The article introduces one of the projects of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum in 1913. Results of the work of young researchers B. N. Gorodkov and G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov nar. Bach (right tributary of the Ob River) is reflected in field records, a series of publications and a rich photo archive representing the nature, life and culture of the indigenous population (Ostyaks) and Russian old-timers of the Vakhovsky region. Much of the footage taken by tourists at the beginning of the last century in the traditional culture of the Vakhov Khanty has been lost, so photographic documents with detailed ethnographic descriptions are of particular value to researchers.

Keywords: North-Western Siberia, Vakh River, Vakhov ostyaks, B. N. Gorodkov, G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, ethnographic research.

In 1910. The Tobolsk Provincial Museum, at the suggestion of the chief curator V. N. Pignatti, organized excursions "to study the natural history conditions" and the way of life of the indigenous population of the Ob-Irtysh North, as well as to collect collections. Professional scientists, museum staff and local historians were involved in field surveys. The routes of the annual expeditions covered the vast expanses of Northwestern Siberia: the Konda (1910, 1914) and Salym (1911) rivers, Nakhodka Bay and the lower reaches of the Ob (1912), the Irtysh (1912) and Vakh (1913) rivers, the coast of the Ob and Taz provinces (1913), rivers Shchuchya (1913), Kazym (1914), Poluy (1914), Nadym (1916). The project was supported by the capital's scientific centers and museums, local government agencies and private companies. The expeditions were organized by the Imperial Geographical Society, the Botanical and Ethnographic Museums of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Emperor Alexander III, the Tobolsk Resettlement Administration, and others. [Tobolsk Provincial Museum..., 1915].

To the river valley. Vakh in June-September 1913, the fifth expedition of the Tobolsk Museum set off. It consisted of a natural science student at St. Petersburg University B. N. Gorodkov and a "former high school student" L. F. Melnikov (instead of L. R. Schultz, who failed to leave). In the village of Laryak, they were joined by their teacher G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov. Young people were entrusted with holding such a serious event, because they, being indigenous Tobolyaks, had long collaborated with the museum and had extensive field research experience.

Boris Nikolaevich Gorodkov was born on February 2, 1890 in the family of a teacher of the history of literature of the Tobolsk Theological School. The young man's acquaintance with the museum, where his father was the curator of the library for some time, communication with local historians, and numerous excursions around the vicinity of Tobolsk developed his interest in geobotany. In high school, B. N. Gorodkov became seriously interested in chemistry. After graduating from the gymnasium with a silver medal, he entered the chemical department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University [Boris Nikolaevich Gorodkov], but continued to cooperate with the Tobolsk Museum: in 1910 and 1911. he worked as a member of the expeditions of V. N. Pignatti to the Konda River (Tobolsk uyezd) and L. R. Schultz to the Salym River (Surgut uyezd); in 1912, he independently made a trip to the Ishim uyezd [Gorodkov, 1912, 1913; Tobolsk Provincial Museum..., 1915].

Grigory Mikhailovich Dmitriev-Sadovnikov was born on November 3, 1885. His father kept an inn, one of the brothers was a clerk and had a personal herd of deer, the other served as a psalmist in the church of the village of Shchekurya (Berezovsky District), where the priest at that time was the famous local historian V. N. Gerasimov. After graduating from the model school at the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, and then from the district school, the 18-year-old young man went to work as a teacher at an elementary school that had just opened in the village of Laryak (Surgut district).

G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov lived in the village of Laryak for about ten years (1904-1913), combining his teaching activities with the study of the Vakhovsky region. The object of his ethnographic and linguistic research was the Vakhov Ostyaks (Khanty) - one of the eastern ethno-territorial groups of the Ob Ugs-

page 121
moat*. Having mastered the language of the local population, G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov compiled a dictionary and grammar of the Khanty language. Since 1910, G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov actively interacted with the Tobolsk Museum, adding to its ethnographic, botanical and zoological collections. In 1911, he participated in the preparation of the First West Siberian Exhibition in Omsk, and in 1912, he examined one of the Ostyatsky places of worship on the r. Vakh [Ugra Regional Studies..., 1995, p. 37; Beloborodov and Igonina, 1998]. The Yearbook of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum published an article by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov [1911] and the Ostyak legend recorded by him [Sadovnikov, 1912].

In 1913, a large expedition to the Vakha Valley took place. The archive of the Tobolsk State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (TGIAMZ) has preserved a manuscript by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov entitled " My works on the Vakhov expedition of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum in 1913. Diary" (ON TGIAMZ. N 135). 80 years later, thanks to the efforts of V. K. Beloborodov and I. V. Igonina, it was published in the series "People of the Ugra Land" [Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1998, pp. 105-141].

