Researchers Yuri Garkusha, Andrei Novikov and Arkady Baulo from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences described a collection of miniature anthropomorphic sculptures collected by archaeologists during work in previous years at the Ust-Voikarskoye settlement in the subpolar zone of Western Siberia.
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Itterma or ittarma are small figurines that keep the souls of deceased people.
As the authors of the work write, the collection was assembled between 2012 and 2016. The anthropomorphic miniature sculpture was collected at the Ust-Voykarskoye settlement, according to an article published in the journal “Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia”.
“The monument is an archaeological site with a frozen cultural layer, which ensured the preservation of objects made from organic materials,” the researchers report.
The overwhelming majority of the sculptures are made of wood, two are made of sheet metal, and one is made of limonite concretion. Four main categories of images are distinguished: busts, heads, conditionally full anthropomorphic figures, and masks on sticks.”
Most of the sculptures are made in the tradition of Ob-Ugric iconography, a smaller part can be associated with the sculpture of the Samoyedic appearance. Some figures have additional elements in the form of rows of notches and images of a rhombus.
“According to ethnographic data, their presence gave the sculptures a sacred status,” the researchers explain. “The majority of the objects were discovered in cultural layers from the beginning of the 16th to the beginning of the second third of the 18th century.”
Scientists conducted a comparative analysis of the discovered sculptures with finds made at other sites. They came to the conclusion that the sculptures, which were small in size, had a sacred meaning and were associated with the beliefs that existed in the region.
Some of them were attributes of home sanctuaries. The researchers divided the studied images into two main categories: family patron spirits and ittarma – temporary receptacles for the souls of the dead.
Ittarmas are known from written sources – among the Khanty and Mansi, they were, as a rule, small, often lead, figurines, into which, according to beliefs, the souls of the dead enter.
Most of the sculptures are made of wood.
People believed that the souls of the dead were kept in ittarmas until a new person worthy of wearing them was born. It is interesting that this tradition did not disappear completely, moreover, in the 20th century it was expanded due to the advent of new technologies – photographs of dead people began to be pasted onto ittarmas.
It is known that ittarmas were made not only from lead. The methods of production and storage differed among different genealogical groups of the Khanty and Mansi.
What they had in common was that such dolls symbolized a temporary receptacle for the soul of the deceased, which was kept in the home of his family for four to ten years, depending on territorial traditions.
Then such a doll was “buried” somewhere in the forest. However, scientific literature describes cases when ittarmas were not buried, but were placed in a birch bark box and continued to be kept at home. Moreover, such dolls were seated at the table, fed and watered, put to bed, generally treating them as a living person.
The multi-layered Ust-Voykarskoye settlement is located in the southwest of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This settlement was a place of residence for indigenous people in the Middle Ages – Modern Times.
Earlier, the same group of scientists described monumental wooden sculptures found on the same site. In particular, two unique items were found then – massive sculptures with anthropomorphic faces.
Their uniqueness lies in their size, integrity, good preservation of the material and the context of discovery. It was established that the sculptures are associated with the structures of residential buildings – they were located at the base of the walls at the entrance to the home.
Source: rodina-history.ru
