Muslim "White Horse" and Ob-Ugric "White Deer": points of intersection in religious culture of the indigenous peoples of the North

Bortnikova Yuliya Aleksandrovna PhD in History Director, International Institute of Innovation Education, Center for Continuing Education 625041, Russia, Tyumenskaya oblast', g. Tyumen', ul. Pereulok 1-I gostevoi, 7, of. 1 institute_cpk@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Naumenko Ol'ga Nikolaevna Doctor of History Professor, the department of History, Philosophy and Law, Ugra State University 628012, Russia, Khanty-Mansiiskii avtonomnyi okrug-Yugra avtonomnyi okrug, g. Khanty-Mansiisk, ul. Chekhova, 16, of. 303 Oolgann@mail.ru Other publications by this author

            The study was carried out with the support of:

1) Grant of the President of the Russian Federation No. MK-3655.2019.6;

2) RFBR Grant and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug No. 19-49-890002.

3) RFBR Grant No. 20-013-00423.

The history of missionary work in the north of Western Siberia includes two processes: on the one hand, since the XVII century. The Christianization of the peoples of the North began ^[13], for which the Obdorskaya mission was later organized ^[11], and on the other hand, the indigenous peoples (mainly Voguls, Ostyaks, Samoyeds) were under the religious influence of the Siberian Tatars, although the spread of the Muslim faith in imperial Russia was prohibited. Before the arrival of Russian settlers in Western Siberia, it was the Turkic-Muslim peoples who had the greatest influence on the Ob-Ugric settlements located on the territory of the Siberian Khanate or bordering it. Isker– the capital of the Khanate, was located in Tobolsk. There are currently no settlements of the indigenous peoples of the North around it (and to the south), since all of them were assimilated by the Turkic peoples (mainly Siberian Tatars) and, accordingly, in the process of merging they converted to Islam, losing their former ethnic and religious identity. In the North, the influence of the Tatars was felt incomparably weaker, but traces of Turkic-Muslim cultures remained there.

D. N. Maslyuzhenko gives convincing arguments confirming that up to the 1510s the Muslim affiliation of the elite of the Siberian Khanate leaves no doubt, which was expressed in the names of the rulers (Hadji Muhammad, Mahmud, Ibrahim), in the inscription on the reverse of the coin found "Sultan Supreme Ibrahim Khan" and other artifacts. In the 1510s, a turmoil began, according to D. A. Maslyuzhenko, provoked by a cold snap within the framework of the Little Ice Age, and as a result, the Muslim elite was forced to leave for the steppe. The history of the Siberian Khanate changed, and the population had to be "brought" to Mohammedanism again ^{[7, p. 114]} – usually this stage of the history of Islam attracts the attention of researchers. However, as can be seen from the conclusions of D. N. Maslyuzhenko, the prerequisites for earlier Islamization of the Ob-Ugric peoples than the activities of Khan Kuchum in the second half of the XVI century really existed, and this version explains many not yet clear moments in the history of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples.  

One of such moments is the appearance of the cult of the horse in the conditions of the Far North. The horse has long attracted the attention of researchers ^{[4, 8, 12, etc.]}, who, as a rule, do not pay attention to the links between northern cultures, Islam and Quranic subjects when studying the problem.

As you know, the deer is a sacred animal among the peoples of the North, which is easily explained from a practical point of view: the deer is not only adapted to natural and climatic conditions, it gives protection from the cold in the form of skins, etc. The significance of the deer as a whole for northern cultures is difficult to overestimate, and the white deer has sacred properties: mention of it contains in a variety of ethnographic materials. A horse cannot search for a yagel qualitatively, as a deer does, a fur coat from its skin does not protect from the cold, a horse cannot sleep in the snow in the cold: he needs a stall, etc. Thus, the horse is indispensable in the steppe, but not in the Arctic desert. However, his cult also existed in the North, and in the historical period accessible to ethnographers, the horse was used exclusively for sacrifices.

There is a similarity in the purpose of these two animals when it comes to religious beliefs. As K. F. Karjalainen notes, in the North spirits are carried with them on specially made sleds, "draft animals are suited, usually white deer, which are not used for other purposes and after they become unusable, they are sacrificed to the spirit" ^{[5, p. 18]}. The sacrifice of white (light) horses was also actively practiced: one of such cases is described in the documents of the Obdorskaya mission ^{[11, pp. 70-71]}.

