Finno-Ugric World

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.369-378

Natalia N. Bushmeleva
Lev L. Shubin
Izhevsk State Medical Academy,
Izhevsk, Russia

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.379-393

Olga P. Ilyukha
Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History,
Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Petrozavodsk, Russia

Introduction. The article reports the results of an analysis of the letters written by a peasant early in the XX century, found in the National Archives of Finland, which are a rare-type of historical source. Their author is a twenty-year-old peasant Anna Eremeeva-Räikha, who wrote them to her husband exiled to North Kazakhstan. The relevance of the study is defined by high interest to epistolary cultural heritage, where a special place is given to the letters of Russian’s different ethnic groups, and also by attention paid to the history of everyday life.
Materials and Methods. The principal method was analysis of the structure of the letters, including identification of thematic block sequences and their subsequent clustering for the analysis of specific issues.
Results and Discussion. The article explicates the substantive dimension of the letters, which reflects the sphere of interests of their author, and looks into the descriptions of women’s daily routines and the life of the Karelian family. It highlights the range of covered subjects and outlines the topics showing the routines and the behavioral practices of a peasant woman, her ways of adapting to the new circumstances after the husband’s arrest. The specific jobs and occupations are aligned with the farming calendar of northern Karelia. Features of the author’s self-presentation, ways of structuring and drawing up the texts are demonstrated. The study illustrates the range of topics and emotions rooted in the gender factor, and the diversity of their expression.
Conclusion. The letters disclose the system of moral values of a Karelian woman, the Christian ideal of family relationships, special features of professional motivations. The “voice” of a Karelian peasant woman retained in these letters is a relevant source for studying the alteration of women’s everyday life early in the XX century and it allows talking about the maturing demand for emancipation in everyday life and gradual loosening of the traditional gender order in the Karelian village.

Keywords: Karelian culture, ethnic history of Russia, history of everyday life, gender, epistolary heritage

Acknowledgments: The article was prepared under state assignment of Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For citation: Ilyukha OP. Female everyday life in letters by a Karelian peasant woman of the early XX century. Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2021;13;4:379–393. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.379-393.

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.417-427

Tatiana V. Voldina
Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Research and Development,
Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

Introduction. In the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians, certain types of mushrooms have received a special mythological “status” that reveals their place in the traditional picture of the world and explains the power of their impact on humans. The purpose of the study is to present the role of mushrooms in folk medicine and ritual practices of the Khanty and Mansi. These interconnected areas have not been sufficiently studied at the moment, which reflects the relevance of the work.
Materials and Methods. The article uses the published data and field materials of the author, as well as folklore sources. The study was carried out on the basis of an interdisciplinary and systematic approach using the structural-functional method.
Results and Discussion. In the treatment and cleansing rituals of the Khanty and Mansi, the use of birch tinder fungi has become widespread. Their healing properties have been known since antiquity, since image of the Tree of Life was associated with this tree. Another representative of the mushroom kingdom, the fly agaric, was used sporadically, primarily as a hallucinogenic agent used in ritual practices. The properties of this mushroom allow researchers to make an ambiguous conclusion that the secret of soma, the drink of the gods, lies in the portion made from the fly agaric.
Conclusion. Changes in living conditions led to the gradual disappearance of the traditions of folk medicine and ritual practices of the Ob Ugrians, which significantly complicates their study at the present period.

Keywords: Ob Ugrians, folk medicine, rituals, chaga, tinder fungus, fly agaric, tree of life, catfish

For citation: Voldina TV. “Ritual” mushrooms in the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians. Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2021;13;4:417–427. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.417-427.

