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URUNG AIYY TOYON AS A KEY MALE IMAGE OF PATRIARCHAL YAKUTS MYTHOLOGY // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2020. Issue 2 (28). P. 141-148

The article considers the development of social attitudes including gender imperatives in Yakut mythology and epic. The analysis of the role of the character of Urung Aiyy Toyon in the formation of the patriarchal organization of the Yakut society is carried out. The character of Urung Aiyy Toyon was a patron of the new social order and a tool for supplanting the matrilineal community cult and its leading character the mistress of the Earth. The work highlights the stages of the historical development of the character of Urung Aiyy Toyon, associated with structural changes in the Yakut society during the process of transition from matrilineality to patrilineality, as well as the ideological function of this cult. The character of Urung Aiyy Toyon acted as a bearer of typical features of the social group of toyons, and myths about him turned out to be an active element of the structures of domination in the Yakut society. The cult of Urung Aiyy Toyon was formed and maintained as an ideological rationale for the power of the toyons, heads of individual patronymias. It was necessary in order to bring and strengthen the idea of a patriarchal organization in Yakut mythology. The character of Urung Aiyy Toyon is self-sufficient and does not need magical qualities and heroic deeds. For creators and consumers of mythology its social status as the head of the agnationalcommunitythe was most important. In the myth and the heroic epic of Olonkho, Urung Aiyy Toyon reinforces the patriarchal genealogy. In the cult of Urung Aiyy Toyon, the idea of male dominance is vividly represented and the tendencies that lead to the formation of a gender hierarchy in Yakut society are manifested. The mythology of Urung Aiyy Toyon was the rationale for the system of agnatic kinship, sanctifying the norms of customary law, reinforcing male dominance and women's subordinate position. The myth of Urung Aiyy Toyon appears as an active element of the structures of domination in Yakut society, which functioned as a tool for consolidating gender inequality and establishing the power of the Yakut toyons.

Keywords: Yakuts, mythology, epos, olonkho, male images, female images, patriarchy, Urung Aiyy Toyon

Traditional Systems of Kinship and Family Structure Among the Indigenous Peoples of Yakutia: Cross-Cultural Analysis // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2026. Issue 2 (52). P. 134-145

This article presents the results of a cross-cultural analysis and comparison of traditional kinship systems and family structures among the indigenous peoples of Yakutia – the Dolgans, Evens, Evenks, Chukchi, and Yukaghirs – based on historical and ethnographic materials. The analysis identifies both general and specific features reflected in kinship structure, family systems, and forms of marriage. The traditional marriage-family-kinship system among the small peoples of Yakutia is based on patriarchal families (clans), patrilineal kinship, and patrilocal marriage; among some groups (mainly Evens and Yukaghirs), matrilineality and matrilocality were also present. The main economic unit in family and marital relations was the small family, although large families consisting of several nomadic groups related by kinship were also common. Exogamous marriage was more characteristic of the Dolgans, Evens, and Evenks, and was rarely found among the Chukchi and Yukaghirs. Specific forms of marital relations included exchange marriage, widely practiced by the Evens and Evenks; group marriage and levirate among the Chukchi, Evenks, and Yukaghirs; polygamy among the Chukchi, Evenks, and Evens; and cross-cousin marriage among all peoples except the Evens. Despite the shared history and development of these indigenous peoples, as well as assimilatory processes, cultural exchange, and interactions among nomadic groups, the variability in the combinations of these elements gives rise to the unique content of the ethnic cultures of these peoples.

Keywords: kinship system, agnate clan, patrilineality, matrilineality, patrilocality, matrilocality, exchange marriage, group marriage, levirate, exogamous marriage, Dolgans, Evens, Evenks, Chukchi, Yukaghirs