UDC 904

O. V. Kardash

NGO "Northern Archeology"

a / z 398, Nefteyugansk, 628309, Russia

E-mail: kov_ugansk@mail.ru

The article is devoted to attribution of a series of objects discovered during excavations of Nadym town, the administrative center of aboriginal communities of the XVII-first third of the XVIII century. These items are identified on the basis of ethnographic data as swat staves. The article attempts to reconstruct the history of the formation of elements of wedding rituals of the aboriginal population of Northwestern Siberia. The analysis of the Nadym staff was carried out with the use of materials from synchronous monuments - Ostyak and Samoyedic Poluysky (Obdorsky), Voikarsky towns and the Russian city of Mangazei. As a result of the study, it was found out that such an element of the wedding rites of the West Siberian Ostyaks and Samoyeds as the matchmaker's staff, which served as a trade and exchange agreement, was formed not earlier than the middle of the XVII century, which is obviously connected with the appearance of the Russian population in the region.

Keywords: North-Western Siberia, Nadymsky gorodok, ostyaks, Samoyeds, wedding rituals, matchmaker's staff.

Introduction

Nadymsky gorodok is located at the mouth of the Nadym River (Fig. 1). In the period from the 17th to the first third of the 18th century, it was known as the local territorial and administrative center, the winter residence of the leaders of Bolshaya Karachey. This military-political association included several independent territorial communities that lived on the Nadym, Pur Rivers and the southern coast of the Gulf of Ob. The planning structure of the defense and residential complex of the Nadym town included six almost symmetrical blocks built up with buildings of different architectural traditions, which reflected the diverse ethnic composition of the population, namely, Samoyeds and Ostyaks living here (Kardash, 2006a).

As a result of a comprehensive study of the monument, which has been conducted under the direction of the author since 1998, a unique and representative (more than 10 thousand units) collection of objects of the XVI-XVIII centuries has been obtained. It includes no less than 250 categories of artifacts not only made of imperishable materials, but also made of wood, bone, leather, and fabric, the excellent preservation of which was ensured by the frozen cultural layer. Attribution of these finds is not an easy task and requires the involvement of a wide range of ethnographic sources. As a result, we get the opportunity not only to determine the purpose of an object based on its morphological characteristics, but also to get an idea of its place in the everyday and ritual spheres. These artefacts include, in particular, five items identified on the basis of the following ethnographic data as swat staves. This article not only introduces objects of material culture of the late medieval population of Northwestern Siberia-Ostyaks and Samoyeds - into scientific circulation, but also attempts to reconstruct the history of the formation of elements of wedding rituals of these peoples.

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Fig. 1. Map-layout of aboriginal towns and Russian settlements of the 17th-18th centuries on the territory of North-Western Siberia.

1-Nadym winter town of the XIII-XVIII centuries; 2-Poluysky (Obdorsky) spring town of the XVI-XVII centuries; 3-Voikarsky town of the XIII-XIX centuries; 4-Mangazeya-a county town of the XVII century; 5-Obdorsky town - a point of yasach collection of the XVII century; 6-Soba customs outpost of the XVII century.

The matchmaker's staff in the traditional culture of the Nenets and Khanty peoples

Among the modern indigenous peoples of Northwestern Siberia, geographically and culturally close to the late Medieval (XVI-XVIII centuries) population of Nadymsky Gorodok and Bolshaya Karachey, we can mention the Nenets, northern Khanty and Mansi. In the traditional culture of these peoples, an object called the "matchmaker's staff"is known. It is an obligatory attribute of matchmaking and in the wedding ceremony is called among the Khanty - netyng yukh, among the Mansi-shorkhylin iv, among the Nenets-yadats [Narody..., 2005, p. 149, 269, 359].

Unfortunately, currently there are no scientific publications of swat staffs of the indigenous peoples of Siberia that allow their full-fledged morphological comparison with archaeological objects. The overwhelming majority of ethnologists and modern researchers of the Nenets, Selkup, and Khanty cultures pay more attention to the analysis of verbal information than to the detailed recording of objects of material culture (Golovnev, 1993, 1995, 2004; Martynova, 1998; Perevalova, 1998, 2004). Nevertheless, based on references, brief descriptions, and individual photos (without specifying the scale), you can try to get an idea of the matchmaker's staff and highlight a number of its most characteristic features.

