ETHNOLOGY
DOI: 10.1134/S1563011007030140
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences,
ORNITHOMORPHIC PERCEPTIONS
OF THE SOUL IN KOMI-ZYRYAN BELIEFS*
Introduction
The idea that the human soul may take a bird or animal-
like appearance is widespread among different belief
systems including that of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric
peoples. Images of birds “carrying away” the soul are
linked with the perception of the “other world”; it is
said that the soul does indeed “fly away” (Afanasiev,
1868: 137 – 139; Zelenin, 1994: 245 – 246; Eremina,
1991: 102 – 116; Nikitina, 2002: 125). According to the
traditional beliefs held by many peoples, the soul of the
deceased, acquiring a bird-like form, may visit relatives,
make its presence felt, declare its will, and afford others
protection. According to traditional belief, Ukrainian and
Southern Slavic navi, the souls of non-baptized infants,
are bird-like in appearance (Rybakov, 1981: 35 – 36, 277;
Nikitina, 2002: 138 – 162). The bird was also believed
both to be the soul’s guide to the other world (Propp,
1996: 167 – 170) and to symbolize the incarnation of the
deceased (Veletskaya, 2003: 31).
Several writers have suggested that the association
between the soul and the bird stems from the belief that
the soul leaves the body through the smoke produced
during cremation. The soul’s passage evokes images of
fast moving animals, especially birds and other flying
creatures whereas the initial origin of the metamorphic
*This work was carried out under the Russian Academy
of Sciences program “Adaptation of Peoples and Cultures
to Environmental Changes, Social and Technogenic
Transformations” (Project 21.4.3 “Mytho-Ritual Complex of
the Slavic and Finno-Ugric Peoples: Ethnic Traditions and
Inter-Ethnic Ties in the Urals and Western Siberia”).
Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 3 (31) 2007
© 2007, O.V. Golubkova
125
125
O.V. Golubkova
Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
E-mail: Camil@ngs.ru
image lies with the fire. (Wundt, 2002: 382; Propp, 1996:
176 – 177; 208 – 209). Ideas connecting the bird with
the element of fire can also be traced in the folklore of
the Komi. In Komi riddles, fire is compared to a bird that
runs along branches dropping red eggs. Legends also
exist in which birds punish those who have destroyed
a birds’ nest by setting fire to their homes (Mifologiya
komi…, 1999: 88, 184). A legend recorded in Polesie (a
woodland in the southeastern part of the Eastern Europe
Lowland) holds that a hanged man “stood beside his grave
at midnight surrounded by fire and took the bird-soul
from the throat of passerby” (Sedakova, 2004: 40). The
Lusatians (Slavs living in Eastern Germany) believed the
image of a bird in flames to represent the soul of a person
who had committed suicide (Gura, 1997: 41).
The correlation between the bird and the soul is typical
in Komi mythology. While various groups of Komi may
interpret certain details differently, the basic principles of
rites and rituals and beliefs related to certain species of
birds remain common to all groups.
Bird-soul: Funeral rites
of the southern Komi–Zyryan
In the mythology of the southern Komi-Zyryan, small
birds are associated with the realm of the dead. In some
villages of the Priluzski Region of the Komi Republic,
a special relationship to birds has been noted. The
Zyryan inhabiting the Letka Region on the Luza River
hang birdfeeders at their cemeteries (Fig. 1 – 3). The
birdfeeders are usually hung on trees, on poles erected at
the graves, on gravestones, and on fences. Some feeders
E-mail: eurasia@archaeology.nsc.ru
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Fig. 1. Birdfeeder at Letka village cemetery (Komi Republic).
Photograph by the author, 2006.
Fig. 2. Birdfeeder with inscription Fig. 3. Birdfeeder with the image
“To grandpa from your grandchildren” of a butterfly at Letka cemetery
at Letka cemetery (Komi Republic). (Komi Republic). Photograph by
Photograph by the author, 2006. the author, 2006.
(from the cemeteries at Obiachevo and neighboring
villages) represent small houses with double-pitch roofs,
windows, and doors. Some also bear images of both
four and six pointed crosses (Sorvacheva, Fediunev,
2006: 118 – 119). Food is placed inside the feeders
by relatives during the funeral repast. It is believed
that birds take a portion of the food such as bread
to heaven for the souls of the dead (from the author’s
field material. Hereafter, FMA; Letka village, Priluzski
Region, Komi Republic, 2006).
According to a belief held by most
Komi-Zyryan groups, a person has two
souls: the inner soul, perceived as breath
(lov), the departure of which signifies
the end of one’s earthly life, and the
outer soul, perceived as one’s shadow
(ort), which represents one’s double. Ort
resides outside the body, accompanies
people throughout their life and sends a
message of their forthcoming death either
to the individual themselves or to one of
their relatives. Being invisible, ort may
signal its appearance by uttering sounds,
shifting and dropping household items,
opening windows and doors, breaking
dishes or leaving bruises on the body.
