Space and people in the travel descriptions of missionaries from the Obdorsk mission (60-70s ofthe 19th century)

The article is devoted to the study of the perception by the missionaries of the Obdorsk mission of the environment and the people with whom they had to communicate during their trips to the Ob North. The priests recorded all their impressions in mission itineraries. They revealed the problems of interaction with another culture, reflect the unique individual experience of communication of the authors with the local people and reflections about it. The study of the Obdorsk mission itineraries urges us to single out the key concept of overcoming: overcoming the unkind Siberian nature, inertness and indifference of the native people, their savagery and superstitions, and what is more, self-overcoming - getting rid of fears, weakness and doubts. The author examines several important subjects that characterize the attitude of missionaries to a different culture in this article. The space where the northern peoples lived did not clear boundaries, due to constant internal migration along the Ob North and adjacent territories. First of all, the description of space from the standpoint of the opposition «friend or foe», building communication through the prism of language barriers, striving to change the religious worldview. To make long-term river crossings, the missionaries had boats at their disposal, and to move around the tundra they used sledge team, which they requested from the local people. On the missionary trip, the priests were accompanied by workers, whose duties included all the technical work on the movement of a sailing boat along the river Ob and small rivulets flowing into it. Missionaries devote a special place in missionaries’ itineraries to descriptions of meetings with shamans, perceiving them as the main guardians of the beliefs of the northern peoples. It is with them that missionaries honed their gift of persuasion and ability for Christian preaching. Communication with people whom missionaries become familiar with largely depended on the shamans. The missionaries paided special attention to the description of obsequial rites and the pantheon of the gods of the north peoples during their trips. One of the problems that accompanied the priests on missionary trips was related to the lack of knowledge of the language, which led to misunderstanding and discontent among the local people. The missionaries found ways to bridge this gap, learned the language, compiled dictionaries and taught children and adults to read and write, which was also reflected in their written testimonies. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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