The paper is devoted to one of the central figures in the mythology of Khanty and Mansi –
As tyi iki (The Ob old man). His place in the Ob-Ugric pantheon is described, the main functions
are revealed, variants of the name are listed, and various local ideas about his place of residence
are given – the mouth of Ob river, its upper reaches and the fusion of Ob and Irtysh. The paper
provides a detailed description of the rite of worship As Tyi iki that was performed in 2014 at the
confluence of Biya and Katun (supposed to be one of the locations of the deity) and with the participation of the author that was fully recorded on video, photo, and audio equipment. The rite
was performed by Surgut Khanty Semen and Tamara Rynkovs, as well as Agrafena Sopochina,
invited to the Institute of Philology of the SB RAS as informants for phonetic research. In addition to As tyi iki, the offerings to other deities – Nai imi (spirit of fire), Tylas iki (Month-old
man), Mykh anki (the Old woman of the Land), Kyn iki (Man of Disease) – were made during the
rite. The conclusion is made about the preservation of the cult of As tyi iki and the correspondence of the ritual described with the modern state of the rite traditions of Surgut Khanty.
Baulo A. V. Arlekin, ostyatskiy idol [Arlekin, the idol of the Ostyaks]. Archaeology, ethnography and anthropology of Eurasia. 2009, no. 3, pp. 111–118.
Cheremisina K. P. Sfery sakral’nogo i obydennogo v traditsionnoy khantyyskoy kul’ture [The
sacral and secular spheres in the traditional culture of the Khanty]. Abstract of Hist. philol. sci. diss. Tomsk, 2010, 20 p.
Glavatskaya E. M. Religioznye traditsii khantov. 17–20 vv. [Religious traditions of the
Khanty. 17th–20th century]. Ekaterinburg, Salekhard, 2005, 360 p.
Karjalainen K. F. Religiya ugorskikh narodov: V 3 t. [The religion of Ugric peoples: In 3 vols. Vol. 2]. Tomsk, TSU Publ., 1995, 284 p.
Kulemzin V. M. Nekotoryye sposoby tsvetooboznacheniya u khantov [Some ways of color
naming of Khanty]. In: Etnokul’-turnyye protsessy v Zapadnoy Sibiri: Sb. st. [Ethnocultural processes in Western Siberia: coll. of art.]. V. I. Matyushchenko (Ed.). Tomsk, TSU Publ., 1983, pp. 124–128.
Lukina N. V. Khanty ot Vasyugan’ya do Zapolyar’ya. Istochniki po etnografii [Khanty from
Vasyuganya to the Arctic. Sources on ethnography]. Tomsk, 2009, vol. 3: Yugan; 2010, vol. 4:
Agan. Pim; vol. 5: Konda. Trom”yëgan. Lyamin. Kazym.
Lukina N. V. Khantyyskiy obryad zhertvoprinosheniya [Sacrifitial rite of the Khanty]. Tomsk
Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2013, no. 2(2), pp. 106–114.
Mify narodov mira. Entsiklopediya: V 2 t. T. 2: K–Я [Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia: In 2 vols. Vol. 2: K–Я]. S. A. Tokarev (Ed). Moscow, Ros. entsikl., 1994, 719 p.
Moldanov T. A. Kartina mira v medvezh’ikh igrishchakh severnykh khantov: 19–21 vv. [View
of the world in the bear fest of the northern Khanty: 19th–21st century]. Abstract of Hist. philol. sci. diss. Tomsk, 2002, 22 p.
Moldanov T. A. Khantyyskiye ritual’nyye khalaty: simvolicheskiy aspekt [Khanty’s ceremonial wrap dresses: symbolic aspect]. Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2011, no. 2 (5), pp. 134–139.
Rud’ A. A. Kul’tovyye ob”yekty vostochnykh khantov v nachale 21 v. [Sacred objects of the
eastern Khanty in the beginning of 21st century]. Ural historical journal. 2016, no. 4 (53),
pp. 136–141.
Sagalayev A. M. Uralo-altayskaya mifologiya: simvol i arkhetip [Ural and Altai mythology:
Symbol and archetype]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1991, 155 p.
Toporov V. N. Ob iranskom vliyanii v mifologii narodov Sibiri i Tsentral’noy Azii [About
the Iranian influence on the mythologies of Caucasus ant the Middle Asia]. In: Kavkaz i Srednyaya Aziya v drevnosti i srednevekov’ye. [Caucasus ant the Middle Asia in the Ancient and Middle ages.] Moscow, 1981, pp. 146–162.