It is believed that the forthcoming death
manifests itself through a special sign
which makes the ort visible. Most often
it takes the appearance of the person for
whom it is a twin. In some cases, the sign
may be taken to be a bird that has flown
into the house or a squirrel that has run
inside. (Nalimov, 1907: 1 – 23). Zoo- and
ornithomorphic representations are more
typical of the ures, a soul-twin in the
tradition of the northern Komi-Zyryan.
After death, the soul-shadow becomes
visible and in a way, equivalent to the
deceased who can “hear” with ort’s ears.
During the first forty days after death,
ort walks around all the places visited by
the deceased during his lifetime. Then
ort descends to the grave (according
to other sources, ort turns into a stone
or disappears completely) (Mifologiya
komi…, 1999: 55, 268 – 269).
Since the ornithomorphic image
represents ort – one of the soul’s major
aspects, the tradition of the Komi-Zyryan
population of the Letka–Lusa area of
placing bird houses and feeders at graves
may illustrate the belief that upon death,
the human soul is transformed into a
bird. Similar beliefs are shared by many
related peoples of the same language group. The Khanty
and Mansi, for instance, believed that one of the four or
five human souls escaped the human body both during
sleep and at the moment of death (Chernetsov, 1959:
116 –156). Available ethnological data on the culture
of the Finno-Ugric peoples provide direct evidence of
a connection between zoomorphic images, including
birds, and totems (Sokolova, 1972: 32 – 40). Traces of
beliefs that the soul transforms into a bird are widespread
among the Slavs (Rybakov, 1981: 277; Sedakova, 2004:

36, 179, 254). Ancient beliefs associating the soul with
tiny birds gave rise to the diminutive denotation of the
soul – dushechka (literally ‘little soul’) (Nikitina, 2002:
81). Images of animals and birds in Russian traditional
culture, i.e., as decorative motives on houses, attire and
household items, represent transformations of totemic
images (Bernstam, 1982: 32). Remnants of these archaic
beliefs are preserved in the tradition of making bird
figurines from wooden chips in the Russian North: such
figurines are hung from the ceiling as amulets (Dmitrieva,
1988: 155 – 158). Until the early 20th cent., the Komi
practiced the custom of erecting poles topped with bird
images in their yards (Syropyatov, 1924: 6 – 7; Dmitrieva,
1988: 144 – 145). The Old Believers placed poles with
wooden bird figurines at gravestones in the Russian North
(Veletskaya, 2003: ill. 16). D.N. Anuchin pointed to the
similarity between the figurines of “flying birds” typical
of the Uralian Chud culture with the ornithomorphic
images on poles to which sacrificial animals were tied in
the cultures of the Ostyaks, Voguls, Samoyeds, and Altai
Aleuts. These flying birds also shared many features
in common with the bird figurines carved in wood that
were hung in yurts to secure well being in the home and
protection against illness (Anuchin, 1899: 133 – 145).
The noted similarity can be explained by the universal
perception of birds as creatures bearing the fulfillment of
human desires and able to announce the will of the gods
(Ibid.: 128). In many cultures, birds performed apotropaic
functions peculiar to spirit-guardians which fits with their
role of the personification of the human soul.
The image of a butterfly on one of the birdfeeders
at the cemetery in Letka (see Fig. 3) is particularly
significant. In many traditional cultures, the butterfly is
also related to the afterworld (Porchinsky, 1915: 3 – 24;
Ivanov, Toporov, 1974: 108). The butterfly is considered
to be a personification of the soul of the deceased hence
the butterfly is usually treated as a foreteller of death
and even as an image of death itself (Gura, 1997: 486 –
492; Ternovskaya, 1989: 155 – 159). In some regions of
Russia, the butterfly was called dushechka ‘sweet little
soul’ (Porchinsky, 1915: 9; Vlasova, 1998: 120), while
in the Orel Province, the moth was called smertochka
‘sweet death’ (Sedakova, 2004: 231). According to
Komi beliefs, the soul of a dying person resembles a
small cloud or steam which can “fly away” as a butterfly
or a bird (Mifologiya komi…, 1999: 226). In the mid
20th cent., the Ob Ugrians believed that the “grave
soul” transformed into insects including butterflies
(Chernetsov, 1959: 116 – 156).
Studies of Komi ornamental motifs (Belitser, 1958;
Klimova, 1994) do not reveal the presence of butterfly
images in decorative art. The folklore of the Komi-Zyryan
and Komi-Permyak contain images of the butterfly (as
well as images of lizard, small mouse, worm, larva, and
hair) that transmit evil spirits sheva into the human body
127
causing illness and hysterical reactions (Mifologiya
komi…, 1999: 109, 382). It cannot be excluded that the
reproduction of the butterfly image was taboo for that
very reason.
