The aim of the work is to analyse the role of wood and modern materials in the culture of the Surgut Khanty. The research addresses a number of issues including the symbolic characteristics of traditional natural materials (wood, birch bark) and modern materials (metal, plastic, glass, rubber, etc.), determination of their place within the signsymbolic model, relationship between the placement of waste from modern materials and the spatial-symbolic scheme of the settlement. The sources of the research include the author’s field materials collected in 2002–2017 among the Khanty of the Surgut region of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, as well as published materials on the culture of the Eastern Khanty and their neighbors. In the culture of the Surgut Khanty, wood and birch bark hold a deep and symbolic meaning rooted in tradition, in addition to their practical uses. Modern materials, owing to their strong functional properties and availability, are becoming increasingly popular in the region. The replacement of traditional materials with modern ones (practical, but lacking symbolism) has lead to the neutralisation of the traditional meanings attached to wooden objects. This development is indicative of a broader desacralisation of the cultural space of the taiga inhabitants. At the same time, the cult and ritual sphere traditionally remains largely resistant to the mass use of modern materials, and continues to preserve the symbolic characteristics of wood and birch bark.

Keywords: Surgut Ob region, symbols in culture, wood and birch bark, metal, glass and plastic.

 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Accepted: 02.10.2025

Article is published: 15.12.2025