition of “Mutratna”.
Particularly widespread among the Nenets were stories about meetings with saints, spirits who recommended making sacrifices not to idols, but to God: “However, the Samoyeds begin... with the following vision, as if
if two Samoyeds in white clothes and on white deer, riding through the air, appeared to one Samoyed in the Karachen tundra, from whom he heard a voice commanding that the Samoyeds should not perform sacrificial services to the hayam and would throw them all away, but would give this worship to Numai himself; why now they crush deer not in front of the hays, but in every place, turning actions and sayings to Numai.”
When considering the question of the influence of Christianity on the formation of images of other Nenets deities and their introduction into the local pantheon, one should keep in mind what was carried out by the Russian-Zyryan population with the help of Russian missionary activities Orthodox Church, which carried out extensive cultural and educational work among the indigenous population. As N.A. Kostomarov writes: “All the lives of saints, including Russians, were compiled according to one recipe: ready-made examples of miracles from the Old and New Testaments were taken to depict the miracles of the saint. So, for example, the episode with the prophet Jonah during the sailing of a ship on the sea was also an example for the miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra...”
Legends about Nicholas the Wonderworker were spread among the Nenets mainly by Komi reindeer herders. According to the interpretation of shamans and the beliefs of the Nenets, Nicholas the Wonderworker protected a person from predatory animals while hunting. One of the tales of the Komi-Zyryans tells about a reindeer herder who went hunting, fell through the ice and began to drown. Suddenly a gray-haired old man appeared from somewhere, handed him his staff and pulled him out of the water. The reindeer herder-hunter, wanting to thank his savior later, asked him where he lived. an old man replied that on earth it can only be seen in the large stone church in Ob-dorsk. When the hunter appeared in the church, he recognized the old man who saved him on the icon of “Mykola the Saint.” K. D. Nosilov recorded the legend of the meeting of the reindeer herder Yaptik with St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It also talks about a tall, gray-haired old man in white clothes who helped him get ashore during a blizzard.
The legends about “Mikola Mutratna” were extremely simple, easily understood and popular among the people: “Since ancient times, and even more since the time of the missions, when the Samoyeds came into close contact with the Russians, and heard the stories of their fellow tribesmen who had converted. They recognized the Christian God and especially the holy wonderworker Nicholas, the intercessor of the Russians.” In legends, Nicholas the Wonderworker is an assistant to people in the most difficult everyday circumstances, a protector of the innocently persecuted and oppressed, as well as a guardian on the waters: “The Samoyeds consider the elder Mikulai, or the Russian Nicholas the Wonderworker, to be the god of the father, who lives in seventh heaven and exiled his son to land for torment. Along the thread he feels what is happening on the ground." On the Kanin Peninsula, “the syadei patron of fishing is identified by some Kanin Samoyeds (this is also observed in other tundras) with the Christian Nicholas the Pleasant.”
By territorial we mean gods and spirits that have gone beyond the boundaries of the clan and become more or less widespread. There were extremely many territorial gods and spirits at the time in question. These included: 1) owners of relatively large rivers, lakes, mountains, and unusual rocks; 2) “Nuv’hekhe”, i.e. heavenly people - “these are... warriors in human form who eat iron bread. They draw water from the sea with seven vessels. The northern lights appear when spirits shoot, and the arrows freeze in the sea"; 3) souls of deceased shamans; 4) the souls of people who died prematurely and became heroes or patron spirits of the clan; 5) Syadei.
Some of them were revered within two or three clan groups or one or two volosts, others - significant geographical areas - counties or districts. Some of them, especially the owners of vast territories, mountain systems, large rivers and lakes, or any spheres human activity, acquired a common Samoyedic meaning: “There are many spirits
in the sky, in the air, in the water. All of them are inaccessible for contact with living people." Ideas about the role and functions of deities and spirits in different places and in different time modified, but still each deity or group of spirits was the personification of very specific phenomena of the real world. They “do not enter into the private life of the Samoyed, but manage abstract concepts that form a mysterious connection between inanimate objects and a supernatural higher being, and perform miracles.”