In the second half of the 19th cent., folklore scholars
recorded tales, omens, and legends concerning butterflies
that existed at that time among the peoples of the European
part of Russia including the Slavs. Thus, along with the
belief concerning the butterfly as a representation of a
human soul that has left or is about to leave the human
body (Afanasiev, 1865: 120; Kotlyarevsky, 1868: 189;
Korinfsky, 1901: 702), ideas also existed linked to the
demonic nature of these creatures. Residents of the
Olonets Region of the Orel Province believed that a
white butterfly represented spring cold sores, vorogusha:
the illness in the form of a white moth sits on the lips of a
sleeping man causing the affliction (Vlasova, 1998: 120).
According to Byelorussian beliefs, witches transformed
into butterflies (birds or toads) (Shein, 1902: 265).
The Southern Slavs believed the moth to represent the
“evil spirit” of a witch that would fly out of her body
either upon her death or during sleep. In these popular
beliefs, such moths as well as witches and vampires
were able to suck blood, take milk from cows and cause
fatal illnesses to humans and cattle (Porchinsky, 1915:
16 – 17; Ternovskaya, 1989: 151 – 160; Gura, 1997:
486 – 492). Generally speaking, in the mythology of
the Southern Slavs, the butterfly is mostly identical
to the images of navis and strigas, the ornithomorphic
demons personifying unrepentant souls (for details see
(Afanasiev, 1869: 228 – 229; Zelenin, 1994: 231 – 245;
Rybakov, 1988: 462 – 463; Nikitina, 2002: 139 – 142)).
Apparently, in the later stages of mythological evolution,
the butterfly as a symbol of the soul became equivalent
to the bird. The image of the bird-soul has been present
in Slavic and Finno-Ugric traditions since pre-Christian
times and has retained its significance to the present day.
Initially, the perception of the butterfly as an image
of the human soul in the Komi culture, as well as in the
cultures of some Slavic peoples, seems to have appeared
due to the dispersal and popularization of ancient Greek
and Roman myths in Europe in the 18th – 19th cent.
Ethnologists and mythologists of the 19th – early 20th
cent. compared the pagan beliefs of European peoples with
the myths of the antique world and established analogues
with the heroes of the Greek and Roman pantheon. The
butterfly was regarded as a representation and a symbol of
the human soul in Greek and Roman mythology; both the
soul and the butterfly were designated with the same word
(psyche, anima) (Porchinsky, 1915: 8). The image of the
butterfly-soul apparently originated in certain European
traditions, including the Komi tradition, no earlier than
the mid 19th cent. (even later in peripheral groups) in the
works of writers and poets inspired by classical themes
and images. It seems that prior to that time, butterflies did
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not represent a special type of insect in the beliefs of the
common people. This may also explain the absence of
the butterfly image in the ornamentation and décor of the
Finno-Ugrians and Eastern Slavs.
The butterfly image was introduced into the oral
texts of Slavic and Finno-Ugric mythology but not into
decorative art. In other words, the notion of this ephemeral
creature is included in the traditional world view, while
its presence in decorative arts represents an innovation.
The butterfly image on the birdfeeder at the cemetery
is probably a representation of the old traditional Komi
belief that the human soul is transformed into a flying
creature upon death.
According to popular belief, humans in any stage
of transformation require a dwelling place, food, and
other necessities upon death. For that reason, the ritual
of feeding the dead or inviting the dead to take a bath
are popular in many traditional cultures. The idea
of the home or dwelling place is linked with surface
constructions of various shapes that are made on graves
(Orfinsky, 1998: 49 – 83; Frizin, 2001: 199 – 235;
Sedakova, 2004: 73 – 75, 209). It is highly probable
that the same idea lies behind the Zyryan tradition of
making bird houses in the Luza Region. As the Zyryan
people believed that the soul or one of the souls of the
deceased could transfigure into a bird, in providing
the bird house they hoped to provide the soul of their
deceased relative with refuge.
Different points of view exist concerning the
reincarnation of the soul. Some interviewees regarded
birds as agents communicating between the living and
their deceased relatives: “Birds fly to the sky. Good souls
live there. We leave food at the cemetery. The birds eat
the food and will thank our parents in Heaven. The souls
will be pleased” (FMA, Letka, 2006).
The Komi of the Letka–Luza region share the typical
Christian belief that the souls of the dead live in Heaven.
Hence, birds are able to meet the dead souls and bring
them the food prepared for them by their relatives: “Birds
take the food prepared for the dead to Heaven” (FMA,
Letka, 2006).
