Four Songs from the Eastern Khanty Bear Ceremony
These are four songs from the Eastern Khanty bear feast — the most sacred ceremony of the Ob-Ugric peoples. When a bear is killed in the forest, its spirit must be honoured through an elaborate multi-day feast involving songs, dances, theatrical performances, and ritual offerings. The bear is not mere prey — it is a divine guest returning from the forest to the world of humans, and the songs performed at the feast address the bear directly, invoke the hunting gods, and honour the Fire Goddess who warms the living in the frozen taiga.
These four songs were collected by the Finnish ethnographer K. F. Karjalainen at the village of Likrisovo on the Ob River, in Eastern Khanty territory, during his fieldwork expedition of 1898–1901. The Likrisovo dialect of Eastern Khanty differs from the Tremjugan dialect represented in the other bear songs in this archive; the Likrisovo texts give us a second window into bear feast practice along the middle Ob. The first song addresses the bear in the feast house; the second and third are hunter's songs invoking the game-distributing god and praying for luck at the sacrifice-place; the fourth is a song to the Fire Goddess, protector against the cold of the spirit-haunted forest.
Published in Csepregi, Márta, ed., K. F. Karjalainen's Eastern Khanty Text Collection (1899–1901), Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia 279, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 2024. DOI: sus.22. The Eastern Khanty language belongs to the Ugric branch of the Uralic family; the Likrisovo dialect was spoken along the Ob River in what is now the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug of Western Siberia. These are the first English verse translations from the Khanty source.
I. Bear-Feast Song
The singer addresses the bear that has been brought into the feast house. The refrain kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ is a filler characteristic of bear songs — it sets the mood and gives the singer time to gather the next verse.
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
Wake up to this world.
The man had a heavy ax.
With the blow of the heavy ax —
how far you were brought.
The animal was struck, struck.
The animal was done, done.
Human-braided,
delicious food
is set before you.
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
In a house of barked slats,
an open-mouthed house —
there, behold, you sit.
Son of the man from the Ob —
a festivity never before seen —
behold, you listen.
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
You do not see the night pass.
You do not see the day pass.
A festivity never seen
by the son of the man from the Ob
is being watched.
II. Song of the Game-Distributing God
The deity wajə̑ɣ arttə̑ juɣə̑ʌ torə̑m — the kind god who distributes game — is one of the seven sons of the supreme Sky God and the deity responsible for hunting fortune. This song describes how he gives unequally: ten foxes to some, a squirrel to others, and to some, nothing at all.
Kind god who distributes game —
your god has come, has come,
your god came, came.
Where your god arrived,
to some of you he gives —
ten foxes he gives.
Kind god who distributes game —
where your god came,
to some of you he gives:
one squirrel he gives,
one ermine he gives.
Kind god who distributes game —
where your god came,
to some of you
he only waves his hand.
III. The Hunter's Prayer
A prayer for hunting luck. The hunter stands on the empty road, brings two feathered arrows to his father's sacrifice-place in the land of the flying squirrel, plants them, and bows his head. The passive voice of the Khanty — "the head is bowed," not "I bow my head" — suggests a universal act: any hunter, every hunter.
On the dear road
void of hunting luck —
how long I have stood.
To my father's good sacrifice-place,
to the land of the flying squirrel —
two good-feathered arrows
I bring.
To my father's good sacrifice-place,
to the land of the flying squirrel —
the two good-feathered arrows
I plant.
At my father's good sacrifice-place,
in the land of the flying squirrel —
the head is bowed
to become lucky with prey.
IV. Song to the Fire Goddess
The Fire Goddess (nȧj ȧŋki) is worshipped among all Ob-Ugric peoples as the female spirit of the hearth, provider of warmth and defender against cold. This song is addressed to her. The "ghost" (ʌuŋk) belongs to the upper layer of the three-part world; the "forest spirit" (mæ̮ŋₒkₒ) to the middle world where humans live. If you follow their frozen path with the fire, you come to wealth; if you go another way, there is nothing.
Your fire, your fire, little mother,
your fire, your fire, little daughter —
the ghost's frozen path,
the forest spirit's frozen path —
the two of us follow.
Your fire, your fire, little mother,
your fire, your fire, little daughter —
to the end of the ghost's path,
to the end of the forest spirit's path —
the two of us come into the wealth of heroines,
the two of us come into the wealth of heroes.
If we go another way,
we lack the wealth of heroines.
If we go another way,
we lack the wealth of heroes.
On that other way
there was no good heroine.
On that other way
there was no good hero.
Colophon
Translated from Eastern Khanty (Likrisovo dialect) phonematic transcription by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026.
Source: K. F. Karjalainen's field notes, village of Likrisovo, Ob River, collected during his Eastern Khanty fieldwork expedition, 1898–1901. Published in Csepregi, Márta, ed., K. F. Karjalainen's Eastern Khanty Text Collection (1899–1901), Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seuran Toimituksia 279, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 2024. DOI: sus.22
Translation method: Independent verse translation from the Khanty phonematic source text. K. F. Karjalainen's original Finnish glosses (1898–1901, public domain) served as the primary interpretive bridge. Csepregi's 2024 scholarly apparatus (notes, commentary, morphological analysis) was consulted for cultural context, dialect-specific vocabulary, and grammatical forms. The English verse was composed independently; Csepregi's English renderings were consulted after drafting for verification only.
A Good Works Translation. NTAC + Claude.
