Alexander Belov Aryan past of the Russian land. Myths and legends of ancient times

The culture, traditions and languages ​​of the indigenous peoples who inhabited Siberia in ancient times, and those who still live in this territory, are of great interest to researchers. The surviving myths are a direct reflection of what our civilization was like in the distant past, says a researcher of the SB RAS, Candidate of Philological Sciences Yulia Viktorovna Limorenko.

“For a person, after he put the digging stick aside and looked at the sky for the first time, it is quite natural to think about what is there,” says the philologist. - Among the questions that probably interested our ancestors - what kind of mysterious lights creep across the sky? Why are they different in size and brightness? Why do some shine constantly, while others - only from time to time? "

People of the whole Earth see some celestial objects in about the same way. One of them is the Moon. There are many myths about its origin, each culture has its own. For example, in the folklore of the Chinese peoples there is a legend about the Moon Hare, which sits in the shade of the guihua cinnamon tree and pounds the medicine of immortality in a mortar. This performance arose thanks to a visual illusion: dark spots on the surface of the moon reminded people of the figurine of a hare or a rabbit.

The Turkic peoples, which represent a large ethno-linguistic community, have a person on the Moon. So, according to the plot of the Bashkir folk tale "The Moon and Zuhra", a luminary on the rays raises a girl with a yoke and buckets to save her from the intrigues of her stepmother-sorceress. A similar plot is found in the legends of the Udmurts, Tatars, Chuvashes and other peoples belonging to the Turkic language group.

It is noteworthy that in the "lunar" myths found in peoples of Siberia, there are several common places. First, it happens at night, on a full moon. Secondly, among the main characters - an evil stepmother (she is a witch), a stepdaughter or small children who find themselves on the moon. Thirdly, in some plots the story of a birch, willow or other tree of the willow family is persistently repeated. Why?

The fact is that each culture has its own sacred plants. For the British, these are oak, ash and blackthorn. There are many variations of the English folk song that mention these three plants. Among the Siberian peoples, such a sacred function is performed by willow and birch.

“One of the sacred trees, which is associated with a huge number of folk traditions and rituals, is birch,” says Yulia Limorenko, “wherever it does not grow, even in the deep taiga. It is a tree that connects three worlds: Upper (heavenly), Middle (earthly) and Lower (underground). The latter is the most dangerous for people, since demonic creatures live there, and it is precisely in the Lower World that the roots of the birch go. This mythological picture was used by shamans in their mystical practices. They needed a concrete support, thanks to which they could imagine the movement between the worlds. "

Another significant plant for all peoples of Siberia is willow (it is also willow or rakita). About 150 species of the willow family grow on the territory of our country, any varieties of these trees have been revered as sacred since ancient times. Willow is associated with night, spirits, an eerie mysterious world. People believed that on a full moon, evil spirits nest on the branches of trees growing along the banks of reservoirs. The healers were convinced that the willow is a conductor of healing magic. The patient with fever was girded with a straw tourniquet, which, after reciting spells, was tied to the trunk of a young willow. So the disease passed from person to tree.

An important attribute of most of the myths of the peoples of Siberia is the rocker arms and buckets with which the heroines go to the river. “Why is it worth paying attention to this? If you take folk songs and fairy tales, you will notice: a lot of interesting things happen to young girls who went to fetch water. They are kidnapped by monsters, met by magical characters, noticed by good fellows. This situation is plot-forming in folk tales and songs, ”notes Yulia Limorenko.

In the Slavic tradition, water drawn from springs on special days was considered miraculous and magical: the morning after Christmas, on Maundy Thursday, on the day of Ivan Kupala. It was believed that the sacred power of water increased if special conditions and prohibitions were observed when it was collected and transferred to the house. The first of these requirements was walking on the water after dark, before sunrise.

Often in the myths of the Turkic peoples there is a plot when a demonic character from the Lower World appears on the Moon. For example, there is a rather scary myth about Chilbegen (variants are Chilbeen, Chilben, Dilbegen). This creature is described as a "seven-headed monster" or "winged hero", a devourer of livestock and people. To rid the world of Chilbegen, the Moon pulls him to her along with the bush, which he is trying to grab onto. Interestingly, in some versions of the myth, Chilbegen clings to a willow branch. Since the roots of this tree go shallowly into the ground, it easily breaks out and, together with the monster, ends up on the moon.

“The time of the full moon, when all the features of the lunar landscape are clearly visible, was considered extremely unfavorable and even dangerous for humans,” says Yulia Limorenko. - These ideas are still alive. In Tuva and Khakassia, people try not to leave their homes unnecessarily during the full moon, especially not to let their children out. This is a sacred prohibition. If, nevertheless, it becomes necessary to release the child, they must smear his forehead with ash from the hearth. Otherwise, terrible things can happen, and the spirits will kidnap him. "

In addition to the Moon, stars appear in the myths of the peoples of Siberia. The most attentive to them were the nomadic peoples who lived in the steppes. It was convenient for people to track the time of day and the change of seasons by the stars. Many peoples around the world have developed their own astronomy and mythology on the basis of such observations. The peoples of Siberia are no exception.