The system of communication works in both
directions. The birds likewise transmit messages from
Heaven to the earth. The particular behavior of birds is
interpreted as a message from the dead: “We treat birds
with food at the cemetery. If we make a good repast, the
birds will eat all the food. If the parents are dissatisfied
for some reason then the birds will not eat the food from
that grave. That means that we need to ask our parents for
forgiveness and carry out commemoration rituals more
often” (FMA, Letka, 2006).
The Komi-Zyryan bring a large quantity of food to
the funeral repasts held at cemeteries including eggs, fish
pie, a special ritual food kutia (boiled rice with raisins),
sweets, and alcohol. The gravestones are covered with
boards or a specially designed small table which is kept
at the cemetery and leant against a tree. The participants
of the ritual eat the food making offerings to casual
passerby. The appearance of strangers at the cemetery in
the course of a funeral repast is regarded as a good sign.
Feeding the stranger with the ritual food is regarded as
equivalent to feeding the deceased relative. A mysterious
stranger, a casual passerby or an unknown guest, are
all regarded as addressees of ritual sacrifice at funerals
and as a “substitute” for the deceased (Sedakova, 2004:
110, 136)). A small amount of ritual food is left on the
gravestone and in the birdfeeders.
Symbolically “feeding” the dead via the process of
feeding birds is common ritual practice among many
peoples. Classical ethnological literature contains
evidence that the souls of the dead are associated
with the birds that fly to their graves. The Ukrainians,
Byelorussians, and Russians crumbled bread or a pancake
for birds on the gravestone and waited for the soul of the
deceased to appear for forty days after his or her death
(Afanasiev, 1869: 219 – 220).
At the Letka cemetery, stray dogs regularly “visit”
the dead and are fed by the local people. In Finno-
Ugrian mythology, the dog often plays the role of spirit-
guardian who protects the living from the evil forces of
the afterworld. This protective attribute is considered the
supernatural quality of the dog (Nalimov, 1907: 9, 18 –
21). The Ob Ugrians consider the dog a human substitute
in many rituals including sacrificial rites (Perevalova,
2004: 289 – 291). The Komi-Zyryan fed dogs with the
remains of the funeral repast. If the dogs ate the food
eagerly, the dead were thought to be satisfied (Nalimov,
1907: 3). The Komi from the Letka region today still
regard food eaten by birds and dogs at the cemetery to
be a sign of a good commemoration. It is particularly
the birds though, that are believed to take the food up to
heaven delivering it to the dead in their afterlife (FMA,
Letka, 2006). And so it is with the help of dogs and
birds inhabiting the cemeteries that the Zyryan of the
Letka–Luza region perform the ancient traditional rite of
“feeding” the dead.
The Letka Komi take some of the food from the
cemetery back home with them. At home, the family and
the close relatives hold a funeral repast during which
each individual eats the funeral food (FMA, Letka,
2006). This, common partaking of a meal apparently
symbolized the union of the living with the dead.
Tearing, separating or pulling to pieces items previously
belonging to the deceased may be considered a relic of
cannibalism, and the same may apply to the funerary
repast (Veletskaya, 2003: 72 – 73). The food brought
home from the cemetery is regarded as part of the dead
person’s body introduced to the world of the living. The
collective partaking of a funerary meal is related to the
idea of “dissolving” the body into the community, so
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that the soul, liberated from all the remnants of mortal

life, may be capable of entering this world again.
Feeding birds and dogs in the cemetery may also be a
relic of the ancient funerary rite, which included exposing
dead bodies to be torn to pieces by animals. In Slavic
traditions, the bear took on this role (Voronin, 1960:
28 – 29, 41 – 42); other peoples including sedentary Iranian
tribes placed dogs and birds in the role of scavenger. The
semantic group uniting animal and bird scavengers is as
archaic as ideas of death perceived as “the devouring of
the soul” by evil spirits (Cheremisin, 1997: 32).
Thus the mythological ideas of the Komi-Zyryan
contain a controversy concerning the role of the bird: the
bird occurs both as agent communicating with different
realms and as representation of the soul of the deceased.
The reason for this apparent contradiction can be found
in the combination of pagan and Christian symbols.
According to the Orthodox tradition, the righteous souls
of deceased relatives abide in Heaven. Consequently,
within this world view, the bird can serve only as an
agent between the realms of the dead and the living. In
a popular understanding of Christianity, souls can adopt
ornithomorphic images, but this transformation can only
take place in Heaven. According to the beliefs of the Komi
Old Believers, the souls of innocent babies become the Fig. 4. Dog figurine at a Selkupian grave at the cemetery
birds of paradise. The eclectic image of these creatures is in Krasnoselkup (Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District).
Photograph by A.V. Baulo, 1979.
often highlighted: “they have bird’s wings and legs and a
human body, face, and mouth” (Sharapov, 2004: 148).