According to the plan, the participants of this excursion were to take a kayak "on rowing" and "bechevoy" up the Vakhu to the tributary of the Kul-yegan, follow it to the Lohkentug lakes and, after making a hike to Yergan-yegan, move to Sabun and go back to Laryak [Ibid., p. 106]. During the expedition, B. N. Gorodkov, who was the head of the detachment, was engaged in botanical and geographical research, collecting samples of flora and fauna, G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov - ethnography, L. F. Melnikov - meteorological observations; all participants conducted route surveys. The materials of the excursion-the herbarium "consisting of 1,200 leaves of higher plants and 114 leaves of mosses and lichens", soil samples, small zoological collections, household items and cult items of Ostyaks, as well as numerous photographs - were transferred to the Tobolsk Museum [Tobolsk Provincial Museum..., 1915].

Laryak Russian old-timers and Vakhov ostyaks acted as consultants and guides for the expedition participants. The researchers ' knowledge of the Ostyak language and customs contributed to the fruitful work and establishment of trusting relations with the local population. For the latter, the tourists aroused genuine interest. Usually, the indigenous people of Wah saw only the priest and the paramedic, who rarely showed up in these places. According to G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov's memoirs, Ostyaks were always ready to sit around "the first Russians who came here in the summer" [1998, p. 106, 108, 131].

The expedition had two cameras: one of them belonged to the museum and was taken by B. N. Gorodkov, the other by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov [Ibid., p. 110]. Their photos are kept in two author's collections in the TGIAMZ funds. A set of photo illustrations corresponds to the tasks set and research priorities: B. N. Gorodkov's collection mainly presents natural landscapes and typical vegetation of the region, although there are also ethnos; G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov's photo series is an ethnographic overview. The photo illustrations are very informative. Additional information is provided by their captions, which must include references to the area and Ostyak names.

The researchers knew well what to shoot and how to shoot, had extensive experience working in the North and a sense of field workers. G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov's photographs easily fit into travel records; his collections for 1912 and 1913 contain thematic series ("making a hand bow", "making a pole"). But judging by the diaries, photo shoots were not always fun for Ostyaks. In one of the yurts, Ostyak did not allow the child to be photographed, explaining that he was ill: "And why take it off: if you take a card from him, he will die completely" [Ibid., p. 127].

Photos and diary entries of the expedition participants give a vivid idea of the indigenous inhabitants of the Waha Valley. In the sketches of G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, one can feel a sincere attachment to the taiga people: "Ostyaki r. The Vakha are of medium height; their heads are round, with sparsely graying, dark, bristly hair, prominent cheekbones, and uniform colors... short - tempered, but honest, trusting and hospitable, always sharing with those in need and providing them with help... theft among them is rare" [Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1911, p. 5].

The results of G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov's ethnographic research are presented in a series of works, and although they do not claim to be a deep scientific analysis, their significance lies in the exceptional quality of the material [1913, 1915, 1916a, b]. Today, when much of the traditional culture of the Vakhov Khanty has been lost, the ethnographic realities recorded by tourists in combination with photographic documents acquire a new meaning. a special value.

The Vakhovskaya excursion became one of the most successful projects of the Tobolsk Museum. Continuing to cooperate with the museum, in 1914 B. N. Gorodkov and G. M. Dmit-

* The Vakhov Ostyaks (Khanty) are one of the Ob Ugric groups that geographically occupy a border position between the Ugric and Samoyedic peoples, which largely determines its ethnic identity. The self-name is waha yah 'people of the Wah River'. They speak the Vakh dialect of the eastern group of dialects of the Khanty language. Currently, they live in the Nizhnevartovsk district of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.

** Both works were not published.

page 122
Riev-Sadovnikov conducted a joint expedition to the nar. Poluy [Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1919]. In 1915, B. N. Gorodkov worked on the rivers of the North. Sosva and Manya, in 1917 - in the lower reaches of the Ob River and on the southern coast of the Gulf of Ob. In 1916, on the instructions of the museum, G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov made a trip along the Nadym River [Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1917, 1918].

The revolutionary events and the Civil War (1917-1921) affected the fate of the participants of the Vakhovskaya excursion in different ways. G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, who shared the views of the Social Revolutionaries and Siberian regional officials, according to some sources, was shot in Tobolsk in the summer of 1921, according to others, he died in 1920 during the uprising in Obdorsk [Ugra Local Lore..., 1995, p. 37; Beloborodov and Igonina, 1998]. In 1926, in the collection "Ural" was published his article on the materials of recent expeditions (Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1928). The manuscripts "Observations on the Natural phenomena of the Four Seasons on Vakha" and "On the extinction of the Non-native inhabitants of the Vakha River, their diseases and medicines" were not published during the author's lifetime. The first one was lost, and the second one was published only in the late 1990s (see Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1998, pp. 97-104).

