Paleoselkupy shieshgula and selkup shoshkup: aspects of funeral ceremonies according to archeology and ethnography

Abstract

The study summarizes some representative conclusions of the study of the funeral rituals of the dialect-local group of paleoselkups “Shieshgula.” The observations made by ethnologists on subsequent materials were largely confirmed during archaeological research, which served as a source for this work. In the necropolises of Barclay, Kustovsky, Sukhaya Rechka, and others, elements of funeral and memorial ceremonies characterizing the worldview of this society have been studied. Mound and soil burials were identified by the method of inhumation and cremation in lining frames, hollowed boats, and decks, in boardwalk boxes and coffins let into embankments, formed in tiers throughout the 13-19th centuries. n e. A sacred pillar and sacred stones, posthumous “masks” and ritual arrows, offerings of animal bodies and human exhumation were noted. A comparative analysis showed that the excavation materials not only confirm the information of ethnologists, but also give a number of elements already lost in the memory of people. An integrated approach made it possible to identify previously unknown details of the worldview of Siberian cultures and ethnic groups that had direct and indirect contacts with the peoples of the surrounding world. The results opened up new opportunities for studying the cultural and ethnic processes and the spiritual sphere of the inhabitants of the taiga zone of the continent.