Not all deities were considered equally influential. Some of them occupied a more, others less significant place. Of these, the female deities “Ya’Minya”, “Ya’Myunya”, “Ya’Nebya” especially stand out. These images convey the Nenets’ ideas about how the world works and how its individual parts relate to each other: “Ya’Minya” - the Upper World. This is the world of gods and light. “I’Nebya” - The Middle World (earth, world of people). “Ya’Myunya” - The lower world, where underground creatures hostile to people and dark forces live.
“Ya’Minya” received the functions of the patroness of women under the influence of the Russian and Komi-Zyryan population at the end of the 18th - early XIX V. The goddess “Ya’Minya” gave a soul to a newborn and subsequently influenced the health and successful development of the child who was under her protection. She wrote down her decision about what fate should be in special book- “Il’padar”; “According to Khasovo beliefs, each person is supposed to live a certain amount of time and perform certain deeds. All this is stated on everyone’s personal sheet,” wrote L. Kostikov.
The image of the goddess “I’m Heaven” occupies a special position in mythology and its origin is not clear, at least ambiguous. Even in modern mythology, the image of “I’m not” combines several main features that characterize it as a representative of the world of the gods. Firstly, she is always an old woman, possessing supernatural powers that only the gods possess. "I don't-
"bya" controls nature, it has close connections with the elements of air and water. Secondly, she has a connection with the underworld. She punishes violations of the laws known to her, that is, she administers justice. In a word, she acts as a triune goddess - “Ya’Minya”, “Ya’Mu-nya”, “Ya’Nebya”. She is Mother Nature, the living biosphere of the planet and the power of the elements. We consider the cult of “I’m Neby” to be a general Nenets cult.
The deity “Numgimpoy” was worshiped by the Taz and Gydan Nenets. The legends of the Yamal Nenets say that the upper part of the Numgympoy chum was demolished by an arrow. Birds flying over his chum fell like stones into this hole. That's why there are a lot of bird bones in the plague. The Tazov Nenets say that once “Numgimpoy” was a shaman who traveled through the sky for seven years. In the seventh year, he “sank with fire to the upper reaches of the Taz” and “threw a spark the size of lightning” onto people’s heads. Compared to other deities and spirits, "Numgympoy" looks like a great celestial being, in other words, he acts as a somewhat more distant deity from the human community.
According to Nenets beliefs, the celestials also included “Ilebyampertya” (“ilebts” - wild deer, “il” - life, “perts” - to do, graze, guard) - the patron of domestic deer, the owner of wild deer. According to folklore texts, “Ilebyam’pertya” is a person who during his lifetime did many good deeds and “Num” gave him the right to give people deer, game and patronize reindeer husbandry. In the legend “The Orphan of Heno”, two brothers from the “Heno” clan for helping people: the eldest turned “into a spirit. He began to protect the Heno clan. The younger Heno Evako became the spirit of Ilebyampertya." There is another version that “Ilebyampertya” is selected from among unusual people by “Num”: “among the Siberian tundra Yuraks I heard numerous myths according to which the spirits of sacred places are ancient people endowed with unearthly power.”
The main patron of the White Island was “Sir Iri” (“sir” - white, “iri” - old man).
People created a legend about him: “There lived a Samoyed in Yamal. He once went fishing and got lost in the fog. A terrible storm arose and carried the man to heaven. There he came to God's house. This deity had a daughter. Then this man himself became a god and descended to earth, and with him the daughter of God. On earth, this man said to God’s daughter: “I will take the White Island and live there, I give you Yamal. Sit at Khaen-Sale opposite me, and we will live like this. And for a long time this woman stood alone on Yamal, and he himself sat down on the island - this was Sir Iriku.”
