Spatial orientation in the secular and sacred world for fishermen and hunters of the Lower Amur territory

Purpose. The article is devoted to the Amur ethnocultural landscape. It was created by different peoples inhabiting the Amur and East Siberian ecological niches. The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the secular and sacred space of the Lower Amur indigenous population engaged in hunting and fishing. We focus on the idea of space and kinds of spatial location and orientation typical for the Nanais and Ulchis. Their ways of migration influenced the organization of settlements and economic and ritual activities typical for fishermen and hunters, where we clearly see the features of spatial orientation. This issue can help to describe and attribute many cultural sites in the Far East of Russia. Results. The Lower Amur population's secular and sacred world structure was formed as a result of weaving Tungus, Amur (Paleosiberian), Chinese and Manchurian traditions specific to nomadic fishermen and stratified agrarian societies. Unlike the agrarians, the fishermen' and hunters' concept of the world was based on «route» rather than the «center», «periphery», and «border», which indicates an active (dynamic) lifestyle with spatial orientation. For fishermen and hunters, surrounding mountains, rivers and the taiga played the role of both the marker of their «own land» and main landmarks. The layout of settlements of the Lower Amur indigenous population reflected the main guidelines of their static world model and was duplicated in the sacred space. Their living space was organized based on the binary principle of the «taiga-river» division and economic orientation. In the sacred sphere, natural landmarks, such as «right-left», «around the world» acquired a symbolic meaning and were linked to certain human activities. Thus, in their mythopoetic space, the North and the Northeast correlated to the cold Okhotsk Sea, the Wind Gods and the Keeper of Fish Treasures; the South - to luck and prosperity (because of profitable trade and exchange activities with China). On the Earth, the Universe axis was represented by the Family tree and the river mouth, while the «top» was seen as a multi-layered sky where the patrons of stars and settlements lived. The locus of rituals and links with the sacred, irrational world were pile log household outbuildings. All the surrounding areas were marked and divided into sections associated with negative or positive forces influencing people. Conclusion. Observations show that the domestic and sacred space of the Lower Amur population was changed under the influence of Soviet reforms. Rapid industrial development and the loss of importance of such traditional occupations as hunting and fishing devalued the concept of «road» and weakened the ability of people to locate their whereabouts. Such landmarks as «top», «bottom», «left», «right», «the West», «the East», «the North», «the South» disappeared from the ritual field as well because the sacred zone became a symbolic space.