The theme of the domestic spirits of the northern Selkups has been remained a blank spot in Siberian ethnography so far. The article summarizes scattered information about this category of Selkup spirits, available in academic literature, archival sources and author's field materials. The result of the study was a comprehensive description of the relationship of Selkups with household spirits, reflecting a certain part of Selkup religious views. The characteristics of relationship between the Selkups and family spirits were as follows: the gradation and purpose of household spirits, the canons and conditions for making their images, the rules for keeping, storing and the degree of their observance, differences in relations with spirits among the northern and southern Selkups, the possibility and features of joint storage of household and shaman spirits. It was revealed that the tradition of keeping household spirits was not interrupted and, having undergone some transformations, is observed among the northern Selkups to the present. Not many Selkup families have household spirits today, but the public belief in the power of the penates goes far beyond this circle.
Key words: Northern Selkups, worldview, religious beliefs, rituals, household spirits, preservation of tradition, transformation of religious views
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2023_1_71
About the author
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Olga B. Stepanova – Ph.D. (History), Senior Research Fellow, Department of Ethnography of the Peoples of Siberia, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS; 3 Universitetskaya emb., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |