Whale festival in the context of indigenous rituals of northeast Russia

Based on the analysis of literary and archival sources the article focuses on the ritual of the whale festival among the indigenous peoples of Northeast Russia, such as Eskimos, Maritime Koryaks and Chukchi. The author studies the format, structure, actions and material attributes of the whale festival, showing structural correspondences between it and the funeral rites of the Northeastern Paleo-Asiatics. The author states that the whale festival has an accumulating and generalizing nature.