In the previous article, published in "Pro Ethnologia 5" I discussed the sacrifices of the Pim River Khanties, giving a more detailed account of the joint sacrifice of December 1995. Not having had the opportunity to be present at the ceremony, I had to put up with the information gleaned from my informers (Barkalaja 1997). In December, 1997, however, I was fortunate enough to participate in the joint offering (jyyr) of the Khanties of the same region, enabling me to present a better survey of the discussed phenomenon.

Sacrificial Ritual on Pim river, 1997

In October 1997, I was informed that the Kanterov family had once again undertaken to arrange a joint sacrifice and I might have a good opportunity to participate. Since communicating with the Surgut region Khanties is extremely difficult, I did not succeed in specifying exactly when the ceremony would take place. According to my communication source, such sacrifices are usually held during the last waxing or full moon of the month of December (Barkalaja 1997: 58); therefore I judged that it would be best to arrive immediately before the moon waxed full. The last full moon of the year happened on Sunday, December 13. Unfortunately we were delayed because of transport failures and arrived only late on Saturday, learning upon arrival that the sacrificial ritual had begun in the morning of the same day.

The site of the joint sacrifice was located on a bend of the River Pim, where a copse of birches grew to the north of the river-bank. On the trees, I could see reindeer skinsand stretches of textile hung there during the previous sacrifice (in 1995). At the right-hand side of the clearing between the trees and the river, a big fire had been lit. A few metres to the north-east of it, there lay the hide and head of a sacrificed reindeer with a red cloth tied around its antlers. On the strength of information obtained during the previous field-work it could be assumed that the reindeer had been offered to the Mother of Fire.¹ Later this assumption was proved correct. Lined up with that reindeer hide, there lay some other reindeer hides and one horse hide. All the hides were placed with their heads pointing to the north. A little way off from the hides, towards the trees, there was a bush with lots of cloth tied to it; bank notes were scattered on the ground around it. The Khanties had just been throwing bank notes onto the place of sacrifice. Expedition members were also offered a chance to sacrifice money; naturally we could not refrain. In the North-Eastern end of the birch copse, next to an old tree-stump, there lay two reindeer hides and one cow-hide with the head of a cow placed next to it. These hides were placed in the reverse direction, with their heads pointing towards the river. To the south of the site of sacrifice, nearer the river, there was yet another reindeer hide flanked by conical sheet-metal gourds. As a result of later questioning we learned that the reindeer had been offered to the "Lower"² god and the gourds were meant to be hats for him and his two assistants. The informant also explained what animals had been offered to what gods: the "Upper god"³ was given two reindeer and a horse, one horse being valued as equal to seven reindeer. Further, the soul of one reindeer was offered to the moon, one to the sun, one to Postajank-iki⁴, one to As-iki⁵, one to Pim-iki . the deity of the river Pim. In addition, one reindeer was sent to Choorys-nai, two reindeer and a cow to Myg-imi (see endnote 1) and one reindeer, as mentioned above, to the "Lower" god.

Since tradition forbids to carry out sacrificial rituals in the dark, it was decided to continue them on the following day. Extremely cold weather (. 45 ^°C) slowed down the performing of the rites; therefore, according to my informant⁶, some changes had been introduced to the tradition. Usually the shaman conducting the ceremony must, with the help of his drum, guide each reindeer's spirit individually to the lower or upper world, directly to the addressee, that is to the deity the reindeer was offered to. This time, the shaman rounded all the spirits of the reindeer offered to the gods of the upper world up into a herd and took them all together to the "upper way", where he "distributed the spirits to their addressees while moving up along the way" (quote from the informant). A small incident took place in connection with the use of the drum during the ceremony. Initially, the drum of Filipp K. had been chosen for use during the ceremony, but after a couple of strokes the shaman pronounced the drum spoiled, saying it would lead him astray when he moves along the path. Then Filipp confessed that one night, being drunk and in a somewhat elated mood, he had played the drum. Since the spoiled drum could no longer be used for shamanising, it was necessary to use the drum of another family.⁷