Unlike his companion on the 1913 excursion, B. N. Gorodkov continued his scientific research. He died in 1953 in Leningrad. Over the course of 39 years, the scientist made 26 trips to poorly studied areas of the Far North; the routes of his expeditions ran from the Kola Peninsula to Chukotka and Kamchatka. B. N. Gorodkov, who compiled descriptions of hard-to-reach areas of Western Siberia, the Polar Urals, and the Arctic, is one of the most outstanding researchers of the North. A mountain peak and glacier in the Polar Urals, a mountain in Antarctica, a cape in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, a lake in the north of the Tyumen Region, and five plant species bear his name. In Soviet, Russian and world science, B. N. Gorodkov is known as an outstanding geobotanist, geographer, soil scientist, professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences (since 1935). He was awarded the N. M. Przhevalsky Medal (1924), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1945) and the Order of Lenin (1953). (see Kozin, 2000; Belich and Kozin, 2004; et al.).

The materials of the expeditions of B. N. Gorodkov and G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov are fragmentally replicated in scientific and popular scientific publications, used in museum expositions and exhibitions. However, there was no complete presentation of the project under consideration, as well as other very successful expeditions of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum of the early XX century. The photographic materials of the expedition of young researchers preserved in the TGIAMZ funds are a valuable source of information about the traditional culture and everyday life of the Ostyaks of the Vakhovsky region of the last century.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the Tobolsk State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, which provided the opportunity to publish photos and use archival documents, and expresses special gratitude to its employees Zaituna Tychinsky, Sergey Zdanovsky, Svetlana Osipova and Dmitry Markelov.

List of literature

Belich I. V., Kozin V. V. Gorodkov Boris Nikolaevich / / Yamal: encyclopedia of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Salekhard, Tyumen: Publishing House of the Tyumen State University, 2004, vol. 1, pp. 240-241.

Beloborodov V. K., Igonina I. V. Uchitel', kraeved i grazhdanit [Teacher, local historian and citizen]. Yekaterinburg: Sredne-Uralskoe kn. izd-vo, 1998, pp. 5-30.

Gorodkov Boris Nikolaevich [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.gpavet.narod.ru/gorodkov.htm

Gorodkov B. N. Ocherk rastitel'nosti nizoviy reki Kondy [Essay on vegetation of the lower reaches of the Konda River]. ETGM. - 1912. - Issue 20. - pp. 1 - 35.

Gorodkov B. N. Pozdka v Salymskogo krai [A trip to the Salym region]. ETGM. - 1913. - Issue 21. - p. 1-100.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. From the Vakha River of the Surgut uyezd / / ETGM. - 1911. - Issue 19. - pp. 1-21.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Vakhovsky region / / ETGM. 1913, Issue 21, pp. 1-10.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Luk vakhovskikh ostyakov i okhota s imu [Onion of the Vakhovsk ostyaks and hunting with them]. 24. - p. 1-22.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Beresto i izdeliya iz ego u ostyakov r. Vakha [Birch bark and products made from it near the ostyaks of the Vakha River]. - 1916a. - Issue 1. - p. 8-14.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Na Vakhe [On Vakhe]. ETGM. - 1916b. - Issue. 26. - p. 1-15.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. The Nadym River / / ETGM. - 1917. - Issue 27. - P. 24; 1918. - Issue 29. - P. 1-24.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. The Polui River. Izv. Rus. Geogr. about-va. - 1919. - Vol. 52, issue 6. - pp. 493-497.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Rybolovnye osennye i zimnye promysly predstavnostey Obdorsk [Fishing autumn and winter fisheries of the Obdorsk area]. Uralskiy Sever, 1928, issue 8, part 1, pp. 157-177.

Dmitriev-Sadovnikov G. M. Versts and lines. Yekaterinburg: Sredne-Uralskoe kn. izd-vo, 1998, 224 p. (in Russian)

Kozin V. V. Gorodkov Boris Nikolaevich / / Yugoria: encyclopedia of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. - Khanty-Mansiysk: Publishing House of the Tyumen State University, 2000. - Vol. 1. - p. 243.

Sadovnikov Bogatyr of the Sabuna River, a right tributary of the Vakha River / / ETGM. - 1912. - Issue 20. - pp. 1-6.