Numerous myths explain various natural phenomena. In the minds of the Nenets, the cold is sent by the giant bull of the north, living in the ice sea, at the northern edge of the sky. In winter, his breath manifests itself in flames (the northern lights), and in summer - in the form of rain clouds. When a bull sheds its faded fur, it snows; when it blows, a cold wind rises; when it stands still, it is cold; when it moves, it gets warmer. Among the Nenets, the blizzard is personified by an unkempt, angry old woman with long gray hair; when she combs it, the dandruff turns into snow.
In the general pantheon of the Nenets in the 18th - early 20th centuries. territorial deities occupied a predominant place. Sacrifices were made to each of them, collective and individual, bloody and bloodless. There were legends, traditions, or simply stories about each of them; prayer texts were composed in their honor, performed by shamans during the ritual of sacrifice or during the consecration of their images.
Concluding the description of deities and spirits, it should be especially emphasized that in the 18th - early 20th centuries. There was often no sharp line between territorial, clan and family cults among the Nenets; their functions in ethnic terms often varied. Like other deities and spirits, family cults were dedicated to collective and private prayers, many of them had their own images. Knowledge of ancestral spirits and their genealogies was an indispensable duty of shamans.
The influence of the Russian-Zyryan population on the indigenous peoples could not pass without a trace, but the opposite effect also occurred, i.e. the Russians and Komi-Zyryans themselves adopted a lot from their neighbors: “The borrowing of foreign cultural customs and language by Russians in the east is an undoubted fact. Then, when living together with foreigners, the borrowed habits became even more
great development." The impact of the religious ideas of indigenous peoples on the worldview of the Russian-speaking population suggests that they still had their own pagan traditions and superstitions: “Russians, having gotten along with unbaptized peoples, forgot to even wear crosses, do not keep fast days and communicate with unbaptized women.” .
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1. Vanuito Khobka, born in 1917. - private reindeer herder, pensioner, Yarsalinskaya tundra.
2. Hoodie Nyudikhasovo, born in 1926. - private reindeer herder, r. Yuribey, Yamal region.
3. Khudi Yatti Nikolaevich, born in 1938 - pensioner, Novy Port settlement, Yamal region.
4. Khudi Yarkolava, born in 1926. - pensioner, b. Yuribey, Yamal region.
5. Khudi Tosana Edeychevich, born in 1930. - pensioner, Yarsale village, Yamal region.
6. Heno Irina Sergeevna, born in 1952 - Tarko-Sale village.
7. Heno Sergey, born in 1928. - pensioner, fisherman, Tarkosalinskaya tundra.
8. Yaptik Yavlada Khalevich, born in 1935. - private reindeer herder, Seyakhinskaya tundra, Yamal region, shaman of the sevtan category.
9. Yaptik Edeiko Anikovich, born in 1929. - private reindeer herder, Yamal tundra, Yamal region.
The religious beliefs of the Nenets were dominated by animistic ideas (Anima - soul, hence “animism”). All the world seemed to them inhabited by spirits - hehe. Rivers, lakes, and natural phenomena had their spirit masters. People's lives and success in their trades depended on them. The spirits were good, helping people in all matters, and evil, sending illnesses and various misfortunes to people. The propitiation of spirits and deities was accomplished through sacrifices.
In Nenets mythology, the Universe is represented as three worlds, located vertically one above the other - Upper World, Middle World, Lower World. The upper world is located above the earth and consists of seven heavens inhabited by divine creatures. The middle world is the Earth; in addition to people, it is inhabited by numerous spirits - the masters of everything that surrounds a person in his earthly life. The land is flat, surrounded by the sea. The lower world is located underground and also consists of seven tiers, where evil spirits live, bringing illness and death. Sikhirtya live on the first, their sky is our land. Sikhirtya graze earthen deer ( I'm choir).
According to the Nenets, the creator of all life on earth was Num, dwelling in heaven. Num controls the Universe: the changes of winter and summer, heat and cold, wind, storms.
It was believed that Numa have a wife I'm Munya and sons. According to some sources, among his sons Nga is the spirit of death and illness. A white deer was annually sacrificed to the spirit of heaven Numa. The sacrifice was carried out in an open, elevated place. They ate the meat. The head with horns was put on a stake and placed with its muzzle to the east.