There is an object that is always clearly visible in the Northern Hemisphere: it is Venus. Today it is known that Venus is a planet. But at the time of the formation of mythology, people did not know the difference between stars and planets. “The word that the Turks, Mongols and Tungus call Venus is a popular female name, - says Yulia Limorenko. - In Turkic languages ​​it sounds like Cholbon, in Mongolian - Sholbon, in Tatar - Chulpan. All these are forms of the name Venus, which is considered the most beautiful star in the sky. "

The Ursa Major and Ursa Minor also appear in myths, representing seven stars of approximately the same brightness. In many cultures, seven is a sacred number. That is why it was believed that these constellations form seven homogeneous objects. It could have been seven seeds, seven grains, seven nuts, and even seven khans sitting around the fire.

“Since people were likening the stars to some objects, naturally, they had to come up with a version explaining how they got to the sky,” says Yulia Limorenko. - For example: there were seven khans, so fair, kind, generous that the Creator lifted them to heaven in order to bring them closer to him. Or, on the contrary, the khans were so stupid that they did not rule, but only dressed up to see who was the most important. In the end, the Creator got so tired of them that he took them away. There are myths where the stars are the vertebrae of an elk. Or bowls, which were thrown by seven khans, having quarreled among themselves. Or even stakes for drying nets. The assimilation of stars to terrestrial objects gave rise to many plots that were passed from mouth to mouth - from older generations to younger ones. "

Another celestial object is the constellation Orion, in the arrangement of the stars of which the figure of a man is guessed. A well-known ancient Greek myth tells of the great hunter Orion, the son of Poseidon and Euryale. After death from the arrows of the goddess Artemis (in another version - from the bite of a scorpion), he was placed by his father in heaven. Folk names Orion is often addressed not to the entire constellation, but only to its belt, which consists of three stars.

The Khakass people call Orion's Belt Three Maralukhs. “Marals are maral females,” explains Yulia Limorenko. - In the interpretation of the origin of the constellation among the Khakass, just like among the ancient Greeks, there is a plot of the hunt. "

According to the plot of the myth, the old man-hunter has been trying to catch up with the animals for a long time, but to no avail. And one day he manages to pierce them with his arrow, and three at once. “But the wounded deer did not stumble, did not fall,” the legend says. - Without slowing down, they still run in unison, evenly. “Whether you are earthly beasts or heavenly, I don’t care! - shouted the old man. - If I chased, I will chase you until I overtake you! ” On a summer night, at the eastern edge of the sky, this chase is clearly visible: three maral, three dogs, two arrows - one white, the other, covered in blood, red, and behind an old hunter. So they move across the sky, not knowing rest, with one immortal, inseparable constellation of the Three Marals. "

This quote refers to one of the later interpretations of the myth reflected in the Altai tale. The following is important here: the plot mentions a hunter and his three dogs, three deer and two arrows. There are nine objects in total. This is hardly a coincidence. “Nine is the same sacred number as seven, besides, it is divisible by three,” notes Yulia Limorenko. - You can think of many stories about three times three objects. In general, the ancient peoples included a different number of stars in the constellations (the Europeans, for example, took into account the Orion Shield, consisting of six arched stars). The most important thing is that the number of objects in the constellations should be marked as sacred. "

All this mnemonic was aimed at the very specific needs of nomadic peoples. Remembering the constellations, people were guided by them when they moved through the tundra or taiga. “It is quite natural that the plots of myths associated with constellations and luminaries differ among the peoples of Siberia and among the Europeans, but there is also something in common. First of all - the figure of a hunter. Hunting is the oldest human occupation, so the image of a hunter is known in almost all cultures, he even got into biblical mythology, ”says the philologist.

Another celestial object is the North Star. Her example clearly shows that the plots of myths directly depend on what kind of economic activity people were doing, what was important to them. “Can you recall any myth about the North Star offhand? - says Yulia Limorenko. - Generally speaking, they are not. The ancient people of Europe were interested in the purely practical application of the North Star: the fact that it points to the north. For the peoples of Siberia, this knowledge was not so important. "

The researcher notes that the orientation system of people here was not associated with north and south, but rather with east and west. Wandering in search of food, people crossed a large number of rivers, the tributaries of which usually flowed either from west to east, or in the opposite direction. In order not to confuse the rivers, geographically, people were guided by these cardinal points. Therefore, as a pointer, the North Star was not needed.

“It is worth saying that the word“ polar ”itself is absent in the languages ​​of the peoples of Siberia as such, it is borrowed,” notes Yulia Limorenko. - Translated from almost all languages, its name means “golden stake”. This is due to the type of economy of the nomadic peoples: traveling across the steppe, they carried with them special pointed pegs. During stops, people drove them into the ground and tied their horses to them. A golden stake, to which a horse is tied on a long rope, is a very important thing for nomads. Therefore, the North Star in myths is a kind of "binding" to the ground for hunters, allowing them to track the direction of further movement.

