Specimina Sibirica VI. [antikvár]

PrefaceThe present volume contains the papers for the International Conference on Uralic Mythology organized in Syktyvkar (Komi Republic, Russia), August 6 to 9, 1992.The conference welcomed ethnologists, researchers in folk culture and archaeologists from Russia, Hungary, Finland, Sweden and Estonia.The sessions saw presentations on the current problems of the traditional ideology of the Uralic peoples that had infrequently been studied yet.The idea that there is a need for the interdisciplinary study of such a complicated field of research as Uralic mythology has been proved convincingly by the conference.It is only a joint research in hnguistics, archaeology, folk culture and ethnology that can result in the adequate reconstruction of the spiritual culture as well as the view of the structure of the world of the Urahc peoples.Comparing the sources of ethnology, folk culture and linguistics with archaeological finds, the origin of a traditional view of life, having its roots in the depths of several thousand years, can be discovered, some elements of which have survived till our present days.Doing research in this field is especially seasonable nowadays when the small Finno-Ugric peoples are looking for their identity. It was the realisation of this idea that made the participants of the conference initiate the compiling of a lexicon on the mythology of the Uralic peoples, lb create this work, a co-operation between experts in Russia and abroad as well as the co-ordination of the research activities in this field are needed.The papers published in the volume not only reflect the results of the study of Uralic mythology but also set the perspectives for further research.János Pusztay - Elena SaveljevaThe editor of the series apologizes for the format of this publication as certain unevenness is present due to the fact the articles were submitted in. a camera ready form.