Vogul - who is this? This word is familiar to a very small number of people, as it is obsolete and is usually found in dictionaries. It refers to ethnographic terms and means a nationality, which now has a different name. This review will provide information on who the Voguls and Ostyaks are.
Dictionary Interpretation
The lexical meaning of the word “vogul” in the dictionary says that today it is outdated, and instead the word “Mansi” is used. Regarding the latter, the explanatory dictionary says that this is an ethnographic term that designates two concepts, albeit very close to each other. These include:
- One of the peoples of Russia, which is a small indigenous people living in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra. Example: “According to ethnographers, how Voguls (Mansi) ethnos developed as a result of the merger of local Uralic tribes belonging to the Neolithic culture and came from the south of Ugric tribes moving through Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan.”
- Representative or representative of this people. Example: "The hunter who met the geologists was a typical Vogul, that is, Mansi: he was not tall, beefy, with a wide mouth and thin lips."
Origin of names
The names “Vogul” and “Vogulichi” were used in the Russian language until the 1930s. It comes from words taken from the Khanty language, which are written as u̯oɣaĺ and u̯oɣat. In the Komi language there is a similar lexeme vakul, which consists of two parts va - “water”, and kul - “devil”. Until today, this naming is used in some languages, such as in German, where there is a noun Wogul and the adjective wogulisch.
Moreover, the Voguls themselves call themselves māńś or moańś. The origin of the self-name “Mansi” is attributed by etymologists to the Prafino-Ugric mańćɜ, which means “man, person”. In Russian, to designate representatives of the Voguls-Mansi, there are such words as:
- in the plural - the unshakable “Mansi” and “Mansi”;
- in the singular - “Mansiysk”, “Mansiysk”, as well as for the designation of a man or woman and the unshakable “Mansi”
- two adjectives - immutable "Mansi" and "Mansi".
In continuation of the study of the meaning of the word “Vogul”, we consider some general information concerning this nation.
General information
Voguls are the closest relatives of the Khanty by language. They speak Mansi, but due to active assimilation, almost 60% of them use the Russian language in everyday life. According to a census conducted in 2010, the total number of Voguls-Mansi is a little more than 12 thousand people.
The formation of the Mansi ethnic group occurred as a result of the merger of the tribes living in the Urals and the Ugric tribes that joined them. To this day, two such components are combined in the culture of the people, as the structure of taiga hunters and fishermen and the structure of steppe nomadic pastoralists.
Initially, the Mansi lived in the Urals, then the Russians and the Komi displaced them in the Trans-Urals in the XI – XIV centuries. After joining the Russian state of Siberia, Russian colonization at the end of the 16th century markedly increased, and the number of Russians began to exceed the number of indigenous people. Mansi gradually crowded out to the north, as well as to the east. In the XVIII century they were converted to Christianity, after which they were partially assimilated. Their formation as a nation was influenced by various ethnic groups.
Anthropological characteristics
For Voguls, this is the following set of signs:
- short stature, which for men averages 160 cm;
- general miniature structure;
- narrow and low in height head;
- black or brown hair, straight and soft;
- mixed or dark eyes;
- face of medium height, various in shape, flattened and cheeky;
- short beard growth;
- wide mouth;
- thin lips;
- protruding chin;
- nose is medium or slightly protruding, medium in width.
Next, we briefly describe some features of the culture and life of Voguls.
Culture and Life
Voguls are a people who have developed mythology and rich folklore. Orthodoxy is widespread among believers, but at the same time traditional shamanism, the cult of patronizing spirits, a bear, and ancestors are preserved. Traditional occupations are hunting, reindeer husbandry, cattle breeding, fishing, and farming. During the years of Soviet power, the life of Mansi has changed very much. Today, almost half of them live in cities.
Who are the Ostyaks
Often, when it comes to Voguls, people like Ostyaks are also remembered. What do the latter have to do with the former? As mentioned above, Voguls (Mansi) live in the Khany-Mansi Autonomous Region. Khanty and Mansi are close nationalities both in culture, language, and in their way of life. And the term “Ostyaks” means an exo-ethnonym, which generalizes the name of the peoples living in Siberia. An exoethnonym is a name that the people themselves do not use, but are used by external communities.
Ostyaks are called:
- Khanty
- chum salmon, they are the Yenisei Ostyaks;
- Yugs, also Symsky Ostyaks;
- Selkups, also Ostyak Samoyeds.
For the first time, the ethnonym Ostyak is found in Russian documents of the late 15th century and refers to the Bashkirs living in the Middle Kama basin. This word becomes collective with the beginning of the development of Siberia and applies to all its inhabitants. Later, the use of the ethnonym "Ostyaks" in relation to the Bashkirs ceases.