Article

Name: Cultural universals: sacral space in Siberian and Far East folk myths

Authors: N. R. Oinotkinova, A. A. Grinevich, T. A. Golovaneva

Institute of Philology SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract: The paper presents an analysis of the ethnic characteristics of updating the spatial code (as a cultural universal) in Altai, Khanty and Koryak cultures. Three of these cultures are characterized by elements of both vertical and horizontal space structuring. Appealing to the heavenly Supreme Deity in traditional cultures is fraught with hopes for prosperity and pro-tection. The balance of the world is set by the antithesis of opposing principles. In Altai and Koryak cultures, mythical hero hostile to humans inhabits the underground, lower world. For Khants, the vertical structuring of space is superimposed on the autochthonous tradition of horizontal division of the world. The center of this world is the Ob River. The “top” was at its source, in the south, the “bottom” – in the north. The “top” (i.e., the south) is considered to be the space of the “bright” gods, the “bottom” (i.e. the north) – “dark” (possessions of the deity of death and illnesses of Hin’ iki). The mythological heroes of the hostile world (lower / un-derground or lower / northern) appear to be active, with destructive power. Their attack on a person is fraught with disease or death. In the Altai, Khanty, Koryak cultures, the phenome-non of veneration of sacred places is manifested, which can be interpreted as one way of hori-zontal structuring of the world. The sacralization of a particular geographical space is associ-ated with sacrifice rituals as a gift to a sacred place. The ritual of venerating sacred places, besides occasional necessity, is also timed to the calendar cycle.

Keywords: folklore, cultural code, cultural universal, Altai myths, Koryak myths, Khanty myths, spatial code, sacred space

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