It is interesting that the peoples of Siberia have practically no myths about the Sun. The reason may be that it is very difficult to see the Sun, even at sunrise or sunset. That is why the Turkic, Tungus, Samoyed peoples do not classify the Sun as a luminary, unlike the Chinese or Japanese, who have a long tradition of observing the Sun through special instruments.

“This logic underlies the mythological ideas of the peoples of Siberia,” the philologist concludes. - Myths, which initially performed a purely practical function, eventually acquired a sacred meaning. Thus plots were born folk tales... People decorated their cultural life with bright details, just as they tried to make their everyday life more beautiful. "

Julia Klyushnikova

The nature of the Ural and Siberian regions is extremely rich and varied. There are spacious steppes, high mountains, and endless forests with swamps. Where did they come from? - the legends of local peoples can tell about it.

Most of the historical and natural places are shrouded in legends and myths. Especially if these places have an unusual appearance or are closely related to the life of people. As a legacy from the indigenous population of the Ural Mountains and Siberian forests, we got beautiful legends about the emergence of the natural beauty of these lands.

Ural mountains

The Russian name "Ural" comes from the outdated Bashkir word "urau", which meant either "belt" or "hill". Local peoples called these mountains differently: Ner, Iz, Ngarka Pe. In the Slavic chronicles, the Ural Mountains are referred to as Belt or Bolshoi Kamen.

These are very young mountains - they began to form in the Paleozoic era, and adorn the face of the Earth for only 200 million years. The Ural Mountains appeared in the process of folding of the earth's crust. But the local population - the Mansi and the Khanty - have their own legends telling about how the famous Urals appeared.

According to one version of the legend, a mighty and greedy giant lived in the taiga, who from century to century put various jewels in his huge belt. And so he accumulated so much good that the belt fell from him to the ground. This is how the Ural Mountains, rich in metals and gems, appeared.

Another version speaks of the wise supreme god - he deliberately threw his heavy belt into the very center of the lands so that it crushed the spinning earth and left its restless run.

Man-Pupu-Ner

These stone outliers are also called the Pillars of Weathering or simply Blockheads. They are located in the Northern Urals. An ancient Mansi legend is associated with this interesting geological object of nature.

In ancient times, one prosperous tribe lived on these lands, and they were ruled by a wise leader who had a beautiful daughter and a daring warrior son. Once, when the chief's son was out hunting, a cruel giant from a neighboring tribe wooed his daughter. The beauty refused him, and then the giant called his six brothers, and they went to war in all possible ways against the tribe of the leader. They fought for many days until the son of the leader returned from the hunt. He sent a beam of sunlight onto them, which was reflected from his magic shield, and the seven brothers turned into stones. They still stand on the mountain where they wanted to destroy the prosperous people of the leader.

Rocks Three Brothers

In the mountains of the Middle Urals, there are three rocks called the Elder, Middle and Younger brother. A Bashkir legend is associated with them. Once the invading troops came from the east to the Urals, robbing, killing and capturing people. They were so strong that no one dared to resist them. And only three brave brothers, daring warriors and hunters, were not afraid to meet the enemy in the mountains. For many days and nights, they bravely fought with the enemies, but did not let them into their native lands. The invaders were forced to leave home, and the three brothers turned into boulders that still stand in the mountains today, and seem to guard their native land.

Lake Turgoyak

On the territory of the Southern Urals there is a lake of amazing beauty - Turgoyak. It is famous not only for its beautiful views. This lake is considered the second in terms of transparency and purity of water after Lake Baikal. An old Bashkir legend tells about the appearance of Turgoyak.

Once the young man Tur went hunting. In pursuit of the beast, he went far into the mountains, and there he met a beautiful girl named Koyak. The young man wanted to take her as a wife, but the girl was sick - the black shaman deprived her of her sight, and only water from the purest lake in the world could bring healing. Then Tour set off to distant lands. He traveled many lands before he found this clear lake. He collected water in his palms and brought it to Koyak. The girl washed herself with water and regained her sight. After that, the lovers got married, and in the place where Koyak dropped a few drops of clean water, a transparent lake appeared. And people, in memory of their love, named the lake Turgoyak, which means Tur and Koyak.

Mount Belukha

This snow-white mountain in the Altai Mountains rises high above the surrounding lands and from a distance resembles a huge triangle. One legend of local peoples tells that she appeared from the ear of a snow giant named White Ear, who was slain by hunters. But there are more ancient legend... It says that this mountain stood in the path of a glacier advancing from the north to warm and fertile valleys where human settlements were located. By blocking the road to cold and snow, she saved the lives of many people. In gratitude for this, the local peoples presented her with gifts, considered her their protector and respectfully called her Snow White.

Angara river and Shaman-stone

The Angara is a large tributary of the Siberian Yenisei River, and it is also the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal. At its source, in the middle of the water, there is a stone block, which in ancient times the Buryats considered the refuge of the spirit of the river. Now this rock is called the Shaman-stone. An ancient legend can tell how he appeared in the middle of the Angara bed.

An old hunter named Baikal had an only daughter, Angara. He loved her with all his heart so dearly that he did not even want to marry her off. And so that his daughter did not see the young hunters, he kept her in the chum away from prying eyes. But Angara learned from forest birds that a beautiful young man Yenisei lived in the west, and at night she fled to him. When the old father woke up, he got angry with his daughter and threw a huge rock at her, but did not hit. And Angara ran to the Yenisei, and they began to live together. Since then, the Angara River flows from Lake Baikal, and a huge rock lies in its bed.

Lake Baikal

Many Buryat legends tell about the origin of this unique lake. One of them says that in ancient times, on the site of the lake, the earth cracked, and from there a column of flame burst out to heaven. The fire destroyed everything: forests, steppes, swamps and, in the end, reached the settlements of people. People in fear began to pray to the gods and ask the fire to stop, they shouted: "Bai khal!" The gods heard the prayers and put out a terrible fire. Gradually, clear rainwater gathered in the crack from which the fire burst out, and this is how Lake Baikal appeared.

Once upon a time there was a badger. During the day he slept, at night he went hunting. One night a badger was hunting. Before he had time to get enough, the edge of the sky had already brightened.

Before the sun, a badger hurries to get into its hole. Without showing himself to people, hiding from the dogs, he walked where the shadow is thicker, where the earth is blacker.

The badger came up to his dwelling.

Hrr ... Brr ... - suddenly he heard an incomprehensible noise.

"What?"

Sleep jumped out of the badger, the fur stood on end, the heart almost broke the ribs with a knock.

"I have never heard such noise ..."

Hrrr ... Firrlit-few ... Brrr ...

“I’ll go back to the forest, and I’ll call for clawed animals like me: I alone don’t agree to die for everyone here.”

And the badger went to call all the clawed animals living in Altai for help.

Oh, I have a terrible guest in my hole! Help! Save!

The animals came running, their ears clung to the ground - in fact, the earth trembles from the noise:

Brrrrrk, hrr, fuu ...

The fur of all the animals rose on end.

Well, badger, this is your home, you go first and climb.

The badger looked around - ferocious animals were standing around, urging them on, hurrying:

Go, go!

And they themselves, out of fear, set their tails between them.

The badger house had eight entrances, eight exits. "What to do? - thinks the badger. - How to be? Which entrance to your house to enter? "

What are you worth? snorted the wolverine and raised its terrible paw.

Slowly, reluctantly, the badger walked to the very main entrance.

Hrrrr! - flew out of there.

The badger jumped back and hobbled to another entrance and exit.

From all eight exits and thunders.

The badger began to dig the ninth move. It's a shame to destroy your home, but you can't refuse in any way - the most ferocious animals from all over Altai have gathered.

Hurry, hurry! - they order.

It's a shame to destroy your home, but you can't disobey.

Sighing bitterly, the badger scratched the ground with its clawed front paws. Finally, barely alive with fear, he made his way into his high bedroom.

Hrrr, brrr, frrr ...

It was a white hare snoring loudly, lounging on a soft bed.

The animals, laughing, could not resist, rolled on the ground.

Hare! That's a hare! The hare badger got scared!

Ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!

Where will you hide from shame, badger? What an army did he gather against the hare!

Ha ha ha! Ho ho!

And the badger does not raise his head, he scolds himself:

“Why, having heard the noise in your house, didn’t look there yourself? Why did you go to the whole Altai to shout? "

And the hare know to itself sleeps, snores.

The badger got angry, but how the hare shoves:

Go away! Who let you sleep here?

The hare woke up - his eyes almost popped out! - and a wolf, a fox, a lynx, a wolverine, a wild cat, even a sable is here!

"Well," the hare thinks, "come what may!"

And suddenly - jumped on the badger's forehead. And from the forehead, as from a hill - again a gallop! - and into the bushes.

The badger's forehead turned white from the white hare's belly.

White marks ran down the cheeks from the hare's hind legs.

The animals laughed even louder:

Oh, leopard-u-uk, how beautiful you have become! Ho ha ha!

Come to the water, look at yourself!

The badger hobbled to the forest lake, saw its reflection in the water and cried:

"I'll go and complain to the bear."

He came and said:

I bow to you to the ground, grandfather-bear. I ask you for protection. I myself was not at home that night, I did not invite guests. Hearing a loud snoring, he was frightened ... He disturbed how many animals, destroyed his house. Now look, from the white hare belly, from the hare's paws - and my cheeks turned white. And the guilty one ran away without looking back. Judge this matter.

Are you still complaining? Your head used to be as black as the earth, and now even people will envy the whiteness of your forehead and cheeks. It's a shame that I was not standing in that place, that the hare bleached it not my face. This is a pity! Yes, it's a pity, a shame ...