A strong cold wave had arrived on Friday night and according to the Khanties, Torum had turned the weather cold in order to prevent the filming of the sacrifice. The assembly of the Khanties had originally given permission to the representative of the local Lyantor municipal council to be present at the ceremony in return for his help in obtaining the horse and cow necessary for the sacrifice. Local television, having learned about the event, wanted to record it on video tape, but the Khanties refused permission to the TV-team. The TV people, however, were reluctant to give up and gave the camera to the representative of the municipal council, asking him to shoot the sacrifice. None of the Khanties interfered with the setting up and switching on of the camera, but as my informant triumphantly declared, the camera could not tolerate the cold and automatically switched off in four minutes. It was obvious that the Khanties attributed this course of events to the intrusion of the sky god.

A little way off from the site of sacrifice, a camp had been set up with three conical huts and a few tents intended to accommodate a couple of hundred people. Yegor Kanterov said that the year before, when a joint sacrifice was arranged by a different family, there had not been so many people present. At the same time he expressed regret that many Khanties had refrained from coming because of rumours that Russians would be allowed to be present. The number of people present at the sacrifice reflects the position of the arranger on the ladder of social hierarchy (Barkalaja 1997: 63). Nevertheless, the arranging of a joint offering is a troublesome and expensive enterprise not very willingly undertaken. Since the gods had imposed it on the Kanterov family to organise three joint sacrifices, Yegor Kanterov decided to assume leadership and hold the second ceremony after so short an interval in order to have done with the obligation sooner. At the campsite, men assembled in Yegor Kanterov's hut where the shaman was to perform a séance in order to find out the gods' attitude towards the sacrifice and appoint a new keeper to the hlunk of the River Pim, since the former keeper had died (Barkalaja 1997: 65. 66). Unfortunately the shamanic séance could not be held that night because the shaman had got drunk and was not able to perform. One of the informants commented that he had got drunk on purpose, because of the presence of a Russian . that is, the representative of the municipal council . whose proximity might have interfered with the performing of the ritual. Therefore it was decided to go to bed and put the performing of the séance off till next morning.

In the morning, the representative of the municipal council set about to leave, but before he went all the men participating in the ceremony assembled in the elder's tent. The elder of the sacrifice took out the money raised for the purpose (Barkalaja 1997: 60) and, with the help of his assistants, counted it into several piles of equal value. He then picked up one pile of bank notes and handed it on, clockwise, so that everybody present could hold it for a while. After that he handed the money to the representative of the municipality who was at first reluctant to accept it. Only after he was explained that it was ritual recompense for his trouble, he agreed to take the money. Next, money was distributed in like manner to the shaman, his assistants and the owners of the sacrificed reindeer.

After the representative of the Lyantor municipal council had departed, the shaman began his séance. Before he did so the elder of the sacrifice, Yegor Kanterov, asked the members of our expedition to give a bottle of vodka for the prayer, which was to demonstrate our goodwill towards the success of the séance. The prayer was sayed by the elder of the sacrifice. For that purpose he poured out a glassful of vodka and set the glass on the corner of the table.⁸ In the prayer that followed, he addressed Torum and offered him the vodka, mentioning also the guests from Estonia who joined in the prayer and had brought the vodka. While he was saying the prayer, all the participants turned, at short intervals, three times clockwise around the right shoulder. Finally a glassful of vodka was thrown into the fire; the high-flaring flame was interpreted as a sign that the god was pleased. Next the elder filled the glass with vodka again and gave it to the shaman who took a gulp and handed it back. In the same manner the elder offered vodka to all participants, moving around clockwise. Since the number of men was great, one bottle did not suffice and two more had to be opened. After that the elder picked up the drum and warmed it by the sheet-iron stove, turning it round clockwise and warming it from the edges. From time to time he beat the drum lightly, checking its sound. When the sound was considered right, he handed the drum to the shaman who began to beat it. He used different rhythms while doing so. After some time the shaman leapt up and began to move forward, jumping on two feet and beating time to his movements. The drum was held alternately up towards the sky and down towards the earth; while the drum-stick was held up, he beat free rhythm, whereas while it struck the drum from below, each third stroke was stressed. During the jumping, the men standing by shouted in chorus in exactly the same manner as during the sacrifice. Thus the shaman beat the drum, alternating different rhythms, until he began to sing, using free rhythm for accompaniment. The song sounded different from all previous ones I had heard. The shaman appeared to be using throat singing, yet the voice was rather high. In a short while it seemed that the song was sounding from all directions at once, the effect was particularly impressive when the eyes were closed. After about ten or eleven minutes the shaman grew calmer and sat down, the song also became calmer. Soon he stopped singing and drum-beating altogether and began to talk in the ordinary manner, handing the drum to the master who resumed warming the drum. An informant told me that the song had been highly figurative and artistic, "like a poem", and the appropriate words were "given" to the shaman. Even though the words of the song were intelligible, the informant was not able to make out its content and meaning. "Only shamans and a few old men can understand the songs," he commented. The old men listened to the song with great concentration and asked the shaman to repeat certain parts of it. The song was discussed for about ten minutes, then the shaman resumed singing and drum-beating. In like manner, the cycle was repeated several times.