It is known from ethnographic data that the modern Nenets sometimes used a hook for hanging a cauldron as a staff (Khomich, 1995, p. 176). In the middle of the XIX century. among the Siberian Samoyeds, the following method of bargaining about the amount of the bride price was recorded: the girl's father made notches and notches on the matchmaker's staff corresponding to the amount of the ransom, and the matchmaker cut off with a knife those that he considered superfluous. Such a staff was kept by the matchmaker until the ransom was paid, or it was split in half, and the second half was given to the bride's father [Ibid., p. 177].

For our research, the above-mentioned fact of using the hearth hook as a matchmaker's staff is extremely important, which was hardly accidental. You can try to explain this feature by using information about the cultural traditions of geographically close peoples. In the northern Khanty and Mansi regions, the wooden hearth tagan was widely used for hanging cradles [Ocherki kulyurogeneza..., 1994, p. 49]. It is possible that in the culture of the Nenets, whose nomadic economy was not rich in household items, there was a similar tradition. Apparently, the functional connection of the hearth hook with a cooking pot, a home hearth and a baby's cradle could determine in its form a special symbol marking the purpose of the visit of an "uninvited guest". You can also give a mate-

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2. Ethnographic objects. 1-matchmaker's staff from the village. Ovolyngort on the Synya River (according to [Sokolova, 2007]), ca. 1960-1970; 2-counting tag for recording bear festival songs from the collection of TGIAMZ, Western Siberia, Khanty, late XIX century; 3-matchmaker's staff (?) from the Bolshoy Yugan River (according to [Martin, 2004]), ca. 1870-1890.

experimental evidence for the existence of such a tradition. Of all the ethnographic materials available at our disposal, the wedding staff from the village is the most acceptable as an analogue. Ovolyngort (Synya River) of the Shuryshkarsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. published by Z. P. Sokolova [2007, pp. 60-61. fig. 89]. This is a rectangular plate 64.5 cm long with a hook at one end (Fig. 2, 1). Both edges of the back face are marked with 485 notches, divided into dozens by long notches on the wide side of the product. There are no notches on the front face.

Similar notches, divided into dozens, are found on counting tags for recording bear festival songs (Figs. 2, 2). Unfortunately, there are not many such items published. One of them is a tag from the collection of the Tobolsk State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (TGIAMZ) [Siberian Relics, 2000, p. 107]. This subject, as well as a number of others known to us from our own ethnographic research, has characteristic distinctive features. Counting tags for recording songs of the bear festival, as a rule, are made of a four-sided bar of square cross-section, on the faces between long notches images (signs) associated with holiday scenes are often cut out. Sometimes one end, like a tag from TGIAMZ, is made in the form of a bear's face.

The above ethnographic information and materials allow us to identify the main features of the matchmaker's staff. This is a wooden plate, the original shape and dimensions of which are determined by the proportions of the hearth hook. The average length of such an item is approx. 65 cm. The upper part of the staff is shaped like a hook and can be decorated with a cloth or some kind of image (disguise). In the middle part, there are numerous notches, notches, or risks corresponding to some account system (most likely decimal), and in the lower part they may not be present: they were not applied there or were cut off during negotiations on the amount of redemption.

These features make it possible to identify a well-known ethnographic object from the Bolshoy Yugan River, published as a "counting stick", which was used to record captured animals, primarily fur - bearing animals (hares, foxes) [Martin, 2004, pp. 94-95, Fig. 90, Tables 21, 12]. This is a rectangular plate 65 cm long and 4 cm wide (Figs. 2, 3). The object is conventionally divided into three parts. The upper one (approx. 12 cm) is pointed, has a cutout in the form of a hook and below seven large notches. In the middle part (approx. 28 cm) on the wide side of the plate, along one rib there are 60 short notches divided into tens by long ones, along the other-52 shorter notches, also divided into tens. The lower part of the plate (approx. 25 cm) ends with a blunt end. According to the data obtained by F. R. Martin, this stick was used to take into account the number of captured animals: the first group of notches - the number of foxes, the second-hares [Ibid., p. 94].

The item from Bolshoy Yugan is so close to the ethnographic items described above that there is no doubt about its use as a matchmaker's staff. It is not surprising that fur-bearing species of animals served as a ransom, since a significant part of the Yugan Khanty were taiga hunters who did not know transport reindeer husbandry. An error in the interpretation of the subject by F. R. Martin may be related to receiving information through a translator.

The described items, ethnographic data, and features identified on their basis allow us to confidently identify a series of similar items found during the excavations of the Nadym town.

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3. Matchmaker's staff from the Samoyedic quarter of the IV Nadym town; ca. 1625-1675

Description of the Nadym staff

The first staff was discovered in 1998 by an expedition going to the stationary excavations of the Nadym town. He was with the captain of a dry cargo ship delivering expedition equipment to the work site. This object was found in the middle part of the cliff outcrop, in the construction of the eastern, presumably Samoyedic, quarter at a level corresponding to the middle of the XVII century. (not earlier than the end of the first quarter and not later than the beginning of the last quarter). The staff in the form of a rectangular plate 65 cm long (Fig. 3) has an oval cross - section in the upper part (4.2x3. 0 cm), in the middle-rectangular (3. 7x1. 5 cm). The subject is divided into three parts. The upper one (approx. 12 cm) has the shape of a hook, on which the mask is cut (Fig. 3, a, b). In the middle part (approx. 45 cm), ten oval holes are cut. Judging by the absence of scuff marks in them, we can confidently conclude that the object was not used as a hearth hook. There is nothing at the bottom of the plate (approx.8 cm).

Two other staffs were found in building No. 8, which was significantly different from the others.

Its location, large size, well-known monumentality of architecture, rich clothing complex became the basis for identifying the building as the leader's house. It was here that the unburied remains of women and children were discovered - the last inhabitants of the town, who, according to legend, were killed by enemies who wanted to put an end to a strong leader. A study of skeletal remains conducted by D. N. Razhev showed that the physical appearance of these individuals is similar to the North Yenisei anthropological type, which is closest to modern Nenets populations, which makes it possible to link the building with the ancient Samoyedic - Samoyedic population of the town (Kardash and Razhev, 2002, pp. 56-63).

The location of the staffs within the space of the house can be defined as the northern corner of the building. They lay in one of the uppermost layers, which according to the relative chronology of the town dates back no earlier than the last third of the XVII century, most likely, the boundary of the XVII-XVIII centuries. [Kardash, 2003, pp. 55-56, figs. 186-187]. The staffs from the chieftain's house are morphologically similar. Both items are intact, but their safety is different, which is probably due to the conditions of their storage after use.

The first staff from building No. 8 has the form of a rectangular plate 70 cm long, 4 cm wide and 1 cm thick (Fig. The plate is covered almost along its entire length with notches, in the shape and location of which a certain system is observed: on the ribs there are short notches, which are divided into groups by long notches applied to the wide sides. The subject is divided into three parts. The upper one (approx. 10 cm) has the shape of a hook, on which the mask is cut (the side where it is located, we will consider the front one). On the back edge there are eight notches separated by a long notch. In the middle part (approx. 45 cm), there are 50 notches on both ribs, divided into dozens by notches on the wide sides (for the front rib - on the left, for the back rib - on the right). In the lower part (15 cm), there are notches only on the back side, there are 18 of them, divided by notches into groups of three, ten and five.

The second staff from the house of the chief also has the form of a rectangular plate of oval cross-section. Its length is 72 cm, width 4 cm and thickness 1 cm (Fig. 5, 1). The upper part (approx. 10 cm) also has the shape of a hook with a similar mask (Fig. 5, 1a). On the back side, as on the first staff, there are eight notches, separated by a long notch. In the middle part (approx. 47 cm), there are 50 notches on the front edge, and 40 on the opposite edge. Unlike the first staff, the notches dividing them into dozens are located for the front rib on the right side, for the back - on the left. In the lower part (approx. 15 cm) there are notches only on the front side, there are 20 of them, divided by a notch into dozens.