Tobolsk Provincial Museum for 25 years of its existence (1890-1815) / / ETGM. - 1915. - Issue 25. - pp. 41-43.

Ugra local historians (materials for the bibliographic dictionary). - Shadrinsk: PO "Iset", 1995. - 135 p.

E. V. Perevalova

Institute of History and Archeology of UrORAN

56 Rosa Luxemburg St., Yekaterinburg, 620026,

E-mail: elena_рerevalova@mail.ru

page 123

1. The river Valley Vakh (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

The Vakh River, a right tributary of the Ob, originates in the north of the Vakh-Ket upland and flows from east to west. It is winding and fast, the length of the riverbed is approx. 1 thousand km. The village of Laryak (Laryatskoe) is located in the middle reaches of the Vakha River; on June 27, 1913, an excursion came there, equipped with the Tobolsk Provincial Museum, in order to study the nature of the region, the occupations and life of the Vakhov Ostyaks. According to legend, the ancestors of the Ostyaks who came to Vakh destroyed the local population and, having pushed the Samoyeds (Yaranyakhs) who threatened with constant raids, firmly settled on the banks of the river. At the beginning of the XX century, the number of Vakhov ostyaks (vakhayakh) was more than 2 thousand people.

2. Vakhovsky ostyak (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

3. Participants of the Vakhovskaya excursion (from left to right): teacher G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, student B. N. Gorodkov and "former high school student" L. F. Melnikov (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 124

4. View of Laryak from the river (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

The village of Laryak is located on the picturesque bank of the channel connecting the Vakh and Sabun rivers. In the early 20th century. there were more than 30 buildings, which housed, in particular, an elementary school, a foreign council, and a paramedic station. Most of the residents are Russian artisans and traders, a teacher, a priest and a paramedic. Several Ostyak families also lived permanently in Larjak. The village was noticeably lively during the winter and spring fairs. Ostyaks brought furs, fish and reindeer skins for sale, paid yasak, bought flour and other goods from local merchants. With the end of the fair, the ostyaks left for their yurts and the village was empty until the arrival of the steamer, which annually delivered flour to the bakery store.

5. Ostyak's family (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

page 125

6. Winter log dwelling. Yurts of Yergan-Yegansky, Yergan-Yegan river (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

Participants of the 1913 excursion visited the winter and summer yurts of ostyaks scattered along the banks of the Vakha River at a considerable distance from each other. Ordinary winter dwellings were dugouts or log huts with a chuval (open fireplace) and ice floes instead of windows. Chuval was built at one of the side walls of the dwelling. Its skeleton was constructed from poles tied with talnik or bird cherry hoops and cedar root, smeared on top with clay mixed with dry grass. For heating and lighting the dwelling, firewood was placed vertically in the chuval, and for cooking - horizontally. In Chuval, as well as on an open fire, it was easy to prepare a favorite ostyak dish - baked unleavened tortillas in ashes or on "horns".

7. At the chuval in the Ostyak yurt (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

8. Ostyak unleavened cakes (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 126

9. Ostyatskaya dugout. Laryak village, Vakh river (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

According to the diary entries of G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, in Laryak some Ostyaks lived in Russian huts with glass windows, iron and brick stoves. Next to the hut were the usual Ostyak dugouts (muv cat). Various frame buildings covered with birch bark were used as summer and temporary dwellings (birch bark is good for air passage and protects from rain). The hearth in such a dwelling was built directly on the ground, smoke came out through a hole in the roof.

Summer settlements were located on the so-called fishing sands, where after opening the rivers Ostyaks went to fish. Sheds and hangers for drying nets and seines were installed next to summer plums and huts.

10. Summer plague of ostyak. Lohken-tugsky yurts, Kul-yegan river (photo by B. N. Gorodkov, 1913).

page 127

11. Birch bark hut. Yurts of Malye Korlikin, Vakh River (photo by B. N. Gorodkov, 1913).

On the rich "fishing sands", up to several dozen birch bark plagues were collected while waiting for the fish to rise. Ostyaks who arrived for summer fishing met with relatives and representatives of other genera from remote villages, which they might not have seen since last year.

Vakhovsky ostyaks called each other by the name of yurts or nicknames, less often-surnames. One or more surnames formed a clan, often originating from a heroic ancestor (matur). Marriages between families belonging to the same ancestral group were prohibited. Tribal groups usually had a common sanctuary and worshipped a common patron spirit.