The evil principle was identified with the name of the spirit Nga- rulers of the underworld, where the souls of the dead went after death. The souls of sinners are doomed to an eternal and joyless existence in the kingdom Nga. He hunted for the souls of people like a hunter after an animal. Nga devoured the soul and the body died.
In the Lower World, except Nga, evil spirits of disease live. Habcha minrena- an evil spirit that brings disease. Madna- a spirit that brings ugliness to people and animals. Iŋutsyada- a spirit that deprives a person of reason. Khansosyada- an evil spirit that takes away the mind. Teri Namgae- spirits in the form of various underground creatures. Sustana– the spirit of the disease dystrophy. Mal′ teŋga- a mythical creature, without a mouth or anus, with only a sense of smell.
When sacrificing to evil spirits, the contents of the deer's stomach are left in the form of seven pieces.
The lives of the inhabitants of the Middle World are ruled by two patronesses I'm Heaven- bright mother earth and Guys don't- sinner. The first directs the human race to good deeds, the second lives in sin and directs the bad deeds of man.
In the Middle World, according to the beliefs of the Nenets, spirits also live - the masters of elemental forces and natural phenomena. The following basic ideas existed about them. Wind ( flickering) is caused by the mythical bird Minley, which has seven pairs of wings. Thunder ( heh) is the noise of a sledge on which the sons of the North are going to fight the South in order to take his daughter from him. Lightning ( hehe tu) - sacred fire. These are sparks that fly from under the runners of the sledges of the inhabitants of the upper world. According to another version, thunderstorms are a type of bird that lives in the sea. They move on clouds. When they open their mouths, lightning zigzags out, and thunder is their speech. Rainbow ( nouveau sir) - appeared as stripes on the clothes of Heaven ( Numa). Thunderstorm - hehe Sarah. Blizzard ( had)– usually introducing himself as an old woman with long gray hair.
Patron spirits of the surrounding nature:
Ilebyam pertya- owner and giver of furs, game, animals, keeper of reindeer herds.
Eid erv" – the owner of all water on earth (literally “chief of water”).
Yaha'erv- the owner of this river.
Siiv min erv- master of the winds.
Tu' hada- grandmother of fire.
Nenets folklore is characterized by personification (personification): along with heroes actor is the tale itself weneko. This technique is widespread in fairy tales, where an animate creature is called lahanako- a word.
Legend of the Grooms
(Literary adaptation by Prokopiy Yavtysy)
It was a long time ago, when the Wind and the Moon drank tea on the Savdeya Hills, and the swans brought them water in teapots. There lived at that time two young Nenets. People called one Merchahad - Stormy Wind. The second had the name Nermindya - Forward Going. They fell in love with one girl, the beautiful Arcata - Big Hearth. We came to her. So, they say, choose one of us as your husband. She thought: both are beautiful, both are handsome. Whom to choose as a husband? And she decided so - let the competition between them show who is stronger and more dexterous. The winner will enter his tent with his young wife.
The suitors began to compete. Tynzei to catch deer. This is the most important thing for a tundra dweller - to catch a deer from the herd. Merchahad seems to be stronger, he throws a tynzey on the stag, he stands rooted to the spot. And if he twitches, he yanks him to the ground: But Nermindya turned out to be more skillful. When Arkatu fired her gun into the air, ending their competition, he had more deer caught.
Merchahad got angry. He threw the tynzey and threw it over the hill. And he said to his opponent:
- Try the same!
I threw my Nermindya tynzey three times, but I couldn’t get it to Merchakhada’s tynzey. The bride postponed the competition to next fall.
And now a year has passed. The suitors are arguing again. The caught deer were counted equally. Merchahad threw his tynzey to a distant swamp. And Nermindi’s tynzey fell nearby. Then Merchahad says:
- Tie my feet:
With his legs tied, he jumped over the swamp in three leaps. Mercyakhada has strong legs! Shouts to the opponent:
- Now you jump!