And, sighing bitterly, the bear left.

And the badger still lives with a white stripe on the forehead and on the cheeks. He is said to be accustomed to these markings and is already boasting:

That's how the hare tried for me! We are now friends with him forever and ever.

Well, what does the hare say? Nobody heard that.

Literary processing by A. Garf.

A red fox came running from the green hills into the black forest. She has not dug her holes in the forest yet, but she already knows the forest news: the bear has become old.

Ay-yay-yay, woe, trouble! Our elder, a brown bear, is dying. His golden fur coat has faded, his sharp teeth have become dull, and there is no strength in his paws. Hurry, hurry! Let's get together, think about who in our black forest is smarter, more beautiful than everyone, to whom we will sing praise, whom we will put in the place of Medvedev.

Where nine rivers have joined, at the foot of nine mountains, a shaggy cedar stands over a swift spring. Beasts from the black forest have gathered under this cedar. They seem to each other with their fur coats, they boast of intelligence, strength, beauty.

The old bear also came here:

What are you making noise? What are you arguing about?

The animals quieted down, and the fox raised its sharp muzzle and squealed:

Ah, venerable bear, be ageless, be strong, live a hundred years! We argue here, we argue, but we cannot solve matters without you: who is more worthy, who is more beautiful than everyone?

Everyone is good in their own way, ”the old man grumbled.

Ah, the wisest, we still want to hear your word. To whom you point, the animals will sing praise, they will sit in a place of honor.

And she herself has let down her red tail, the golden wool is beautifying with her tongue, she smoothes the white breast.

And then the animals suddenly saw a deer running in the distance. He trampled the top of the mountain with his feet, branchy horns led a trail along the bottom of the sky.

The fox didn’t have time to close its mouth yet, but the deer was already here.

His smooth fur did not sweat from a fast run, his elastic ribs did not come in more often, warm blood did not boil in his tight veins. The heart is calm, beats evenly, big eyes shine quietly. She scratches her brown lip with a pink tongue, her teeth turn white, she laughs.

The old bear got up slowly, sneezed, stretched out his paw to the maral:

This is who is the most beautiful.

The fox bit itself out of envy by the tail.

Do you live well, noble deer? she sang. - Apparently, your slender legs have weakened, there was not enough breath in the wide chest. The insignificant squirrels are ahead of you, the bow-legged wolverine has been here for a long time, even the slow-moving badger managed to come before you.

The deer lowered its branch-horned head, its furry chest swayed and a voice sounded like a reed pipe.

Dear Fox! Squirrels live on this cedar, the wolverine slept in a nearby tree, the badger has a hole here, over the hill. And I passed nine valleys, swam nine rivers, crossed nine mountains ...

The red deer raised its head - its ears are like flower petals. The horns, dressed with a thin nap, are transparent, as if poured with May honey.

And you, fox, what are you bothering about? - the bear got angry. - Did she herself, perhaps, conceive of becoming an elder?

Please, noble deer, take a place of honor.

And the fox is here again.

Oh ha ha! They want to choose the brown deer as an elder, they are going to sing his praise. Ha ha ha ha! Now he is handsome, but look at him in the winter - his head is hornless, hornless, his neck is thin, his hair hangs in tufts, he walks crumpled, reeling from the wind.

Maral did not find words in response. He looked at the animals - the animals are silent.

Legends of the peoples of Siberia

Tomsk land is a real palette of various cultural traditions belonging to indigenous peoples. In an age of rapidly developing progress, it is especially important not to forget the history of small peoples, folklore and literature. Myths, legends, traditions, everyday stories, fairy tales constitute the memory of the people, passed down from mouth to mouth for generations. In the presented books you will find not only folk tales, but also literary tales of famous Siberian writers. The list is recommended for schoolchildren, students, teachers and everyone interested in Siberian folklore and literature.

Anthology of folklore of the peoples of Siberia, the North and the Far East / comp. Vladimir Sangi. - Krasnoyarsk: Krasnoyarsk book publishing house, 1989. - 493, p. - (Under the polar constellations).

This book is the result of many years of efforts by the Nivkh writer, laureate of the State Prize VM Sangi, who brought together the best examples of oral creativity from all twenty-six peoples of Siberia, the North and the Far East. The compiler sought to select and present in the book works of various forms and genres: traditions, legends, myths, songs, good wishes, telling about the life, history, traditions, worldview and poetics of ancient peoples.

Siberian "

Gemuev, Izmail Nukhovich. Legends were the taiga land / IN Gemuev, AM Sagalaev, AI Soloviev. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1989 .-- 173, p. - (Pages of the history of our Motherland).

This book is about the dark ages of Western Siberia, little known even to historians. The times of princes and their squads, fortresses on the banks of Siberian rivers, and heroic deeds are shrouded in legends. The data of archeology and ethnography allowed the authors to separate fiction from historical reality and present pictures of the life and life of the medieval ancestors of today's Khanty, Mansi and Selkups.