The audience felt relatively free during the séance: people were smoking, eating, drinking, walking in and out of the hut. During the intervals, while the songs were being discussed, jokes were cracked and gods' will commented on, so that everybody was laughing out loud. All in all, the activity lasted till noon.

At noon everybody assembled and went together to the site of the sacrifice. Halfway to the river, a three-meter strip of cotton cloth was spread across the road and three bottles and some bank notes were set on it. Great care was taken to assure that nobody remained on the bank but moved on to the river ice. The end of the cloth was lifted up for the late arrivals, in order that they should not step onto or over the cloth. Then a bottle was opened and prayer made. Again the glass of vodka went round, clockwise, until everyone had sipped of it. Then everybody moved on to the place of sacrifice; the women stayed in the background while the men began to hang up the hides of the sacrificed animals onto the trees. The same broad strips of cloth that had been tied around the animals' necks during the sacrifice were used for tying the hides to the tops of the trees. The hides of the animals offered to the sky gods, as well as the strips of cloth given to them, were tied to the trees. The bank notes scattered onto the ground the night before were picked up, portioned off and tied into the corners of the cloth. The hides of the animals offered to Myg-imi were left to lie on the ground; the reindeer hide and conical metal hats given to the "Lower One" remained in like manner on the river ice. The hide of the reindeer offered to Choorys-nai was dragged next to the spot where fire had blazed on the previous night. The message sticks (Barkalaja 1997: 59) were tied to the branches of a smaller birch. The shaman pointed out which trees the hides were to be tied to. After the hides had all found their appropriate places, a common prayer was held at the end of which everybody started running clockwise on a course encompassing the whole sacrificial ground, including the reindeer hide lying on the river ice. When a full circle had been completed, the men sat into their snowmobiles and started a race, each straining to be the first one to cross the cloth halfway back to the campsite where sacrifice had been brought previously. In the course of the contest, the vodka bottles got smashed and the money and cloth torn to pieces. Women and children prudently kept out of the way. With the race, the joint offering was finished and people began to dissemble to their homes.

The joint offering of 1997 demonstrated once again that the influence of the Kanterov family among the Pim River Khanties is steadily increasing. In 1996, the sacrifice was arranged by another family and only about ten families, less than one third of the Pim River Khanties, attended it. Further proof of the Kanterovs' influence was furnished by the fact that the representative of the local administration was allowed to participate. Accepting assistance from the administration in obtaining the animals to be sacrificed, Yegor Kanterov was forced to oblige the representative and persuade his kinsfolk to do the same. Keeping in mind that for many years all information concerning joint sacrifices was jealously guarded from strangers, it is obvious that agreements of the kind can only be reached through an influential position in the social hierarchy. Reports of the ceremonies still being held by the Khanties came as a complete surprise to the authorities as well as other immigrants, arising at the same time considerable interest. This interest is partly caused by the changed relations between the colonial and indigenous cultures. After perestroika, the latter has risen to higher esteem both among the immigrants and among the younger generation of the Khanties themselves.

* This article has been prepared by support of the Estonian Science Foundation (project no 3134).