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4. The first matchmaker's staff from building No. 8 (the leader's house) of the Samoyedic quarter of the third Nadym town; ca. 1670-1710.

5. The second staff of a matchmaker from building No. 8 (c. 1670-1710) (1) and staffs from the space of the northern Ostyak quarter II (c. 1670-1700) (2, 3) of the Nadym town.

Judging by the presence of soot on the products, they were for some time near the hearth, probably stored on one of the crossbars of the overhead structure. Most likely, it was a place behind the hearth at the back wall, which is still considered the most honorable place in the Nenets plague [Essays on cultural genesis ..., 1994, p. 49] and in the log house of the northern Ostyaks. It was here that the host and guests were located and sacred objects were placed. Such a functional structure of the internal space of a dwelling is recorded, for example, in the house of the Obdorsky Princes Taishins built in the 20s of the XIX century in the village. Gornoknyazevske of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (Ivasko and Kardash, 2004).

In 2001, two fragments of other staffs were found in the scree of the cultural layer of the northern Ostyak quarter, which partially collapsed during research. Despite the fact that the objects do not have a definite planigraphic and stratigraphic reference, the layer from which they originate is dated quite accurately - the last third of the XVII century. [Kardash, 2002, p. 69, fig. 195, 1, 2]. The staffs from the Ostyatsky quarter are also similar in shape and size. They are a smaller version of the staffs from building No. 8-the leader's house.

The first fragment is 7.2 cm long, 1.7 cm wide, and 0.6 cm thick (Figs. 5, 3). The possible length of this staff, judging by the proportions described above, is approx. 21 cm. The upper part of the plate (approx. 3 cm) is shaped like a hook with a mask. There are no notches on the back side. In the middle part on the front edge there are eight notches, five of which are separated by a long notch on the right side of the plate; on the back - ten, separated by five notches on the left side.

The second fragment has a length of 6.1 cm, a width of 1.2 cm, and a thickness of 0.5 cm (Fig. 5, 2). The length of the staff could be about 19 cm. The upper part (approx. 2.5 cm) also has the shape of a hook with a mask. On the back side there are seven notches separated by a long notch. In the middle part on the front edge there are seven notches, five of them are separated by two long notches applied to the entire width of the right side of the plate; on the back edge - six notches, five of them are separated by the same long notches.

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Fig. 6. Fragments of staffs (?) from Poluysky (Obdorsky) town; ca. 1650-1700

Unlike the items from building No. 8, the staffs from Ostyatsky kvartal most likely had a hook that was not intended for hanging anything, but rather had a form-forming meaning designed to emphasize the function of the object.

It should be particularly noted that all layers of the Nadymsky Gorodok defense and residential complex have been excavated since the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. The five items described above come from a cultural horizon that dates no earlier than the end of the first quarter or the middle of the 17th century. In the earlier layers of the monument and scree materials, neither whole staffs nor any fragments of similar objects with counting notches were found.

Analogs from synchronous monuments

An objective analysis of the Nadym staves is impossible without referring to the materials of synchronous monuments - Poluysky (Obdorsky), Voikarsky towns of the aboriginal population of the forest-tundra zone of Northwestern Siberia and the Russian city of Mangazei. There are no direct analogues in the clothing complexes of these monuments. There are only fragments of wooden products that are close to the Nadym ones by the presence of a system of notches and notches. Nevertheless, we will focus on their description, since this will allow us not only to see the staves in question against a broader background, but also to introduce the entire range of such artifacts known today into scientific circulation.

Poluysky (Obdorsky) town was located near the mouth of the Poluy River, in the modern city of Salekhard (see Fig. 1). In the XVI-XVII centuries. It functioned as the administrative center of the native Obdorsky "principality" (Kardash, 2006a, p.128-129). In 2004 - 2005, several excavations with a total area of up to 1,000 m2 were laid in different parts of the monument. As a result, the remains of a defensive and residential complex were discovered, where, apparently, the leader's house was located. About ten residential buildings were located outside the fortification (Kardash, 2005a).

