The article is devoted to the use of non-ethnic attributes in traditional cultures of indigenous peoples of the north of Western Siberia. The source is the products of Russian artisans of the XVIII-XIX centuries: silver and copper saucers mainly with hunting scenes, made for the needs of foreigners. Variants of their use in the ritual practice of the Ob Ugrians are considered. Product characteristics and attribution are given. The use of Russian metal tableware is considered in the context of a long cultural tradition: the existence of non-ethnic metal vessels (made in Iran, Central Asia, Volga Bulgaria, the Kama region, etc.) in the religious and ritual practice of the Khants and Mansi.
Keywords: Tobolsk, workshops, silver, saucers, Khanty, Mansi, tradition, sanctuaries, rituals.
Introduction
During the 19th and 20th centuries, many Russian-made silver, copper, and tin saucers were found in Mansi and Khanty home and village shrines*. This phenomenon reflected the long-standing tradition of using silver vessels in rituals.
Religious and mythological representations of the Ob Ugrians during the second millennium AD were largely transmitted through ritual practice. Its core was the cult paraphernalia, in which metal products stood out. Other ethnic attributes played a decisive role in this process: silver vessels from Iran and Central Asia, which arrived in Siberia in the IX-XII centuries, formed the tradition of using sacred (silver) metal products in the rituals of the Ob Ugrians. Unique examples of Eastern toreutics became the center of ritual practice, and the subjects presented on them contributed to the development of mythological representations and iconography of the Ob Ugrians (Chernetsov, 1947; Baulo, 1999).
In the IX-XIV centuries, merchants of the Kama region and Volga Bulgaria entered into trade relations with the inhabitants of the Ob region. Their products continued the tradition of promoting eastern silver to the north; an innovation was the production ...
Read more