But Nermindya knows that he won’t be able to do it so cleverly. What to do? He sees that there are four sledges standing near the tent. He began to jump over them back and forth. Jumped a hundred times! And when Merchakhad started jumping, he missed at the fortieth jump. Nartu broke and went lame!.. again no one won. The bride had to set a new date.
The new autumn has come and invited the suitors to the competition. And again they are equal in everything. Deer are caught deftly. Tynzey is thrown far. They jump over the sled with two legs in three leaps. They are not inferior to each other in any way. And then a flock of geese flies above them, flying away from winter.
- Hey, Merchahad! - Nerminda shouts. - hit the goose's wing with your hatchet!
Merchahad threw his hatchet and missed. He flashed an unkind eye and said:
- Hey, Nerminda! If you pull a bird from the sky with a hatchet, your bride will be:
He said so and lost. I didn’t know that his opponent had been learning to throw a hatchet all summer. Merchahad turned into a stormy wind out of anger. Everything flies around the tundra, wants to take revenge for the insult. He tries to knock anyone in front of him off his feet. If he breaks into the tent, he will leave the hearth without fire. But the wind is powerless in front of a person for whom the tundra is his father’s land.
This is the legend told by the old tundra dweller. Deep sources emerged in it, feeding the modest flowers of the tundra king-berry cloudberry with spring power. The five types of Nenets competitions seem to me like the five petals of that flower.
We do not know what the Nenets called their religion at the end of the 16th century - early XVIII centuries. The words “shamanism” and “shaman” were not in their language. The concept of "shamanism" ("shamanism") appeared in literature a very long time ago - in the 18th century. The word "shaman", taken from the Evenki language, is mentioned in written sources of an even earlier time: in the "unsubscribes" and "arrivals" of Russian servicemen, in yasak books and other documents of the 17th century: and a little later - in the writings of foreigners who described the customs peoples of Siberia [Tokarev, 1990, p. 267]. Through Russian settlers it spread throughout Siberia, and then penetrated into Western European languages and became an international scientific term.
Existing definitions of the term "shamanism" vary. Scientists interpret the essence of this phenomenon differently, but almost everyone agrees that a shaman is a priest in his society who acts as an intermediary between his team and the supernatural world of deities. Therefore, in order to correctly understand the functions of a shaman, we must first become familiar with the general ideas of the Nenets about the world around them.
According to the traditional worldview of the Nenets people, plants, animals, people, as well as invisible forces, designated by the term “spirits,” are creatures of a single Nature that are in constant interaction. The religious psychology of the Nenets is characterized by a feeling of dependence on supernatural forces surrounding the reindeer herder, hunter and fisherman.
In the Nenets religion, the personification of nature is based on the principles of an ancient dualistic worldview, characteristic of the early stages of the development of social consciousness. According to the Nenets, every object or phenomenon of the surrounding nature, be it a river or lake, tree or stone, bird or animal, etc., has its own “owner” - an independent creature, as if merged with this object or phenomenon. This perception is one of the manifestations of the ideology of shamanism, based on animistic ideas associated with the deification of nature and the veneration of the animal world.
The Nenets have a very numerous and complex pantheon, including dozens of names: Ilebyam "pertya (bertya) - the god of abundance who gives people deer, Cuy-Nga-Nisya - the father of seven deaths, Ya" Minya - the patron goddess of birth and the earth, YamalNe - the goddess Yamala, I "Sky - Mother Earth, etc. These gods are, essentially, the personification of the forces and elements of nature and act as patrons different types human activity.
The most important place in the pantheon is occupied by two images of gods. One of them is Num, the personification of the shining sky. This is the supreme deity who resides in the celestial zone of the Universe and controls the destinies of peoples. He also controls the fates of shamans. The appearance of Num remains not entirely clear to us. The word Num denotes both the invisible abstract deity - Num Vesoko, and the heavens as the sphere of the Universe - num"tid (nu"tid), where shamans rise.
