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Seleznev A. Burial Constructions of the Cemetery near the Village of Khalyasavey: Structural-Semantic Analysis (Based on the Materials of the 1992 Expedition)

A. Seleznev
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the RAS
Omsk, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0001-6096-7190
E-mail: seleznev@myttk.ru 

 

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ABSTRACT. This article presents the findings of a field study on burials in the cemetery near the village of Khalyasavey, located in the Pur District of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The study was conducted during the 1992 expedition, which was tragically interrupted. The village is home to various ethnic groups, including the Pur Forest Nenets, Selkups, Khanty, and Russians. The burial complex (cemetery) consisted of graves and artifacts occupying the inter-grave space, including sleds, boats, and reindeer remains arranged in anatomical order. These findings align with the widespread tradition of reindeer sacrifice during funerals. A group of inhumation burials featured grave constructions in the form of crosses and vertical pillars, some with anthropomorphic shapes, similar to structures found in the cemeteries of the Northern (Taz) Selkups. The air and surface burials consist a funerary complex composed of various burial structures, each representing a continuation of the preceding form. The final variant exhibited the following features: a plank coffin in a parallelepiped shape, transversal support beams, a frame with a complex locking joint, and a large longitudinal log, one end of which appeared to press down on the entire structure from above. Similar burials have been documented in the cemeteries of the Forest Nenets. The semantic interpretation of these structures is informed by their external resemblance to a slopets, a pressure-based hunting trap. This connection suggests an underlying animistic belief in the ritual-symbolic bond, and even the perceived identity, between humans and animals in liminal situations, including the transition between life and death.

 

KEYWORDS: burial constructions, inhumation, air and surface burials, Pur Forest Nenets, Selkups, semantics

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2025-1(27)-134-169
UDC 393.9 (571.121)

 

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