1 Here it should be noted that as to the person of the Mother of Fire, there are considerable differences of opinion among the Khanties of different regions. On the River Vakh, Anki-Pugos is regarded as Mother of Fire (Kulemzin, Lukina 1977: 137. 138). Sometimes a red cloth is thrown into the fire there, "in order that Anki-Pugos may have children". Sometimes, again, the fire was covered with a red dress. It was said that Anki-Pugos would wear it. In order to placate Anki-Pugos, white reindeer with even the slightest red markings on their fur were sacrificed to her on the Vakh (Kulemzin, Lukina 1977: 144).

According to Kulemzin, the Eastern Khanties believe that Anki Pugos lives somewhere towards the East, where the sun rises; the Khanties of the Vakh, however, claim that her soul lives in the sky while she herself dwells on the Varyugan (Kulemzin 1984: 54. 55). According to a folk-tale, again, she used to live in the upper world with her husband Numi Torum but was cast down because of breaching a ban. On her way down she had time to give birth to a son who later on became the chief patron of the Ob-Ugrians (known under various names, basically as Sorni-iki among the Eastern Khanties and as Mir-susne-Xum . "The Man Who Watches the People" among the Mansi. About the latter, see Lintrop 1997; 1998). Pugos-imi (a parallel name of Anki-Pugos) protects motherhood, birth-giving and children. If a woman has been unfaithful to her husband, Anki-Pugos may punish her with a difficult delivery (Kulemzin, Lukina 1977: 141). Obviously her own fate is tormenting her.

Another name . Kaltash-anki (or Kattas imi, see Martynova 1998: 45, 130), wife of Numi-Torum . is also associated with Anki-Pugos. On the Vakh, she is said to be the mother of Torum (Kulemzin, Lukina 1977: 137), but apparently the researchers have not specified which of the torums is kept in mind. Probably it would be Kaltash's youngest son, Sorni-iki, one of the most popular torums of the region. According to B. Munkácsi, Kaltash-anki is alternately the daughter, sister or wife of the main god (Karjalainen 1918: 248): another fact indicating that the researchers have not properly identified the personage the Ob-Ugrians keep in mind when speaking about Torum.

Kaltash is also the foremother of the Mos-phratry, appearing in the corresponding story in the shape of a female hare (Sokolova 1971: 216). Another shape she can take, according to the Khanties of Vakh, is that of an owl (Kulemzin 1984: 55). Amongst other names she is known as Myv-imi . Mother Earth. Karjalainen regards the different names as signifying different personages but the distinction seems to be erroneous, the more so that he himself records cases proving the identity of character and activity of the variously named goddess (Karjalainen 1918: 37. 39). The plurality of names is certainly not to be wondered at, since the Khanties of different regions are far from agreed on the different versions . a fact born out also by the following report from the Yugan: "The Salym people have a different language and different gods, too. The Pim River Khanties speak a tongue closer to us than the Salym language" (Martynova 1998: 23).

A strong argument in support of the connection between Myv-imi and Kaltash-imi is the above-mentioned story about how Kaltash-imi was cast down from the heaven by Numi-Torum because of her misbehaviour. The misbehaviour consisted in sexual intercourse with another man (Karjalainen 1918: 248) identified as "Lord of the lower world" (oral report from Semyon Pesikov). The lord of the lower world is known as Myv-por-koon among the Pim Khanties. He is said to dwell on the seventh floor of the lower world. Other names for the Lord of the Lower World are Kul-Otar (Hoppál 1975: 203) or Kul-iki. Myg-imi is said to protect people from diseases by keeping closed the hole in the earth which illnesses pass through. In order that she may do so, seven copper cauldrons are said to have been buried in the earth for her. These she is reported to use to cover up the holes. In the course of his field work, the Russian researcher Kulemzin received four copper cauldrons from the Khanties of Vasyugan. He was told that the cauldrons had been preserved on cape Imi-nai (Khanty for Woman-Fire) in Lake Tuh-emtor where they had been taken "for reasons of health". The remaining three cauldrons were said to have been lost. In her work she is assisted by a god called Myg-junk, associated by Karjalainen with the heavenly god Torum-junk (ibid.: 138). Some Pim River Khanties take Myg-iki to be Myg-imi's husband (Yegor Kanterov, 1997). The Yugan Khanties connect Myg-anki or Pugos anki with childbirth. The latter is also the Mother of Fire, who according to some reports lives in the sky, according to others on the Little Yugan or perhaps the Vakh River (Martynova 1998: 158, 164).

