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

Abstract

The subject of this research is the written and visual sources on the history of Ob Ugrics, which reflect the images of White Horse and White Deer. The sources include the ethnographic materials and artifacts from the shamanic temples of Ugra with the depiction of horse and deer. The goal of this article lies in drawing parallel between the images of the White Horse in Islamic and Ob Ugric cultures. Research methodology leans on the " Theory of Impoverished living environment" substantiated by the authors in previous research, according to which the severe (impoverished) natural and climatic conditions of Siberia create a psychological foundation for cultural borrowings for the indigenous peoples, when the elements of foreign cultures are being perceived as native. The article employs the comparative-historical method to collate the perception of White Horse among Siberian Tatars and Ob Ugrics. Establishment of the traces of Islam in Ob Ugric culture through examination of the visual sources is new to historical science. The topic of studying the "Tatar-Muslim period" in the history of Finno-Ugric population of Western Siberia, when in the process of religious impact upon the indigenous population, the representatives of Islam did not have competitors in the face of Orthodox missionaries, is poorly studied in Russian history. The conclusion is made that the image of White Horse in Ob Ugric culture is associated with the Tatar-Muslim influence, and reflects the Quranic plotline of ascension of the Prophet Muhammad into heaven on the White Horse Burak.