Wrap in the Mansi view of the world

The article is devoted to identifying the field of meanings of a shawl in the Mansi traditional worldview. The research methodology is defined by symbolic approach which is based on the specificity of mythology thinking - expressing abstract concepts and meanings through the images of particular objects. Due to this, special attention is focused on rituals and folklore as spheres of culture in which objects-symbols are most fully revealed. The initial source base of the study is the visual materials of famous domestic Ugric-researcher V.N. Chernetsov's archive, which are deposited in the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of Siberia, Tomsk State University. These materials have not been introduced for scientific use. The archive materials are presented by photographs and drawings made in 1920-s - 1930-s during the field ethnographic expeditions to the Mansi different groups on the rivers Tagil, Lozva, Konda, Ob and North Sosva. Of particular value are the sketches made by the researcher during the Bear Festival in the village. Ilpi-Paul and Suri-Paul on the Ob in 1936-1937. Other sources are issued field materials of the researcher and publications of folklore. The study showed that a shawl is woven into the symbolic fabric of the traditional Mansi culture with many threads-ties. In the social sphere, it marks the feminine world, separated from the masculine one. Inside the feminine, along with the braids adornments, it divides the girls and the women’s domain. This symbolism is largely due to the utilitarian functions of a shawl, although preserved until modern times, although they persist until modern times, but over time are increasingly moving into the ritual sphere. Referring to the photographs of the researcher allowed concluding that in the second half of the 20 century certain ways of wearing a headscarf have moved exclusively into the ritual sphere, which in the first half of the century were recorded in everyday life. In the picture of the world, a headscarf inherited the fabric symbolism, in many respects similar to the symbolism of birch bark. Both materials serve as signs of the border between the worlds, more often between the Middle and Lower. This semantics determined the actualization of the cloth and shawl in the maternity and funeral rites. At the same time, the fabric and the scarf outline the spatio-temporal boundaries of the sacred, separating it from the secular, which is clearly manifested in the Bear Festival. As a result, the fabric and the shawl themselves acquire a sacred status and are endowed with trade magic, which is realized in fishing and hunting. The latest layer in the shawl symbolism is associated with silk: it is thought of as a sign of prosperity and wealth.

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