The collection from Poluysky Gorodok contains five fragments of wooden products that can be identified as parts of a matchmaker's staff (Fig. 6). Four of them were found in the gallery of building No. 1 of the defense and residential complex. The objects were located in the space of the third and fourth levels of reconstruction (we are talking about the stages of rebuilding the house), dated by the dendrochronological method to the 60s-70s of the XVII century. It should be noted that the time of functioning of the upper (first) level is determined within the late XVII-early XVIII centuries, and the lowest (sixth), judging by the found coin of M. F. Romanov (1613-1645), ceased to exist approximately in the 20-30s of the XVII century. [Kardash, 2005b, p. 55-56]. Thus, the dating of objects can be considered quite accurate.

The first fragment of the product from Poluysky Gorodok has a length of 29 cm and is a part of the plate with a thickness of 0.9 cm split along the length (Fig. 6, 1). On the pointed edge there are 32 notches divided by three long notches into dozens. Judging by the size, the fragment could be part of a large staff, similar to the Nadym staff from building No. 8. It is possible that this is the part that the matchmaker cut off in the process of bargaining for the amount of the bride price.

The second fragment has a length of 10 cm, a width of 1.5 cm and a thickness of 0.3 cm. It can be defined as the middle part of a small staff (Fig. Both edges of the object are marked with notches: 13 - on one, 14 - on the other. Long notches on a wide plane divide them into groups of seven and six on one side, seven on the other.

The third fragment is 6 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, and 0.4 cm thick-probably also the middle part of a small staff (Fig. 6, 5). There are nine notches on both edges of the object. There are no notches on the wide sides. Perhaps, on this product, the notches were divided into dozens.

The fourth fragment is 7 cm long, 2.0 cm wide, and 0.4 cm thick, and represents an average

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part of the staff at the point of transition to the top (Fig. 6, 2). On one edge there are six notches, on the other - seven.

The fifth fragment was found in the space between residential buildings located to the south of the defense and residential complex and formed a kind of posad. This group of buildings was definitely connected with the Ostyak part of the settlement development. The object was located in a single construction horizon between buildings N 7 and 9. For the latter, the dendrochronological method obtained a fairly accurate construction date-1652, which allows us to determine the time of formation of the cultural layer in this part of the monument - the second half of the XVII century. [Kardash, 2006b, p. 32].

The item is almost completely preserved. A comparative analysis of the shape of the product allows us to identify it quite confidently as a matchmaker's staff. Only the upper part and a small fragment of the lower part were lost. The preserved part is 12.5 cm long, 1.3 cm wide, and 0.4 cm thick (Figs. 6, 4). Possible staff length approx. 15 cm. It has the shape of a rectangular plate with a rectangular cross-section. The uppermost part of the hook, where the mask should have been located, is missing, but its size can be reconstructed within 3 - 4 cm. In the middle part (approx. 10 cm), both edges of the plate are marked with notches: on the front - 19, on the back-21. The first ones are divided by long notches into groups of 9 (the last notch is adjacent to the lower notch); the second ones are 11 and 10. In the lower part of the staff (approx. 2.0 cm), there is a single notch on the back edge.

One staff is in the collection from the excavations of Voykarsky gorodok. Since the 17th century, this locality has been known in Obdorskaya Volost as the second administrative center of native territorial communities, where yasach was collected from Ostyaks and Samoyeds (Dolgikh, 1960, p. 68). The archaeological site is located on the bank of the Ob River north of the mouth of the Voikar River in the Shuryshkarsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (see Figure 1). In 2003, stationary studies were initiated here under the direction of A. G. Brusnitsina, and since 2005, they have been continuing under the direction of N. V. Fedorova [Brusnitsina, 2003, 2005a, Fedorova, 2004, 2006]. The staff was found in the space between the residential buildings of the town [Brusnitsina, 2005b, p. 24, fig. 56]. The site where the object was located was covered by the structures of Building No. 1, which together with building No. 2 forms the upper construction horizon, dated from the coins of the reign of Empress Catherine II and Emperor Paul I to the last third of the XVIII-early XIX centuries. [Ibid., pp. 15-17]. The layer containing the staff is synchronous with the time of operation of building No. 8, for which the dendrochronological method obtained the date of construction-1729-1730. [Ibid., p. 19]. Accordingly, the object itself can be confidently dated to the middle of the XVIII century.