The dual perception of the role of birds in the
mythological tradition of the Komi-Zyryan is based on of Krasnoselkup, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District
the archaic idea that each person has several souls (at least (Gemuev, Pelikh, 1993: 292) (Fig. 4). All these data
two). As a result, contradictions based on the stereotypical support the determination of the role of the dog as guide
perception of the soul as representing a single substance to the lower (subterranean and sub-aquatic) realm and as
are surmounted. Komi ideas about the existence of two guard to the realm of the afterlife that is typical of Indo-
souls echo old beliefs that upon a person’s death both Iranian mythology in general.
his souls continue their existence. One of these souls The semantic link between the dog and water present
was said to go to Heaven, while the other was said to in Slavic, Finno-Ugrian, and Turkic mythology can be
transform into a bird or other creature, remaining on the derived from the image of the Iranian deity, Senmurv
earth in proximity to the grave. It cannot be excluded that (Cheremisin, 1997: 31 – 39). Senmurv (Simargl in the
the dog was perceived as one of the transformations of mythology of the Eastern Slavs) was depicted as a winged
the human soul associated with the lower realm. dog and was worshiped as an intermediary between the
The archaic image of the dog in the Slavic, Finno- earth and sky. Senmurv was also patron of seeds and
Ugrian, and Samoyed traditions is associated with the young plants; the cult of this deity was also related to
sub-aquatic or subterranean realms (Rybakov, 1981: mermaid (vil) festivals (Rybakov, 1981: 207 – 208, 329,
206 – 207; Perevalova, 2004: 287 – 293). The Ob Ugrians 432 – 435; 1988: 624 – 627, 718 – 741). This evidence
used to sacrifice dogs to the water spirit. The Khanty of supports the attribution of Senmurv (Simargl) to the realm
the Voikar basin practiced the ritual of dressing up a of the dead (for mermaids and the deceased see (Zelenin,
dog as a young girl. The dog was then placed in a boat 1994: 230 – 300; Vinogradova, 1986: 88 – 130)). The
and drowned in the sacred lake (Perevalova, 2004: semantic group “dog – snake – water” (Cheremisin,
291). The Khanty of the Polui basin killed a dog on the 1997: 39) is logically continued by the “snake – bird”
grave believing that the dog would show the deceased link (Tsiviyan, 1984: 48 – 55).
relative the way ahead. A similar rite was practiced by the The clearest reflection of this mythological continuation
Khanty of the Kazym and Yugan (Kulemzin, 1984: 142). finds itself embodied in the hypostatically divided but in
A wooden figurine of a howling dog with uplifted head essence unified image of Senmurv. The feeding of dogs
has been recorded on a Selkupian grave in the village and birds in the cemetery may be a relic of the cult of the
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dog of the heavens, whose image, once coherent albeit
eclectic, has since lost its integral quality.
The funeral rituals of the southern Zyryan may reflect
ideas of soul transition into different realms. The soul
related to the Upper World was transfigured into a bird
(or took the image of a bird from time to time, as and
when the soul descended to the earth). The other soul was
probably linked with the Lower World, where it descended
under the guidance of the dog or was transformed into a
chthonian creature. It seems that this soul in the image
of a dog meets the relatives at the cemetery and there
receives food from them. There is no reliable data on
the existence of such beliefs in Komi ritual practice;
however, some rituals do echo more ancient beliefs. It is
highly probable that the southern Zyryan ritual of feeding
dogs and birds at cemeteries is one such example of this
cultural phenomenon.
The vychkan bird as harbinger
of death in beliefs of the Ob Komi
In the mythology of the Ob Komi (an ethnic group of
the Izhma Zyryan living in the Lower Ob area), there
exists the notion of the vychkan, a mythical creature that
forebodes death. No information about this mythical bird
has been recorded in other Komi groups.
The vychkan is perceived as a small, invisible creature
with a naked body (without “fur”) that cannot fly but cries
loudly. Although regarded as a bird, with the exception
of its voice, its other distinguishing features are atypical
of birds. “There is a bird, called vychkan. It warns of
misfortune. It cries ‘vych, vych,’ distinctly and loudly.