The second image is associated with the underworld, where, according to the views of the Nenets, spirits hostile to people live. This is the head of the spirits of the lower world, NgaWesoko. Ideas about Nga Wesoko are also not entirely clear. The Nenets believe that this formidable deity feeds on blood food and the souls of dead people and every time demands victims. In case of their absence or dissatisfaction with gifts, he sends various disasters, illnesses and death to the people. After the death of a guilty person, Nga takes his soul into his service and sends him to earth to cause harm to all living things. Nga lives on the ninth tier of the underworld, reached by shamans who make sacrifices. According to the myths and legends of the Nenets, Nga participated in the creation of the world. In some legends, Num and Nga are called brothers.
The inhabitants of the Lower World include Mad"na - the spirit of freaks, Habtsya" Minrena - the spirit of all diseases, Khansosyada - the spirit that takes away the mind, Ya "Vol - the spirit of evil of the earth, etc. Eye diseases, leprosy, paralysis were explained by the machinations of aliens from this hostile country , diarrhea, abscesses, scurvy, etc. The life of the inhabitants of the Lower World in legends and myths is depicted as similar to the life of people.
Nenets gods and spirits are a fantastic reflection of the Nenets themselves, their aspirations, desires, tastes and needs. In accordance with their concepts and peculiarities of mental activity, the Nenets also imagined forms of communication with these creatures, believing that they could be influenced through sacrifices, pleasing and bribing with treats. The weaker a person felt, the more abundant the sacrifices were.
Ideas about the relationship between people and the world of gods and spirits also led to belief in the need to adhere to certain norms of behavior that ensure the preservation of existing relationships with supernatural beings. Violation of established rules, according to the Nenets, displeases the gods and spirits and leads to disharmony, manifested in the occurrence of diseases, epidemics, fires, droughts and other misfortunes and natural disasters. Moral and ethical standards in relation to deities and spirits among the Nenets people were clearly and unambiguously defined and assumed unconditional submission.
Perhaps the largest part of religious and ethical norms is associated with a person’s stay in nature: in the tundra, on the water, in the taiga, etc. The rules of conduct in such places were determined primarily by the veneration of the spirit masters of the area and reflected the dependence of people on the forces nature. According to the religious views of the Nenets, there are master spirits on earth: the owner of the mountains is Pe "Erv, the owner of the forest zone is Padara Ere, the owner of the sea is Yav" Erv, the owner of the lake is ToEre, the owner of the river is Yakha "Erv, etc. They are usually visited every believer is converted. The increase in the number of deer and the health and well-being of people allegedly depend on their will. It was believed that for violation of religious and ethical norms, these “non-human beings” are punished here, on this earth, during the lifetime, and not after the death of the offender. which, of course, strengthened the Nenets’ sense of not only dependence, but also fear. Any misfortune was considered as a punishment. With the help of the shaman, they usually found out which of the spirits had sent the punishment and for what, how to mitigate it or get rid of it, what sacrifice to make in atonement. .
In general, the rules of behavior boiled down to a series of various prohibitions that protected the peace of the spirits-owners of a given area and their wealth from people. All host spirits in themselves are neither good nor evil, but they can be friendly or unfriendly towards a person, depending on his behavior: if he shows due respect for them, observes established prohibitions, hunting rules, and does not act unnecessarily cruel , kills animals only in the required quantity, then the spirits are merciful to him and send game. If the rules are broken, they get angry and punish the person. These prohibitions reflect the careful attitude of the Nenets to the natural environment, which has a rational basis, confirmed by the experience of living and farming in local conditions of many generations of reindeer herders, hunters and fishermen.
Here are some standards of behavior. While in the tundra or taiga hunting animals, it is prohibited to shout, whistle, laugh loudly or talk. You cannot pollute the water in rivers and lakes, since the owner of the water, Id Erv, does not tolerate this and sooner or later punishes disrespect with various troubles and diseases. Some Nenets talk about the inadmissibility of uprooting grass, motivating this ban in this way: grass - the hair of the earth and the owner of the earth - I "Erv is angry for the pain caused to her, and punishes the guilty.
