Article

Name: Visiting the Ob old man: the rite of worship of As tyi iki

Authors: K. A. Sagalaev

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract: The paper is devoted to one of the central figures in the mythology of Khanty and Mansi – As tyi iki (The Ob old man). His place in the Ob-Ugric pantheon is described, the main functions are revealed, variants of the name are listed, and various local ideas about his place of residence are given – the mouth of Ob river, its upper reaches and the fusion of Ob and Irtysh. The paper provides a detailed description of the rite of worship As Tyi iki that was performed in 2014 at the confluence of Biya and Katun (supposed to be one of the locations of the deity) and with the participation of the author that was fully recorded on video, photo, and audio equipment. The rite was performed by Surgut Khanty Semen and Tamara Rynkovs, as well as Agrafena Sopochina, invited to the Institute of Philology of the SB RAS as informants for phonetic research. In addition to As tyi iki, the offerings to other deities – Nai imi (spirit of fire), Tylas iki (Month-old man), Mykh anki (the Old woman of the Land), Kyn iki (Man of Disease) – were made during the rite. The conclusion is made about the preservation of the cult of As tyi iki and the correspondence of the ritual described with the modern state of the rite traditions of Surgut Khanty.

Keywords: Ob-Ugrians, pantheon, rite of worship, current state, ritual practice

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