"Central", "Siberian", "Severnaya", "Flamingo", "Eureka", "House of the family"

Legends and myths of the North / [comp., Note. V. M. Sangi; entry Art. A. V. Poshataeva; silt V. Petrov]. - Moscow: Sovremennik, 1985 .-- 399, p. - (Library of literatures of the peoples of the North and the Far East).

The collection includes myths, legends, fairy tales, legends of the peoples of the North and the Far East, collected by folklorists and writers on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, in the Kolyma tundra, on Novaya Zemlya, in the lower reaches of the Ob and Yenisei. Myths, legends of the Chukchi, Sami, Ulchi, Nanais and other small peoples reflect their poetic view of the world, dreams of a happy lot. "Legends and Myths of the North" is the first such complete edition, presenting to the wide reader the rich oral work of the small peoples of our country.

Severnaya "," Family House "

Myths, legends, fairy tales of the Khanty and Mansi: trans. from Khanty, Mansi, German / [comp., ed. foreword and note. N. V. Lukina]. - Moscow. : Science, Main edition of oriental literature, 1990. - 567, p. - (Tales and myths of the peoples of the East).

Classical and one of the few publications in Russian on the folklore of the Ob Ugrians. Wide publication of narrative folklore of closely related peoples of North-West Siberia - Khanty and Mansi.

The book is available in libraries: "Central", "Eureka"

Legends of old tracts / comp. A.P. Kazarkin. - Tomsk: Sibirika, 2011 .-- 395 p. - (Tales of the peoples of Siberia).

The collection includes folk legends and myths of the Tomsk Ob region, literary tales of Siberian writers, old tales in recording and processing, and modern literary tales. Documentary evidence is placed between the sections.
The book introduces the legends and legends of the Khanty and Mansi, Selkups, Kets, Tatars, Chulyms, Russian old-timers. Local history material in the collection is combined with artistic material.

The book is available in libraries: "Central", "Siberian", "Severnaya"

Pukhnachev, Vasily. Tales of old Tyma: (Tomsk region) / V. Pukhnachev; artist I. Titkov. - Tomsk: Tomsk regional literary group, 1953 .-- 67, p.

Siberia is great and immense. Here people of many nationalities live and work together: Russians and Yakuts, Altai and Shors, Evenks and Khanty. These are seasoned people, accustomed to overcome any difficulties, good hunters, trackers and sharp shooters. … If you go from Novosibirsk down the Ob River to the Arctic Ocean, then after a thousand kilometers in Narym you will meet the Ob tributary, the Tym River.
Tym hunters call themselves forest people. They are brave, tireless people. They love their native land, taiga, blue lakes and fast rivers. Khanty, like all Soviet people, live a happy, big life, which they could only dream of during the terrible time of tsarism and make wonderful fairy tales. On hunting camps, in inclement weather and in the evenings, you can listen to these tales for many hours in a row. They are full of deep folk wisdom, they praise the feats of brave warriors, friendship and honesty, courage and courage, loyalty and love, ridicule laziness and cowardice. Fairy tales are passed down from generation to generation and are created again by talented folk storytellers.
... On long evenings, at hunting camps around bonfires, to the sound of taiga and the murmur of old Tym, these fairy tales are written for you guys.

The book is available in the Flamingo library

Northern book: local history and literary-journalistic collection / [ed.-comp. E. V. Osokin]. - Tomsk, 1993 .-- 298, p.

The collection includes journalism, documentary and works of art, narrating about the problems of the small peoples of the Ob region of the North, as well as folklore - Ket, Mansi, Nenets, Selkup, Tatar, Tofalar, Khanty, Evenk tales.

The book is available in libraries: "Central", "Siberian", "Istoki"

Siberian fairy tales / [comp. A. L. Koptelov; artist S. Kalachev]. - 4th ed., Add. - Novosibirsk: West Siberian book publishing house, 1964. - 245, p.

The book includes Altai, Tuvan, Dolgan, Khakass, Shor, Khanty, Nenets, Buryat, Evenk, Tofalar and Yakut tales.

The book is available in the library "Siberian"

Legends of the land of Tomsk: a reader / [comp .: P.E.Bardina et al.; otv. ed .: N. V. Lukina]. - Tomsk: Tomsk State Pedagogical University Publishing House, 2004. - 186, p.

The anthology includes works of oral folk art indigenous peoples of Siberia and Russian Siberians living in the Tomsk region. Various genres are presented: myths, historical legends, fairy tales, past, everyday stories, folk jokes. Time of writing of texts: XIX-XX centuries. The publication is intended for university students specializing in ethnology and cultural studies; local history teachers; middle-aged and older children, as well as everyone who is interested in oral creativity peoples of Siberia.

The book is available in the libraries: "Frigate", "Academic", "Istoki", "Central", "Siberian", "Severnaya", "Flamingo", "House of the Family"

Tales of the peoples of Siberia / [comp .: E. Paderina, A. Plitchenko]. - Novosibirsk: West Siberian book publishing house, 1984. - 227, p.

