Island as a memorial site in the sacral landscape of the Arctic regions of the Russian North

Abstract

Sacral localities along with the works (monuments) of hierotopic art intrinsic to them hold the most prominent positions in the hierarchy of landmark places and constitute the backbone of establishment (elaboration) of the remembrance landscapes for local and ethnic communities in the Arctic Regions of the Russian North. Sacral topoi are the focal points for storage and transfer of the ultimate, comprehensive and innermost knowledge (memory) of all aspects and modalities of the universe constitution. Fundamental memorability of a sacred place is determined by its appeal to metaphysics, to the origins and the arche, the principles and foundations of existence, as well as by its commitment to the supertemporal rhythms of remembering the eternal (eternal memory represented in the chronotope of the myth of eternal return). The system of sacral places serving as the sacred framework of the remembrance landscape for the Arctic peoples places special emphasis to the topos of the island which became the protosymbol of the Russian civilization due to its powerful numinous potential and semiotic status. This research was conducted in reliance upon folklore and ethnographic materials as well as ecclesiastical and historical sources revealing the semiotics and commemorative generating potential of the island developmental site in the sacral landscape of the Russian North Arctic regions. Studying the island topos as a place of remembrance in the sacral landscape of the Arctic territories and aquatic areas allows for the conclusion that all cult sites and sanctuaries of the northern indigenous peoples (the Sami, the Nenets and the Vepsians), as well as all the monuments of the orthodox hierotopy specific for the island territories of the Russian North, manifest themselves as eternal keepers of enduring values, commandments and implications of human existence in the sacred space of the high latitudes.