Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 40 (1) 2012

Annotation:  Bairaki – a Lower Paleolithic Site on the Lower Dniester The Denticulate Mousterian as a Supposedly Distinct Facies in Western Central Asia Non-utilitarian Lithic Objects from the European Paleolithic Decorated Birch-Bark Artifacts from Section VI of the Gorbunovsky Peat-Bog An Alakul Funeral and Ritual Site in the Eastern Orenburg Region Medieval Amulet Illustrating the Divine Horseman Myth, Rozhdestveno, Perm Territory Face Images in Lower Angara Rock Art Boats in the Rock Art of Kanozero and Northern Europe New Data on Bronze Age Jewelry in the Southeastern Urals The Old Russian Male Funerary Attire (Based on Finds from the 10th–11th Century Burial Mounds at Goc Investigation of Wooden Burial Structures in the Process of Archaeological Excavations A Contribution to the Study of the Eastern Links of the Bronze Age Culture of the Northern Middle Vo Secular Imagery in the Islamic Space of Medieval Zirikhgeran Stone Statue of Ailyan, Gorny Altai Jurchen Pendants of the Netsuke Type Elements of Religious Ritualism in Popular Medicine among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob Region Early Metal Age Crania from Bolshoy Oleniy Island, Barents Sea   

Elements of Religious Ritualism in Popular Medicine among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob Region

E.E. Ermakova.

In this article, medical culture and its functioning is analyzed both synchronically and diachronically on the basis of fi eld materials, collected among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob region from 2009–2010. Traditional medicine of the Izhma Komi was closely connected with religious rituals, in particular, with the practice of prayers and vows as well as the phenomenon of holy water and the world of objects and things. This study analyzes specifi c features of “intersection” between all these elements and medical culture (functions and semantics), and presents data on sacral topography, for example, on votive crosses and water springs, which play an important role in the religious practices of the Izhma Komi and are used for maintaining physical and spiritual health.

Keywords: Izhma Komi, popular medicine, religious ritualism, sacred topography.