The Voikar staff has the shape of a rectangular plate 11 cm long, 1.2 cm wide, 0.3 cm thick (Fig. 7). The cross-section is rectangular. The upper part (approx. 3 cm) has the shape of a hook with a conventionally shown mask. This part of the staff is separated on both sides by two long notches. On the opposite edge in relation to the mask, one poorly pronounced notch is applied. In the middle part (approx. 7 cm), there are 14 notches on both edges of the plate. On the front side, they are without dividing notches. On the back edge, ten notches are separated by five long notches, and the lower four are separated by a gap. There are no notches in the lower part (1 cm).

The Voikar staff differs from all the others described above in its very small size. Considering all the clothing complexes of late medieval towns, in which the category of children's toys - miniature models of everyday things - reaches 10-15 %, we can conclude that, most likely, the Voykar staff was a model for children's games or any household magic rituals.

An important source necessary for understanding and interpreting the Nadym swat staves can be the materials of excavations of Russian monuments

7. A staff from the space between the buildings of the Voikar town; ca. 1730-1770

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Fig. 8. Objects with counting notches from the space of the Gradsky posad of Mangazeya; ca. 1610-1640

development of Siberia in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Naturally, we are talking about archaeological sites with a frozen cultural layer that preserves wooden objects. There are few such monuments. In the published materials of studies of the yasach collection points-Alazey and Starodukhinsky forts, located in the north of Yakutia-such items are absent (Alekseev, 1996). In the collection of recent excavations of the Russian city of Mangazeya, there are about a dozen similar fragments of wooden plates with a system of notches and notches [Vizgalov, 2006, p. 186-187; Vizgalov and Parkhimovich, 2007, p. 135-136, 272, photo 155]. The city was located in the lower reaches of the Taza River and from 1601 to 1672 functioned as the administrative center of the Mangazey Uyezd (see Fig. 1). Since 2000, a comprehensive expedition led by G. P. Vizgalov has been studying the posadskaya part of the city. The chronology of buildings and the discovered clothing complex does not go beyond the 40s of the XVII century.Most of the cultural layer belongs to the first third of the XVII century, not earlier than 1605-1608 (Vizgalov and Parkhimovich, 2007, pp. 33-60).

Here are only three items from the 2006 excavations that have features closest to those of the published staffs (Fig. 8). All of them were identified by G. P. Vizgalov as counting sticks [2006, pp. 186-187, photo 151]. The first item is a fragment of a 34.5 cm long bar with a square section of 1. 4x1. 4 cm (Fig. 8, 1). Notches are applied on two edges that are opposite diagonally. One is completely filled with notches. There are 48 of them in total, divided into dozens by five long notches on the adjacent face. On the opposite plane, four long notches are drawn, dividing 37 notches into tens on the other edge, which is only three-quarters filled. The second object is a fragment of a plate 11.5 cm long, 2.0 cm wide, 0.5 cm thick (Fig. 8, 2). The notches (20 in total) are applied only on one edge and are divided into dozens by three long notches on both sides. The third item is also a fragment of a plate. Its length is 15.0 cm, width 2.0 cm, thickness 0.4 cm (Fig. 8, 3). Notches are applied on both edges, 25 on each. Long notches are not fixed.

Mangazei objects with notches cannot be reliably identified as wedding staffs due to their fragmentary nature, which makes it impossible to restore their complete shape. At the same time, these are, without a doubt, products used for one or another accounting using the decimal counting system, which is an important fact for our analysis. It can be assumed that such items were used in mutual settlements of creditors and debtors: notches were made on both sides of one stick, which split into two parts - for the creditor and the debtor. Payment of the debt was made on the basis of presented sticks with notches. With partial repayment, only a part of the notches could be cut. The existence of such a form of agreement in the 17th century is quite probable, since this principle is recorded in the ethnography of the Samoyeds, in particular, when drawing up marriage agreements (Khomich, 1995, p.177).