The cult of the horse in the North appeared in an earlier historical period, as evidenced not only by ethnographic materials and historical research, but also objects from shamanic temples. The monograph "Kazymsky treasure" contains about 200 photographs of metal objects that, according to their purpose, could be located on temples and in "idols". A number of exhibits reflect the image of a horse. In particular, the object B2 (bronze, casting, a disk with two holes for hanging on the temple) contains images of animals around the circumference, and the horse dominates: "... a horse under the saddle; a horse; a horse's head; a horse; ... a horse with a blanket and a magnificent tail; a horse under the saddle; ... a horse with a magnificent tail. Some of the animals go in a circle one after another, some go to meet them" ^{[3, p. 11]}. In addition to different versions of the horse, the disc also depicts: ".. a bird with a long tail (peacock)?;... an animal with large horns; the head and part of the trunk of an animal with horns;… an animal with big horns" ^{[3, p. 11]}. Thus, there are more images of a horse on this subject, and in second place is an animal resembling a deer.

The engraving does not make it possible to determine the color of the animals depicted, but the analysis of other sources suggests that the White Horse and the White Deer are sacred. White elk in Khanty culture is also a sacred image: "There is a belief on Vasyugan about a white-stone moose figurine suddenly appearing from the ground.... Appears in front of those who expect a successful hunt" ^{[6, p. 91]}. If the explanation of the cult of the White Deer and elk is clear and logical, then the interpretation of the White Horse causes some difficulties.

Considering that before the XVI century. Yamal was not an icy desert, but was covered with forests, as Yugra is now, and the tundra has shifted by 1000 km. further south during the Little Ice Age ^[9], the borrowing of the cult of the horse could have occurred before this natural cataclysm. According to K. F. Karjalainen, most likely, the influence of the Tatars is observed here ^{[5, p. 99]}, but at a "later time". However, the author further refers to Mukanchi, who claims that the horse was once a pet, but "later the Ugrians got into places and conditions in which it became impossible to keep horses" ^{[5, p. 99]}. Thus, the cult of the horse goes back to the distant past, when, according to the research of D. N. Maslyuzhenko, Islam was a familiar reality among the ancestors of the Siberian Tatars, and it requires missionary work extended to neighboring peoples.     

The white horse is a fairly common character in Islam: it was on him that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven; on a White horse, the archangel Jabrayil descended after him. The study of color meanings in Khanty and Mansi folklore revealed a rather interesting image corresponding to this idea: a horse is associated with white, with the sky and the Moon ^[1]. The "white Horse" is logically interpreted by the authors as a reflection of herds of horses rushing across the sky, but in these arguments we can go further. In particular, A.V. Baulo's research mentions the Heavenly Horseman, who is the youngest son of Numi-Torum, and this character of the pantheon "was borrowed by the ancestors of Mansi and Khanty from Iranian mythology" ^[2]. Let us repeat the thought: "The heavenly horseman is the son of Numi–Torum", he is also referred to in our field materials as "once a Muslim god" ^[10] and figuratively resembles the Prophet Muhammad who ascended to heaven. Perhaps the "White Horse" is the merged image of the Heavenly Horseman and the Prophet Muhammad.

The analysis of the above sources shows that the Tatar-Muslim influence on the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples not only existed, it left a trace in the content of the cultures themselves: images, representations and cults. The image of the White Horse in the culture of the Khanty and Mansi is a link in a whole system of ideas that coincide with the Muslim ones. This is primarily the rejection of the image of faces on dolls, the tradition of women to cover their faces, the facts of polygamy (up to 4 wives), in some groups - the rule to bury the deceased on the day of death (easily explained in hot Arabia, but not understandable in the North), etc. It is not always possible to say with certainty which of the above were simply norms that coincided with Islam, and which were traces of Islam itself. However, at the moment it is already obvious that in the history of the Finno-Ugric population of the Urals and Western Siberia, the "Muslim page" was a reality and manifested itself in various ways: from borrowing some norms to completely merging with the Muslim Tatars. The peoples who were not written at that time left no documentary evidence, so the restoration of this unexplored page is possible on the basis of further analysis of images, representations and cults. In addition, the study of climatic changes during the Little Ice Age will create a basis for understanding the social processes that took place at that time, and will help answer the question about the chronological period and the mechanisms of adoption of Islam by certain groups of Finno-Ugrians.