It is a very noisy bird. It is also ures [a soul-shadow in
the mythology of the Izhma Komi-Zyryan]. If the bird
cries at night, it means that somebody is about to die. I
have not seen this bird myself, but people say it is a small
bird. It has no fur on the body, is completely bald. It may
live in the forest, but it is also possible that it lives in the
village. You won’t see these birds during the daytime,
only at night. It cannot fly; it walks, because there it has
no fur on it. If the bird cries ‘vych,’ to a person then they
should expect misfortune; one of their relatives will die”
(FMA, Ovgort, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District,
2004). “There is a bird here. It is small and bald. There
are no feathers, nor fur on it. It moves very quickly; one
cannot see it distinctly. It has a very loud voice. This bird
is called vichkan because it cries ‘vich, vich’. People
say this bird can feel forthcoming trouble and warns
people, and it is true” (FMA, Vosiakhovo, Yamal-Nenets
Autonomous District, 2006). “My father has seen the
vychkan bird. It is small and bald; it runs around the house
and cries ‘vych, vych, vych.’ People can usually hear it,
but cannot see it, because it does not show itself. When
the vychkan cries at a certain house, there will be some
misfortune there. This bird feels imminent death and
predicts it” (FMA, Ovgort, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous
District, 2004). “Ures comes to the house before death.
It is invisible, but it can be heard. It is called vychkan
here. People say it is a small bird. When it cries ‘vych,
vych,’ it means that somebody will die. One cannot see
it. If you see it, you will die. All the people who have
seen it have died. We have only heard it. When you
hear it, it means that one of your relatives will die; you
know to expect it” (FMA, Vosiakhovo, Yamal-Nenets
Autonomous District, 2006).
The vychkan’s prediction however, may be averted in
the same way that evil forces are withstood. The magic
of inversion is used to withstand intrusion by souls
who have suffered an unnatural or untimely death and
have not been lain to rest (Tolstoi, 1988: 19 – 22; 1990:
119 – 127). “When you hear the bird vychkan, you should
put you clothes on backwards to avoid misfortune. You
should turn your clothes inside out and turn around so
that you face the opposite direction” (FMA, Yamgort,
Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, 2004).
In order to deprive the vychkan of its ability to cry out
forebodings of death it is said that one should reinforce
the boundaries of one’s house, i.e., by “marking a cross”
over the corners, windows and doors. “This bird runs in
front of the window; it doesn’t fly. The bird is bald. It is
a bad bird; it portends misfortune. It cries ‘vzhit, vzhit’
with an unpleasant voice. It means that somebody will
die soon. I made crosses over all the corners of my house
yet even so, this bird was a harbinger of bad luck for me;
my son died” (FMA, Ovgort, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous
District, 2004). The vychkan is associated not only with
the Lower World but also with the souls of the dead,
especially souls that have not been laid to rest in peace.
The fact that the vychkan is invisible supports its
special position between the realms of the living and the
dead and highlights and enhances the functional features
of this image as a symbol of death. Stories about the
vychkan are likely to combine features of several different
mythological personages related to the notions of the
soul and death. First of all, it is ures as it emerges in the
house as a small wild animal or bird and is considered a
foreteller of death. Ures is associated with different types
of birds. The most important feature in personages that
foretell misfortune is “inadequate” behavior and intrusion
into the home in particular. “If a bird knocks against
the window, a relative or acquaintance will die within
the week” (FMA, Muzhi, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous
District, 2004). “If a bird flies from the woods and sits on
top of the roof, making its cry then it is ‘ures.’ It means
somebody will die” (FMA, Vosiakhovo, Yamal-Nenets
Autonomous District, 2006). “If a woodpecker pecks
the exterior wall of the house, it warns of death. That
is definitely proven. If a woodpecker pecks the wall,
someone will die within three days” (FMA, Ovgort,

Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, 2004). “Prior to
death, a bird brings news of it to the house, both in winter
and in summer. In summer, the summer birds foretell
the bad news; in winter the winter birds do. One night I
could not sleep. I went into the kitchen and looked out of
the window. There was a partridge on the snow opposite
the window. It sat on the snow and looked at me. After
that, my husband died” (FMA, Muzhi, Yamal-Nenets
Autonomous District, 2006). It is possible to hear the cry
of the vychkan indoors as well as outside. “The vychkan
bird chirps when somebody is about to die. Nobody sees
it. They can only hear it chirping. My daughter died.
Three days before her death we heard somebody chirp
in the house, either on the sofa or under it. We searched
for the chirper but in vain. In the morning, my daughter
said that she had heard somebody chirping all though the
night. My son slept in the same room as my daughter
but heard nothing. After that my daughter died and the
bird disappeared. We did not hear it any more” (FMA,
Ovgort, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, 2004).
“The vychkan bird teased us for a whole year prior to my
husband’s death. In the summer it cried at the window,
‘vich, vich.’ In the winter it walked into the room and
the floor creaked. It was horrible. Hearing ures is a
horrible feeling. If you hear some indistinct noise, you
will feel nothing; if you feel terrified, you know it is ures
walking in the house” (FMA, Vosiakhovo, Yamal-Nenets
Autonomous District, 2006).