Genesis of elements of wedding rituals of the Nenets and Khanty peoples

The procedure of matchmaking and the wedding ceremony of the indigenous peoples of Northwestern Siberia is well described in the works of ethnographers. Among the Khanty and Nenets peoples, this ritual was performed mainly by men, the groom's closest relatives (paternal or maternal uncles), and sometimes parents. Two or three matchmakers went to the bride's father. Among them, one was the main one (paternal uncle), and he negotiated in sot-

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according to the ancient principles of avunculat. The distinctive sign and main attribute of the main matchmaker was a staff with a handkerchief or ribbon tied to it. In the northern Khanty, the groom went to woo together with matchmakers.

Matchmaking among most peoples was scheduled in the spring. It was a long process, consisting of a series of receptions, accompanied by treats and an exchange of gifts. The bride's parents didn't always give their consent right away. Having received it, the matchmaker began negotiations for a ransom and a dowry. Agreements on the composition and amount of the bride price were marked with notches on the staff. Since ancient times, before the widespread use of money, the ransom included deer (among the Nenets up to 200); skins of fur-bearing animals: arctic foxes (among the Nenets up to 70), foxes, beavers, etc.; cloth. The date of the wedding depended on the term of its payment and was usually set for spring (for the Khanty) or autumn (for the Nenets), but sometimes it was postponed for a year or more. The matchmaker left his staff with notches that recorded the ransom agreements with the bride's parents, and it was placed in a sacred place at home or in a sacred chest until the matchmaking process was completed or the ransom was paid [Narodni..., 2005, p. 149, 269, 359, 462]. At Mansi, the matchmaker's staff was kept in a sacred box until the end of matchmaking, which often took place in spring, and the kalym was paid in full only in winter [Ibid., 2005, p. 269].

When was this form of wedding ceremony formed? You can try to answer this question by looking at the entire complex of archaeological and ethnological sources. The matchmaker's staff as a ceremonial object (seu su) is mentioned in the epic of the Irtysh ostyaks of the XIV-XVI centuries, recorded by S. K. Patkanov at the end of the XIX century. [Patkanov, 2003, p. 78]. The item is not described in detail. Whether this mention can be considered evidence of the ancient origin of a specially made matchmaker's staff, it is definitely impossible to say. This element of the narrative could denote any item that served its role, or be a late inclusion. However, there is another possible explanation for the mention of the staff.

Interesting conclusions follow from the comparison of elements of the matchmaking rite among geographically close Aboriginal peoples. Among the essential accessories of the Selkup matchmaker was a wooden staff, the upper part of which was decorated with a handkerchief, and a copper cauldron (Gemuyev, 1980, p. 107). Among the Ents, the role of a matchmaker's staff was played by an iron or wooden wand (churo) with a pointed lower end and a decorated pommel, similar to the one used by a shaman in the process of kamlaniya [Narodni..., 2005, p. 526]. Among the Nganasans, the matchmaker's attribute was a staff (chere) in the form of a one-and-a-half-meter stick with a T-shaped metal or bone pommel, or an ordinary spear that symbolized the threat of conflict in case of refusal to give up the bride [Family ritual..., 1980, p.45; Peoples..., 2005, p. 604]. Among the Evenks, before starting negotiations, the matchmaker stuck a palm tree in the middle of the dwelling on a long wooden shaft [Family ritual..., 1980, pp. 55-56]. In the rite of matchmaking of Kets, a cauldron is used as a certain attribute of the matchmaker [Narody..., 2005, p. 699].

Among the Turkic peoples of Siberia (Siberian Tatars, Teleuts, Shors, Kumandins), there was an element of matchmaking in the wedding ceremony, during which the parties agreed on a ransom, but the staff or a similar attribute was not used [Tyurskie narody..., 2006, p. 91, 213, 296, 366]. Among the Shors and Kumandins, all wedding rituals were generally under the jurisdiction of the shaman [Ibid., pp. 297, 366].

In Russian traditional culture, the function of a matchmaker's attribute, similar in shape to a staff, is performed by a stick, poker, or frying pan [Russkie, 2005, p. 476]. In particular, in the Russian North, they were used to knock on shutters, which was an obligatory part of the matchmaking rite [Russkiy Sever, 2004, p.479]. The staff as an attribute of matchmaking undoubtedly existed in Russian traditional culture, but it was transformed into a kind of everyday object, obviously due to the rejection of it by the Christian tradition as a vestige of pagan ritual.