Kaltash-anki or Pugos-imi can be identified with Tshoorys-nai, Mother of Fire. The River Ob is said to flow into a big sea, at the bottom of which there is hole where the water falls and burns in a big fire. The fire is called Choorys-nai and she is the wife of Tshoor-skyyn, king of the sea, and also the mother of all fires (Semyon Pesikov, 1993; Yegor Kanterov, 1995; see also Kerezsi 1997: 36). Another interesting report tells us that As-to-imi, wife of As-iki dwelling at the estuary of the Ob, gives children to women (Galina Kanterova, Pim, 1995). The American researcher M. Balzer also identifies the Mother of Fire with Pugos and the "Mother of All Beings" (Balzer 1978: 133. 134). At the same time, there are reports stating that Choorys-nai and Kaltash are sisters: daughters of Mother Earth. The picture is further elaborated by a report saying that Mother Earth (Meh anki) has a mother called Mih pugos anki (Kerezsi 1997: 35). Generally, as I noticed at the joint sacrifice discussed in the present paper, the Pim River Khanties recognise a difference between Choorys-nai and Myg-imi and Kaltash, too, is represented at the offerings as a separate personage. Yet the coincidences cropping up in myths indicate that there must be some kind of link between these persons.

At this point I should like to leave further discussion of the problems centering around the Mother of Fire for a separate study. To some extent, the subject has been examined by Ágnes Kerezsi (1997: 35. 38). To the author of the present paper it has sometimes occurred that the Khanties demonstrate a fluctuating use of gods' names and ambiguity in reporting their deeds which may be caused by a defensive attitude towards representatives of an alien culture. Yet the confusion may also indicate simply that the Khanties perceive reality and think in categories too different to be ordered according to Occidental thinking patterns.

Thus, the problems centering around female deities are intricate and extensive. Connections can be established between Kaltash . Pugos . Myg-imi . As-to-imi . Choorys-nai, but there are not enough data to give in to the temptation of drawing far-reaching conclusions and postulating the existence of a single original goddess characterised, among other features, by the practise of polyandry.

2 The Khanties of the Surgut region regard Heini-iki (known also as Kul-iki) as the ruler of the lower world, inhabiting the bottom-most, seventh floor of it. His colour is black. Therefore the animals offered to him in sacrifice had to be black, too. No other god of the lower or middle world is given black animals (see also Gemuyev, Sagalayev, Solovyov 1989: 69). The main aim of the sacrifices is to propitiate Heini-iki (concerning his other names see Martynova 1998: 123, 194) so he would not send sicknesses to people. Offerings of cloth were hung onto the branches of a fir, the sacrificial tree of kyn'-lung (Kulemzin, Lukina 1977: 147). Among the Khanties of Vasyugan, the same personage is known as kyn-lunk ("the spirit of sickness"). Furthermore he is called both there and on the Vakh "the God of the Dead", "the Evil God" and so on. As to his nature, he is said to be the opposite of his brother Torum, the heavenly god (ibid.: 135. 136). Unfortunately, Kulemzin had not specified who exactly is meant by Torum. In the Khanty language, Torum is a generic name for god, signifying also weather and the sky (Karjalainen 1983: 36). The text, however, allows to conclude that the person kept in mind here may be Numi-Torum's youngest son, Sorni-iki. Kerezsi's data lead to the same conclusion (Kerezsi 1997: 35). According to some researchers, the Khanties of the Vakh and the Vasyugan saw the relationship between those two as being far more sanguinary than conceived by the Khanties of the Surgut region. The ambiguity of the collected materials is proved even by the reports on the Mansi by Gemuyev et al. In the stories they published, Sorni-iki has been replaced by Numi-Torum who is also at odds with Kul-otyr. At the same time, they also publish a myth according to which the great diver who brought forth the earth between its beak was actually Kul-otar, having taken the appropriate shape for the occasion (Gemuyev, Sagalayev, Solovyov 1989: 155. 156).