Birds are believed to serve as harbingers of death in
many mythologies. For instance, the cuckoo was among
the most mythologically important birds in the Slavic
and Finno-Ugrian traditions. Much research has been
dedicated to this bird (Razumovskaya, 1984; Gura, 1997:
682 – 709; Nikitina, 2002). Special attention is paid to
the bird’s voice: any unusual sounds serve as signs that
indicate either good or bad news. Most often, signs
linked with a bird’s unusual behavior were associated
with an imminent death. Signs would include a hen
crying like a rooster, an owl’s hoot, a raven’s screech,
a cuckoo’s calls close to the village and similar omens
associated with a dog’s howling. People believe that “a
woodcock walking along the river bank calls for the
drowned,” while “the jay calls for the soul of a man who
is seriously ill” (Gura, 1998: 97). Vychkan is identified
as a bird because of its voice. This creature displays no
other ornithomorphic features.
The verb ‘vychat’ (phonetically correlated with
vychkan) was widespread in the northwestern regions of
Russia in the 19th – early 20th cent. It means “to miss
something or somebody, expressing one’s emotions
through sobbing and moaning” (Slovar…, 1970: 358).
In the Simbirsk Province, the verb ‘vichat’ meant “to
cry and squeal like a child or a puppy” (Dal, 1994:
209). Hence, the name of the character vychkan can
be derived not only from the sound of its cry ‘vych.’
131
It is possible that the Zyryan knew the verb ‘vychat’
(‘vichat’) meaning ‘to cry’ and ‘to moan.’ This word is
no longer used in colloquial speech (as in the Russian
language) however, it is clear that a quality is preserved
in the designation of the sound of the mythical bird’s
cry which is reminiscent of a moan or weeping and calls
for contact with the other world.
The word ‘vychka’ was used as a pet name for a
sheep in the central regions of Russia (Ibid.), while the
word ‘vychvych’ was used for calling sheep (Ibid.: 326).
Any description of the vychkan bird emphasizes that
this creature is bald, having no fur or plumage. This
provides evidence for the fact that the image of the
vychkan combines both ornithomorphic and zoomorphic
features. It is not clear whether the consonance of the
words ‘ovechka’ (the Russian diminutive of ‘sheep’)
(‘vychka’ – a dialectal word for a sheep) and ‘vychkan’
is just a phonetic coincidence or whether these two
characters are somehow related mythologically. There
are myths that connect demonic birds with sheep. A jay
(calling for souls) “can imitate the voice of a sheep,
a lamb or a young goat” (Gura, 1998: 97). In Central
Russia, people believed in an ugly bird called a striga
(a derivative from the verb ‘strich’– ‘to cut off’) who
“lived in barns and cut off the wool from unloved sheep”
(Maksimov, 1994: 57).
The “nakedness” of the vychkan stresses its demonic
features and its affinity to the “snake” (Ivanov, Toporov,
1974: 31, 152 – 159; Tsiviyan, 1984: 49 – 55; Nikitina,
2002: 139 – 150). “The bird and the snake are the most
common and widespread animals to personify the soul”
(Propp, 1996: 247). “Nakedness” is an essential feature
of various ornithomorphic heroes in Slavic myths about
demons. These naked creatures were considered to be
personifications of the souls of non-baptized babies or
souls not laid to rest in peace. The Bulgarians described
their navies as follows: “Naked fledglings, wearing
no feathers, as large as eagles” (Nikitina, 2002: 143).
The Russians described striga as “a bird similar to an
owl, whose wings are covered with a soft skin without
feathers” (Maksimov, 1994: 57). The vychkan is one of
other mythical images that combines the features of both
birds and snakes.
In the mythology of the Komi-Zyryan of European
Russia another hero occurs known as pastiom ur, or kulrm
ur (“squirrel without clothing”) that is a small, bewitched
animal with no fur. It was believed that a forest spirit or
magician let the “stripped squirrel” go to put a curse on
a hunter (Mifologiya komi…, 1999: 290). It would seem
that the consistent feature of the vychkan – “nakedness”
is associated with the pastiom ur. No legends about the
pastiom ur have been recorded from the Komi of the Ob
basin. The contemporary Komi population of the Izhma
region in the northern Ob area may have learned of the
“stripped squirrel” from the legends of their parents and
132
grand-parents who formerly inhabited the Komi territory.
Gradually, this legendary hero was forgotten, while his
characteristic feature, the “nakedness” was attributed to
other mythic heroes. In addition, the vychkan is unable to
fly whereas it can move fast and hide itself quickly which
is why it can hardly ever be seen. The noted combination
of features of the mythical heroes, the vychkan and the
pastiom ur can probably be explained by their common
affiliation to the ures that can be personified by a bird as
well as a squirrel.