12. The Ostyak group. Lohken-tugsky yurts, Kul-yegan river (photo by B. N. Gorodkov, 1913).

page 128

13. Pasting the bowstring with birch bark (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

The Vakhoi Ostyaks, as G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov noted, were reputed to be skilled trappers. Fishing for the beast, they reached the rivers Demyanka, Tolka, Taz and Yenisei. For hunting, flintlocks, stave bows and various pressure traps (cherkans, mouths, slopts and kulems) were used. Especially appreciated were complex trees glued together from three types of trees (spruce, birch, bird cherry) hunting bows.

On Vakha, "bear" stories were popular, telling about the prey of an animal in a den or meeting it one - on-one in the urman taiga. At the beginning of the XX century, among the ostyaks, there were fishermen who had up to a hundred bears on their account. One of them is Calipog iki (old Bald Head). Ostyaks mastered hunting skills from childhood. Going out with their fathers to the taiga, the sons learned to "read" the trail of the beast, and from the age of 12 they hunted independently.

14. Calypog (Bald Head) - a famous bear hunter (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

15. Ostyak-a teenage duck hunter. Mekhteg-Vankiny yurts, Sabun River (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 129

16. Checking the trap by a Russian old-timers ' trapper (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

Vakhovtsy were famous for their ability to make dugout boats-oblas. Fast single-tree boats adapted to local water bodies were used not only by ostyaks, but also by Russian old-timers. By the appearance of the region, local residents easily identified the master's hand. It took three to five days to make a boat out of an aspen trunk.

Fish production on Vakha was carried out all year round, with the exception of the ice freeze period. They caught mainly pike, ide, crucian carp, perch, chebak, ruff, dace and burbot, in the lower reaches of the river came across nelma. After the water receded, the varov season came: the rivers were blocked by varami-barriers made of stakes driven into the bottom, fastened with twigs and cedar root. Vars were equipped with light but strong fishing traps made of pine shingles and cedar root - muzzles and kotzami.

17. Ostyak for weaving a fishing trap (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

18. Sampling of the interior of the region (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 130

19. Olenya "izba". The mouth of the Kul-egan River (photo by B. N. Gorodkov, 1913).

Participants of the 1913 expedition described the traditional reindeer husbandry of the Vakhov Ostyaks. Domestic deer on Vakha were kept a little - no more than ten naked in one farm. They were harnessed mainly in winter for trips to distant fishing grounds and to the fair. To protect the herd from wildebeest, log "huts" with chimneys were built at summer camps. Ostyaks from Taz brought a small number of deer to Larjak for sale. Despite the old enmity between the Vakhov and Taz Ostyaks, there were marital ties.

20. A group of Taz ostyaks who came to Laryak (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 131

21. Ostyachka girl with R. Taz (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

22. Young Ostyak from the upper reaches of the r. Vakh (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

According to documents from the beginning of the 20th century, the largest yurts on Vakha were inhabited by up to ten families, and the smallest ones by one or two. Ostyak families consisted, as a rule, of 10-15 people. A young married woman was supposed to be" ashamed " - to cover her face with a handkerchief from her husband's older relatives and perform other rituals related to the custom of avoiding (to address her elders only in the third person, to speak quietly, with her face turned away, not to use nicknames). This custom also extended to the father-in-law, mother-in-law and their sons-in-law. It was believed that failure to observe the rites could lead to illness and even death of family members.

23. Tea party. Mekhteg-Vanka yurts, Sabun River (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

page 132

24. Ostyak's family. Kokhlyankiny yurts, Kul-egan river (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1913).

The young ostyak who decided to marry sent a shawl to his chosen one. If the gift was accepted, matchmakers fell asleep to the parents of the future bride, who agreed on the kalym and the time of the wedding. There were almost no divorces among the Ostyaks; if a woman returned to her father or brothers, she took her dowry.

The birth of a child, especially a boy, was a joyous event for the Ostyaks. From birth to one year, the baby spent most of the time in a cradle sewn from birch bark or made of wood. Due to the constant employment of their parents, teenage girls became nannies for their younger brothers and sisters. Mother and father rarely punished their children.

25. Ostyak children. Laryak village, Vakh river (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

page 133

26. Chapel. Okhtiuryevsky yurts, Vakh River (photo by B. N. Gorodkov, 1913).

To spread Christianity among the Vakhov ostyaks, a church was built in Laryak on the site of an ancient cemetery, and a small chapel was built in the Okhtiuryevsky yurts on Vakha. In many Ostyak yurts there were icons, most often St. Nicholas the Saint. Most of the Ostyaks were baptized, but in ancient shrines they continued to make sacrifices to the gods and patron spirits in the form of skins and blood of sacrificial animals, handkerchiefs, robes, and pieces of cloth.

27. A caftan-clad horse skin on a tree near the "shamanic" hut (photo by G. M. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov, 1912).

page 134

Permanent link to this publication: