Article

Name: Fairy Tale Types about the Hero of Khanty Folklore Imi hily

Authors: Anna A. Grinevich

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

Abstract:

The article explores the role of the fairy tale character Imi χiλi (‘Grandmother’s Grandson’) in the cultural heritage of the Ob Ugric people and its significance in Khanty mythology. The article discusses the results of a phylogenetic study of narratives about the Grandmother’s Grandson in the Khanty language, revealing four main fairy tale types about this hero: The Tale of Tereshcheka; The Myth of the Celestial Hunt; The Narrative of Revenge for the Father; The Narrative of the Hero’s Marriage. The hero Imi χiλi appears as a victor over forest giants, a trickster, an orphan, an avenger for his father’s death, a bridegroom rescuing a bride. Imi χiλi is associated with a deity of the highest pantheon, being the youngest son of the supreme god. Thus, the ambivalence of this character is maintained, which is manifested in the parallelism between fairy tales and mythological narratives. The article describes the significance of Imi χiλi in the worldview of the Khanty people, associating him with supernatural forces and various deities, in both horizontal and vertical models of the world. Imi χiλi is linked as a deity protecting the headwaters of the Ob River, and as a deity acting as an intermediary between humans and celestial beings. Analogies between Imi χiλi and the Iranian deity Mithra are also discussed, indicating the possible influence of the Iranian cultural complex on perceptions of this character.

Keywords: Imi Khily, Grandmother’s grandson, Khanty folklore, mythology

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