The emergence of the vychkan as a personage in the
mythologyof the Zyryan populating the north of Siberia
may be linked with notions of the wagtail (vorsik) in the
myths of the Ob Ugrians. The Vorsik-Oika sanctuary on
the bank of the Mania River continued to function in the
second half of the 20th cent. (Gemuev, Sagalaev, 1986:
16 – 25; Gemuev, Baulo, 1999: 38 – 39). The Mansi of the
Liapin and Northern Sosva basins as well as the Kazym
Khanty practiced the tradition of tattooing the image of a
wagtail on one’s shoulder. This image would “guard the
human soul during its lifetime and guide it to the Lower
World upon death” (Chernetsov, 1959: 128 – 129).
A clear connection exists between the image of the
wagtail and the realm of the dead in the ideology of
the Ob Ugrians; its role as a guide for the human soul
is clearly stated. This image also has some connection
with the ideas of the Komi regarding small, forest birds
that are fed at cemeteries. The dispersal area of the Mansi
who worshiped the wagtail coincides with one of the
areas inhabited by the Zyryan in the Trans-Urals region
at the basins of the Liapin and Northern Sosva rivers.
Some Komi living in the villages located along the banks
of the Synya and the Malaya Ob where stories about the
vychkan have been recorded, were born in the villages
of Saranpul and Lombovozh, traditionally populated
by the Mansi. Their parents lived in close contact with
the Mansi and may well have borrowed elements of the
wagtail cult. It is likely that later, legends about the bird
foretelling misfortune became wide spread among the
Komi population of the northern Ob basin.
Similarities in the mythology and ritual practice of
the Komi and the Ob Ugrians who inhabited a single
region can be explained by the fact that mutual impact
on the culture and ideology of neighboring peoples can
occur very quickly. The mythological ideas of one ethnic
group are modified under the influence of the ideas of
the predominant ethnic population. However, such
modifications may occur only if the new modified image
agrees with the old traditional perceptions rather than
contradicting them.
The Mansi Vorsik-oika combines ornithomorphic
and anthropomorphic features into one single image.
This personage could be depicted as a human, although
it was always perceived as a bird-man. Vorsik-ekva,
a female deity, was represented either as a lizard or
a beaver (Gemuev, Sagalaev, 1986: 19 – 20). The
susceptibility of these images to modification highlights
the “incorporeal” entity of the personages themselves
and supports the ideas that the hero might formerly have
been a clan totem. The ability to be invisible as well as
the combination of functions and features of different
animals combined within one image represent the
entity’s amorphous qualities. (Propp, 1996: 166 – 167,
195 – 203). The vychkan is a characteristically eclectic
creature. “The vychkan has a naked body. For that reason
it does not show itself. It has the beak and legs of a bird
but no wings. It can walk but cannot fly. It can swim in
the water. It can warn of coming misfortune; it hisses like
a snake” (FMA, Yamgort, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous
District, 2004).
The noted combination of the features of various
animals within the image of the vychkan may represent
the result of a merging of various images within the
Komi mythology, or of a merging between Komi and
Ob Ugrian mythological images. The Komi-Zyryan have
populated the regions of the Lower Ob since the middle
of the 19th cent., yet still regard this area as belonging to
the Khanty and Mansi. Ob Komi legends about mythical
“land lords” are often linked to tales of spirit-guardians
in Vogul and Ostyak mythology. This is partially true of
the vychkan bird. “This bird is invisible. It runs and cries
predicting forthcoming death. It is called vychkan. The
Khanty also believed in this bird. We live on the Khanty’s
land, hence their spirits affect us also” (FMA, Yamgort,
Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, 2004).
In Komi mythology, the image of the wagtail (syrchik)
is associated with the coming of spring (Mifologiya
komi…, 1999: 349 – 350) and would initially seem to
differ greatly from the Ob Zyryan vychkan. However,
one of the rituals of the Zyryan celebration “welcoming
the wagtail” in the European part of Russia represents
a symbolic burying of the bird: the wagtail is “offered”
beer that is poured into a small pit dug into the ground
(Ibid.: 350). A similar ritual of burying (baptizing) the
cuckoo was practiced by Russians, Ukrainians, and
Byelorussians. The essential function of these rituals is to
commemorate the dead, especially those who did not rest
in peace (Eleonskaya, 1912: 146 – 154; Kedrina, 1912:
101 – 139; Vinogradova, 1986: 101 – 105; Nikitina,
2002: 156 – 160).
The image of the little bird vychkan probably stems
from the idea of the homeless, wandering soul. The
vychkan signals impending death, and comes to take a
man’s soul, calling him or her to leave this world. The
bird-like essence is a typical feature of a character that is
said to take the soul away or accompany it to the other
world. Therefore, although there is nothing outwardly
bird-like about the vychkan, it is referred to as a bird
and is “recognized” by the cry of a bird. The remaining
features of this “naked bird” evidently came together
 133

under the influence of other mythical characters. These Afanasiev A.N. 1869
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