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Source Text: Eastern Khanty (Likrisovo Dialect)
Phonematic transcription from K. F. Karjalainen's field manuscripts, village of Likrisovo, Ob River. Published in Csepregi 2024, SUST 279. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
I. ʌăŋₒə̑ʌti̮p
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
tim torma wä̆rəɣtəɣʌȧ.
kăntə̑ɣ ku ʌȧɣərt ʌȧjəm tŏj.
ʌȧɣərt ʌȧjəm mi̮ŋtə̑nə̑
mü̆ɣə kŏɣ tŏɣmȧn.
wajə̑ɣ sä̆ŋki sä̆ŋki
wajə̑ɣ weri weri.
kăntə̑ɣ ku sä̆ɣₒ kŏr
tˊuńə̑ŋ ʌiɣpəs
nü̆ŋȧti umti̮.
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
ńăʌə̑m se̮ɣə̑ʌ
ŏŋʌə̑w kat
tŏɣ tˊät i̮mʌə̑n.
asku pæ̮ɣ
wuʌə̑ɣ tˊursem
tˊä koʌtə̑mʌə̑n.
kəjəŋkem jojə̑ŋ
ȧt məntȧʌ əntə wuʌi̮n,
kătə̑ʌ məntȧʌ əntə wuʌi̮n,
asku pæ̮ɣ wuʌə̑ɣ tˊursem
ańə̑mmäʌi.
II. wajə̑ɣ arttə̑ juɣə̑ʌ torə̑m ʌăŋₒə̑ʌti̮p
wajə̑ɣ arttə̑ juɣə̑ʌ torə̑m
tormi̮n jŏɣə̑t, jŏɣə̑t
tormi̮n jŏɣtə̑s, jŏɣtə̑s.
tormi̮n jŏɣtə̑m kărə̑nə̑
pȧ kuji̮n pæ̮ɣ məʌʌi
jeŋₒ wŏkə̑jȧt məʌʌi.
wajə̑ɣ arttə̑ juɣə̑ʌ torəm
tormi̮n jŏɣtə̑m kărə̑nə̑
pȧ kuji̮n pæ̮ɣ məʌʌi
əj ʌȧŋkəjȧt məʌʌi
əj sasat məʌʌi.
wajə̑ɣ arttə̑ juɣə̑ʌ torə̑m
tormi̮n jŏɣtə̑m kărə̑nə̑
pȧ kuji̮n pæ̮ɣ
ä̆ʌə mərəm kö̆tȧt wotˊʎi̮.
III. wajə̑ɣ ăjaŋkə̑ ʌăŋₒə̑ʌti̮p
wajə̑ɣ ăjʌə̑ɣ juɣə̑ʌ ḷekₒi
kŏʌə̑mŏčə̑ ʎuʎi̮.
jəɣəm jəm ji̮r pănə̑m məɣȧ
ipət ʌȧŋki kat məɣȧ
jəm tŏɣʌə̑p kȧt ńaʌɣə̑n
tŏɣə̑ tuʌə̑m.
jəɣəm jəm ji̮r pănə̑m məɣȧ
ipət ʌȧŋki kat məɣȧ
jəm tŏɣʌə̑p kȧt ńaʌɣə̑n
tŏɣə̑ ʌi̮ńtˊʎə̑ɣʌam.
jəɣəm jəm ji̮r pănə̑m məɣnə
ipət ʌȧŋki kat məɣnə
oɣₒ pănɣi̮ʌʌi̮
wajə̑ɣ ăjaŋkə̑ jətȧɣə.
IV. nȧj ȧŋki ʌăŋₒə̑ʌti̮p
nȧjən nȧjən ȧŋkəḷi
nȧjən nȧjən äɣₒəḷi
ʌuŋk kü̆rmȧŋ pi̮tə̑m ḷekₒ
mæ̮ŋₒkₒ kü̆rmȧŋ pi̮tə̑m ḷekₒ
min ńuɣə̑ʌʌə̑mə̑n.
nȧjən nȧjən ȧŋkəḷi
nȧjən nȧjən äɣₒəḷi
ʌuŋk kü̆rmȧŋ ḷekₒ pətȧʌȧ
mæ̮ŋₒkₒ kü̆rmȧŋ ḷekₒ pətȧʌȧ
nȧj tˊuńȧpə pitʌəmən
ort tˊuńȧpə pitʌəmən.
min tŏm mənpə pä̆ḷəkpə
nȧj tˊuńaʌə̑ɣ pitʌəmən
min tŏm mənpə pä̆ḷəkpə
ort tˊuńaʌə̑ɣ pitʌəmən.
min tŏm mənpə pä̆ḷəkpə
jəm nȧjpə əntim wăʌə̑s
min tŏm mənpə pä̆ḷəkpə
jəm ortpə̑ əntim wăʌə̑s.
Source Colophon
Eastern Khanty (Likrisovo dialect). Phonematic transcription from K. F. Karjalainen's field manuscripts, collected at the village of Likrisovo on the Ob River during his Eastern Khanty fieldwork expedition, 1898–1901. Published in Csepregi, Márta, ed., K. F. Karjalainen's Eastern Khanty Text Collection (1899–1901), Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seuran Toimituksia 279, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 2024.
The Eastern Khanty language belongs to the Ugric branch of the Uralic language family. The Likrisovo dialect was spoken along the Ob River, in what is now the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug of Western Siberia. The phonematic transcription preserves Karjalainen's original field notation, including features of vowel harmony and dialectal variation specific to the Likrisovo pronunciation. The bear-feast song (I) exists in the manuscript as a draft — Karjalainen crossed it out with a vertical line and noted "kts. myöhemmin!" ("see later!"), intending a final copy that was never made.
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