Article

Name: Folklore in the rituals of the Konda Mansi (based on the memoirs of A. M. Konkova)

Authors: Galina E. Soldatova

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

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract:

This paper presents and analyzes unique materials on the folklore of the Konda Mansi (Vogul), recorded in 1990 from storyteller and writer Anna Mitrofanovna Konkova (1916–1998). The materials include an outline of a conversation with an informant and a small dictionary of folklore lexicon. The commentary on the diary fragments involves the comparison of the data under study with Northern Ob-Ugrian culture examples and prior publications, with a focus on the writings of A. M. Konkova. Analysis reveals distinct characteristics of the Konda Mansi folklore tradition of the early 1930s, focusing on three central rituals: sacrifices, the Bear-Feast, and a festival unique to this group celebrating the installation of a fishing sluice. Sacrifices, the Bear-Feast, and notably the fishing sluice installation festival, unique to this Mansi group, are identified as central to their culture. In general, the rituals are found to share similar folklore content with the Northern Ob-Ugrians. Bear-Feast featured songs, skits, performances, stringed instrument music, and dances. The feast commemorating the sluice installation included songs about the old times, tales of renowned divers, and melodies played on the jaw harp. Throughout the ritual sacrifice, prayers were addressed to the spirits by the elders. The musical instrumentation of the Konda Mansi comprised corner harps of two sizes, a seven-stringed zither, and a lamellar jaw harp. Harp and zither performances were a male activity, whereas the jaw harp was played by women. Phono-instruments included idiophones and aerophones, existing in two forms. A dictionary of folklore terminology provides additional details on the already vanished folklore tradition of the Konda Mansi.

Keywords: Ob-Ugrians, Konda Mansi (Voguls), folklore, rites, A. M. Konkova, folklore vocabulary

Bibliography:

Balandin A. N., Vakhrusheva M. P. Mansiysko-russkiy slovar’ [Mansi-Russian dictionary]. Leningrad, Uchpedgiz, 1958, 228 p.

Infant’yev P. P. Puteshestviye v stranu vogulov [Journey to the Land of the Voguls]. St. Petersburg, Izd. N. V. Emel’yanova, 1910, 199 p.

Kannisto A., Liimola M. Wogulische Volksdichtung. Helsinki, 1951, vol. 1, Texte mythischen Inhalts. XLII + 483 p.

Kondinskiy kray 16 – nachala 20 v. v dokumentakh, opisaniyakh, zapiskakh puteshestvennikov, vospominaniyakh [Kondinsky Region of the 16th – early 20th cent. in documents, descriptions, travelers’ notes, memories]. V. I. Baydin et al. (Authors and comps.) Yekaterinburg, Ural Uni. Publ., 2006, 388 p.

Kospolova N. E. Fenomen lesnoy vstrechi v skazkakh Anny Kon’kovoy [The phenomenon of a forest meeting in Anna Konkova’s fairy tales]. International research journal. 2021, no. 3, pt. 3, pp. 139–142.

Kuzakova Ye. A. Mansiysko-russkiy slovar’ (kondinskiy dialekt mansiyskogo yazyka) [Mansi-Russian dictionary (Kondinsky dialect of the Mansi language)]. Shadrinsk, Iset’, 2001, 100 p.

Liimola M. Ekspeditsii Artura Kannisto k vogulam (mansi) v 1901−1906 godakh (perevod s nemetskogo N. V. Lukinoy) [Arthur Kannisto’s expeditions to the Voguls (Mansi) in 1901–1906 (translated from German by N. V. Lukina)]. Bulletin of Ugric studies. 2015, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 148–161.

Mify, skazki, predaniya mansi (vogulov) [Myths, tales, legends of the Mansi (Voguls)]. Ye. I. Rombandeyeva (Comp.). Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2005, 445 p. (Pamyatniki fol’klora narodov Sibiri i Dal’nego Vostoka [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East]; Vol. 26)

Nepomnyashchikh N. A. O chem govoryat syuzhety i motivy literatur narodov Sibiri i Dal’nego Vostoka 20 veka [What do the plots and motifs of the literatures of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East of the 20th century say]. Sibirskiy filologicheskiy zhurnal (Siberian Journal of Philology). 2022, no. 4, pp. 77–90.

Nosilov K. D. U vogulov. Ocherki i nabroski [Among the Voguls: Essays and sketches]. St. Petersburg, Izd. A. S. Suvorina, 1904, 256 p.

Panchenko L. N. Transformatsiya fol’klornykh obrazov v tvorchestve A. M. Kon’kovoy [Transformation of folklore images in the works of A. M. Konkova]. Bulletin of Ugric studies. 2022, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 272–279.

Popova S. A. Etnicheskaya istoriya i mifologicheskaya kartina mira mansi [Ethnic history and mythological picture of the world of the Mansi]. Khanty-Mansiysk, Yugrafika, 2013, 86 p.

Rogacheva N. Problema avtora v skazkakh A. M. Kon’kovoy [The problem of the author in the tales of A. M. Konkova]. In: Literatura Tyumenskogo kraya [Literature of the Tyumen’ region]. Rogacheva N. A. (Ed.). Tyumen, SoftDizayn, 1997, pp. 88–97.

Serikov Yu. B. Bobr v kul’tovoy praktike drevnego naseleniya Urala [Beaver in the cult practice of the ancient population of the Urals]. In: Istoriko-arkheologicheskiy sbornik [Historical and archaeological collection]. Moiseyenko M. G. (Ed.). Zimovniki, Zimovnikovskiy krayevedcheskiy muzey, 2020, pp. 24–30.

Soldatova G. E. Fakul’tativnyye fonoinstrumenty obskikh ugrov [Facultative phono-instruments of the Ob-Ugrians]. Scholarly almanac “Traditsionnaya kul’tura” (Traditional Culture). 2019, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 44–56.

Soldatova G. E. Obsko-ugorskiy buben: morfologiya, organofoniya [Ob-Ugric drum: morphology, organophony]. Yazyki i fol’klor korennykh narodov Sibiri (Languages and Folklore of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia). 2024, no. 4 (iss. 52), pp. 162‒177.