The collection includes best fairy tales Siberia: Altai tales, Buryat tales, Dolgan tales, Mansi tales, Nenets tales, Selkup tales, Tofalar tales, Tuvan tales, Khakass tales, Khanty tales, Shor tales, Evenk tales, Yakut tales about animals, fairy tales.

The book is available in libraries: "Academic", "Central", "Siberian", "Severnaya", "Flamingo", "Family House"

Tales of the Narym Selkups: (a book for reading in the Selkup language with translations into Russian) / [notes, trans., Comments. VV Bykonya and others]. - Tomsk: NTL Publishing House, 1996 .-- 191 p.

The proposed book for reading was compiled in the Laboratory of the Languages ​​of the Peoples of Siberia on the basis of two dialectal groups of the Selkups of the Tomsk region - Sheshkup and Chumylkup. Designed for younger children school age... Recommended as study guide on the Selkup language and folklore for schools, lyceums, colleges, universities.

The book is available in the library "Siberian"

Three marals: Siberian tales of animals / [comp. E. G. Paderina; comp., ed. entry Art. A. I. Plitchenko]. - Moscow: Sovremennik, 1986 .-- 244, p.

The collection includes the best examples of the fairy tale folklore of the peoples of Siberia - Evenks, Khanty, Mansi, Kets, Nganasans, Altai, Buryats, Yakuts, Tofalars, Khakass, Tuvinians, Nenets. Fairy tales about animals embodied the knowledge and love of indigenous Siberians for wildlife, folk wisdom and poetry, aimed at educating and affirming the best qualities of the human soul - kindness, honesty, generosity.

The book is available in libraries: "Siberian", "Severnaya", "Flamingo", "House of the Family", "Eureka", "Academic", "Central"

Evenk tales / [comp. Sadko S.A.; artist Gorokhovsky E. S.]. - Novosibirsk: West Siberian book publishing house, 1971. - 131, p.

The Evenks are a small Siberian indigenous people. On summer days during rest and on long winter evenings Evenki love to remember the past, about their hero-warriors, laugh at the stupidity and greed of their former exploiters - merchants and the rich. Most often they tell stories about animals. Folk fantasy attributed to animals the way of life of people and endowed with human qualities and characters. Thanks to this, the fairy tales vividly reflect the life situation and morals of the taiga hunters. For children of primary school age.

Hunting expert Andrei Pavlovich Morozov in 1974, after graduating from the technical school, was appointed to the post of hunting expert in the Kamyshinsky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, which is on the border with the Evenki Autonomous Okrug. The amazingly beautiful nature, virgin taiga, which surrounds the full-flowing Yenisei on all sides, amazed the young specialist. And people who have lived from the moment of their birth in small villages and villages in close unity with nature made a good impression. Among the inhabitants of the region there were many hereditary professional hunters, who nevertheless were very careful about the wealth that surrounded them. Therefore, Morozov, who was called upon to protect the resources of the animal world of the taiga, did not have any problems with them.

Uncharted taiga

The lands of Morozov stretched for more than one and a half thousand square kilometers, and therefore the game manager was often on the road.
Once, in the late autumn of 1974, Andrei on horseback climbed a hundred kilometers from the regional center, to the place where the Podkamennaya Tunguska flows into the gray-haired and majestic Yenisei. It was getting dark. Glancing at his watch, Morozov decided to spend the night in a lodge located fifteen kilometers from the place where he was. He turned his horse around, crossed the ravine and was already starting to go deeper along a barely perceptible path into the taiga thicket, when the horse under him suddenly became obstinate, stopped and began to back away. Morozov looked around. Andrei did not notice anything that could alert him, but just in case he took the carbine off his shoulder. The places here were deaf, and meeting with a crank bear, wolf or lynx was not uncommon.

This is not a bear!

