Symbolic characteristics of the image of “cold” in the traditional culture of northern communities (using the example of Evens and Evenks)

The paper considers the calendar traditions, rites and customs of the northern Tungus - Evens and Evenks. The sources were the author's expeditionary materials collected in the northern regions of Yakutia. The main rituals of calendar holidays are analyzed: cleansing rites, as well as the rite of admission to the birth fire. These traditions are considered in the context of the representation of the image of cold as a multidimensional category, thanks to which the spiritual practices of the northern Tungus were formed. The image of cold and the reception of its experience have become important concepts of the cultural heritage of northern communities, united into a complex multifunctional system, including symbolic practices and life and natural scenarios. In this study, from the standpoint of cognitive semiotics, the author analyzed the value attitudes and the sign-symbolic program of the Tungus’ communicative and behavioral strategies, which acted as an ethnic component of the image of a northern person and a cold world. It is revealed that it is the concepts associated with cold that formulated the basic tenets of the culture of hospitality. Thus, it has been established that the antipode of the cold world is warm hospitality, the main constants of which are the rituals of meeting and honoring the guest.