So, not all aboriginal peoples inhabiting Western Siberia have a special matchmaker's staff in their culture as an obligatory element of the wedding ceremony, and even more so in the function of a kind of trade and exchange agreement. In this regard, the sticks of Ostyaks and Samoyeds of Northwestern Siberia can be considered to some extent a cultural phenomenon. Its origin can be reconstructed as follows. Just as with most of the modern indigenous peoples of Northwestern Siberia, initially in the Middle Ages, the Samoyeds and Ostyaks played the role of a staff as a household item-a hearth hook. It subsequently became the prototype of an item that was specially made and used to mark the function of the owner, in this case the matchmaker. During the period of Russian colonization, when the closest interethnic contacts took place between aborigines and industrialists, this attribute of wedding rituals was supplemented with counting elements in the form of notches and cloth ribbons.

Conclusion

Matchmaker's staffs from the Nadym town of the 17th-18th centuries are currently the most representative collection of wedding ritual attributes. Their analysis with the use of ethnographic data will allow us to-

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It allows us to make a number of assumptions and quite definite conclusions. In terms of size, there are two main types of staffs: large (60 - 70 cm) and small (10 - 20 cm). Large amounts reflect a significant amount of foreclosure, which characterizes the property status of the parties involved in the prenuptial agreement, which, apparently, determines their belonging to the privileged part of society. In addition, we can assume an ethnic differentiation of the types of objects, in particular, the connection of large staffs with Samoyeds, and small ones with ostyaks.

The small number of such items found during excavations of monuments with a frozen cultural layer, in relation to any theoretical number of marriages, indicates that the swat's staffs were somehow disposed of due to their special significance. Those that are found, remained with the owners clearly due to unusual circumstances.

It is likely that in the traditional culture of the northern peoples, the presence of a staff as an indispensable accessory of a matchmaker is associated with determining the status of a person by subject. It is known that one of the important attributes of a shaman was a special shaman's staff. It is possible that the status of the matchmaker's staff has its roots in ancient Siberian shamanism.

Currently, stationary archaeological excavations have investigated three monuments of the aboriginal population of the West Siberian Subarctic, dating back to the period before the XVII century. These are the layers of the XV-XVI centuries. Nadym town, XIII-XIV centuries. Voykarsky settlement, Nakhodka Bay, 13th-14th centuries (Kardash, 2006a, 2008a, b; Fedorova, 2006, 2007). None of them recorded the use of the decimal counting system by the population. The first objects that testify to its use-wooden plates with notches-appear on the territory of North-Western Siberia only at the beginning of the XVII century. Thus, the introduction of the decimal counting system into the culture of the late medieval inhabitants of the region occurred in the XVII century and was associated with Russian colonization.

The facts of marital relations between Russian industrialists and service people with native girls are repeatedly mentioned in the documentary sources of the XVII century and the works of historians [Miller, 2000, p. 85]. In this connection, it is not unreasonable to assume the possibility of Russian cultural influence on the wedding rituals of the aborigines during the colonization of Siberia. It is quite likely that the form of the rite that was recorded by ethnographers in the XX century was formed not earlier than the middle of the XVII century, but most likely by the end of the XVII-beginning of the XVIII century.

It should be noted that the principle of modeling the processes of adult life by children obviously extended to wedding rituals. The presence of small staffs, presumably intended for children's games, may indicate that the form of matchmaking, which provides for a kind of marriage contract with the bride price, in the first half of the XVIII century.firmly entered the culture of the Ostyaks and Samoyeds of Western Siberia and became its integral part.

Acknowledgements

The author expresses his gratitude to N. V. Fedorova, Deputy Director of the I. S. Shemanovsky Yamalo-Nenets District Museum and Exhibition Complex (Salekhard), for the opportunity to get acquainted with the field materials of Voikarsky Gorodok research and use the unpublished exhibit in the article; as well as to G. P. Vizgalov, Director of the NGO "Northern Archeology", who made it possible to use his new materials excavations of Mangazeya.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 23.05.08.

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