Meanwhile, the horse under Morozov was showing more and more excitement. Suddenly, among the spruce paws hanging almost to the ground, Andrei saw some movement. Morozov raised binoculars to his eyes and suddenly saw a large carcass of some animal in powerful eyepieces. The carcass was so large that it even surpassed itself in size. Morozov continued to gaze intently at the animal looming behind the trees, when he suddenly realized that he was not even seeing a bear at all. The animal's coat was not thick and long, like a bear's, but short and dense, like a mink, and had a strange silvery shade. Soon Andrei saw that the animal was standing on long, powerful legs, holding on to the trunk of a cedar with its forepaws, very similar to those of a monkey. Here the mysterious animal jumped up and quickly climbed up the tree, without making any noise at all. For a few seconds Morozov lost sight of this creature. Suddenly he felt a wave of cold air rush from his back. The horse under Morozov soared that he could barely stay in the saddle, and turned in the opposite direction. And then Andrey saw a mysterious animal, as they say, in all its glory. The creature stood at the edge of the ravine and stared at the hunter. His appearance was so unusual that Morozov froze for a while in amazement. Not only did the creature look like a man, only gigantic in size (height - 3-3.5 meters, chest volume 1.5-2 meters). It also had a long tail that twitched nervously, and strange ball-like growths on its mighty shoulders. Andrei was especially struck by the head of a mysterious animal. No bigger than a soccer ball, she sat on a long, thin neck. Two short, massive horns grew on the creature's forehead. The animal's broad, fleshy nose hung over its fanged mouth. Huge, pupilless creatures, without blinking, looked at the hunter.
Suddenly the creature crouched down, as if preparing to jump. Andrei involuntarily pulled the trigger. A shot rang out. The horse jerked under Morozov, he spurred it on and rushed to the saving hut ...
Throughout the night, behind the tightly closed windows of the hunting lodge, the sounds of someone's footsteps, deep sighs, and crackling were heard. It happened that the log walls of the hut trembled, as if someone was leaning on them with all the weight of their powerful body. Only in the morning, when everything was quiet, Andrey was able to forget himself with a short restless sleep.
The sun was already high when Morozov left the house, holding the carbine at the ready. In the courtyard of the gatehouse, nothing indicated that an intruder was in charge at night. Andrei went to the barn, where in the evening he led the horse, opened the door. There he was in for an unpleasant surprise - the horse was dead. Morozov carefully examined the unfortunate animal and did not find any signs of external physical influence on it. She seemed to fall asleep in a deep, serene sleep ...

Ulmesh

Soon after returning to the regional center, Andrey told about his mysterious meeting to one of the oldest hunters, Evenk Ivan Erken. After listening attentively to the young hunter, he shook his head and explained that that evening Andrei had met with Ulmesh, the demon of the taiga. According to Ivan Erken, Ulmesh is an ancient master of the taiga. Meeting with him promises hunters either trouble or great luck. It happened that the taiga demon more than once saved the frozen hunters. Ulmesh requires respect for himself, and therefore many local hunters, especially Evenks, sacrifice domestic animals or part of the game they have caught to him. Ivan himself, two or three times a year, takes chickens, ducks and even suckling pigs to one well-known place in the taiga from his backyard. Thus, he thanks Ulmesh for his miraculous salvation. About twenty years ago, Ivan Er-ken went to the bear with a spear. However, it so happened that the spear broke, and a huge furious beast rushed at the unlucky hunter. At that very moment Ulmesh appeared. From the sight of a taiga demon, both Ivan and the bear were numb, and then the frightened clubfoot ran to death. Ulmesh disappeared immediately after that. That meeting with the taiga demon was the only one in Erken's life, but the grateful hunter still remembers it in every detail.

The moon hunter and the bloody winter quarters

Another old hunter told Andrey Morozov no less mysterious legend about a bloody winter quarters. As if in the taiga, once every three years, at the most severe time, an old and dilapidated hut appears from nowhere. Woe to that of the hunters who enters it and settles down for the night. This hut, like a bloodthirsty predator, swallows unlucky travelers looking for shelter, and when it is full, it disappears again without a trace, taking its victims into oblivion. In this winter hut, Erken's great-grandfather disappeared without a trace, and his grandfather, noticing the blood stains on the steps of the porch of the unknown hut, in which he was going to stay for the night, retreated in time, thereby saving his life.
The next legend, which struck the imagination of the hunter, was the legend of the ghost of the moon hunter. During full moon periods, a ghost, dressed in a bear sheepskin coat at any time of the year, sometimes appears in the thicket of the cedar forest. No one has ever seen his face. However, any hunter knows that in the place where this ghost is found, it is impossible to hunt, because this territory has already been chosen by the moon hunter. Inevitable death awaits the one who breaks this rule in the taiga ...

Unknown on the road

Following Erken's advice, Andrei Morozov a week later brought a killed hare to the place where the taiga demon met him. And the very next day, when a hunter began to dig a cellar in the courtyard of his own house, he suddenly stumbled upon an old wrought iron chest. When Andrei opened it, he saw that the chest was filled to the brim with gold and silver coins of old minting, as well as placers of emeralds and river pearls. The old Evenk hunter, having learned about this, said that it was the owner of the taiga, Ulmesh, who thus expressed his favor to the young hunter for the perfect offering ...
For twenty years of work as a hunting expert, Andrei Pavlovich Morozov has seen everything, but only once he found confirmation of the legends he heard in his youth. When in the late eighties he drove past the Black Marsh, which is thirty kilometers from Kamyshinsk, late in the evening, he saw a human figure wandering along a forest road in the bright moonlight. Despite the summer heat, the stranger was dressed in a warm fur coat with a hood. Behind him hung an antediluvian gun, which Morozov had seen only in historical films and in local history museum... Having caught up with the unknown man, Morozov looked into his face from the open window of the UAZ cab, and in the next instant an unpleasant chill of fear ran down his spine. Instead of a face under the hood, there was emptiness.
Morozov's car drove another fifty meters. Andrei Pavlovich turned around again. This time there was no one else on the dusty road.