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.428-439

Elena N. Lomshina
Olga S. Safonkina
Elena N. Antipkina
National Research Mordovia State University,
Saransk, Russia

Introduction. The use of the axiological field of the Finno-Ugric culture within the framework of the formation of the socio-humanitarian component of modern education presupposes the acquisition of new knowledge related to the study of the value dominants of the Finno-Ugric culture in diachrony and the ways of their actualization in modern society. The article considers the study of the ethnocultural values of the Finno-Ugric peoples on the example of the Baltic-Finnish (Karelians, Vepsians), Perm (Udmurts, Komi), Volga (Mordovins, Mari), Ugric (Khanty, Mansi) groups.
Materials and Methods. The material was the data of a questionnaire on the value dominants of the Finno-Ugric culture and the ways of their actualization in modern society. The research methodology includes a combination of humanitarian (cultural-anthropological, axiosociometric, functional, cross-cultural) approaches and natural research methods of analysis (mathematical statistics).
Results and Discussion. With the help of the questionnaire developed by the authors, a cross-cultural study was carried out, which made it possible to identify the system of ethnocultural values of the Finno-Ugric peoples, as well as the most important value dominants characteristic of these peoples at the present stage. The main mechanisms of actualization of the value dominants of the Finno-Ugric culture, as well as Russian experience, are demonstrated.
Conclusion. The main provisions and conclusions of the work can be used in the further study of the problem of the place and role of the axiological field of ethnoculture in a renewing society, as well as to optimize the ethno-cultural policy of modern Russia, including ethno-branding of territories.

Keywords: axiology, axiometry, ethnoculture, value, region, modern society, ethnos, methods of actualization, ethno-tourism, ethno-brand, Finno-Ugric peoples, sociology of culture

Acknowledgments: The study has been conducted under a grant from the Russian Foundation of the Basic Research № 18-49-130003р_а.

For citation: Lomshina EN, Safonkina OS, Antipkina EN. Study of ethnocultural values in the Finno-Ugric regions: dominants of Finno-Ugric culture and ways of their actualization in modern society. Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2021;13;4:428–439. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.428-439.

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.348-357

Tatiana P. Ariskina
National Research Mordovia State University,
Saransk, Russia

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.394-404

Tatiana G. Minniyakhmetova
University of Innsbruck,
Innsbruck, Austria

Ranus R. Sadikov
R. G. Kuzeev Institute for Ethnological Studies,
Ufa Federal Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Ufa, Russia

Introduction. The article considers the variety and functions of dishes and utensils used at the sacrificial rituals of Trans-Kama “pagans” Udmurts from the Republic of Bashkortostan and Perm Krai. This is the first attempt of using extensive field and archival materials for the research purposes.
Materials and Methods. The material for the study represents the published and archival sources, ethnographic information collected the authors during many years of field research. The analysis of materials was carried out using a comparative-historical method. The article takes into account the theoretical approaches of the semiotic school in ethnology.
Results and Discussion. In the object world of Udmurt sacrifices, a special place is occupied by dishes and utensils. Without them the ritual process involving the preparation of food and a joint meal is impossible. Various dishes (cauldrons, troughs, buckets, bowls, spoons, ladles, etc.) are used for their utilitarian purpose (cooking, storage, transportation, eating food, etc.) but inclusion in the ritual process endows them with symbolic functions.
Conclusion. Dishes and utensils used at the sacrifices of the Trans-Kama Udmurts are still endowed with a high sacred status. The number, composition and methods of using ritual utensils have remained traditional but their forms, material and manufacturing method have changed. As before, in addition to being used for utilitarian purposes they are endowed with many symbolic functions.

Keywords: ritual dishes, sacrifices, functional and symbolic meaning, Trans-Kama Udmurts

Acknowledgments: R. R. Sadikov carried out the study within the framework of the state assignment No. AAAA-A21-121012290086-0 IEI UFIC RAS for 2021–2023.

For citation: Minniyakhmetova TG, Sadikov RR. Dishes and utensils used in sacrificial rites of the Trans-Kama Udmurts (functional and symbolic meaning). Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2021;13;4:394–404. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.394-404.

DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.013.2021.04.405-416

Natalia V. Gorinova
Institute of Language, Literature and History,
Komi Research Centre,
Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Syktyvkar, Russia