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Issue 4 (41)

SHERT, “BEAR OATH” AND SABRE DANCE
Year	2013	Number	4(41)
Pages	120-131	Type	scientific article
UDC	394.4(571.1)	BBK	63.521(=665)
Authors	Perevalova Elena V.	Topic	ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE URAL
Summary	The article presents an analysis of the earliest documentary evidence of swearing in (shert) of the Yugra elite — description of the ceremony of signing the Ust-Vym peace treaty (1484) between the participants of the military campaign against the Vogul Prince Asyka “to the great river Ob” (1483) organized by the Great Prince Ivan III Vasiljevich and the defeated Yugra and Koda chieftains. The key point of the swearing in ceremony was the erection of a certain ritual site where each of the parties could make oath — go through the ceremony “according to their faith”. The procedure included the use of ritual attributes and ritual food, specific ritual behavior and symbolic actions of the participants together with speech motivations. After the Siberian lands and peoples were annexed by the Russian state the swearing in ritual was simplified and adapted to the requirements of the metropolis. In administrative practices of the Siberian natives administration the successor to ‘shert’ — a ‘bear oath’ — as well as an oath in front of the images of pagan deities in court proceedings were maintained until the end of the 19th century. Some elements of the ceremony of signing of the Ust-Vym peace treaty, for instance, the use of arms, were found in the ritual practices of the Northern Ugric and Samody peoples (saber dances, rich armories of the Yugra sacred places).
Keywords	chert, “bear oath”, dancing with swords, Ust-Vymsky peace treaty in 1484, a native elite, administrative management practices Siberian natives
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