The Enets' ritual of invocation of the fire spirit
In all peoples of the world, a woman traditionally fulfills the role of a keeper of the hearth in the family. Fire, the hearth has always been considered not only as a means of cooking and a source of heat, but also as a part of the family, a living substance. In ritual rites in many peoples of Siberia fire acts as one of the intermediaries in communication with the spirits, so offerings to the spirits go through the fire. As noted Syazi A.M., PhD in History: “... sacrificial fire is a fire - ‘messenger’, fire - ‘intermediary’ in communication between people and gods, because without its help no deity could not ‘taste’ the food sacrificed to him. On the brightness, height and purity of its flame depends on whether the celestials will accept the earthly sacrifice, which traditionally was a ram (in the nomads of the tundra - deer) of a special, as a rule, light color.” [4]
It is known that the Enets also give a piece of food to the hearth before the family starts a meal. In Enets tales one can see that the fire in the chum (a nomadic tent form reindeer skin) acts as a sensor of space in the chum. When the fire in the hearth begins to behave restlessly, it could mean many things, such as the presence of a stranger, a premonition of an unfavorable event, in general, a disturbance of peace.
In the mythological representation of many peoples, fire is also an independent spirit, and a means of contact with the beyond. This connection is clearly traced in folklore. For example, in the Enets tale “Dehuui Kasa (The Lost Man)” a young man enters the netherworld and finds a camp there, he enters one of the chums, but no one sees or feels him, when the young stranger tries to reach the inhabitants of the chum. Only the fire in the hearth of the chum with its restless behavior makes the inhabitants of the chum, especially the elderly, feel that something is wrong in their dwelling.
The understanding of fire as a living subject can be traced in customs and prohibitions concerning fire. The book “Traces of Sleds” shows that the Enets emphasized their reverence for fire by “pouring water on the fire, saying: ‘The rain has poured you’ (Tu bikun kotagubutu mambi: 'Sari shchit kotash'); and held to the prohibition - 'Don't spit in the fire, it's a big sin' (Tu dez iz chochitur, kebi). [1]
The hearth is a vital element of the dwelling, defining the space of it. Its location highlights the sacral significance of fire. For example, among the Enets there is a notion that the spirit of the chum master always rests near the fire, namely in the object that “the pole behind the hearth also had ritual significance. According to the Enets, the spirit of the master of the chum dwelt in it (the Nenets have a sacred pole symzy was not among the main staves).” [3] This pole in Enets is called "chia".
According to Bolina Zoya Nikolaevna, an Enki of the Mogadi family, the ritual of invoking the spirit or feeding the fire in the chum at the hearth could be performed by a woman several times a day. The reasons for the ritual are different, depending on the situation, for example, if the mistress of the chum is worried that her husband is away for a long time, or she has a premonition of something unpleasant, or the child is sick, or she needs the support of the spirits. The woman will sit in front of the hearth, address the fire with a request for a favorable outcome and placate the fire with the internal fat of a deer. After whispering the request, the woman carefully serves the fat and observes the behavior of the fire and interprets it for herself by the characteristic sounds of the fire. The inner fat is on top of the belly of the reindeer, and this fat is carefully and immediately taken out when the reindeer is slaughtered. In its appearance it resembles an openwork white handkerchief. After it is taken out, the fat is left to dry. After the fat is dried, it is used in everyday life and stored in a bag for rituals. This rite is aimed at good luck and is also carried out before hunting or other actions that require a satisfactory outcome.
In the video Zoya Nikolaevna talks about the rite:
References:
- Bolina Z.N. Ezzuui - Trace of Sleds. - Dudinka, 2014. - 155 p.: il. Reference: https://www.tdnt.org/pdf_poli.php?id=25&t=publ
- Informant - Bolina Zoya Nikolaevna, enka of the Mogadi family.
- Peoples of Western Siberia : Khanty. Mansi. Selkups. Nenets. Enets. Nganasans. Kets (ed. by I.N. Gemuev), V.I. Molodin, Z.P. Sokolova ; Miklukho-Maclay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences ; Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. N.N. Miklukho-Maclay RAS ; Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS. - Moscow: Nauka, 2005. - 805 с. - (Peoples and cultures). - ISBN 5-02-010297-0 (in per.). - С. 523
- Syazi A. M. Fire in the traditional culture and folklore of the peoples of the North // Scientific Bulletin of the YNAO. 2014. Vyp. 1 (82). С. 51-58.
Contributor: Asya Konstantinova, Leading Specialist of the UNESCO Chair at M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University