Kul-iki can appear in the shape of a dog or a cat. He can also assume the likeness of fog, hiding from people their guardian spirits, as a result of which people become his easy victims (Kulemzin 1984: 118). Kulemzin reports that in 1974 he succeeded in visiting the shrine of Kul-iki on the River Yugan, which holds the image not only of Kul-iki himself but also of his mother, Evut-imi (ibid.). As a rule, Kul-iki's name was not mentioned, particularly in the presence of a sick person.

3 Numi-Torum has various parallel names: Ent-Torum (Great Torum), Sanki or Sange Torum (Bright Torum), Jem-Sanki (Good Light), Alle-iki (Great Old Man), Nagi-iki (White Old Man), Ynyt Torum (Great God), Kansh iki, Tarn Sanki, and so on (Karjalainen 1918: 296; Mify 1990: 14; Kerezsi 1997: 35; Martynova 1998: 45, 158. 159). Numi-Torum dwells on the seventh floor of the upper world, too high to deal with the affairs of mortals. If a person desires to address Numi-Torum, he must do so through the mediation of some lower god. According to Semyon Pesikov, human beings can find assistance from the children of Numi-Torum: Sorni-iki, Kazym-imi and other minor gods. In order to appeal to them, one must give an offering to the addressee, too, and say an appropriate prayer asking to dispatch the soul of the sacrificed reindeer to the Highest One.

Karjalainen also writes that the Khanty Turum is inaccessible to common people and it is not possible to bring sacrifices to him directly (Karjalainen 1983: 35. 36). According to Semyon Pesikov, even shamans are unable to converse with him: the best of them only reached as high as the fifth heaven in their journeys, whereas the All Powerful inhabits the seventh one. Karjalainen thinks that the figure of Numi-Torum originates from a foreign creed, and refers to the influences of Christianity (Karjalainen 1983: 37). Having a Christian background himself, Karjalainen seems to find the influence of Christianity everywhere that he notices any similarity, no matter how slight. Actually, the status of Numi-Torum is not very different from that of the supreme gods of other peoples. A characteristic feature of Numi-Torum is that after the completion of the acts of creation, he no longer meddles with further developments in the world. Relatively little is known about him, and it is virtually impossible to contact him directly. As such, he belongs to the long list of dei otiosi known all over the world (Eliade 1995: 99. 104).

Numi-Torum created the world and also, according to some traditions, the man (Karjalainen 1918: 19). In the Surgut region, nothing is known about his sisters or brothers; yet among the Mansi, Chernetsov reportedly heard a story about how Numi-Torum fashioned the figure of a human being out of clay but could not give it the breath of life. It was only his sister Kaltash who could give the soul to humans (Sokolova 1971: 212). The rest of the data I have been able to collect, however, identify Kaltash-anki as the wife of Numi-Torum. Naturally one role does not exclude the other. In Greek mythology, for instance, Hera was simultaneously sister and wife of the supreme god, Zeus. The name of Numi-Torum occurs in the old myths, but rather less frequently than those of the gods inhabiting the lower floors of the upper world and consequently standing closer to humans. According to Lukina, the Lord of the Lower World, Kul-otyr, is also Numi-Torum's brother (Mify 1990: 16). From Semyon Pesikov I learned that the Highest One also had a father and even grandfather, but when asked where they might dwell, Semyon confessed ignorance. At any rate the place could no be in our world. Repeating my question a year later, I got quite a surprising answer. I was told that Num-Torum's father was called Shlaap-Torum (or Pytto-Torum-iki) and inhabited the seventh floor of the upper world, whereas Num-Torum, his son, lived on the sixth floor. Nevertheless, it remains unclear who should in that case be Num-iki (Khanty for The Higher Old Man) or Buus-iki, because according to the data gathered from the upper course of the Ai-Pim River it is that god who inhabits the seventh floor of the sky.