Violation of the rules of behavior towards spirits and deities in family life also entailed various types of punishment. These rules coexisted with ethical norms that determined the forms of behavior among relatives, which developed on the basis of the classification system of kinship with its division into elders and younger ones. Violation of ethics in relations between people was condemned in customary law, mainly in the educational aspect. But as soon as the norms of behavior that prescribe respect for spirits were violated, a punishment followed, which caused significant damage to the violator - illness or other misfortune.
It was considered completely unacceptable to desecrate the fire by throwing garbage and sewage into it, putting sharp iron objects into the fire, stepping over the fireplace, or stepping on the ashes. It was impossible to deviate from the daily feeding and treating the fire with pieces of food and drinks that were part of the diet of the owners of the plague. For neglecting the listed norms of behavior, the owner or mistress of the fire - Tu "Erv or Tu" Khada - punished the inhabitants of the home with various diseases and deprived them of their protection from evil spirits.
Every family keeps images of the patron spirits of the home: the mistress of the plague - Myadpukhutsa. ancestor spirit - ngytyrma or sidryang. As before, they are made by special people and consecrated by shamans. According to Nenets beliefs, there are many gods and spirits in the world with specific purposes and functions; they determine the entire course of life - birth, illness, death, good luck, misfortune, etc. At the head of all gods and spirits is the Eternal Num Vesoko, who sees and knows everything.
Restoring the harmony disturbed in nature is the main purpose of the shaman, predetermined from above. To achieve this goal, shamans are endowed with the gift of clairvoyance - internal vision (sevtana) and all-vision, magical hearing (yabta inzeles) - the ability to see and perceive the consequences of disturbances of the “forces of nature”. In times distant from our days, a kind of law of the relationship between the shaman and nature was established: the shaman is obliged to honor his ancestors, strictly observe the ancient customs of the tundra, taiga, mountains, rivers, honor and appease the spirit owners of the fishing grounds (hehe "seda) and, the main thing is to protect the clan from the spirits of illness and misfortune (ngyliko. habtsango minrena and teri ngamze).
The meaning of life among the Nenets lies in offspring, happiness, and keeping the behests of their fathers. The purpose of life is multifaceted - material well-being, health and long life, affirmation of one’s “I”, etc. Shamans, relying on traditional values, acted as an authoritative regulator of the social life of reindeer herders, fishermen and hunters. Religious and ethical norms that affirmed traditional morality touched literally all aspects of a person’s life and prescribed a certain type of behavior in order to appease supernatural forces.
As in other religions, Nenets shamanism presents universal moral requirements: do not kill, do not steal, respect your parents, do not wish harm to your neighbor, etc. According to shamanic ideas, evil is punishable, therefore you cannot lie, deceive, offend orphans and the sick and etc. The principle of “khyvy” or “khyvy, ilar vevangengu” (“sin” or “sin! You will have bad life") acted effectively.
There were special regulations and prohibitions for women. Women could not participate in public sacrifice (khan'ty), ride a deer dedicated to deities, visit places of worship, etc.; they were not allowed at the shaman initiation ceremony, making and feeding of certain categories of syadai (idols). Women were considered unclean during time and after childbirth and menstruation. Menstrual blood, according to shamanic beliefs, defiles not only the woman herself, but also her home and husband. Therefore, in order to return to household and family affairs, after childbirth and menstruation, a woman must undergo a cleansing ritual (nibtes). ).
The Nenets have developed regulations and prohibitions related to cooking and eating food. There were strict rules for slaughtering an animal, cutting up the carcass, and distributing meat among participants in sacrifices to spirits. It was obligatory to treat the household spirits with pieces of fresh meat and wine; it was forbidden to eat the meat of certain animals and birds, such as ermine, fox, loon, eagle, crow, seagull, and swan.
The role of shamans in the religious-moral and religious-legal life of their society was especially great. They interpreted the will of the gods and explained who the gods or spirits took and why. The sphere of influence of shamanism included power relations, economics and culture.