“THOSE WHO HAVE NO BARRIERS”: MAYACHKAS IN THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE YUGAN KHANTY

The landscape of the Yugan basin is constantly changing in response to the development of oil fields in the region, and these changes are reflected in the views of the Khanty, their culture in general, and, among other things, their relationship with supernatural beings. These circumstances provide a rich field for analysis and allow us to bring up the question: "How do shifts in the landscape affect the Khanty sacral world, and how, in turn, do these changes affect the Khanty cultural landscape in general?" This article examines the cultural landscape of the Yugan Khanty based on the analysis of mythological creatures known as ‘mayachkas’, relationships with which influence the daily interactions of the Yugan Khanty with their immediate environment. The discussion and analysis in this article are based on field materials collected during recent expeditions along the Bolshoy Yugan River in the Surgut region of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, and on a comparative study of this material with the research of previous authors and the materials they collected. The rapid development of oil fields in the region and its impact on the indigenous Khanty population and their cultural landscape underline the relevance of this study. Thus, studying the Khanty world through the prism of the Yugan Khanty's own understanding of their interactions with supernatural beings and how these interactions shape and shift their environment sheds light on the mechanisms of cultural landscape changes and the consequences of these changes