Literature presents data confirming the existence of Numi-Torum's father and grandfather. The Mansi know his father under the name of Kors-Torum and grandfather as Kosjar-Torum; among the Northern Khanties, the corresponding names are Num-Kurys and Num-Sives (Mify 1990: 16). According to Karjalainen, Num-Kurys and Num-Sivys are, together with Num-Torum, three different spirits of the upper world, fathered by Kors-Torum. In the texts collected by Munkácsi on the Sosva River, Numi-Kworys occurs as the supreme god who lowered Numi-Toorym, Saghl-Toorym and T'apyl-iki together with their sister Kaltash-ekwa between heaven and earth (Karjalainen 1918: 296. 297). Karjalainen consoles us, saying that the same kind of confusion is known also among other peoples and probably, in the case of Ob-Ugrians, it is caused by foreign, e.g. Tatar and Russian influences (ibid.: 297). A similar situation can be found, for example, among the Saami, where it is very hard to specify the exact number of deities because many of them have had different names at different times. Earlier information on deities must be taken critically since on several occasions the gods of some people are known to have been forcefully fit into the framework of a currently valid world outlook and conception (Pentikäinen 1995: 232. 233).

The Khanty word Torum signifies not only god, but also sky . that means it is a generic name. Therefore, when the name Torum is mentioned without epithets, it is sometimes difficult to decide which deity is referred to. The context must always be kept in mind upon making such decisions. Very often, for instance, the name is used to refer to the "Khanty God", Sorni-iki, the youngest son of Numi-Torum.

An interesting parallel has been drawn between Numi-Torum and Sorni-iki, on the one hand, and the old Iranian Mithra, on the other. There are data indicating that the lineage Kors-Torum . Numi-Torum . Sorni-iki is associated with the Iranian sun god; the argument takes support from the coincidences between the name Kors and the Iranian word xurðét, "bright sun", as well as from several analogous traits in the mythological themes of the two peoples, treating on Mir-susne-Xum and Mithra, respectively (Toporov 1989: 170. 174). In his article, Toporov brings further examples supporting his theory of strong mutual connections between the Uralic and old Iranian peoples (ibid.).

4 Depending on the region, that deity is known under different names (see Martynova 1998: 45, 74, 158). A well-known name is Sorni-iki, "the Golden Old Man". Another name is Postojank-iki, "the Fast Old Man". Thus he is called on the rivers Pim and Lyamin, the same names are used on the Tromagan. Kulemzin believes that these names signify different deities acting as assistants to Torum (Kulemzin 1984: 114), but the Khanties of the Pim and Lyamin rivers insist they are merely different names of one and the same god. They say that if he is invoked by the name of Postojank-iki, he gives a start and leaps high into the air, rushing off to see who was calling to him so urgently. Woe be him who did it just for fun! Therefore he also has another name, Yi-shlapt-lah-hlioty-iki, to be used when people do not want to startle him. This is the name often used to address him during sacrifices. Sorni-iki rides around on a white horse. Whoever sees him flying past on that white mount may expect to become very lucky. On the Tromagan, he is described in the same manner but under the name of Sorni kan iki (Kerezsi 1997: 38).

Sometimes he is heard just galloping past in the sky. Sorni-Torum does not like anybody to fly faster than himself. I even heard Semyon Pesikov claim that Sorni-iki determines the speed of jet planes which are not to fly faster than he has allowed. Judging by how he has manifested himself at very short intervals to people living at great distances from each other, Semyon believes that his speed must at least equal that of light. Once he is said to have run around the world quicker than it took a bit of birch-bark to burn up. Nevertheless he found time to help people, on his way (Semyon Pesikov, Lyamin, 1995).

Among the Mansi, kindred people of the Khanties, the heavenly horseman is known under the name of Mir-susne-Xum, "The Man Who Looks on the World" (Gemuyev, Sagalayev, Solovyov 1989: 102; Lintrop 1997; 1998). For several reasons, he is one of the favourite gods of the Mansi. First and foremost, he is considered to be the forefather of the Mos tribe (Sokolova 1971: 216). He was born during the fall Kaltash-imi took upon being cast down from the sky by Numi-Torum because of her misbehaviour. Having obtained the miraculous steed, Mir-susne-Xum or Sorni-iki was able to ride around the whole world. The Mansi see him as the main mediator between Numi-Torum and humans (Gemuyev, Sagalayev, Solovyov 1989: 157. 158).

5 As-iki is the god and "master" of the greatest river of Western Siberia, the Ob. According to the informants, he actually rules not only over the river but also over all the land which sends its waters into the Ob. The hierarchy of the gods of different rivers is determined by the relations between the rivers of the region. The god whose river spills into the river of some other god is subordinate to the latter. Often the relation is expressed in terms of age, so that the gods of tributaries are younger than the god of the main river, often his children or grandchildren. The world outlook involving such interrelatedness finds expression also in the behaviour of the Khanties. Thus, for example, when the son of a family has grown up and married, he moves with his family upstream, often to the bank of some tributary (Barkalaja 1996: 128).

Accordingly, As-iki is the most important of the "masters" of the region. That, however, is no guarantee that the others should obey him without dispute. Relationships of subordination are very vague among the Khanties. In support of this, I should like to quote the following story:

"As-iki is the master of fish. He makes fish and sends them into the nets of the fishermen. He also decides how many fish must go into each river. Once it so happened that the god of Salym (a tributary of Ob. The god of Salym is the master of Thunder and notorious for his bellicose disposition . author's note) thought he was getting too few fish from As-iki. So up he goes to As-iki and demands: `Listen, why do you give me so few fish, give me more.' But As-iki was in a defiant mood, did not give him fish. So the god of Salym went away and began to prepare for war. He picked up an arrow-shaft and began to whittle away on it. Whittled one chip off it . the chip turned into a stickle-back. Whittled another chip . that, too, turned into a stickle-back. Thus the stickle-backs became many. They swam downstream into the river Ob. As-iki looks . a stickle-back. Looks again . nu, holera, (emotional interjection in Russian, translates as "Oh, cholera!") another stickle-back! So he went upstream along the Ob until he could see . the Old Man of Salym is whittling away at arrow-shafts, chips are falling down and turning into stickle-backs. As-iki got a terrible fright, began to call from afar: `What are you doing there, planning to wage war? Against whom?' Salym-iki called back: `Against you, of course, why don't you give me fish?!' So As-iki reckoned the matter was grave and sent lots of fish into the Salym, many large pikes. Mhmh." (Semyon Pesikov, Lyamin 1993).

Thus As-iki was the giver of fish (Karjalainen 1918: 260). He also had assistants. On the Yugan these were local water spirits; according to the reports from the Agan, however, the fish-giving water spirits were independent (Kulemzin 1984: 48). The notions about spirits in general, not only water spirits, seem to be rather confused. This has also been noted by other researchers with field experience among the Khanties (Kulemzin 1984: 47. 48). A common name for a water spirit is Jyngk-hlunk. Some of the Pim River Khanties thought that Jyngk-iki and As-iki stood for the same personage, others again thought they were different beings. I got the impression the names were not of the same level . in the light of such data, Jyngk appears more like a generic name. By way of comparison it could be pointed out that on the Irtysh, As-iki is known under the name of Jynk-tonk-iki (Karjalainen 1918: 261). Another report must be made mention of, according to which the most important giver of fish is none else but the king of the sea, Choor-skyyn. The latter view is certainly logical, since the Ob flows into the sea exactly like the other rivers flow into the Ob.

In the Pim river basin, one likeness that As-iki may assume is that of a gadfly. When a Khanties notices a gadfly struggling in the water, he is certain to pick it out since according to tradition, the gadfly helps men to escape the danger of drownings.

6 I do not the permission of some Khanties to publish their names.

7 The drum is the basic means of shamanising among the Khanties. In earlier times, each Khanty family used to have its own drum. When a shaman was called in to resolve some crisis, he commonly made use of the family drum. As a result of the repression campaigns of shamanism during the communist regime (Leete 1996), the number of drums preserved in households has fallen considerably. The guardian spirit of the family dwelt within the drum. If the drum broke up while it was beaten, an ill fate was in store for the owner. In such a case it was usually presumed that the owner's family would die out. The outcome, of course, depended also on the importance of the shamanic séance during which the accident happened, sometimes the breaking of the drum portended doom to the whole extended family (Tatyana Moldanova, 1993).

8 According to the informant, the spirits find it easier to receive the "spirit" or "energy" of the offered food and drink from the corner of the table or generally from corners.

References